Khalid Bashir’s ‘Kashmir – Shock, Fury, Turmoil’ unravels one of the most baffling mysteries in Kashmir’s history – the holy relic theft – and excavates it from the ‘dark chambers’ where it has been buried for decades. A review by Z.G.Muhammad
Writers often find themselves irresistibly drawn to certain subjects, especially those shrouded in mystery and intrigue. When a topic is veiled in mist and fog over time, it becomes obscured, enigmatic, and ripe for exploration.
The theft of the Holy Relic of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is one such captivating subject. It has gradually evolved into one of the world’s most unresolved mysteries, transcending history and moving into the realm of literature and fiction.
Numerous leads, scattered around from oral traditions to written records, suggest a path for an astute observer to uncover the truth behind the relic’s disappearance. For Muslims, this sacred relic holds immense emotional and sentimental value, amplifying the importance of the mystery. The fragmented evidence and historical accounts resemble the elusive Voynich manuscript, which has remained undeciphered for over six hundred years.
As a young child who witnessed the profound shock and emotional upheaval caused by the relic’s disappearance from its sanctum sanctorum, the subject lingered in my mind. I, too, felt a compelling urge to delve into this unresolved enigma.
Some writers have considered unrolling the wheels within wheels of secrets, further complicated by the various governments’ inexcusable silence over the six decades since the theft. Despite trying to uncover the mystery, many authors were misled by the notorious dictum of B.N. Mullick, then Chief of Intelligence: “This secret will remain in my dark chambers and will go with me to my grave.”
Without stating what they derived from it, they silently concluded any research on the subject would be a wild goose chase. Khalid Bashir has been among the few who, despite the claim made by Mullick, took up the subject after decades to relook in depth in the disappearance of the Holy Relic and its mysterious restoration — and the culprits behind the theft.
A cover of “Kashmir – Shock, Fury, Turmoil- Theft of Prophet’s Relic, Outrage and Spin-Off” by Khalid Bashir
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“Kashmir: Shock, Fury, Turmoil – Theft of Prophet’s Relic” is the first significant work on this subject, providing an in-depth examination of the complex web of secrecy and intrigue that has surrounded the theft for so long.
The 446-page book that hit the stands in December 2024 results from many years of strenuous research, delving into dusty official files and archival material, documenting the oral history, reaching out to some eyewitnesses, and revisiting earlier works. Without fear of contradictions, one can say that by sifting through multiple narratives, the author has endeavoured to separate the chaff from the grain to demystify the guarded secret.
In the almost six hundred years since Islam became the faith of 96% of Kashmir’s population, the theft of the Holy Relic was the first and rudest shock that the people of the region suffered when they learned about it on the frosty morning of December 27, 1963.
Millions of people who witnessed those grim days, including this reviewer, experienced the intensity of the shock and its fallout—the protest rallies and the movement that shook the centres of power in Srinagar and New Delhi. The book exhaustively documents this period, not just its obvious side but those sealed in official closets.
Through a meticulous examination of official records, the author enables readers to learn about developments outside the public’s gaze. He helps readers understand the gravity of the situation after the theft and the public outcry against it, transcending religious divides for generations born after the incident.
The story of the Moi-e-Muqaddas, the Holy Relic of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), doesn’t begin with the arrival of Islam in Srinagar; it starts a few centuries later.
A cover of “Kashmir – Shock, Fury, Turmoil- Theft of Prophet’s Relic, Outrage and Spin-Off” by Khalid Bashir
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Hazratbal, the site where it was enshrined, gained immense religious significance. Khalid captures the fully documented journey of the relic with solemnity for the book’s readers. The relic’s arrival is one of the most significant developments in the history of Islam in Kashmir, making Muslims see its resting place, Hazratbal, as a second Madinah — a place of pilgrimage and reverence that gathers hundreds of devotees. The book elaborates in detail on the centrality of Hazratbal in the religious, social, and political life of Kashmiris.
For about six decades, the truth behind the theft and its mysterious recovery has become most obscure in the multiplicity of discourses and narratives. The book, with the prying eyes of a detective and the incisiveness of a historian, examines all the available and unexplored narratives to make untold truth evident to the reader.
Many narratives are as gripping as Agatha Christie’s novels — sometimes, these narratives make the reader point towards one or another person or agency behind the mysterious theft and shadowy discovery. With deftness, having gone through various stories in the public domain and buried in dusty official records, one great thing that has happened to the author is gaining access to a handwritten, unexplored note of a senior police officer connected with the investigation.
In definite terms, the book does not point out the culprits behind the theft but subtly pinpoints them.
The author has not ended the story with the recovery of the Holy Relic, helping the readers understand the conspiracy behind the theft and enabling them to identify the people behind the crime by meticulously exploring the multiple narratives available about it in the oral discourse, works of history, and archival material he has been able to reach for the first time but takes it beyond.
Chronicling the happenings after the theft, he not only brings documents of certain undocumented developments but also deconstructs and demystifies some narratives that had passed on the pages of history as gospel truth.
A cover of “Kashmir – Shock, Fury, Turmoil- Theft of Prophet’s Relic, Outrage and Spin-Off” by Khalid Bashir
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A cover of “Kashmir – Shock, Fury, Turmoil- Theft of Prophet’s Relic, Outrage and Spin-Off” by Khalid Bashir
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After the Moi-e-Muqaddas’s recovery, the story extends continuity to the major tormented Kashmir story starting in 1846. This portion of the book begins with the chapter “Agitation Spillover,” spreading over a few chapters comprising almost half of the book covering many vital events up to the Indira-Abdullah agreement that enabled Sheikh Abdullah to become Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
This portion not only chronicles the important events such as the birth of student activism, the germination of “armed resistance” in a section of youth like Ghulam Rasool Zahgeer, the breaking of the Action Committee exposing the hegemonic mindset and insincerity of Kashmir politicians, but also lays bare some fake narratives woven around Sheikh Abdullah’s visit to Pakistan in May 1964.
The book analyzes the genesis of the “Confederation proposal” that Sheikh Abdullah had offered to the President of Pakistan, Mohammad Ayub Khan. The chapter “Fallout” is the longest in the book, spreading over seventy-eight pages. It is an exhaustive commentary on the developments regarding Jammu and Kashmir and, more importantly, diplomatic and Indo-Pakistan relations. The appendices to the book are important documents that add to the work of scholarship.
In summary, I can confidently say that Khalid Bashir’s book is one of the major works on contemporary Kashmir politics after three European historians, Lamb, Schofield, and Snedden, who have extensively written contemporary political history of Jammu and Kashmir.
Name of the Book: Kashmir Shock Fury Turmoil
Theft of Prophet’s Relic Outrage and Spin-Off
Author: Khalid Bashir Ahmad
Publisher: Gulshan Books New Delhi/Srinagar
Pages: 446
Price Paper Back: 795
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Z.G.Muhammad is a noted writer and columnist
