Role of Sikhs in Saving Kashmir Ignored

On 26 Oct, Jammu & Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrated Accession Day at a grand scale by organizing a number of events. They celebrated Maqbool Sherwani as the hero who in 1947 saved Kashmir from an attack by Pakistan-backed Kabaili tribesmen. This is due acknowledgement but it buries another history – of ordinary citizens of Baramulla, including to a large extent Sikhs. Just outside Baramulla in north Kashmir, there is a 1 Sikh Regiment Memorial which commemorates the date when Indian Army landed in Srinagar to repel the attack by Kabaili tribesmen. The date is 27 Oct 1947. This is documented history. What remains undocumented is that the Kabaili reached the outskirts of Baramulla town by 22 Oct. The distance from Baramulla to Srinagar is 50 km. What prevented the advancing tribesmen from reaching Srinagar for five days? The Kabaili slogan was Pandit ka Zar, Musalman ka Ghar, Sardar ka Sar implying ‘High-Caste Hindu’s Money, Muslim’s Homes, Sikh’s Head.’ Thousands from all three communities died in this attack but since Sikh lives were targeted, they fought back. The Sikhs dispatched their family and elders through village routes and took on the tribesmen with rudimentary weapons. An estimated 10,000 Sikhs died in these battles in villages Singhapora, Chandoosa, Satarna, and Ichahama. It is Sikhs who, to a great extent, kept Kashmir with India. This adds to the complexity of Sikh-Panjab issues in relationship with India and Pakistan post 1947 partition. A reminder: in the early 19^th Century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Kingdom of Panjab won Kashmir from the Afghans. That is how the region became part of the subcontinent. While the Sikh story of the Kabaili tribesmen attack has been available in Panjabi, at least two Sikh writers are now working on these stories In English. They would be a worthy addition to the Kashmir canon.