The Valley of Kashmir ... With illustrations

Front matter

Frontispiece] [Negative by Captain Allan VIEW OF CITY AND RIVER. TO THE LEFT THE SHRINE OF SIIAII HAMADAN. THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE SHRINE IS TYPICAL OF ALL KASHMIRI ZIARATS Plate I THE VALLEY OF KASHMIR BY WALTER R. LAWRENCE, I.C.S., C. I.E. SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, KASHMIR AND JAMMU STATE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS JSonfcon HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE AMEN CORNER, E.C. O^forS HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. Introductory i II. Descriptive 12 III. Geological 40 IV. Flora 66 V. Fauna 106 VI. Archaeology 161 VII. Political History 179 VIII. Physical History 204 IX. Statistical 221 X. Social Life 248 XI. Religions 284 XII. Races and Tribes 302 XIII. Agriculture and Cultivation 319 XIV. Live Stock .... 358 XV. Industries and Occupations 370 XVI. Trade 383 XVII.

The Old Administration 399 XVIII. The New Settlement 424 XIX. Language and Glossary 454 I. Language 454 II. Glossary 45S INDEX LIST OF PLATES I. View of city and river. To the left the Shrine of Shah Hamadan. The architecture of the Shrine is typical of all Kashmiri Ziarats . . Frontispiece II. A typical view of mountain scenery. High elevation with birch-trees in foreground .......... To face page 17 III. Winter in Kashmir. Shows part of the European quarters in Srinagar. The hill crowned with a temple is the Takht-i-Suliman ... ,, 25 IV. The old temple of Narastan. In the background is a peasant's house . ,, 172 V. The old temple of Payech. The interior is occupied by the Linga or Phallic emblem .......... ,, 176 VI. A view of the Zogila. The pass leading from Kashmir into Little Tibet „ 246 VII.

An ordinary peasant's hut. The sentry-box to the left is the granary . „ 249 VIII. Shows a graveyard covered with Iris flowers, and shaded by the Brimij (Celtis Australis . To the right is the village mosque ... ,, 271 IX. A view of a modern Hindu temple in Kashmir ..... ,, 297 X. A group of Hanjis. The basket in front is the Kangar. The poles held by the two women are the pestles with which rice is husked. They rest on the mortar . ......... ,, 313 XI. A group of Kashmiris. Numbers 3 and 4 in the back line from the left are Gujars. Numbers 5 and 6 in the back line from the right are Sikhs. Of the rest those to the left are Musalmans. Those to the right commencing with the Pandit boy are Hindus (Pandits) . . „ 316 XII. A view illustrating agricultural implements. Behind the plough to the left is the mallet for clod-crushing — to the right is the spade.

Chapter I Introductory

THIS report, which is written on the lines of the Punjab Gazetteers, deals with Kashmi'r proper. Though our Settlement operations have extended to Gilgit and to Jammu territory, it has been necessary to exclude information gathered in those countries, even though connected with Kashmir. It has been difficult to decide what facts should be re corded and what discarded, but so far as it has been possible I have avoided the repetition of information already presented to the State in the fifteen Assessment Reports of Kashmir which have been written by me. In them will be found the rates of assessment, the mode of classifying and valuing soils, and many facts bearing on the past revenue administration of Kashmir. In this report I shall deal with subjects of general interest. It has been written at odd hours, in the midst of much interruption, and I regret that I have not the leisure to use one half of the notes made by me during the six seasons I have worked in Kashmir.

In this opening chapter I allude to matters which may help to elucidate points incidentally mentioned in other parts of the report, and I offer suggestions which may help the future administration of the country. Kashmir, as possessing a distinct nationality, character, language, dress, and body of customs, affords much that is interesting, while its unique history and curious administration are worth careful study. The beautiful valley has been for many years a pleasure resort of Europeans, and many books have been written on the subject of Kashmir. But even the best of these, Drew's Jammu and Kashmir, says little about the valley or its people, and most works which I have read do not add much to the information gathered by Vigne. Strange and hazy ideas have prevailed regarding the wealth of the country, the character of the people, and the system of administration — B Chap. I, ideas which can only be confirmed or refuted by one whose life and work have brought him into close contact with the villagers and officials.

From the first I have found the villagers communicative as they sat by the camp fire, while the officials are often well informed, and excellent talkers, by no means reticent. Kashmir in 1887, when the Settlement commenced, may be described as an absolute monarchy. If an aristocracy of power ever existed, the tall poppies were cut down years ago, and the people looked to the Maharaja as their direct lord and master. They yearn for personal rule centred in one man, and they are bewildered and disgusted when rule and power filter into many channels. In Kashmir the Maharaja is repre sented by a Governor (Hakim-i-Ala), and it is of the highest importance that this official be a man of energy and experience, and that all depart ments, whether revenue, police, forests, &c, should be absolutely under his control.

If this be borne in mind, the administration of Kashmir will be very easy. It is a small country, and an energetic Governor could visit any village in the valley in a day's ride. Much has been written of the abuses which have prevailed in the ad ministration of Kashmir. They were numerous and deplorable, and when I first came to Kashmir in 1889, I found the people sullen, desperate and suspicious. They had been taught for many years that they were serfs without any rights but with many disabilities. They were called Zulm parast, or worshippers of tyranny, and every facility was afforded to their cult. They were forced by soldiers to plough and sow, and the same soldiers attended at harvest time. They were dragged away from their houses to carry loads to Gilgit, and every official had a right to their labour and their property.

Their simple proposition yus Karih gonglu sui Karih Krao1 was ignored, and their position was infinitely worse than that ofthe Tiers Etat before the French Revolution. While the villagers were thus degraded, the people of the city were pampered and humoured, and the following passage from Hazlitt's Life of Napoleon Bonaparte gives a fair idea of Kashmir before the Settlement commenced : — ' The peasants were overworked, half-starved, treated with hard words and hard blows, subjected to unceasing exactions and every species of petty tyranny . . . while in the cities a number of unwholesome and useless professions, and a crowd of lazy menials, pampered the vices or administered to the pride and luxury of the great.' It was no wonder that cultivation was bad, that the revenue was not paid, and that the peasants were roving from one village to another in the hope of finding some rest and freedom from oppression.

The Kashmiri is 1 He who ploughs shall reap. INTRODUCTORY. 3 Chap. I made up of contradictions. He is timid yet persistent, degraded yet intellectual. Village life meant little to him. His one object was to escape the pressgang when carriage was wanted for Gilgit, and to secure some share of the autumn's grain when the tax collectors appeared. He would not hesitate to throw his burden on to his neighbour's shoulders, and if he failed he would depart to some other village under the aegis of a privileged person who would protect him from the corvee, and would allow no one but himself to oppress the wanderer. Pages might be written by me on facts which have come under my personal observation, but it will suffice to say that the system of administration had degraded the people and taken all heart out of them.

The country was in confusion, the revenue was falling off, and those in authority were making hay while the sun shone. Strong personal government is, I believe, the only form of government possible in Kashmir for many years to come, but it is difficult for the Maharajas to supervise the administration ofthe valley when they are away in their winter capital Jammu. The peasants, one and all, attributed their miseries to the deputies through whom the Maharajas ruled, and they have always recognized that their rulers were sympathetic and anxious to secure their prosperity. But the officials of Kashmir would never allow their master to know the real condition of the people, or to find out that the revenue of the country was diminishing. If the Governor of Kashmir were not active and honest, dishonesty ran rampant through every grade of officialdom. 'There's not a crime But takes its proper change out still in crime If once rung on the counter of this world,' and the slightest weakness or corruption on the part of the Governor had its echo in every corner of the valley.

Not only were the officials corrupt but the peasants and their headmen were also dishonest, all joining to rob their master's treasury. His Highness the Maharaja Pratab Singh, G.C.S.I., recognizing that it was impossible to check these abuses without records and statistics, resolved on effecting a land Revenue Settlement of his country. At first it was extremely difficult to persuade the people that the Settlement would be a reality, or to inspire them with a belief that there would be some continuity in the administration. Little by little, confidence has sprung up. Land which had no value in 1889 is now eagerly sought after by all classes. Cultivation has extended and improved. Houses have been rebuilt and repaired, fields fenced in, orchards planted, vegetable gardens well stocked, and new mills constructed.

Women no longer are seen toiling in the fields, for their husbands are now at home to do the work, and the long journeys to Gilgit are a thing of the past. When the B Chap. I harvest is ripe the peasant reaps it at his own good time, and not a soldier ever enters the villages. The old saying — 'Bafta, bafta, Tab piyada pa/la,' which meant ' we are asking for food and the tax collector is after us,' is no longer heard, for the people are left with ample grain to feed their families. Before 1887 the peasants rarely tasted their beloved food rice. Now all eat rice, and enjoy salt, and the luxury of tea. Little shops are springing up in the villages, and whereas I never saw a metal vessel in any peasant's house three years ago, now a brass cooking-pot is by no means rare. There has been a great change, but it is important that the State should remember that the change has been sudden, and every effort should be made to keep faith with the villagers.

A few breaches of the promises made at Settlement would again plunge the country into confusion, and it is well to bear in mind that many hungry middlemen (the fermiers) driven out by the Settlement are waiting and watching. It is well too to remember that a people so broken and degraded as the Kashmiris do not in a few years harden into a resolute and self-respecting community. They are a soft, timid people, only too ready to avoid a citizen's responsibilities and to shelter themselves behind the plausible and fraudulent middleman. There is nota single middleman left in the villages at the present time, but if the State withdrew its vigilant watch some 40 per cent, of the peasants might again become the serfs of middlemen and officials. Security of tenure has a magical effect, but I think that immunity from forced labour has been as efficacious in promoting confidence among the villages.

The construction of the Gilgit road, and the organization of a transport service have done much to abolish the worst incidents of the corve'e, but if the Maharaja himself had not set the example of limiting the demands made by his camp-followers, ' Purveyance ' would have lingered on for years. It was no uncommon thing for 300 sheep to be collected at one stage. Nothing would be paid for them. Now all supplies are paid for. If honest dealing continues for another ten years I believe that the Kashmiris, so hardly spoken of, will become honest. It should be remembered that from the point of view of the peasant, honesty has not hitherto been the best policy. Kashmir is a very old country, and its people are very old-fashioned. Those who have studied the history of Kashmir say that the people have not changed much since the times of ancient Hindu kings.

This is quite possible, but I think that many of the hard things said about the Kash miris are due to the fact that the official interpreters of their character have been foreigners, often grasping and corrupt, always unsympathetic. INTRODUCTORY. 5 Chap. I. Mughal Subahs, Pathan Sirdars, Sikh and Dogra Governors dismissed all difficulties of administration, and all humane suggestions emanating from their masters, with the remark that the Kashmiris were dishonest, treacherous and zulmparast. It is the old tale of giving a dog a bad name, and I must confess that during my first year's work in the valley I shared these views. But I soon grew to understand that the Kashmiri, like other orientals, has two sides to his character as distinct as light and darkness. His great yearning is to be left alone — to till his fields and weave his woollen cloth.

The official visit, which to us officials seems so pleasant to all concerned, sends the pulse of the village up many degrees, and those are happy who dwell far away from the beaten tracks. The dark side of the Kashmiri is revealed when he is in the presence of officials. He has had good reason to hate and distrust them, and his only weapon against them is deceit. His light side is seen when he is in his field or with his family in the house. Take as an instance the relations of a Kashmiri cultivator with the village shopkeepers. The shopkeeper (wdni) is a Musalman and must not take interest. He lends money to the peasants on a system known as wad. A man borrows .50 rupees, and promises to pay this within the year in blankets, ghi, apples, grain, &c. The rate fixed by the wdni for blankets will be 3 rupees, whereas the market price at which the wdni will sell is 3 rupees 8 annas, or 4 rupees.

No bond (hujat) is signed by the borrower, and the only record of the transaction is an entry in the daily ledger of the wdni. I have always made a point of talking with the wdnis whenever I see a village shop, and they are unanimous in saying that they never make a bad debt and that they are never obliged to sue a debtor. This state of things does not argue that the Kashmiri peasants are dishonest. In the statistical chapter, facts will be found which show that crime is almost non-existent in Kashmir. Crimes of dishonesty may be said to be absolutely non-existent among the peasants. Property is entirely safe, and during the six years which I have spent in the villages, I have never heard of crimes of theft, or burglary being committed by agriculturists. This surely points to the fact that the Kashmiris are not the dishonest people they are represented to be.

Since 1890 all suits connected with land, saving land situated within Srinagar and a few adjoining villages, have been removed from the ordinary courts and have been made over to me for decision. My procedure has been to hear and decide such suits in the village where the claim has arisen. Under a chenar tree in the presence of the assembled villagers the claimant prefers his suit and the defendant makes his reply. Then the old men of the village and the headmen of the neighbourhood give their opinion on the case, and a brief entry is made by me which finally settles the claim. Chap. I This may seem a very rough and ready way of disposing of land suits, but so far no man has ever appealed against my decision. If a claimant went to the Courts in Srinagar, the dark side of his character would appear.

Pleaders and Court attendants would adulterate his simple claim, and in the same way the defendant would throw off the candour and truthfulness inspired by the presence of his neighbours in the village, and would lie in the most ingenious and surprising manner. For five years this procedure of enquiry on the spot has gone on, and I attribute much of the quiet prosperity which is now growing in the villages, to the fact that money is not spent and bad blood is not engendered by litigation. My system is the old system of the village panchdyat. The commonest intellect can tell from the faces of the villagers whether the claim is just, and the ' genius loci ' seems to keep' both claimant and defendant to the point and to the truth. This system is easy and possible in Kashmir, for as I have already remarked, one can reach any village in the valley in a day's ride.

My object in alluding to this procedure is to add further testimony to the fact that the Kashmiri peasants are not dishonest. If they had been the hopeless liars they are reputed to be, I could never have disposed of the many suits which have arisen. A Kashmiri will rarely lie when he is confronted in his village by his fellow villagers ; he will invariably lie when he enters the murky atmosphere of the Law Courts. Perhaps this summary procedure would have been impossible if I had not in 1889 induced the State to withhold from the Kashmiris the power to alienate their land by sale or mortgage. If hereafter, when population increases and communications are improved, the State should unfortunately see fit to give the fatal gift of alienation to their Musalman tenants, I trust that some portion of the holding (which should be two acres of irrigated and four acres of dry land) will be rendered absolutely inalienable.

I hope too that the suggestion that pleaders should be allowed to intervene in suits connected with land will never be made again, or that if it is made that it will meet with the wise veto which was accorded to it in 1892. If litigation is fostered in Kashmir prosperity in the villages will be checked. The work of Settlement has been anxious and difficult. Powerful interests were at work against us, and if it had not been for the loyal and consistent support rendered to me by His Highness the Maharaja and his advisers, these interests would have made a Settlement impossible. These adverse interests were : (1) The official classes and the Pandits who held land on privileged terms. (2) The headmen of the villages, (3) The city of Srinagar. As regards the officials it is pleasant to be able to say that from active INTRODUCTORY. 7 Chap. I opposition they have now passed to friendly co-operation.

The Tahsildars, on whom the Revenue Administration chiefly depends, have been reduced from fifteen to eleven. With one exception they are all men of the old officialdom of Kashmir, and at the present time only one of the eleven is a Pandit. It would have been easy to carry out temporary reforms in Kashmir, if trained Tahsildars had been imported from the Panjab as was at one time suggested. But apart from the unfairness and unpopularity of such a measure, I am not sure that reforms effected through so foreign an agency would have been permanent. By selecting the best of the Kash miri officials as Tahsildars, by raising their pay and by treating them with the respect due to their office, I believe that the most important agents of the revenue administration have grown to look on the Settlement with favour.

Of course numbers of superfluous officials who hovered round the carcass of the revenue have disappeared from the scene, and the fermiers and the soldiers have been obliged to seek other occupations. Happily, owing to the large influx of silver into the country, and to the briskness of internal trade, most of the drones have found a livelihood. As regards the privileged holders of land every effort has been made to treat them with indulgence, and for another ten years they will continue to be privileged, though their revenue will be somewhat higher than it used to be. The headmen of villages have on the whole accepted the change brought by the Settlement without any prolonged opposition. They have now to pay revenue for their land like other cultivators, but their social position is better, and they are paid five per cent, on Revenue Collections, whereas formerly they received nothing.

The interests of the city have from the earliest times been opposed to the interests of the villages. The city people want grain and other village produce at rates far below the cost of production. ' What the eye does not see the heart does not grieve ' — and the authorities saw and heard the city, but the villagers were out of sight and out of mind. I have described in another chapter the facts connected with the collection of revenue in kind. Low prices of the chief staple rice (lower this year, 1894, than they have been for years) coupled with difficulty in selling the State grain brought into Srinagar at the end of 1893, the opening of a cart road from Baramula to Srinagar, the extraordinary increase in the amount of silver now in circulation in the city, and last, but not least, the growing desire of shawl-weavers and even Pandits to obtain labour, all point to the conclusion that a new era has dawned for Srinagar, and that before long honest industry will be the rule, and helpless and ignoble dependence on the State and its charities will be the exception.

I have urged on the authorities the establishment of Technical Schools ; Chap. I. and the State which has unwittingly done so much to pauperize and emasculate the population of its summer capital, has splendid work now before it in raising the Sliahr-bash 1 to the position of self-helping and industrious citizens. j) In Chapter X, I have endeavoured to describe some of the most striking points of the national character, and it will be wise to bear these points in mind when further reforms or changes are contemplated. A feeling of impatience may be aroused when the reformer sees that the Kashmiris are opposed to changes which are obviously for their good. It should, however, be remembered that if it had not been for their essentially con servative nature the Kashmiris would have succumbed to the stern rules of social evolution, and would have been blotted out as a distinct nation ality by their strong superiors the Mughals, Pathans, Sikhs, and Dogras.

It is no exaggeration to say that these successive dynasties have left no impress on the national character — that there has been no progress in the ordinary sense of the word, and that the Kashmiris are now, in spite of many experiments in administration, very much what they were in the times before the Mughal conquest linked the valley with India. It is therefore necessary to be patient, and it is wrong to condemn the Kashmiri if he is sceptical regarding the advantages of progress. The people have a keen intellect, and this joined to their steady aversion to change makes them very difficult subjects for administrative experiments. Many changes have been introduced by the Settlement, but they have been made after a careful study ofthe character and ideas ofthe people. Old institutions have been adapted to new wants, and in the future reform will be futile unless it proceeds on these lines.

But in order to understand old institutions it is essential to learn the customs ofthe people, and the shortcomings of past administrations are chiefly due to the fact that the authorities considered the Kashmiris and their usages unworthy of study. My experience is that in dealing with so peculiar a people nothing, however small, is unimportant if it gives a clue to the working of their minds. Take as instances the old practice of espionage, or the blind credence which the village people place in any news coming from Srinagar. The Kashmiris are well styled Hdwabin a, and it would save much trouble and disquietude if the State would endeavour to suppress the evil system which still lingers on of disseminating false rumours. The Zaina-kadal, or fourth bridge of the city, used to be the place where false rumours were hatched, but now the news makers have moved to the first bridge, the Amiran-kadal.

Though the wise knew that Khabar-i-Z aina-kadal'^ was false, the majority are not wise, and much misery is caused to the villagers by the reports which 1 City people. "■ Watchers of the wind. 3 News from the Zaina-kadal. INTRODUCTORY. 9 Chap. I, emanate from the city. The Kashmiris are very unstable and very prone to give undue weight to rumours. They are emotional and ruled by sen timent. They will do excellent work on water-courses and embankments if coaxed, and praised, and encouraged with small presents of snuff. They will do little if paid a full daily wage. They like and admire stern determination in their ruler. All they ask is that they may have access and hearing on certain occasions. They are accomplished talkers, but have an instinctive dread of their words being committed to paper.

Writing in their opinion is a trap and a fraud. While on the whole they like certainty in the revenue administration, and are not as some sup pose enamoured of the elastic properties of a fluctuating assessment, they would hate our western ideas of justice and judicial procedure. I have done my utmost to leave the system of Kashmir alone where it was possible, and should deplore the introduction of elaborate rules and pro cedure. These Sibylline books, with officials as interpreters, would do no good to Kashmir. All that the State need now do for its agricultural population is to leave the villagers alone. Cholera and small-pox should be grappled with so that the population — at present inadequate — should increase and multiply. Kashmir is generations behind the Panjab, and what is good and necessary in the Panjab is dangerous and premature in this country.

A wise Kashmiri with whom I was conversing on the subject of the alleged oppression of the police, said, in answer to a question of mine, ' Of course the police annoy us, and I presume that this is the purpose for which they are employed. There is no crime in the country, and the police must have something to do.' There is no doubt work for the police in the city and towns and on the road, but I doubt whether their presence is necessary in the villages. But police are necessary in the Panjab districts, and it has perhaps been argued that human nature being the same in all countries police are required in the districts of Kashmir. I merely mention the police as an instance to show that Kashmir is a peculiar country, which need not necessarily be administered at present by the strict pattern adopted in British India.

While the object of administration should be to leave the people alone to recover from the atrophy which has been caused by over-government, much can be done by example and advice. At the present time the Kashmiri is ruled by Rawdj1 and is content to abide by the Am2 of the country. In some respects he is better off than his fellows in India, he has ample grazing for his sheep and cattle, fuel for the winter, good warm clothes, and sufficient manure for cultivation. He is not extravagant, and happily spends little on marriages and similar occasions. But it is possible as prosperity increases the Kashmiri 1 Custom. 2 Code of Customs. C Chap. I will follow the example of India and will increase the expenses of marriages. If the State will intervene and order that the old scale of marriage expenses shall be observed the people will gladly obey.

They are docile and always ready to carry out orders which are conservative in their tendency. They understand that they are responsible for the main tenance of irrigation, channels, and of communications between villages, and it would be a great mistake if the State ever relieved them of this responsibility. Apart from the work of settling the villages and assisting in the revenue administration of Kashmir, I have held charge of Viticulture, Hops, Horticulture, and Sericulture. These subjects will be discussed elsewhere, but here I wish to state that although the last three have been worked with a fair profit they will never become of real importance until the State makes them over to private capitalists. I think that whereas no Europeans could live and thrive as ordinary agricultural colonists in Kashmir, they could do good to themselves and to the State if they settled in Kashmir and devoted capital and labour to the pro duction of wine, hops, canned and dried fruits, vegetables and silk.