Sham S. Misri
The Afghan rule in Kashmir lasted for sixty seven years from (1753-1820). It was probably the worst ever seen by the inhabitants of the valley. The Muslims invited the Afghans to take over the administration of the valley. This was perhaps the greatest blunder that the Kashmiris did. Afghan Governors of Kashmir reigned with terror. People began to be looted and killed indiscriminately. Petty Afghan soldiers began to amass wealth by the foulest means. Most of the well to do people of the valley were summoned by the Governor to his palace, and ordered to surrender all their wealth on pain of death. Their houses were completely sacked, and many people were put to sword. There was complete gloom and despair on every side. All the prosperity of the valley was gone, and the people could not even move on the streets, for fear of being robbed of even their scanty clothing.
Kashmiri’s never imagined that all the beauty
and nobility for which Kashmir and its people were known throughout the world
would be ruthlessly wiped off under their rule. A Kashmiri poet has lamented
this as: I enquired of the gardener the cause of the destruction of the garden.
Drawing a deep sigh he replied, “It is the Afghans who did it”! Kashmiris got a
rude shock when they witnessed the first acts of barbarity at the hands of Afghans.
There
are many stories about Afghan rule; one such popular story among the people of
the valley is about Jabbar Khan the last governor.
He was one
of the known tyrant governors during Pathan rule. He came to know that Kashmiri
Pandits worshipped Lord Shiv in the month of ‘Phagun’ February-March. Shiv
Ratri is the biggest festival of Kashmiri Pandits and it is considered
auspicious if it snows on that day. When he came to know about this he ordered that
Pandits should observe the festival in the month of June and offer worship in
that month. Unable to defy the official orders the Kashmiri Pandits observed
the festival and worshipped Lord Shiva in the month of June that year. To the
astonishment of all and in particular the tyrant governor Jabbar Khan himself,
the temperature fell very low. It so happened that due
to extra-ordinary cooling of the atmosphere there was first very heavy rain sand then snow flakes fell on this night just at the time of actual ritual. From that day people called
him Jabbar Jandah by saying,
‘Wuchton eh Jabbar Jandai,
Haras ti Karun vandhai.’
Look at this Jabbar
Khan he converted summer into winter.
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