KULGAM , ALLAMA IQBAL AND KASHMIRI PANDITS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ancestors of Dr Iqbal were  Kashmiri Brahmans from village Sopur ( near village Dhanuv ) , Kulgam area and had  Sapru as their  surname . The family traces its origin to one Birbal Pandit of village Sopur, Kulgam.A large population of Anantnag district moved out to Kishtwar , Bhaderwah and Punjab in early 19th century due to three successive famines and cholera epidemics .When did this Sapru  family actually move to Punjab is not clear. All along his life , he remained   warm towards  Kashmiri Brahmans .  In Javednama , Allama writes  :

“ A’an Brahman zaadganan-e-zindah dil
Laleh-e-ahmar zi rooye sha’n khajil
Tez been-o-pukhta kaar-o- sakht kosh
Az nigah-e-sha’n farang andar kharosh
Asl-e-sha’n az khaake-e-daamangeer ma’st
Matla-e-ein akhtara’n Kashmir ma’st ”

(Those scions of Brahmans with vibrant hearts,

their glowing cheeks put the red tulip to shame.

 Keen of eye, mature and strenuous in action,

 their very glance puts Europe into commotion.

 Their origin is from this protesting soil of ours,

the rising place of these stars is our Kashmir.)

.Ancestors of Nawaz Sharif Bhat (former  prime minister of Pakistan ) and Ghulam Mohammad Gama Pehalwan ( wrestler Rustam e Hind who lived in in Amritsar before the partition of the country ) and ancestors of Kulsoom Nawaz Bhat wife of Nawaz Sharief are also from Kulgam and she is incidentally the niece of Gama Pahelwan. The story of poet Sufi Tabassum, Miraji , politician Saif ud din Kichloo and many more is similar . Obviously all of them have Kashmiri roots.

Munira Bano  and  Javed Iqbal were born from  Dr Iqbal's marriage with Sardar Begum,  a Kashmiri girl from  Lahore . Allama fondly called Munira as " Babbi ".  After the death of his wife  Sardar Begum , Allama was in search of a caretaker for his daughter . Professor Rasheed Ahmad Siddiqi of AMU arranged a German governess. The children fondly called her   “Auntie  Doris”  .  Munira in particular  , discovered a mother in 'Aunty Doris' .Munira  and Javed were also attached to their maternal uncle, Abdul Ghani  who belonged to a Kashmiri family from Lahore. Abdul Ghani would take the children for sight seeing and buy them gifts . Abdul Ghani died young.

Allama  did not eat beef. I quote from page 17 of the  book' Iqbal As I Knew Him' by  Doris Ahmed :

 " He would not eat beef and if he ever took any form of beef, accidentally it would make him ill. He commented that this was probably because of the fact that his ancestors had been Hindu Barahmans. Among fruits, he liked mangoes very much and his friends, who knew about this weakness, would often send him crates of mangoes. "

During winters , Allama drank Kashmiri Kehwa tea . He would use   his Pashmina Dussa and Kashmiri Shawl. He loved smoking from his Hookah .He liked stuffed Karelas, mutton Keema,  Bhindi , Maash Daal ,Chapatis, Gajjar Ka Halwa  and  seasonal vegetables. He ate very less. Slept at 1am and got up very early.  

And the book ' IQBAL AS I KNEW HIM' by  Doris Ahmed informs us that  Allama's sisters ,  brothers , nephews and  nieces would come to Javed Manzil and stay there for days at  a stretch. Allama loved his sisters , nephews , nieces and brothers .  He would extend all help to them.Allama was very close to his youngest sister Karim Bibi.She was a frequent visitor to Javed Manzil. During winters ,  a  Kangri with charcoal had to be prepared for Karim Bibi . She would also keep it under her Lihaaf (quilt) to warm her bed before sleeping.During daytime, she would keep the Kangri under her shawl. Munira and Javed were very fond of Karim Bibi , their  Poophi ( paternal aunt ).

Munira Bano has said this:-

" Abba Ji would lull me to sleep and then pass me on to Auntie Doris .  At morning time , I would be surprised to find myself sleeping with 'Auntie Doris' .When Abba ji  died , I was suddenly woken up by Auntie Doris  . I saw everybody weeping.  There were many relations in the house . Abba Ji's sisters and their husbands  had also come.  I could not comprehend at that time as to  what had actually  happened .  I do not agree with those who regard  Abba Ji   as a very serious person. My  experience has been different. I  remember him as a person who smiled a lot and cracked jokes.”

                                            

                                                                                   

                                                 ( Sheikh Noor Mohammad Father of Allama Iqbal )

                                                                                                                   

                                                                 ( Allama Iqbal )

                                                                        ( Allama Iqbal )

Khushwant Singh, well known journalist   writes  this in  ‘The Telegraph’:-

“I am beholden to P.V. Rawal of Jammu for sending me a photograph of Allama Iqbal’s Kashmiri Brahmin family taken in Sialkot in 1931. At this time Iqbal was in his mid-fifties. He had already risen to the top as the greatest Urdu poet, at par with Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib. Although he was proud of his Brahmin descent, he had nothing to say about his Hindu relations. In this picture, the elderly lady seated in the middle is his grandmother, Indirani Sapru, nicknamed Poshi, wife of Pandit Kanhaya Lal Sapru. The man standing on the left in a shawl is Iqbal’s cousin, Amarnath Sapru; note the close resemblance to the poet.

The family traces its origin to one Birbal. They lived in the village of Saprain (hence, the surname Sapru) on Shopian-Kulgam road. Then the family moved to Srinagar where Iqbal and most of his cousins were born. Birbal had five sons and a daughter. The third one, Kanhaya Lal, and his wife, Indirani, had three sons and five daughters. Kanhaya Lal was Iqbal’s grandfather. His son, Rattan Lal, converted to Islam and was given the name Nur Mohammad. He married a Muslim woman — Imam Bibi. The Saprus disowned Rattan Lal and severed all connections with him. There are different versions of Rattan Lal’s conversion. The one given to me by Syeda Hameed, who has translated some of Iqbal’s poetry into English, maintains that Rattan Lal was the revenue collector of the Afghan governor of Kashmir. He was caught embezzling money. The governor offered him a choice: he should either convert to Islam or be hanged. Rattan Lal chose to stay alive. When the Afghan governor fled from Kashmir to escape its takeover by the Sikhs, Rattan Lal migrated to Sialkot.”
                                       

                             ( Photo  of Iqbal's Hindu relations published in The Telegraph)

( Avtar Mota )

PS

Sources for the write up..

(1)

Interview of Munira Bano Iqbal on YouTube

(2)

Book ' IQBAL AS I KNEW HIM' by  Doris Ahmd

(3) Khushwant Sinfh’s write up in ‘The Telegraph ‘’

 Further , I have uploaded some photographs of Kulgam .You can see the highly revered shrine of Sufi sanit Syed Samnani , Kulvageshwari Temple , Bazar views , Two Kashmiri Pandit shops selling electric items in the  main Bazar , an apple orchard , two views of Veshav river( originating from Kounser Naag ) taken from Khudwani bridge and many other views . Kulgam is a district head quarters now. It has 5 blocks Quimoh, Pahloo, Damhal Hanji Pora , Devsar and Kulgam.. It has 3 assembly segments Noorabad, Kulgam and Homshali Bugh .