Jammu Kashmir and Punjab are neighbours and there is a long history of relations between them. But the years 1947 and 1948 have gargantuan significance as it was during this period that both got divided against the people’s wishes in a violent turn of events whose viscous spectre still haunts the entire region refusing to fade away.

Faith or difference in diverse faiths in both the places provided the basis for a forced or unnatural bifurcation creating an unending stream of sufferings for the people at multiple levels. Links between Kashmir and Punjab carry the imprint of shared historical evolution. Jammu and the area adjacent to Punjab culturally and linguistically share much with the latter, in fact more than what they do with Kashmiri speaking the Kashmir valley.

Languages/dialects spoken in Jammu and in its surroundings have so much in common in terms of their roots with the Punjabi that the former are taken as variants of the latter. Its hauntingly simple but fascinating folk songs and folk music are not only understood but also are enjoyed all across Punjab.

Who in Punjab can forget the lilting renditions of Pahari/Dogri folk songs done by Malika Pukhraj in her unique voice in Raga Pahari? Cultural norms and food aren’t much different either from what we have in Punjab.

During the Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom in the 19th century, Dogras of Jammu held crucially important offices at Lahore Darbar. Dhiyan Singh Dogra was the Ranjit Singh’s prime minister. Ranjit Singh after having invaded and annexed Jammu and Kashmir made Gulab Singh Dogra the hereditary Raja [ruler] of Jammu. During the twilight years of Punjab’s kingdom the British colonialists, who had virtually taken over the kingdom, sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh Dogra for Nanakshahi Rs7.5 million under the infamous Amritsar treaty of 1846. Soon Dogra rulers would attack and annex Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan making their princely state the second largest in India. Dogras’ association with Punjab is a weird tale of service and betrayal.

Interaction between Kashmir and Punjab also has a long history; being highlanders people of Jammu and Kashmir come down even today to the fertile plains of Punjab in search of economic opportunities. Cultural and linguistic affinities make the assimilation hassle free and smooth.

One finds a sizable chunk of people of Kashmir origins doing what they want to do in a seamless flow of life in the cities of Punjab like Sialkot, Rawalpindi,Gujrat, Gujranwala and Lahore. A number of Kashmiri immigrants from working class background work in homes and restaurants as cooks and in the commercial markets as porters, loggers and vendors called ‘Haato’. The former have added to the richness of Punjab’s cuisine by introducing some of delectable traditional Kashmiri dishes such as Shubdeg and Hareesa. And the latter have contributed to Punjab’s economic development with their toil doing tough jobs that have a few takers.

Kashmiris look at Punjab as a land of economic opportunities and also as a place of shelter when faced with repression and oppression in their homeland which has not been at peace with itself for so long.

But Punjabis, literati in particular, imagine Kashmir as a wonderland, a fairyland with its stunningly beautiful hills, awe-inspiring mountains, meandering rivers, gurgling streams, murmuring springs, cascading falls, turquoise lakes, towering woods and forests, and freezing fogs. It’s conceived as kind of eternal garden, a paradise on earth in its physical contours.

Kashmir’s real and imagined pristine beauty stirs the Punjabi imagination the solid evidence of which is found in the Punjab’s literature and folklore. Hafiz Barkhurdar [17th century] who composed immortal love legend of Sahiban aka Mirza Sahiban for example talks of Kashmir. The context needs to be understood to appreciate the verses.

Mirza, the male protagonist, after receiving the letter from Sahiban, his beloved, is all set to mount his legendary horse and depart when he is accosted by his brother and Qazi. The brother narrates the nightmare he had previous night. The Qazi [Muslim scholar and jurist] interprets the nightmare as an omen of death and thus a stark warning against the departure of Mirza to his beloved’s town. In reply Mirza, unimpressed and unfazed, says: “The garden in Kashmir has come into bloom and fragrance is here all over the place/ under a full moon she was born as a flower/ she was named Sahiban, a lily indeed”.

In the legend of Heer, Waris Shah in his head to toe description of female protagonist says; “She is a painted image from China and Kashmir, as tall as a cypress from the paradise garden”. At another place Ranjha, the male protagonist, avers: “There is no land like Kashmir and no illumination like moonlight”. In yet another legend of Saiful-Maluk, Mian Muhammad mentions Kashmir a number of times. When the hero rescues the heroine and sails the rough waters we come across this verse: “The raft floats and launches assaults as if it’s a flying sea predator/ it’s like a boat that smoothly moves in the Kashmir’s Dal Lake”. About the dispersal of princes it’s said: “Some go to east, some to west, some to south and some to north / some seek the way to Kashmir and some the embankment in Jammu/ some head towards islands and some towards Tibet and Ladakh”.

Mian Muhammad also informs us on comparative prices of commodities; “Saffron sells cheap in Kashmir but ask its price in Lahore”. A contemporary poet evokes Kashmir in his poem thus: “When Kashmir thaws out/and some commotion is afoot in the highlands, the creatures in the lowlands see themselves being imperceptibly regenerated”. May the waters rivers carry from the Kashmir’s glacial warren continue to rejuvenate us in Punjab!

Now the folk lore. We have a very charming folk song of haunting melody from Potohar: “Who shaped this ring of mine? It badly hurts my finger/ this ring is much talked about in Kabul and Kashmir [Chhla mahra kin ghariya/ mahri angul krendi dadhi peere /es chhlay nian dhumman payyan, Kabul te Kashmir]”.

Unfortunately Kabul and Kashmir no longer cherish the talk about the ring of a far-away woman in Potohar or elsewhere. Kashmir like Kabul cries and sighs. Men have made a mess of their affairs in Kashmir. Harmony in nature stands in total contrast to strife in socio-political life of this benighted land. When will the strife end? When will human ugliness vanish? The sooner the better. No one will be able to regain the paradise once it’s destroyed. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2019