POVERTY AND HEALTH IN KASHMIR UNDER DOGRAS (1846-1947 A.D.) DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Maittt of $|)tlofi!opIip IN HISTORY ^^ t ^^^^^ D\S^^ BY Manzoor A fiTruuf fitter UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. MONO. AFZAL KHAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002 2013 ^^.s^ 2 4 NOV Wi DS4381 Centre of Advanced Study (Department of!ffistory JL!M.U,ASgaHi (Date: Prof. Mohd Afzal Khan Certificate iHis is to certify that the (Dissertation "^Cn^^^ JWD mjwBi: m loisfmi^ vmim^ (oog^jis (I846-1947JL(D.)'' Sy !Wr. Wl?{Z009Jtf€H^'D ^^IH^^^is the originaCresearch wor^of the candidate, and is suitaSCe for suBmission in partiaCfuCfiUment for the award of the (Degree of (Master of (Philosophy in 9fistory. Vl^ Prof. Mohd Afzal Khan (Supervisor) (l>E(DICm^(D ro 'Vor their endless Love, (Prayers, Support and Sacrifices they madefiyrme' JLt tde outset, IwouGffi^ to tHan^JiCtnig/ityJlflafi, tfie most gracious, (Benevolent and MerdfuC for 6estoixnng me wiscfom, ^nowCedge, courage, patience and opportunity to accompCish this wor^ This wor^ is the outcome of the immense heCp I received from my supervisor, teachers, friends and weH-jvishers. In fact, whiCe preparing this wor^J have accumulated a large Burden ofdeht and a brief actinowledgement here in no way xmites them off. I eyq)ress my deep sense of gratitude to my supervisor (Brof. MQK1> ^TZym 10(^3^ for his invaluaSle and stimulating supervision during the course of the worl{^ J-Cis parental attitude, moral support and masterly guidance was a constant inspiration for me through out my research worh^ I also owe much to the staff ofSendnar Library, <Depariment ofjfistory andM(iulana,^LzadLibrary, JllMV, Jlligarh; yitawa IqSaCLibrary, University of 'Kashmir, ^National Archives of India; O^ehru Memorial Museum, 9^ew (Delhi andjammu atuflQisfimir State Archives. 'Words are short to express sincere thanh^ to my family memhers for their unflinching support, sacrifice, encouragement and love that was readily forthcoming throughout the period of my research wor^ I am also much obliged to my childhood teachers especially Manzoor Ahmad who by dint of their hard worh^anddedication left no stone unturned in nourishing me as a human being. 'Words also fail to ey^ress vty special thanl^s to JaveedtdjLziz, lecturer at Ksishmir iJniversity, who had guided me for this scholarly tas^ Last but not least, I am extremely thankful to all my pals, seniors and relatives whose suggestions, inspiration and tangible assistance always proved fruitful to my study. CONTENTS Page No. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABBREVIATION MAP INTRODUCTION 1-5 CHAPTER -1 6-19 KASHMIR- AN OVERVIEW CHAPTER -2 20-36 POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE UNDER DOGRA REGIME CHAPTER -3 37-73 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF PEOPLE CHAPTER -4 74-99 HEALTH AND MEDICAL PRACTICES CONCLUSION 100-103 BIBLIOGRAPHY 104-117 APPENDICES I-XI ABBREVIATIONS AAR: Annual Administrative Report CEZMS: Church of England Zenana Missionary Society CMS: Church Missionary Society Deptt.: Department GOI: Government of India JKA: Jammu and Kashmir Archives NA: Not Available NAI: National Archives of India RPD: Research and Publication Department WHO; World Health Organization Map of Kashmir and Adjoining Areas f" .-v / Abbott'abad , .-^ , . <^*^do. "^iDevalo 0X{Srinagar) .adVA«ockH^-^'P"^oMurree ^ f^ o Hassan Abdal ° Ra'walVindi O khnshalgnrli/ Sangia (^o Lahore ^ -v^por. cv?,^..e . I JtiUunuur \_^ vj-" ^-w-^ Simla© asanlio Jagraon Kalka ,r-V Faridkote ^>,..,.:_o ,,.„„, Source: G. R. Elmslie, Thirty-Five Years in Punjab. ,A^^»^»%A^%^,<S%^^A^^v^^^"^•'^^^^^%^%^*^^^^v%%^^^»^^^•% ( 1 i / iwrmoDUCTioM i s I ^ 1 '^ / Introduction "Kashmir, even more than the rest of India, is a land of contrasts, in this land, overladen with natural beauty and rich nature's gifts, stark poverty reigns and humanity is continually struggling for the barest of subsistences. The men and women of Kashmir are good to look at and pleasant to talk to. They are intelligent and clever with their hands. They have a rich and lovely country to live in. Why, then should they be so terribly poor?" Jawaharlal Nehru' Poverty^ and health^ are inextricably linked to each other. If poverty affects health, poor-health also contributes to poverty in the same way. In other words, poverty and health are linked in a vicious cycle, in which poverty leads to bad-health and bad-health further donates to poverty. Thus, poverty and health are bonded in a two-way relationship as poverty forces the people to such environments that make them sick without decent shelters, clean water, or adequate sanitation. Likewise ill- heath prevents the people from working or affects their socio-economic status by lowering their income. Low income indeed forced them to poverty which ultimately results in poor nutrition, inadequate housing, increased risk of infections and inability to maintain standards of health and hygiene conditions. Nowadays health is viewed as an end product of the growth process because healthier population is considered as an ' S. N. Dhar, Kashmir Eden of the East, Allahabad, 1945, pp. VI-VII. ^ Poverty is a social construction with many dimensions including lack of basic education, inadequate housing, social exclusion, lack of employment, environmental degradation, and low income. Each of these diminishes opportunity, limits choices and undermines hope, and each poses a threat to health. According to World Bank, "poverty is hunger, poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go to school, not knowing how to read, and not being able to speak properly. Poverty is not having a job, it is fear for the future, and it is living from hand to mouth. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom". Mubasher Usman, Socio-Economic Determinants of Pakistan, a Case of Pakistan, Development and International Relations, Aalborg University. Denmark 2009, p. 12. Health is considered as one of the important assets of human beings. According to WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Later on, economic and political well beings were also included in this definition. See Preamble to the Constitution of the WHO as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June 1946, and entered into force on 7 April 1948. engine of economic growth.'' People with higher incomes are healthier because they have a greater command over the goods and services that promote heakh. Besides, poverty limits the individual's ability to respond to events such as famine or any disease, or serious illness in the family. It also has grave impact on the health of children as children born in low income families suffered from low-weight which is directly responsible for their death, disability or illness in infancy or childhood. Poverty has also psychological impact on the personality of children as they have to live always in the trauma that you are weak, helpless, and are treated like 'untouchables'. Peeping into the history of Kashmir one gets an account of the different periods of rule Kashmir has witnessed, including Buddhist and Hindu period. Sultanate period, Mughal period, Afghan period, Sikh period and finally Dogra period. It was in the year 1586 that Kashmir after being ruled by the local dynasties saw its fate being coalesced with the Indian empire ruled by the Mughals. The Governors who ruled the valley on behalf of their masters took advantage of Kashmir's geographical location as the valley remained cut off from the rest of world for most part of year after a snowy winter. They ruined the valley for their self- interests and terrorized the masses no matter people would die for the want of food. Consequently, there was decrease in agricultural produce; peasants had become slaves producing all the year for their masters with no self-benefits; and more the life of artisans had become hell as they were charged with multifarious taxes. The shawl weavers had become 'money-making machines' for the successive governments in Kashmir. Their conditions further deteriorated during the period of our study i.e. under the Dogras. The Dogras ruled the valley for more than hundred years from 1846-1947 A.D. The period proved no better than their predecessors as the rulers continued the sinister orgy of oppression, extortion and over-taxation. People from all classes were taxed and contributing to the state coffers in one form or other. Their conditions became worse than beasts and were forced to live under poverty. They came to be known as zulim parast (worshipers of tyranny). In such a backdrop to think that there health standards would be better is to underestimate their conditions. The European travellers who visited the valley described the people of Kashmir as the •* The Report of Working Group I of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health on 'Health. Economic Gro\vth and Poverty Reduction'. WHO, Geneva, 2001. most indigent and filthiest one. Aldous Huxley remariced that "Kashmiri has a genius for filthiness".' At the same time the people of Jammu were considered as one of the cleanest people in North India. This two pronged policy of the Government benefited the people of Jammu over the cost of Kashmir, and kept them away from the word of 'prosperity'. The focus of the present work is mainly on the wretched conditions of people and their health standards. How the Dogras crushed the different classes of society alike and what was its impact on their day-to-day life. The present study Poverty and Health in Kashmir under Dogras (1846-1947 A.D.) is divided into four chapters.