By Dr. Javaid Rahi
This is narration of 5th day of the strike in Kashmir Valley. I was busy in reading a local newspaper while my five years old son (Ali Gujjar) called my attention towards television and said “See Papa-Gujjar Gujjar Hai Hai” !!. I increased the volume of my television and with all inquisitiveness watched the television.
A local Private television channel was showing the visuals of violent demonstrations in downtown area of Srinagar City. These demonstrations were against the land transfer to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The procession was led by a secessionist Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Thousands of people were participating in the procession and raising slogans against the government agencies and chanting jingles against Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad. The demonstrationists were raising slogans “Gujjar-Gujjar Hai Hai ………..Nab Gujjar Hai Hai.”
Being a non-Kashmiri speaking Gujjar, I was trying to understand reference to context of these slogans and jingles and in order to have further information in this regard I telephoned one of my Kashmiri speaking Muslim friend residing in downtown area of Srinagar and in response, my friend replied that these type of slogans are being raised during the whole “land movement.” Later I was given to understand that it is not only the downtown or civil lines area of Srinagar but these humiliating slogans are being raised in whole valley of Kashmir.
I being a “Gujjar” has always been proud of my community as a “tribe” because I know that my tribe have a history of 5000 years. This is the only largest Muslim tribe in India which is having nomadic way of life from the times immemorial and which has its roots in Middle East and Central Asia. But I was stunned to listen to the slogans against my tribe and community. This was really a shock that such tribe was being ill-treated and humiliated with slogans and jingles raised during the demonstrations.
I am pround of my Gujjar identity, but I was not in a position to understand why the demonstrators of a particular community were humiliating my community and I don’t know what was the motive behind it. Probably they were trying to establish that Gujjars are inferior to majority Musilm community of Kashmir. There can be an argument that mob mentality can be behind this unwanted state of affairs but it persisted for about eight days which speaks of another unfortunate view of the picture.
A stigma is being attached with the word “Gujjar” in Kashmir which has resulted a wedge between Muslim Kashmiris and Muslim Gujjars. This wedge has been widened when the demonstrators under the leadership of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, while mortifying the sentiment of other Muslim community. The sentiments of mob in Kashmir valley during 8 days of demonstrations over land row is respectable but why the second largest ethno -linguistic minority “Gujjars” is targeted by chanting jingles about them. This is very unfortunate and strange.
The history is witness that no movement has achieved its goals until and unless it relinquishes hatred against the religious, lingual and other minorities were part of that particular movement. But we the Kashmiris are leading to which directions? We don’t know ourselves ! A substantial chunk of Kashmiri intellectuals are against any sort of cultural discrimination. They favour amalgamation of Kashmiris, Gujjars and other identities to one Muslim identity. But this will not be possible unless and until the Majority Muslim community accepts and respects other cultural, racial, ethnical and lingual minorities among Muslims.
However in Jammu, the majority community constitutes of non-Muslims but in my 37 years of age I have never heard of any disrespectful words against my community, not to talk of raising slogans and making jingles and jokes about our community. This is also a fact that the Gujjars have suffered most over the land row at Jammu Samba, and Akhnor and their property destroyed. Some hard-liner organizations have thrashed Gujjars and their milk products and vegetables etc. were looted. This can be understood as an occurrence during such demonstrations but raising of slogans against Gujjars in Kashmir is absolutely a ground-breaking and unfortunate incident. But in valley, this is also very surprising that if any voice is raised in support of Gujjar identity and their rights, the label of “Agents of Delhi” is leveled by certain unscrupulous elements.
I have no regrets that the activist of Bajrang Dal and other organizations have tried to torture Gujjar property and places of worship of Gujjars in various areas of Jammu. I have no sorrow that a few houses of Gujjars were torched in Samba and Kathua. This is tolerable but why there are sentiments against Gujjars in Kashmir? Whether Gujjars have ever marginalized Kashmiris? Is there any occurrence or example? NO. Then why do we hear the sologan of “Gujjar Gujjar Hai Hai?”
[Photo of Gujjar offering prayers by Dr. Javed Rahi]