THE END OF AFGHAN RULE IN KASHMIR
Between 1752 and 1819 , Kashmir was governed as a distant revenue colony of Kabul under the Durani Afghans. After sixty seven years of misrule, the valley was depopulated, its shawl trade ruined and its peasantry reduced to forced labour. The event that ended this era was not a foreign invasion alone but a local resistance led by Pandit Birbal Dhar, chief revenue collector of Srinagar, supported by Muslim allies of Gojwara and the Pir Panjal hills. The most trusted of those allies was Qudoos Gojwari, a Muslim noble of downtown Srinagar, whose house became refuge for Birbal Dhar family.
Who Was Birbal Dhar
Birbal Dhar belonged to the Dhar family of Dar Yach in Gojwara quarter of Srinagar. The Dhars were among those Kashmiri Pandit families who preserved Persian literacy through centuries. Because Persian was the language of revenue, these families served as Qanungos, Kardars and Munshis under Mughals and Afghans. By 1813, Birbal Dhar rose to be Chief Kardar, the leading tax collector of the valley, under Afghan governors Atta Muhammad Khan, Azim Khan and his brother Jabbar Khan who acted as deputy in Srinagar.
His son Raja Kak Dhar also served in revenue. His circle included Mirza Pandit Dhar, Sahaj Ram Dhar, Sukhram Safaya and Vasakak Harkarabashi, all distinguished Pandits of the city. In the Sikh records after 1819, he is described as noble and mediator who invited Sikh intervention.
Why Afghan Rule Was Considered Brutal
Anand Koul in his book , 'The Kashmiri Pandit'( 1924) and later historians such as R K Parmu agree on structural causes.
First, Kashmir was treated as a colony. The governor was posted for two to three years and had to remit fixed tribute to Kabul to finance Afghan wars against Persia and the Sikhs. He recovered his posting cost and bribe from the valley. Land tax rose from one third to three fourths. Rice was seized under Begar and Waziri.
Second, there was no local investment from Afghans. Mughals built gardens and patronised shawl trade. Afghans did not. They considered Kashmiris as conquered subjects. Some Pandits were kept because only they knew accounts but were made scapegoats when collections fell short.
Third, governors were warlords. Kabul was far and weak. Governors acted as kings. Abdullah Khan Ishak Aqasi and Amir Khan Jawansher ordered mutilation for small faults. Asad Khan and Haji Karim Dad Khan tied people in pairs and threw them into river. Atta Muhammad Khan persecuted Hindus and was notorious for lust for Kashmiri women. Jabbar Khan, the last governor, killed at Shopian on 15 July 1819, was known for capricious cruelty, such as ordering Pandits to observe Shivratri in Haar or June to July instead of Phalgun or February to March to test snowfall belief, as recorded by Anand Koul Bamzai.
Fourth, unpaid tribal soldiers were allowed to loot bazaars instead of salary. Shawl weavers were taxed so heavily that many tried to avoid forced weaving, cut their thumbs or moved to Punjab . Women irrespective of caste became victims and early marriage came into vogue to avoid attention of Afghan agents. Young Hindu and Muslim girls were captured and sent to Kabul .Many Muslims artisans moved to Punjab and Pandits moved to Delhi ,Agra, and other states and sought employment . Population fell from about eight hundred thousand to about two hundred thousand by 1819.
Why Birbal Dhar Rose
In 1818 autumn, crops failed. Birbal Dhar could not realise expected revenue. Azim Khan, then in Kabul, demanded one hundred thousand rupees from him personally. This was standard Afghan practice of extorting Pandit officials for shortfalls due to nature. Punishments were very harsh. Birbal was unable to pay the amount demanded by Azim Khan and pleaded that crops had failed and people were hungry and sick. Azim Khan set a deadline.
Birbal realised local resistance was impossible. He consulted both Pandit and Muslim elites whose Jagirs had been confiscated, the Maliks of Pir Panjal and Sultan Khan of Bhimbar, Qudus Gojwari of Srinagar and decided to seek help from Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore who had already attempted Kashmir in 1814 and 1815.
The Network That Supported Escape
Scholarly studies identify three Muslim associates, Abdul Qadoos Gojwari, Malik Zulfiqar, and Malik Kamran, as key figures who helped Birbal Dhar leave the Valley. Their assistance aligns with earlier accounts that the Maliks, who controlled the Pir Panjal mountain passes, had their own grievances after the Afghan authorities confiscated their jagirs.
Abdul Qudoos Gojwari was urban link. He lived in Gojwara close to Dhar house and had commercial and kinship ties with hill chiefs. Malik Zulfiqar and Malik Kamran controlled passes. Sultan Khan of Bhimbar controlled route to Punjab. Mirza Pandit Dhar and Sahaj Ram Dhar were Pandit allies who later accompanied Birbal to Lahore.
Role of Abdul Qudoos Gojwari And Sheltering of Birbal Dhar's Family
When escape was planned in early 1819, Birbal Dhar left his wife Kudamal and his teenaged daughter in law behind. On advice of Vasakak Harkarabashi, they were hidden in inner chambers of Qudoos Gojwari's house in Gojwara. This is confirmed by P N Bazaz in Daughters of Vitasta, quoting older tradition: Pt Birbal Dhar who was a high official and revenue collector under the Afghan government became the chief victim of Azim Khan wrath. In consultation with other patriotic and influential people of his time Pt Birbal chalked out a plan to liberate the valley from the clutches of uncultured Afghans. When Azim Khan learnt about the plan hatched by Birbal Dhar and some Muslim feudal lords, orders were issued to apprehend and produce in court the wife of Birbal Dhar Kudamal along with her teenaged daughter in law. In spite of the protection given to these ladies by the loyal Muslim friends of Birbal Dhar, both the ladies were located and seized. Gojwari also arranged Rahdari, letters of safe passage, and money for journey through Maliks.
The Escape Route to Lahore
Disguised as shepherds, Birbal Dhar and his minor son Raja Kak Dhar left Srinagar in early 1819. They avoided Baramulla road guarded by Afghan Thanas and went via Shopian across Pir Panjal into Poonch, Rajouri and Bhimbar. Maliks gave escort. Sultan Khan gave refuge. From Gujrat they reached Lahore.
At Lahore Darbar, Bibal was asked for security as deployment of Sikh troops meant money and Maharaja didn't want the mission landing the treasury into losses should it fail. Birbal kept his son Raja Kak Dhar as a hostage for the security of the performance of his mission. The Maharaja then sent over thirty thousand troops alongwith Birbal Dar to invade Kashmir. The troops were commanded by Raja Gulab Singh, Diwan Misr Chand, Sirdar Hari Singh, Jwala Singh Padania, Hukum Singh and others. Jubbar Khan arrayed his army against the Sikhs. A fierce battle ensued at the top of the Pir Panjal in which the Afghans were defeated. Another battle was fought on the plateau of Shopian and in which Jubbar Khan was wounded and his troops were routed. The decisive battle of Shopian took place on 3 July 1819. Afghan rule collapsed. Srinagar fell. Anand Koul records chronogram couplet composed to celebrate victory:
"Birbal Pandit az sar e Kashmir
Kard ta dur in balai Azim
Hatfi guft az pae tarikh
Chi baja kard Singh fateh Azim"
(Birbal, from the head of Kashmir,
removed away this Azim huge calamity.
The angel said about the date,
How well the Sikhs accomplished
victory over Azim.)
Betrayal By Tilok Chand Munshi From Inlaw 's Side
When Azim Khan came to know about Birbal Dhar's going to Lahore Darbar, he unleashed terror. He ordered Vasakak Harkarabashi to produce hidden women. Vasakak refused though he knew they were in Gojwari house. A fine of one thousand rupees per day was imposed. He was beaten and his belly was rippedopen in public. He died as martyr for loyalty.
The location was finally revealed by Tilok Chand Munshi, described in community tradition as from inlaw side of Dhar family. He was a Munshi in Afghan service and knew internal family arrangements. To save himself from death , he disclosed that the ladies were sheltered by Qudoos Gojwari.
After coming to know about the hiding place of Birbal Dhar's wife and daughter in law , Afghan soldiers surrounded Gojwari house. P N Bazaz gives tragic end: The brave lady gulped a piece of almas a precious stone which was studded to her gold ring. It had its effect and she breathed her last after declaring the bitter truth to the very face of Azim Khan. However there is another version to her tragic end . Two scholars have written that during Afghan rule many young woman kept "Nila Thotha ," or copper sulphate handy to swallow it should any Afghan soldier try to play with their honour . Apart from tobbaco, Naswar , Nila Thotha was brought to Kashmir by Afghans . Small and controlled quantities of Neela Thotha and its formulations have been usedd by Unani medical practitioners to in the management of various ailments. It is otherwise a poison .The young daughter in law of Birbal Dhar was captured by Afghan soldiers and sent to Azim Kann's Kabul Harem . Nobody knows what happened to the unfortunate young lady .
Aftermath Under Sikh Rule
First Sikh governor was Diwan Moti Ram in 1819 and P Birbal Dar was appointed as his Chief Adviser.
After one year Maharaja Ranjit Singh invited raises of Kashmir. P Birbal Dhar, Mirza Pandit Dhar and P Sahaj Ram Dhar went to attend his Durbar. When they reached Daulatnagar, Mirza Pandit got an attack of cholera to which he succumbed. He was brother P Sahaj Ram Dhar . Sahaj Ram felt the bereavement so deeply that he retired from the world and became a Sanyasi .
Birbal Dhar alone went to Maharaja and presented accounts. The Maharaja was pleased with him and granted him a Khilat and sent him to Kashmir with high honour on an elephant, placing a necklace of pearls round his neck.
When he returned, Pandit Ram Dhar son of Pandit Sahaj Ram Dhar went forth to receive him at Kralapora Village. But Birbal had got too much elated and paid little attention to Pandit Ram Dhar. Ram Dar had certain villages in his charge as Mustajiri and these were taken away by Birbal. Thereupon Ram Dhar spoke against Birbal to Sirdar Hari Singh, then governor of Kashmir. Birbal never clarified his stand to the governor who suspected that Birbal was conniving with feudal lords from hills against Sikh Darbar. Enmity developed and governor lodged a complaint against Birbal Dhar with Maharaja Ranjit Singh . Thereupon Birbal was dismissed from his post in 1821. Most historians including R K Parmu describe these allegations as politically motivated and spearheaded by Pandit Ram Dhar. The Sikh governor appointed Pandit Ganesh Dhar brother of Pandit Ram Dhar as his Peshkar.
Muslim allies of Birbal Dhar fared worse. Maliks who had helped passage were hunted as Lahore Darbar wanted centralisation of power and end to feudal lordship. Their houses were burnt. Gojwari received no Jagir or pension and disappears from Kashmir's political history records after 1819.
(Avtar Mota )
Bibliography
1. Koul Pandit Anand. The Kashmiri Pandit 1924. First edition 1924 reprint 1991 Utpal Publication Delhi.
2. Parmu R K. A History of Sikh Rule in Kashmir 1819 to 1846. Government Press Srinagar 1977.
3. Bakshi S R. Kashmir History and People. Sarup and Sons New Delhi 1997.
4. Bazaz P N. Daughters of Vitasta.
6. Tikoo Rohit. Birbal Dhar The Man Who Ended Afghan Rule in Kashmir.
7. Lawrence Walter R. The Valley of Kashmir. Oxford University Press 1895.
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