The author argues that Kashmir’s psychological disposition is rooted in fear, which is perpetuating the region’s intellectual and moral decay and urges the people to join the movement to overcome this crisis.

After wading through hundreds of books so far, the one golden principle that I’ve learned is this: without understanding human psychology, it’s always going to be an onerous task, by the time you finish the book, to unbiasedly come to any substantial conclusion. This lesson is one of the most profound I’ve learned. Simply because it opened new realms of understanding societies. It isn’t a secret where Kashmir has reached today. There is a presumption that has been running amok for far too long now—that it’s all due to the messy political conditions—which, incidentally, is partly true. Nonetheless, the abysmal political plight is not the raison d’être. It’s merely a symptom. The real reason lies elsewhere. The prevalent psychology of the Kashmiri people is the genesis of whatever is befalling Kashmir today.

What is the current psychological disposition of the people of Kashmir? Many points could be added in answer to this question. However, to keep it brief: fear is abysmally dominant. Fear is the prevalent psychological disposition of the people of Kashmir. Fears are of two types: normal and abnormal (Joseph Murphy). Normal fears have the possibility of materializing eventually. Abnormal fears, however, are imaginary delusions that cripple our wings and prevent us from growing. They are also called unnecessary fears. In the case of Kashmir, what is deeply entrenched in the psyche of the people is the latter form of fear. To break this form of fear, Allah revealed in the Quran, Fear only Allah. Fear only Allah is not some kind of mystical or spiritual statement meant to be practised by recluses. On the contrary, it’s a crystal-clear political statement. However, we rarely see it being mentioned that way by clerics. A tragedy, you know!

The intellectual, moral, and political decadence that pervades Kashmir is eerie and perhaps unprecedented. Kashmir is not lacking in talent, ambition, or acumen. Nonetheless, when people are under mental occupation, every bit of forward-thinking thought is nipped in the bud—mostly not by alien coercion but by those who are spearheading the people. Consequently, mentally-occupied people can never attribute the downfall in their intellectualism to an outside force. For rendering intellectual capital redundant, the instillation of fear by all sections has worked wonders and maintained the perpetuity of mental subjugation. Incidentally, when I mention intellectualism, I don’t refer to the mental indoctrination with which scientism has contaminated much of the planet. I invoke a disposition that establishes an unbreakable nexus between religion and science—a disposition that doesn’t consider the inadequacy, limitations, and helplessness of science as an affront to it.

Multiple examples establish the inadequacy and limitations of current scientific thought. Seven heavens and seven earths are concepts that have yet to be ascertained by modern science. When Ibn Abbas (RA) was asked by Heraclius about the rainbow and the galaxy, his answers were yet to be validated by contemporary scientific thought. He said the rainbow protects the earth from flooding, and the galaxy is the door to the next heaven. To go beyond, modern science needs a change of perspective. Not only should Kashmiri Muslims, but the entire community of Muhammad (SAW), be at the forefront of deciphering scientific concepts through the Quran and Hadith. Sadly, our mental capital has been made to wander aimlessly with vanities. We still have a chance to join the movement (IMS) that aspires to rejuvenate the Muslim mental capital by focusing purely on competence, rather than pursuing some futile and flawed goal as the ultimate purpose of man.

Moral bankruptcy—nobody ever dreamed that the people of Kashmir would suffer from such a malady. Be that as it may, the administrative setup holds more responsibility than a commoner, simply because they are in authoritative positions. Let’s use some logic. In a Hindu-majority state of the union, where beef is proscribed for public consumption, can any Muslim resident or outsider ever dare to open a shop selling beef? Let alone an individual, even the idea itself would be intolerable to the authorities. Going by the same logic, why has the Government of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir insidiously facilitated a deliberate surge in the number of dram shops in a region heavily populated by Muslims? A food for thought!

The Prophet (SAW) said, pointing towards the Quran, “Allah will raise the status of people by this book, and by it, He will humble others.” This is purely a hadith of political philosophy. Either this hadith is misinterpreted or shunned altogether. We never try to delve into this hadith through the lens of political philosophy. Another tragedy! It is both situationally and purely an opportune time for the people of Kashmir to get into politics through Islam. The Prophet (SAW) said, “The best form of Jihad is the word of justice in front of an oppressive ruler.” The Prophet (SAW) also said, “Anyone who walks with a tyrant, knowing that he is a tyrant, to strengthen himself, it’s as though he has already left the fold of Islam.” The Prophet (SAW) further said, “If you witness an evil, stop it with your hand. If you can’t, then with your tongue. If you aren’t able to do this either, then consider it an evil in your heart, and that’s the least form of faith.”

It’s unintelligible that a region housing 85 lakh Muslims, many factions of whom robustly and vociferously claim to represent the way of Muhammad (SAW), still fails to implement ninety percent of the Quran in the region. This in no way should be seen as a call to arms—it isn’t. Every righteousness of ours will be rendered useless if we don’t struggle to stymie social evils, and that is only possible through politics. I find it awfully disgusting that we keep chanting the name of Hussain (AS) incessantly and yet fail to grasp what he truly intended to do.

By Syed Shahab Ud Din Andrabi

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Syed Shahab Ud Din Andrabi