Memorable Letter to Kashmir sabha
Calcutta from Late Respected Kashyap Bandhuji Whilst on Death-Bed
Gairoo. (Noorpora)
Dec. 18, 1985.
My dear Dr. Moza,
God bless you. I received your both
letters one in the ending days of November and the other in the 1st week of
December, I am on bed for 10 days and have asked my cousin to help me to take
the composition of this letter. I regret I cannot accomplish the article
you need within the time fhat you have prescribed. The reasons are as
under :
On receiving your first letter I thought that in the 1st week of Dec. I
shall complete my contribution and you will get it in the last week of Dec.
But God willed otherwise; on 27th Nov. some friends from Srinagar visited me at
my village. They requested me to go down to Srinagar on lst of Dec. for a
few hours and return by the evening. The task was pressing and I could not
say "No". As on 1st Dec. they had called to Srinagar all their
delegates from villages and towns and it was their request that I should address
these delegates. I agreed and on 1st Dec. those friends came to my village
and carried me to Srinagar. The place where they had arranged the Samelan
is a newly-built building by Dharmarth and is known as "Ranbeer Bhavan".
Its Hall is very grand and commodious, equipped with all necessary arrangements
but unfortunately no heating arrangements are available there nor even Engthee
or Kangree. I had to sit in this hall, speak to a large gathering for
about two hours and these good people never thought that a man 87 years of age,
needs something to warm himself. God bless them. They are all in
their young age and possibly forgot that an old man in this Dec. needs something
to keep himself warm besides his warm aprons. In the evening at 6 clock I
returned to my house by a car and found myself shivering and indisposed.
In Oct. '85 some friends came to me with their assignment to be helped
in their works. The assignment was "All those Kashmiri Pandits young
and old who took leading part in those forgotten bitter communal days when
Kashmir was invaded by outsiders under the instructions of British government be
annihilated, and wanted to do away with Hindu rule of Kashmir." These were
black days when every Kashmiri Pandit was supposed to be younger brother of
Maharaja Hari Singh and any slap, any stick or any stone was a stick or a stone
directed to Maharaja; when administration was completely broken and communalism
was rampant and ringing through the streets of Kashmir, all day and night.
It was something God's grace and the determination of those young men who, as if
with their heads in their palms, were in the streets to help themselves and
their community. Possibly there might be 5% of those young brave sons of
Kashmir living now in their old age like me and the rest have vanished possibly
to convey to their-forefathers in heaven, the story of 1931.
These friends contacted me on 22nd Dec. It was rather shabby and
insolent to tell these friends that I was not fit, because this date was fixed
two months earlier. I got up and remained. I requested them to come
to this place again on 10th Dec. but I was flat on my bed with fever, cough and
cold. I am still in that condition. Today my doctor, an efficient man,
told me that I should go down to Srinagar for complete check up, possibly my
heart is involved. My friend, when I write you these lines I feel ashamed
but you can understand my plight.
There are some young men, thousands of miles away from their nativeland,
living in Calcutta who want to know the paper MARTAND that jumped into that
communal, simmering fire cauldron that Kashmir was in and how this great paper
became one of the strong instruments to extinguish this fire. It is a
shame for me that when these young men approach me with the request that I
should throw some light on that episode, I say that I am ill or that I was ill
and could not write anything about it. My friend, God knows how I feel
really sorry that I am completely unable to send my contribution by the time you
need it. My old age is a barrier for it and I am suffering so seriously
that my doctor advised me to move to hospital for check up. My dear Doctor
I have not the privilege of knowing you personally but as a spokesman of those
friends of Calcutta kindly communicate my difficulty.
I solemnly promise that as soon as I am well I will send my contribution
whenever you will command, provided I am still in this world.
With my blessings and prayers for the long lives of you all.
My greetings to you all.
I am livingly yours,
Sd/-
Kashyap Bandhu
[Reproduced from Vitasta Annual Number : Vol XXI, 1985 - Martand Number]
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