Shiban Khaibri
Name of the Book — “KASHMIR AFTER KALHANA”
(Book One)
Author — Dr. R . L . Bhat
Publishers — Gulshan Books, Srinagar.
Year of Publication — 2023
History of Kashmir particularly after Kalhan , has all along been mired in controversies and different accounts given by different historians and analysts about both the rulers and the social , cultural and political conditions prevailing in Kashmir during the period after the great first historian of Kashmir. The continuity of recording history after him by Joonraja, Shrivar and Pragya Bhat , as pointed out in the book under reference , are proven to be of reliable source but interpreted by some Persian and later historians differently for reasons not known.Therefore, stress on striving for knowing reality and putting to austere test, the vast material available of secondary sources and to come out with the facts to a larger extent, is tantamount to doing justice with writing of the History of Kashmir in which the author has ably succeeded.
Dr. R . L. Bhat having taken upon himself this stupendous challenge in the form of writing four Books – Kashmir Quartet – has endeavoured to clear the mist by having absolute regard for the primary source or account for which he has obviously worked tirelessly for years together searching for such authentic sources so as to lend credence to authenticity and trying to ”reconstruct” the past particularly the period after Kalhana in right perspective . He is putting before us all versions even to enable us to have a comparative analysis ourselves between them coupled with his reasoning and thus generally rendering such writing sans of authenticity to nothing more than distortions if not a mere naught. In this connection, Book one and Book two are already released , the remaining two also are in the line hence a comprehensive research work undertaken by the author to cause recourse to fiction, influence of prejudice, subjectivity , deviations and wilful interpretations while writing history, to be proved as a ruse. A great academic endeavour deserving to be taken further including for incorporating in prescribed texts and for research scholars to set the trend of writing history only on facts. It is one thing to aspire for finding factual parallels in history which is no mean an easy thing , quite another to find them all convincing and such parallels generally being beyond plausibility. Dr. Bhat has , therefore, tried to be orthodox and strict in adhering to the principles of writing history and that too, about Kashmir for the period after the great Kalhan , say ending 12th century to the start of 15th century.
We agree that if there is a serious challenge to historical research and writing of history , it is the issue of sources and that too, primary sources. Either find the reliable source or leave it alone but never have poor scant for the basic elements of writing history. The author , basically a scientist by profession but with a unique passion of writing books on literature and history in particular , has to his credit, as many as 14 books published. What is worth noting is that Dr. R . L . Bhat is not going to agree on anything unless he feels convinced about the authenticity of the source for which he, in proverbial parlance, would test the same in the laboratory of reasoning , cogent documented source material backed and corroborated by other contemporary historiographers who had not deviated from the source available in Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu. This Puritanism or orthodoxy of a scientific approach adopted by Dr. Bhat undoubtedly makes the Quartet an increasingly commendable work on History of Kashmir for the period under reference.
Should writing of any history have considerations extraneous to the core elements of reproducing the facts like seeing the work as a religious service , therefore towards that end moulding and at best rehashing the records unlike the series of Rajtarangni thus throwing to winds the principle of objectivity , the author variedly answers this fundamental question with references, which are almost punctuated lavishly in the Book (One for instance). Book Two dealing with “Kashmir under Shariyat” , Book Three-“The Persian Narrative of Kashmir” both extensively based on Persian History of Kashmir and Book Four – “Essential Kashmir History” put together from Sanskrit and Persian sources makes the Quartet a comprehensive researched document on Kashmir history for the crucial period of 300 years. It is definitely not an easy task which the author has very diligently accomplished in that he having proficiency in Persian , Sanskrit and Urdu languages thus having saved time and energy which were otherwise needed in getting the material in these languages interpreted in English for compilation of the voluminous Quartet.
The author has tried to place himself, as a professional historian must, in the times he deals with which can be ascertained only after reading all the five chapters , each with 12 topics on an average. Varied topics in respect of the period under reference with details entice interest in a reader and the choice of which one to prefer to the other, becomes rather difficult such is the description given by the author. Hence be it the ruthless invader Dulacha, destruction of temples , Rinchana’s appeal to ”conversion to Hinduism” , Mehmood Gaznavi rebuffed in Kashmir, Persian chroniclers distorting names and other many interesting topics, the Book makes an interesting reading. It becomes piquantly difficult which lines to quote from which chapter of the Book under reference to bring home to the reader to ”cover” that first hence going through the entire Book becomes inquisitively and academically as also “historically” paramount.
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