In connection with the Republic Day parade in the national capital, New Delhi this time, the tableaux of Jammu & Kashmir was completely unrepresentative of the age-old civilization, culture, tradition and deep philosophical message on behalf of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. Traditionally and historically speaking, there are three major representative elements of the Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory viz the Kashmiri Pandits, Dogra and the Kashmiri Muslims.
Samavar is not indegenous to Kashmir and has been imported from Central Asia (Samarkand) and was brought to Jammu and Kashmir by the foreign invaders, looters and perpetrators of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Houseboats represent European intervention in Kashmir especially during the British Raj. These originally belong to Netherlands and the other regions of Western Europe. They don’t represent our civilization and culture.
Jammu and Kashmir has a rich cultural tradition of more than five thousand years and our scriptures, architenture, historical documentation, cultural tradition and customs & usages are testimony of this fact of our civilization and history. Unfortunately, the people taking important decisions at the government level have a very feeble and brittle knowledge and sensitivity in this regard. That is the main reason that this year’s tableaux was unimpressive and unrepresentative of our great state.
Moreover, music in Jammu and Kashmir is as old as the territory itself. Kashmir is the mother of Natyashastra and classical music. ‘Rabab’ is also a foreign instrument of music that has connection with the outside factors than a relation with the originality of Kashmir’s rich tradition. It also doesn’t fully represent our great tradition of classical music, dance and folklore.
These Samavars, Rababs and Houseboats might be a fake attraction for the potential tourists (who have otherwise fallen victim of Islamic terror in Kashmir many a time) but these hardly have a representative character of our civilizational and cultural message to the people at large.
The J&K government should have contacted experts of the subject in this regard and the Central government ought to have also played a positive role in it as the J&K continues to be Union Territory. Moreover, one region’s pseudoculture can’t be superimposed over the other regions and communities who have indegenous character whether they are Dogras or the Kashmiri Pandits.
An attempt to delink our thousands of year’s civilizational imprints by the inappropriate decisions of the government would be opposed and resisted. It is a very serious matter for all of us and we demand an inquiry and investigation in the whole episode. The Lt. Governor of the UT is appealed to look into the matter seriously in addition to call the experts on the subject to discuss and debate the important subject.
(Featured Image Source: Daily Excelsior)
