MAQBOOL BUTT: His life, letters, and legacy-III

Khan Maqbool Butt, Last Days Azmat Khan in his account, Maqbool Butt (Shaheed) - Full Story notes that: "Difficult as it was the political campaign to ensure Maqbool Butt's release from prison never faded during the eight years of his custody." In addition to efforts in Azad Kashmir and Srinagar, protests were held in England.

Amnesty International, Azmat Khan notes, "repeatedly appealed for his release from prison.

(Amnesty International later declared him a 'Prisoner of Conscience').

All humanitarian appeals, however, fell on deaf years in Gandhi's India ".

On February 3rd 1984, notes Azmat Khan in England a previously unknown group calling itself the Kashmir Liberation Army (KLA) abducted an Indian Consulate staff member in Birmingham and demanded Maqbool Butt's release in exchange for his.

The abductors killed the diplomat.

In a tit-for-tat move, notes Azmat Khan, Maqbool Butt was hanged in Delhi, within four days of recovery of the dead body of the diplomat.

He was hanged at dawn and buried within the jail premises.

His family was not permitted to travel to visit with Butt.

A day before his execution, all his known followers and sympathizers in Kashmir were kept in jails by authorities.

February 11th every year now is "celebrated" in Kashmir as a day of protest strikes.

Each year mythology of Maqbool Butt is expanded.

Some write of messages from Butt conveyed in their dreams, others add rhetoric to his divine qualities.

The rhetoric on divine qualities of Maqbool Butt could soon rank him among the historic "rishis" (sages) of Kashmir.

The sages of Kashmir who are believed to have had vision so sharp that they could tell the sex of an unborn calf by one look at the pregnant beast.

Maqbool Butt's legacy, to be.

Maqbool Butt was indeed a self-less son of Kashmir who devoted his life for emancipation of his homeland.

He was not recognized and his mission remained unaccomplished in his lifetime, why? The answer may be in understanding the political and social environment of Kashmir.

Kashmiri society has a feudal structure; individuals are not agents of change in a feudal society.

Kashmiri's depend on others to right the wrong, individuals accepting responsibility to make change is not their norm.

In Kashmir change historically has come from was outside, and is brought about by outsiders.

These characteristics together with appendages of nepotism and corruption are the core reasons of Kashmiri bondage.

This historic pattern of bondage can be summed in one word: Movalgi.

Movali in Kashmiri language is a vagabond.

Movali in Arabic means a non-Arab.

Understanding the significance of this one word in context of Kashmiri society helps to explain the dilemma of leadership in Kashmir.

Islam in Kashmir spread with efforts by learned Sufi scholars like Shah Hamdan.

By their personality and intellect, the scholars converted the rulers of Kashmir to Islam.

However, with the advent of Islam in Kashmir the existing social order did not change, it maintained its class structure.

Progeny of the men from the Arab-world, soldiers seeking fortune and preachers in search of converts to Islam, married with the elite of Kashmir and merged in the social class hierarchy in Kashmir.

Indeed the social class structure in Kashmir is flexible and mobility within hierarchy is common.

Yet, there are certain biases that are hard to overcome, one of these is leadership role.

The labor classes of urban areas and village peasant are not easily accepted in the leadership role.

In Kashmir, the divine right of the womb still rules.

The climb through the ranks of upper class in Kashmir is historically gained by the powerful by acquiring wealth first and then through matrimonial alliances.

In Kashmir, society continues to be dominated by dynastic religious leaders, landlords, and the wealthy business houses.

The democratic governance in Kashmir, Awami-Raj during the second half of the century in Kashmir was at best democratic despotism.

Sheikh Abdullah got the mantle of political leadership only after the then Mir Waiz (head priest) of Kashmir supported him.

Support of the Mir Waiz gave Abdullah the beachhead to launch his agitation against the Dogra dynastic rule.

Over time, Abdullah, by the force of his personality and his political organization, National Conference, usurped Mir Waiz.

Abdullah by the end of his fifty-year political career established his own dynastic rule for Kashmir.

Abdullah had began in 1930 as the brave "lion" of Kashmir to fight for the rights of the down trodden Kashmiri masses, fifty years later he was the patriarch of a Raj centered around his family.

Soon after, Abdullah had his son "elected" as president of National Conference Party and then "willed" the "governance of Kashmir" to him.

The family Raj continues Abdullah's grand son now awaits in the wings, to step into his father's shoes as the next head of government in Kashmir.

Abdullah used nepotism and corruption, the two instruments by which the elite maintains their control.

Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, who followed Abdullah, perfected this ancient system into a modern regime of reward and punishments for governance in Kashmir.

The tradition of corruption and nepotism is among all shades of politics in Kashmir.

Maqbool Butt was not born in the upper social class; he did not seek wealth by corruption, or marriage to be among the upper classes.

He was not an opportunist and he did not compromise his values.

So Maqbool Butt's attempted revolution to cleanse the historic legacy of bondage in Kashmir was like a rain shower attempting to make a swamp full of algae into a fresh water lake.

Maqbool Butt left Kashmir for Pakistan a young man; he was in his twenties.

In Kashmir and in Pakistan his environment was constrained.

He had no mentors.

As a young man he witnessed and was influenced by the militant revolutions of the time.

He wanted emancipation of his countrymen so he used the methods and means available to him.

Two attempts at militancy, first in 1966 and second in 1975 got him twelve years of jail time, two in Pakistan and ten years in India.

During his eight years of incarceration at Tihar Maqbool Butt may have received just one letter from his "watan".

Writing to Malik Mohammed Asgar, on August 18, 1981 Butt writes that for a man of faith, the best way of life is that which is spent in eradicating falsehood and for seeking justice and the best death is that which comes while struggling on this way.

Maqbool Butt did just that.

He assumed and carried out his personal responsibility, as best as he could.

Kashmiri viewed incarceration of Maqbool Butt as a matter alien to their day to day existence and thus ignored it.

While Kashmiri's admired Maqbool Butt for his valor, he got little support when he needed it.

So it is today, without support, as Maqbool Butt was left by a vast majority of Kashmiri's, "Movali" youth of Kashmir continue to perish, alone.

Light of Hope If instead of sitting on the sidelines watching the youth of their homeland getting wasted in killing sepoys of India, if all Kashmiri's join ranks; if the "carrier-politicians" in Kashmir instead of calling on the conscience of the world would call on their own; instead of tearing down others for their differences, they would strengthen each other focusing on their commonality, I often ponder, how different Kashmir could be.

For me this year February 11 was a day to fast, to remember the sacrifice of Maqbool Butt and other martyrs.

It was a day I set aside to pray for the ability to do my share to better my community.

And on February 28, Maqbool Butt's birthday, I found myself lighting a candle at dusk in his memory.

It was for me, and I hope will be for others too, a Festival of Freedom (Independence Day Lights) visualized by Maqbool Butt.

Azmat Khan in his essay recalls Maqbool Butt words from a letter written to Raja Muzzaffar on August 15, 1981: "It is a matter of pride for me that not only difficult times and awkward circumstances have failed to put out the light of hope, which I have lit with sacrifices, but many more lights are now glowing because of this candle.

If this pace continued the day is not far, Insha-Allah, when that flood of light shall brighten up our motherland in a way that we shall be able to name it the Festival of Freedom (independence day lights)".

*(The author is a Kashmiri-American architect based in Los Angeles.

Rafique Khan has overseen the work of the Kashmir Human Rights Foundation and many publication of the "Kashmir Diary".