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A History of Agriculture in India v2.c66.s12: Kashmir

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c66.s12

Language
English

Contents

Kashmir

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A.D. 1089-1586

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The name Kashmir refers to the valley on the upper course of the Jhelum. Many of the Hindu Rajas of Kashmir were tyrants. Harsa (A.D. 1089-1101) melted gold and silver images of gods and goddesses for the sake of metal required for minting coins. In A.D. 1099, Kashmir was ravaged by plague and a disastrous flood.

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During the reign of Jayasimha (A.D. 1128-1155) the feudal landlords, the Damaras who had built fortresses were practically in control of the countryside.

Kota Rani (A.D. 1318-1330)

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The last Hindu ruler of Kashmir was a lady known as Kota Rani. During this period Rinchin, a Tibetan prince, came to Kashmir as a refugee from Ladakh with an escort of several hundred armed men. He eventually became the ruler of Kashmir and paramour of Kota Rani. Kota Rani urged him to embrace Hinduism, but he was not acceptable to the Brahmans. In disgust Rinchin embraced Islam and thus became the first Moslem ruler of Kashmir. Rinchin died in A.D. 1320. Shah Mir, a Moslem adventurer from Swat, seized the throne in A.D. 1342 and also married Kota Rani. He is known as Sultan Shams-ud-din and ruled Kashmir up to A.D. 1342.

Sultan Sikander (A.D. 1393-1416)

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Skipping over three insignificant Sultans, we come across Sultan Sikander. Sikander acquired notoriety as an idol breaker, and he destroyed the famous temples of Martand, Vijayeshwri and Sureshwari. He compensated for this by building mosques. He conquered Ladakh.

Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin (A.D. 1420-1470)

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Of the Sultans of Kashmir, Zain-ul-abidin was the greatest and noblest. He was a scholar, an administrator and a builder. Above all, he adopted the policy of universal toleration like Akbar. The Kashmiri Brahmans, who had left the valley due to oppression by Sikander, were recalled and were entrusted with responsible posts in the administration. He got the Mahabharata translated into Persian. ‘Hindus looked upon him as their best protector during the dark period of religious bigotry,’ states Bamzai. ‘Many of the temples which had been demolished in the preceding reign were rebuilt and permission was granted to erect new temples. The king remitted the poll tax and granted jagirs to deserving Hindus. He penalized the killing of cows and himself abstained from eating meat during the holy festivals of the Hindus. The *Rajatarangini* gives a detailed account of how the king took part in the annual Nagayatra festival, when he would don the robes of a Hindu mendicant and perform the pilgrimage in company with other pilgrims. On the way he fed thousands of ascetics and Brahmans. To expiate for the wrongs done to the Hindus by his father he built numerous homes for the widows of the Brahmans killed in the preceding reigns.’

Dispensaries

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Many famous physicians from Central Asia and India came to Zain-ul-abidin’s court, and he opened dispensaries in various parts of the kingdom where free medicines were given to the patients.

Patronage of Learning

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Zain-ul-abidin was also a scholar and patron of learning. He collected books, and had a magnificent library. He patronized poets and scholars. Jonaraja, the historian, observes, ‘Even women, cooks and porters were poets; and the books composed by them exist to this day in every house. If the king be a sea of learning and partial to merit, the people too become so. Zain-ul-abidin for the purpose of earning merit built extensive lodging houses for students and the voices of students studying logic and grammar arose from these houses. The king helped the students by providing teachers, books, houses, food and money, and he extended the limits of learning in all branches.’

Arts and Crafts

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Zain-ul-abidin invited craftsmen from Samarkand to train Kashmiris. It was thus that cottage industries like papier-maché, paper-making, and silk and carpet weaving were introduced in Kashmir. The Kashmiri workers soon acquired skill in these crafts and made Kashmir famous for these products.

Langar and Free Food for the Poor

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Jonaraja records that in various towns food was distributed free to the poor and infirm. At special festivals which were frequently held, feeding of the poor was a regular feature. The Sultan built rest houses for travellers at the outskirts of villages.

Agriculture

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Zain-ul-abidin revised the land assessment and reduced it to one-foruth of the gross produce in some places, and to one-seventh in others. The revenue officers were ordered not to accept gifts from cultivators. Registration of documents was introduced to prevent fraud in sale of land. Law and order was enforced and lawlessness curbed. A good deal of land which had gone out of cultivation due to insecurity of life was brought under the plough.

Construction of Canals and Planting of Gardens

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Bamzai thus describes the contribution of Zain-ul-abidin to irrigation. ‘To increase agricultural production, he constructed several canals. Noted among which were the Utpalapur, Nandashaila, Bijbihara, Advin, Amburher, Zainagir, and the Shahkul at Bawan. Many of these canals supplied water to the otherwise dry *karewa* lands.’ During the past fifty years many of them have been repaired and reconstructed and put in use. ‘The long and peaceful reign of Zain-ul-abidin,’ says Stein, ‘was productive of important irrigation works.’ Jonaraja’s and Srivara’s chronicles give a considerable list of canals constructed under the Sultan.

Gardens

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Zain-ul-abidin planted gardens wherever he went, four of his well-known gardens being Baghi Zainagiri, Baghi Zaina Dab, Baghi Zainapur and Baghi Zainakut.

Roads

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Jonaraja mentions that one of his engineers, Damara Kach, paved a road with stones and thus made it fit for use even during the rainy season. Similarly he built the first wooden bridge in Kashmir which is known by the name of Zainkadal (Zain-ul-abidin’s bridge).

Famine

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Towards the end of Zain-ul-abidin’s reign a severe famine occurred in Kashmir. The contemporary historian, Srivara, describes the sufferings of the people. The cause of the famine was an early fall of snow which destroyed the ripe paddy crop. The succeeding winter was also a severe one. The price of rice shot up enormously. Gold lost its value in comparison with paddy. ‘A hungry man,’ records the Chronicler, ‘distressed with the thought of what he should eat entered a house at night, and discarding gold and other riches, stole rice from a pot. Feeble, emaciated men in the villages longed to obtain rice. A large number of people died. Famine-stricken people ate leaves, roots and even twigs of trees. Formerly one *khari* of paddy could be had for three hundred *dinaras* but owing to the famine the same *khari* of paddy could not be obtained even for 1500.’

Famine Relief

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‘The king exerted every nerve to alleviate the sufferings of the people. He gave out paddy from government stores free to the hungry people. Fortunately the following year’s crop was a bumper one which relieved the distress of the people. It goes to the credit of Zain-ul-abidin that after normal conditions were restored the black marketeers and hoarders, who had swindled the people by selling foodstuffs at abnormal rates, were brought to book and made to return the excess of the prices charged by them. He also, by a royal decree, cancelled all the debts incurred by needy people in their hour of distress when unscrupulous money-lenders and baniyas had taken undue advantage of the sufferings of the people.⁴

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⁴ Bamzai, P.N.K. *A History of Kashmir*, pp. 303-307

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Out of all the Sultans of India, Zain-ul-abidin stands out as a man liberal in spirit, creative and innovative, whose work has left an impress on the art, culture and agriculture of the Kashmir Valley.

Yusuf Shah Chak (A.D. 1529-1586)

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The last Sultan of Kashmir was Yusuf Shah Chak. He was fond of music and married a peasant girl by the name of Zooni, also known as Habba Khatun, who was a poetess and a singer. Yusuf Shah was a lover of nature and he discovered the natural beauty of Gulmarg and Sonamarg, which became holiday resorts. The Mughal army of Akbar occupied Kashmir in A.D. 1586, and thus ended the Sultanate.

Cites (5)