KASHMIR – KASHMIRIYAT

Reflections After Pahalgam

By Upendra Kachru

“Gar firdaus bar-rū-e zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.”
“If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.”

These immortal words, attributed to Emperor Jahangir, capture the timeless beauty of Kashmir. But beauty alone cannot sustain a soul. Today, after the tragic Pahalgam killings, Kashmir’s soul—its centuries-old cultural identity known as Kashmiriyat—stands wounded again.

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The Beauty and the Ethos

From Kalhana’s Rajatarangini to the poetry of Lal Ded, Kashmir has been eulogized for more than just its mountains and rivers. Nestled between the Pir Panjal, Zanskar, and Karakoram ranges, Kashmir has dazzled travelers, poets, and emperors alike. Yet, what truly set Kashmir apart was its unique cultural fabric, woven from threads of Hindu Shaivism, Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and a shared sense of community and compassion.

This harmony, which transcended religious lines, became the essence of Kashmiriyat—a pluralist identity shaped by shared geography, hardship, and an interdependent way of life.

🔶 Lal Ded – The Mystic Voice of Syncretism

“Shiv chhui thali thali rozan;
Mo zaan hyond ta musalman.”
Shiva abides in all that is; don’t say Hindus are different from Muslims.

🌿 This couplet cuts across centuries, reminding Kashmiris that the sacred resides in all. There is no room for religious division in a heart touched by Kashmiriyat.

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A Tradition Under Threat

The Pahalgam killings are not isolated acts of terror. They represent a direct attack on the spirit of Kashmiriyat, just as the 1990s militancy did, forcing the exodus of over 200,000 Kashmiri Pandits. My family’s story mirrors that of many. Our ancestral home in Habakadal, Srinagar, was abandoned overnight, and later burnt down. From that suitcase we carried into exile, we also carried the memory of a Kashmir where neighbors looked out for each other—Hindu or Muslim didn’t matter.

The social changes since then have been profound. The erosion of civil society, the rise of madrasa-driven narratives that emphasize exclusivist identities, and the politicization of religion have reshaped the landscape. After Pahalgam, the cracks in the valley's moral foundation seem even deeper.

🟢 Noor-ud-Din Wali – The Rishi of the People

“Ann poshi teli yeli wan poshi.”
Food will last only as long as forests do.

🌲 Nund Rishi, Kashmir’s Sufi saint, bound faith with ecological wisdom and social harmony. His teachings gave moral legitimacy to Kashmiriyat—rooted in balance and reverence for all life.

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Has Kashmiriyat Gone Underground?

In 2003, Dr. Mir Zafar Iqbal conducted a sociological study that suggested that Muslims, Hindus, and even militants still resonated with the idea of a distinct Kashmiri identity. He found no strong inter-religious prejudice—a remarkable insight. Kashmir, he argued, was not an ethnic battleground but a nation in search of itself.

In the decades since, plebiscite politics and external influences—especially from Pakistan—have kept the valley on edge. The fear that demography and identity are being manipulated lingers in every corner.

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After Pahalgam: Where Do We Go From Here?

And yet, hope remains.

A new generation of Kashmiris—Hindus, Muslims, and others—are rising above past binaries. They are turning to art, poetry, and storytelling. Some are rediscovering the verses of Lal Ded and Habba Khatoon. Others are creating spaces—both online and offline—for shared heritage, shared grief, and shared aspirations.

“Zuv chum bramanas, musalmanas;
Zuv chum saanas sund gashtar.”
I belong to neither Hindu nor Muslim; I follow the path of humanity.
— Noor-ud-Din (Nund Rishi)

🕊️ This verse lights the way forward—a Kashmir where humanity, not religious identity, is the guiding force.

To bring back Kashmiriyat, we must:

• Restore civil governance rooted in justice, not fear
• Minimize external interference using diplomacy and technology
• Strengthen internal healing through education, culture, and moral leadership
• Rebuild cultural trust across communities through dialogue and shared remembrance

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The Soul of India

The tragedy is not just Kashmir’s—it is India’s. Our secularism, our pluralism, were inspired in no small part by Kashmir. Nehru’s faith in a diverse India was shaped by what he saw in the valley: a place where identity was layered and peaceful coexistence seemed possible.

Today, India must give back what it once received. Kashmiriyat needs not only to be remembered—it needs to be revived.

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Final Word: A Personal Remembrance

My grandfather and father held their Kashmiri identity with quiet pride. It was not a pride of power, but of philosophy. That memory lives on. But it must now move from memory to movement.

In the silence that follows gunfire, in the lull after every curfew, lies an opportunity—a space to rebuild. Let that silence be filled not with fear, but with voices calling for the return of Kashmir’s soul.

Author Bio

Upendra Kachru
Author of History of a Tomorrow
Website: www.upendrakachru.com

 

WHAT THESE STORIES TELL US ABOUT HAPPINESS

Each of the stories we’ve explored reveals a unique path to happiness—and they carry important lessons about how happiness is created, lived, and sustained.

1. Happiness Comes from Meaning, Not Just Comfort

Rajesh, the banker-turned-teacher, left a well-paid job to teach village children. Saif, the volunteer in Kashmir, chose hardship over comfort to help others. Their stories show that a sense of purpose can outweigh physical ease. Happiness isn't always in ease; it's often in engagement with something larger than yourself.

2. Perspective Shapes Our Joy

The rickshaw driver in Delhi reminded us that the way we see life affects how we feel. He wasn’t rich or resting—but he found magic in the everyday chaos. This highlights that happiness is not just about what happens to us—but how we interpret it.

3. Enough is a Powerful Word

The paanwalla in Banaras and the organic farmer in Madurai teach us that happiness is not in more, but in enough. These are lives built on simplicity, balance, and self-awareness. Contentment isn’t lack of ambition—it’s wisdom in recognizing what truly matters.

4. Authenticity Feeds the Soul

Anjali, the student poet, found happiness not in a perfect plan, but in being true to herself. Her courage to speak her truth, even once, opened the door to a richer life. Her story reminds us: living a life that feels right matters more than one that only looks right.

5. Happiness Multiplies When Shared

Most of the people in these stories—whether teaching, farming, rescuing, or writing—found joy not by keeping happiness, but by giving it away. Acts of service, connection, and generosity consistently created deep, lasting fulfillment.

6. Systems Matter, But Heart Leads

While top-down systems (like in Google or Microsoft) can enable happiness through structure and resources, the individual stories show that human spirit and emotional intelligence are the true drivers. Good policies help—but it’s passion, kindness, and courage that create lasting happiness.

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Key Takeaway: These stories teach us that happiness is not a destination—it’s a direction. It’s found in small acts of authenticity, in giving more than we take, in choosing meaning over metrics. Whether through organizations or everyday people, happiness thrives where purpose, perspective, and compassion meet.

In the end, happiness doesn’t always follow rules—it follows the heart.

Author Bio

Upendra Kachru
Author of History of a Tomorrow
Website: www.upendrakachru.com

 

 

SHORT STORIES ON HAPPINESS

How do different people experience happiness?

For fifteen years, Rajesh worked in a private bank in Mumbai. His salary was generous, his apartment comfortable, and his weekends were filled with brunches and travel plans. But something gnawed at him quietly: a sense that his work, though profitable, lacked purpose.

Each day, he handled lakhs of rupees. But one evening, during a visit to his village in Jharkhand, he sat in on a local school’s community session. The children were bright-eyed, full of questions, but had no full-time teachers. On a whim, he volunteered to teach for a week—and everything changed.

He told me later, “In the bank, I counted money. But here, in the school, I count lives changed. And those numbers stay with you.”

Today, Rajesh runs a grassroots learning initiative in rural Jharkhand, teaching math and science in local dialects and mentoring young teachers. His life may not be luxurious—but it is full. His story reminds us that success doesn’t have to climb a ladder. Sometimes it steps sideways—into meaning.

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🧭 Relief Volunteer in Kashmir

During a devastating flood in Kashmir, I met a 19-year-old boy named Saif. He wasn’t from any NGO. He had no formal training. But he had strapped together a raft made of plastic drums and was rowing across submerged streets, delivering packets of dal, rice, and medicine.

He had been doing this for days, sleeping on the floor of a damaged mosque, wet and exhausted. I asked him, “Why don’t you go back home to your family in Delhi?”

He smiled gently and said, “This is home. As long as someone needs help, I’m exactly where I belong.”

That sentence struck deep. Saif didn’t find happiness in comfort—he found it in belonging through purpose. He didn’t wait for peace to be restored before acting with love. He created it, one act at a time.

His story reminds us that true happiness often lives where we give ourselves fully, not where we feel safe.

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🚖 Rickshaw Driver in Delhi

One evening in Delhi, caught in traffic near Connaught Place, I sat in the back of a rickshaw with my eyes glued to my phone, frustrated and exhausted. The driver, an older man in his 50s, glanced at me through the mirror and said, “Aap thak gaye lagte hain, sahib.”

I nodded. “Long day,” I muttered.

He laughed and replied, “Dilli ki sadkein aur zindagi dono ek jaise hain—bheed hai, dhakka hai, lekin har roz kuch naya milta hai.”

(“Delhi’s roads and life are the same—crowded, chaotic, but full of new surprises each day.”)

In that moment, my entire mood shifted. This man, navigating potholes and honking cars every day, didn’t complain. He found poetry in the mess, and patience in the traffic.

His wisdom was simple but profound: your mindset makes the journey bearable—or beautiful. Perspective, not perfection, is what makes happiness possible, even in the chaos.

New Reflections

MY EXPERIMENTS WITH HAPPINESS

One of the first serious questions I remember asking myself—when I was about eleven—was surprisingly not about school, friends, or even the usual childhood dreams. It was this:
“What makes people truly happy?”

Now, I know it’s not the kind of question you expect from a child. But in my case, it wasn’t random. It was something I had seen—felt, really—in a way that left a lasting impression.

You see, my father was an IAS officer. His days were filled with government files, district plans, and policy meetings. But when it came to raising me, he had a slightly different approach. He believed that real education didn’t only come from textbooks or classrooms—it came from observing life.

So, during my school holidays, instead of sending me off to tuition or hobby classes, he took me with him on his official visits across the district. We travelled in his government jeep—no frills, no air conditioning, and certainly no screens. But those rides offered me a view of the world that no school ever could.

We would leave the noise of the city behind—its traffic, its urgency—and enter a world that felt slower, wider, and quieter. The villages were modest, the homes simpler, and people had far fewer possessions than anyone I knew. And yet, what I encountered there surprised me.

Every morning, as we drove along those rural roads, we’d see groups of Adivasi men and women walking to work. But unlike what I was used to in the city—where people seemed weighed down by their day before it had even begun—these villagers walked with music in their steps. They danced. They sang. Their clothes—bright saris, scarves, and headbands—seemed to catch the wind like sails. And their laughter—it wasn’t polite or forced. It was full and generous, rising into the air without hesitation.

And what struck me even more—they were still singing when we saw them again in the evening. After a full day of hard labour in the fields, their bodies must have been tired. But their spirits? Still lifted.

It confused me. These weren’t people with big bank balances, college degrees, or modern conveniences. By every conventional measure, they had very little. And yet, they seemed to carry with them something most of us spend our lives chasing: happiness.

At that age, I couldn’t put it into fancy words. But I could feel it. And even now, decades later, that memory stays with me—clearer than most things I studied at that time. What those villagers had wasn’t just cheerfulness—it was a kind of deep, unselfconscious joy. The kind that bubbles up not from having everything, but from needing very little to feel whole.

Later, I would come to think of that joy as something in rhythm—something musical. Not the kind of music you play with instruments, but the kind you create with how you live your day. Your pace, your presence, your perspective.

That early experience taught me something simple but powerful:
Happiness doesn’t always come from what we add to our lives. Sometimes, it’s about what we already have—and how we choose to see it.

In the years since, I’ve seen happiness packaged in many ways—achievement, comfort, recognition, luxury. But rarely has it looked as real and effortless as it did in those early morning walks through the forests and fields.

And there’s something else: happiness spreads. You don’t need to be the one singing to feel the music. Just watching someone else radiate joy can lighten your own mood. Just like laughter—it travels.

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A Quiet Takeaway

So what does this mean for the rest of us—living in a world that is fast, demanding, and often overwhelming?

Maybe it’s not about escaping our lives or becoming someone else. Maybe it’s just about pausing long enough to notice the little things:

• A shared meal
• A walk at dusk
• A song you haven’t heard in years
• A quiet moment with someone who sees you

The people I saw back then didn’t have easy lives. Their work was physical. Their resources were limited. But they found happiness in connection—with nature, with each other, with the simple rhythm of life. They didn’t wait for everything to be perfect to enjoy what they had.

That’s the part that stayed with me the most.

And perhaps, if we all remembered to notice those quiet moments—if we allowed ourselves a little music in our step, a little lightness in our hearts—we’d discover that happiness is not as distant as we think.

Sometimes, it’s just a jeep ride away.

Kashmir Problem Revisited

 “Remember, it did not start with the gas chambers. It started with politicians dividing people ‘with us versus them’. It stared with hate speech and when people stopped caring and turned a blind eye.”

Domingo Garcia

The recent decision on Kashmir has been approved by a vast majority of Indians. A majority celebrated the decision. This is sad, not because I believe that harsh steps should not be taken to solve the Kadhmir problem, but because of the manner in which Constitutional provisions were circumvented, and this did not attract the attention and focus of the people and the media, and neither did it attract the attention of  the judiciary. 

People stopped caring, first in J&K, when the Pandits were forced to flee the Kashmir valley as a result of being targeted by JKLF and Islamist insurgents during late 1989 and early 1990. Muslim mobs, at that time, killed Kashmiri Pandits and also plundered or destroyed the properties and temples of Hindus. The people had changed, Kashmir had stopped caring. ‘Kashmiriyat’, a philosophy that had survived for centuries has died and had been buried. Sadly, even  the powers that be, at the Centre, did not care. 

Now, the shoe is on the other foot, the people of India have stopped caring about what is happening in Kashmir, whether it is right and what is wrong. Our Prime Minister admits internationally that it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan but within the country claims it is an internal manner of India. No one is worried at the apparent contradiction. They are happy with the action and not the ethics of the act. The media refuses to be critical and the judiciary refuses to interfere or act urgently.

Neither were the residents of the valley right in permitting ethnic cleansing in Kashmir, nor is the Government of India right in failing to maintain its high ethical standards. 

Civil Society and the Lokpal Bill

There has been a lot of public support to the stand of the members on the Lokpal Bill Drafting Committee, who represent what is popularly called ‘civil society’. The support for their position comes particularly from the educated middle class and the media. This is no surprise. Most of us are fed up with corruption in government. Most of us want accountability from our leaders. Most of us are looking for change and an image of the nation in keeping with the hope we have of India as a leader amongst nations.

These are laudable ambitions. But the real question is the position taken by the activists to achieve what we would like our country to be? In an ideal world, I believe, that keeping the activities of people in power in rein through the institution of a Lokpal is right. Many countries in the world have Ombudsmen that play this role and there are many countries where there is no such institution and yet governance mechanisms work effectively. What is right for India?

Were the world an island and each country run only on the basis of its internal environment and were there no constitution, the solution proposed by the activists would be correct. But the real world is different. We live in a globalized world and we live in a geography that is highly unstable. We also have a constitution that provides for separation between the executive and the judiciary. These factors should impact our view on the Lokpal Bill.

I would like to opine that in an unstable neighborhood the strengthening of the governance system is of critical importance. The Prime Minister is its head. He is involved in decisions on war and peace, internal and external security, covert and overt operations, on a daily basis. In a globalized world India is jockeying for a position in world forums. It is heavily dependent on investments from FII and looking for sensitive technologies from external sources, etc. Weakening the governance system will not just impact the government but the international standing of the country. We already see the negative impact of the dissensions in civil society on investments by FIIs in the stock market, today.

Furthermore, we in India have created a constitution with checks and balances. We have separated the institution of the executive from that of the judiciary. It has worked very well for the last six decades. The way forward, I believe, is to strengthen this separation. That is not to say that the judiciary should not have accountability, but that civil society should press and convince the judiciary to have their own equivalent of the Lokpal Bill.

The basic issue that really comes out of this debate is the belief that politicians are untrustworthy and an external agent is trustworthy. This is a fallacious assumption. I am sure; no member of the Drafting Committee would fault the personal honesty of Dr. Manmohan Singh; yet that assumption may not be true for the Prime Minister’s office or for that matter for other Prime Ministers, who would be in office. Let us now look at the other side. There is a proposal to have Lok Ayuktas in each state and the centre. Lokpal or Lok Ayukta institutions cannot operated alone by the head. There have to be people to process complaints and take actions at different levels in the system. A rough guesstimate, assuming around 100 critical decision makers in each unit, would mean around 3000 people would influence the actions of this system in different ways. When we look into the future, at different times there would be different people who would have this type of influence.

In a society like ours; a feudal society divided into linguistic, caste, religious, and social groups; where different levels of ethical distortions have found social sanction; finding 3000 people of the required ethical standards is impossible. And, trusting them more than the elected head of governance of the country is undermining our democratic system itself.

Taking the argument further, how much do we know about people in public life? They say nine tenths of an iceberg is not visible, so is it with people. Persons, who have qualified on the basis of their public records, to the highest positions in trust and integrity, are being questioned for these very qualities some members of civil society. One can even question the ethics of civil society members in the drafting committee. One of the members was a Union Minister of Law. What did he do as the law minister? After all, corruption has been an endemic phenomenon.

The Government is complaining about the attitude of civil society members. It is true this is the only government in Indian history that has gone this far in accommodating activists. Actually, this understates the issue. It is perhaps the only government in the world that has done this. Strategically, this was not a wise step. Activists get their preeminent position in society because of their very strong and uncompromising position on specific subjects. They are seldom flexible. Therefore, most governments find other means to take their concerns on board; they do not incorporate them into the system. When the government took the activists on board as members of the drafting committee, they should have realized that they are riding a tiger. They can blame no one but themselves for the position they find themselves in. However, the intent of the government to tackle corruption cannot be questioned.

No country in the world can meet its ambitious goals if the very foundation of the governance system is weakened. Corruption is not a political issue but a national issue. Let us not make politics out of it. Let us fight to reduce it even if we cannot get rid of it.

Global Financial Crisis and Emerging Nations

The presidential election gave Americans a choice to change the system of governance so that they could face the global financial crisis in a better manner. The crisis has resulted in a massive shrinkage of private capital flows from emerging markets to a tune of something like US$ 700 billion. This has adversely effected the growth of many developing economies, including India. India is in the process of electing a new Parliament. Does the country also have a similar opportunity as the United States? Can this be used to help India reverse the impacts of this crisis?

Demand to have a new global financial order is being made surprisingly not only by Asia, but also by the trusted economic satellites of the US. The new global financial order has to correct, what many nations feel, is the slanted strategic balance of power of international financial institutions towards US. President Barack Obama has taken a conciliatory stance and accepted, “In a world that is as complex as it is, it is very important for us to be able to forge partnerships as opposed to simply dictating solutions,”

Developments in the industrialized countries and the extent of the crisis are forcing the West to look at a new set of politico-strategic-economic ideologies based on weltgeist (world spirit). Weltgeist will be largely determined by the position of emerging countries as their influence in shaping these discussions and deciding on the future financial order is on the increase. Therefore, the role of the new government in facing the crisis will depend on the strength of the alliance of emerging nations.

India, China, Brazil and Russia represent about 70 per cent of the world GDP. China and India's economies, particularly, have both the strength and resilience against the present crisis. They have huge domestic markets, sufficient financial resources and opportunities for investment. China with a dollar reserve of 70 percent of its foreign exchange reserves of 1.9 Trillion can use its reserves to help and lend to countries on the brink of defaulting and can play a major role globally in protecting the value of the dollar. India’s strength is based primarily on its position. The India position, which is a mid-way between the unfettered free rein to markets that the US offers and the conservative socialistic calls of Europe, gives it a role in the emerging schema of international restructuring.

These factors strengthen the position for the active participation of China and India in the ongoing process to evolve a new global mechanism to deal with the global financial crisis. Acceptance of these facts by the developed nations has changed international perceptions and also increased the influence of these emerging nations in matters of international finance.

The international regulatory forum for banking supervision i.e. the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) are the two forums that bring the different international finance groups together. The FSF now includes all the countries in the G20, which were not a part of the forum earlier. The Basel Committee's members have been expanded to include Brazil, China, India, and Russia. These developments make emerging countries an important part of that new emerging system towards global consensus.

There is also ''a high level'' of unity amongst the BRIC countries both on the diagnosis of the current financial crisis and the main measures that need to be taken. They have called for a major revamp of the current global financial system. The Brazilian finance minister, Guido Mantega, said the ''emerging countries are ready to shoulder the financial consequences of a bigger participation at the IMF." Though the BRIC nations want a part in efforts to deal with the international financial crisis, but without a reciprocal and equal redistribution of influence and authority, the BRIC nations are reluctant to assume major responsibilities.

The hands of the emerging nations are also being strengthening by regional groupings that are emerging, particularly in Asia. Asia is trying to establish coordinated regional currency agreement, similar to that in Europe with supporting mechanisms for an effective intraregional exchange rate arrangement. This will not be easy as it includes a common capital account regime, intraregional credit mechanisms and rules for interest rate and currency adjustments, but steps are afoot and the hope is that they will bring in some success. ASEAN +3 have already signed an initiative to establish an independent surveillance unit to promote objective monitoring - the Chaing Mai Initiative. This is giving a new thrust to cooperation to countries in Asia.

China is trying to rope in India into a combined force to face the crisis. Chinese Ambassador, Zhang Yan, in a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conclave, said both the countries should work together to press the developed countries to bear their responsibility and prevent them from shifting the burden on to developing countries. Yan said, “We shall push for reform of the existing international financial institutions with a view to increase the role of China and India in decision-making process and empower them with greater say and representation in the international financial institutions.”

Regulation and restriction on market forces on the basis of global consensus is essential. The key issue is, ‘how can the interests of individual nations be safeguarded!’ Nations are protecting themselves by agreeing to a new Financial Stability Board without giving up their role as national regulators. The proposal is to have some sort of system of a college of supervisors; though each regulator will control what an institution does in its own country, being part of the college, and based on what they learn, they can improve the system. In short, the crisis will lead to steps that will expand the perimeters of regulation, and will set up a college of supervisors, and countries will set up global standards.

India is set for a coalition government. There are three possible combinations that can emerge from the results of the General Elections, with major parties spearheading each of these possible combinations. Unfortunately, the manifestoes of all major parties describe how they will expend the wealth of the nation, rather than how they will add to the nation’s wealth. Therefore and evaluation has to be made on the basis of their different core competencies as they would have different impacts.

The core competence of the Congress Combination is economic growth, but their focus on inclusive growth raises questions on how far they will go. The BJP combination’s core competence is security, however considering the developments across the border, how much focus will it give to the economic opportunities afforded now? If the Third Front came to power, the question that arises is how will this combination deal with the communist viewpoint? 

The difference between the first two combinations may not be very significant on India’s role at the international level, but it will be acutely felt in regional cooperation.  The efforts required here are much challenging. Trying to build a protective financial architecture, which strengthens itself over time, is a really creative act that requires a special focus of the ruling dispensation.

The elections will show the choice people make. The right choice of the government will help the country in facing future economic crises in a globalized world more effectively. Who knows what lies ahead in this world of extreme turbulence!

 

 

 

Upendra Kachru

May 2, 2009