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Presidential Address by
Mr. Justice P. N. Bakshi at The Second All India
Kashmiri Samaj Conference Held in Calcutta on 27th & 28th December, 1980
[Reproduced from the Vitasta Anntial, 1985 - Martand
Number]
Honoured Chief Guest, Lt. Col. Kak
President of the Local Kashmiri Samaj, Members on the dias, fellow delegates,
Ladies & Gentlemen.
I am extremely happy to be present here this morning amidst my fellow
brethren from all parts of the country. As you know we have been scattered
all over during the last 50 years and even though we are now in the farthest
corners of the country, I do feel that we are losing track of each other as a
result of which there appears to be no cohesion, no harmony and no co-operation
between each one of us. It was this idea which was mooted out by the Kashmiri
Samaj of Allahabad and more strictly speaking which originated in Bombay through
my revered late cousin Shri Sham Sunder Nath Sopori which we caught hold of and
worked upon early this year in the month of March since we organised our first
Conference in Allahabad. Before I speak to You about what we have done in
the last nine months and what we wish to do in future, let me at the outset
thank from the bottom of my heart the Kashmir Sabha Calcutta, Col. Kak,
Mr. Dhar, Mr. Razdan and each and every member of the Managing Committee who
have been so kind, so considerate as to make almost an unimaginable comfortable
arrangement for me, as well as all the delegates that have come here. They
have set up a standard which might be even difficult for the successors to
emulate, but I am happy at the potentiality which this local Samaj has
exhibited. When we called the first meeting of the Samaj in Allahabad it
was just a haphazard affair, first we invited the provincial Samajs, the
response was encouraging, and therefore we took the courage to invite other
Samaj of whom we could get the addresses. Thirteen Samajs were represented
at the last conference at Allahabad. During the span of last 9 months, I
am really happy to inform you, that we have grown and today we have 22 Samajs
affiliated with the All India Kashmiri Samaj. We have added 9 Samajs in 9
months. Five are absolutely new which have been bom at Patiala, at
Ahmedabad, at Hyderabad, at Moradabad and Jodhpur. The most recent
addition is Moradabad about 15 days back and jodhpur about 3 weeks back.
The other four were asleep, they were in slumber, they have been rejuvenated and
asked to join us and actively participate. The position therefore is that
today we have 22 active Samajs doing the work for our community who are
represented in this meeting. We have also tried to expand the activities
of the Samaj outside our country, because we do not want to limit our activities
in any manner whatsoever and our objectives are ultimately to have an
International Association of Kashmiris.
We have at present enrolled Mr. Ganjoo from London and Mr. Prabhat Hukku from
Liberia and one more member from New York whose letter I was expecting but have
not yet received but it might have reached Allahabad already. So on the
roll we have two overseas members. Dr. K.N. Kaul and Mr. B.L. Razdan have
promised me yesterday that in their numerous trips to foreign countries they
will trv to expand our activities and enroll more and more overseas members of
the All India Kashmiri Samaj.
On the social side, we have taken up three projects. The first project
was trying to help young men in getting employment. I have been receiving
applications from Srinagar, from Jammu, from Delhi, the capital itself, and from
Agra, wanting assistance in securing employment, These applications have been
forwarded to the various centres with the request for help and I dare say that
through our efforts some of the unemployed or unsatisfactorily employed have
been employed during the course of the year. They are few in number, the
start has been made and we shall try to develop this project.
The other aspect which we are trying to develop is the assistance given to
various Samajs and individuals in setting marriages. We have opened a
Marriage Bureau at Allahabad and I understand the same work is being done here
at Calcutta also. We have been receiving numerous applications preparing a
register and we shall co-ordinate our activities and then give the various
references to the willing parties so that they can negotiate. In this
manner we have also succeeded in settling a couple of marriages. This
aspect will also be developed that I have no doubt that success will be with us.
The third aspect which we have taken up and in respect of which a resolution
had also been passed in the last conference was, fight against the dowry system.
This is a very pernicious evil which is very rampant and appears to grow with a
greater speed than it can be suppressed. I had also the occasion of
personally addressing few of our Samajs at different places in which this topic
was touched and since yesterday that I am here we have been discussing this
matter again and again with, the various members we have come across and
especially the member of the Calcutta Sabha. It is a very knotty problem
but it has got to be tackled and we do hope that in times to come we will tackle
this problem psychologically because I feel that a psychological approach is
more important in this case than any other. However, we will take that
matter up in our business session and we will discuss it further, and to devise
ways and means to deal with this question.
Now, apart from this report which I have given regarding the progress of the
association, I would like to mention one or two matters which have struck us
because I feel it is necessary to exchange ideas on those topics. One of
them is that there seems to be a very artificial distinction between the
Kashmiri speaking Kashmiris coming from Kashmir and the non-Kashmiri speaking
Kashmiris who have already migrated to this part of the country 300 years ago or
may be 100 years ago. There appears to be an artificial barrier which does
not permit assimilation of both these sections of our society. Numerous reasons
have been given for this distinction. Some people say that when Kashmiri
speaking Kashmiris come together they start speaking Kashmiri, with the result
proceedings and mix with them because we do not know their language. Other
say that certain sections are suffering from an inferiority complex. And
the third opinion is that certain sections are suffering from superiority
complex. In this way innumerable reasons are given. Whether we have
migrated 100 years ago from Kashmir or 50 years ago or 10 years ago, or today,
it makes no difference at all, because we are the sons of the same land.
This artificial barrier which is trying to keep us away should be completely
eradicated and there should be no such distinction. There should be a
spirit of accommodation and tolerance. If somebody objects he cannot
understand the Kashmiri language, don't speak it. It is all right, we
should learn the language, it's our own language. It's our mother tongue,
an we are sorry we do not know it. If or one have volunteered to team the
Kashmiri language from any of my Kashmiri brethem who is living in Allahabad.
I volunteered and told him to come to me every Sunday, have his lunch with me
and teach me the Kashmiri language. So we want to learn it and if
facilities are provided there is no reason whv we should not pick it up, but the
position that I can't speak it today should not be a barrier between vou and me.
Make me learn it and if I can't understand you, then don't speak it for the time
being, speak a language by which I can understand you. So from both sides
it has got to be a spirit of give and take, so that we can really understand
each other in the proper spirit. I am sure if that is the procedure and
the method by which we try to understand each others difficulties, this
artificial barrier will vanish and we will be able to come closer more and more.
The other question which has been agitating rny mind and which I have felt,
also requires mentioning is that we are ashamed of calling ourselves Kashmiris.
I am very frank, I am very blunt, but I think bluntness and frankness is
necessary. We are ashamed of saying we are going to attend a meeting of
the Kashmiri Samaj. We are not ashamed of saying that we are going to
attend a meeting of an International Association or a particular mission of a
particular club. But we are ashamed of saying that we are going to attend
a meeting of the Kashmiri Association. Why ? Because there seems to be a
misconception that if we say so, we will be called communalists, that we are
communal minded, we don't think in the higher perspective, and therefore no
communalism, no Kashmirism ? And we must hide the fact that we are going to the
meeting of the Kashmiri Samaj ? When I am asked in my own city whether I
organised or was I responsible for organishing a Kashmiri Sabha in quarters
which were rather high, I had no hesitation in saying yes, I did for the benefit
of my community and my country. We have got in London, Welsh Associations,
Scotch Associations, I have been to London three times. Nobody in Britain
says that a Welsh Association or a Scot Association is communal Association.
Nobody says that a Welshman or a Scot is not a Britisher. Why should we
think on narrow lines that because we are members of a Kashmiri Association we
are not Indians ? We are Indians, Indians first. We are Kashmiris cum
Indians. There is no hostility, there is no conflict between the Kashmiri
culture and the Indian culture. We have not formed this association to
fight against Indian culture, we have not formed it to fight against our
nationalistic activities. As a matter of fact, the object is to get the
community which is scattered here and there together so that we can flow in a
regular stream for the purpose of doing national good. That is the object
of combining the entire community together so that we may flow in the same
stream and we could say that the Kashmiri Association has discharged its
national duty. That is our object, and that is how we help the country.
We are enrolling Overseas members. These Overseas members are sending us
Dollars, they are sending us Pounds, we are earning foreign exchange. What
is this for ? That is for the country. Therefore, you are earning foreign
exchange. You are a serviceful community ; a community that is earning
foreign exchange for the Government, for the State. So we are serving the
State and not doing any disservice to the State. We don't eliminate or
exclude from our membership our girls and boys who have married outside the
community. We assimilate them. If the boy is a Kashmiri it does not
matter to which community the other spouse belongs. We have them as our
members. We are assimilating them-cultural integration. How can one
get an impression we are indulging in the anti-national activities ? As a matter
of fact, it is one of the most nationalistic activities to promote social and
cultural integration. This is what we are doing. So, the objects
with which our Samaj has been formed are wholly nationalistic and I cannot see
any reason why we should be shy of saying that we are members of the Kashmiri
Samaj. These being our laudable objects, we are here to form the
association to serve ourselves, to consolidate ourselves, for the service of our
country. I would now close my speech with just two lines quoted from a
famous Kashmiri poet of Lucknow, Pandit Brij Narain Chakbast:
Thank you.
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