Peer Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor is popularly known as Shair-e-Kashmir ,the poet of Kashmir. There are contradictions about his exact date of birth but he is believed to have been born on 11th August ,1887(M.Y.Teng, Sheeraza, Mehjoor Number) . He was born in village Mitrigam in present day Pulwama district. Mehjoor was born in a household which was directly associated with education, mostly religious education. At a very young age of five years he was introduced to education and his father Abdullah Shah encouraged him to memorize the holy Quran .Subsequently, he was admitted in a school run in Tral area. The head of this institution was Abdul Ali Ganaie who was a scholar of Persian and Arabic and would try poetry in Kashmiri. This interaction is believed to have imbibed a taste for Kashmiri poetry in Mahjoor. After few years , Mehjoor was admitted in a famous Srinagar school Nusrat- ul Islam in 1901 but this bonhomie remained short lived as Mehjoor’s parents could not afford the expenditure. In few years time Mahjoor got introduced to Molvi Abdullah Bismil and Mohamad Din Fouq which proved a blessing in Mehjoor’s life . Association with these scholars and acquaintance with other people like Moulana Shibli Nomani sharpened and chiseled his outlook in high class poetry.
Mahjoor became a very popular poet and people adored him in his lifetime. Prof. Bashar Bashir analyses his popularity in the following words.
“….Mahjoor was a natural artist and his poetry raised his status. The way he bore hardships of life and made the suppressed voice of his natives a slogan reflects his brave heart. His experiments with change in Kashmiri poetry, at the level of thoughtfulness and form , graduated him into a poet of resistance.” Mahjoor’s time was when Kashmir was ruled by autocratic rulers and people were fed up with recurrent suppression on one side and accepted it as a form of only way out. Mahjoor propped up himself as a savior with his poetry which touched the common man’s heart. Quest for freedom from suppression became People’s movement and Mahjoor its representative. At a time Mahjoor’s poetry became a tool of raising passions for Azadi(freedom) . A couplet is recorded here which encompasses the relation between the voice of the people and their outlook for the goal .
Wala ho bagwano nawbaharuk shan paida kar
Pholan gul gath karan bulbul tithi saman paida kar
( Ye the gardener raise the new spring
So that flowers bloom, birds swirl ,create such conditions).
“ Mehjoor was fully aware of the historical background which was made available through Urdu, Persian and Kashmiri language during the time. He had gone through the writing of Indian and Iranian scholars” writes Arjan Dev Majboor. “In addition he was well aware of Kashmir history and had analyzed it .”
Tere Aslaf wo thay jin k ilm w fazal k aagay
Adab say jhuktay thay danishwaran –e-Hind O Iran
(The scholars of India and Iran bowed before the knowledge power of your forefathers)
These couplets are testimony to the fact the Mehjoor was aware that Indian and Iranian scholars respected the Kashmiri authors. It is a historical fact that, in tenth and eleventh century, whatever was written in Indian sub continent and Iran seal of approval by Kashmiri Sanskrit writers would be necessary to give it acceptance and raise its status. Mehjoor was of the opinion that Kashmiri King Zainulabdin Badshah was a teacher of Akbar viz a viz government running and Akbar learnt the administrative traits from Badshah. .
In the process he tries to awaken Kashmiris from deep slumber and asks them to keep the demand alive even if the political contours have shrinked. Mehjoor addresses the Bulbul to make his point ;
Maeri mond Tchog youd neuhai kat raewith
Bol Boshus ti ma korhai Thak
Dil kui rodad wan tche wetchnaewith
Tche ketou tchog rawrawith aakh.
(Your beautiful crest was cropped but your tongue is in place. You should put your heart out. Where did you lose the crest?)
P.N.Pushup writes that Mehjoor was influenced by the uprisings and other movements around the globe, particularly in the sub continent, like the one raised by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who wanted the down trodden Muslim community to take a plunge in education sector and adopt the English language . Mehjoor’s efforts had become known to the likes of Dr.Iqbal and Tagore. Among other letters written by Iqbal to Mehjoor one letter written on 12th March, 1924 is significant . “ Is it not possible that educated Kashmiri Muslims form a society which can search and safeguard the present literary artifacts ?You may write the history of Persian poetry in Kashmir .I am hopeful that such an effort shall be fruitful and, if, in future Kashmir has its own university this can be part of the syllabus for Persian language . I am sure fate of Kashmir will change very soon.”
Mehjoor’s introduction to Tagore has been recorded in an article authored by Abu Rashid and published in Hamdard (13th July 1937).
“ Someone had translated few Ghazals of Mehjoor into English and Tagore was fascinated .He then sent Davendra Satharthi to Kashmir who collected Mehjoor’s part poetry and presented in Shanti Neketan to Tagore who is believed to have been very much impressed.”
Balraj Sahni, the famous film maker, also wrote about Mehjoor in Vishwa Bharti magazine between Nov 1938 and January 1939. He also wrote about Tagore’s respect for Mehjoor. During the period Mehjoor, in reference to his poem Greesi Koor (The Peasant’s daughter), was called as Wordworth of Kashmir.
1931 is the most important year in the quest for freedom from autocratic rule. This year on 13th July scores of Kashmiri protestors were done to death by the autocratic ruler’s trigger happy security men deployed around the central jail and other places. The tragic incident evoked strong emotions for self rule . Mehjoor had been writing mostly romantic poetry but the incident turned his interest towards freedom movement .Prof. Manzoor Fazili writes, “ From 1931 his poetry achieved new horizon. Politics and freedom movement became important subjects of his poetry. His protest against the infamous Amritsar treaty under which Kashmir including land, people and livestock were sold and purchased for seventy five thousand rupees (Nankshahi ) is reflected in his stanza ;
Myon budi baba mal o jaan heth trama ponsan kanna aaw
Maal horum jaan chim baaqi kadan wuchi taw hisab
(My forefathers , including the property, were sold out cheaply.
I surrendered the property now they are after my life)
His poetry of resistance did not stop even after ouster of autocratic ruler .He seemed fed up with the lack of respect for common people. He lamented so called freedom through his poem Azadi (freedom).
Nabir Sheikh zaani kathi huend maani tus tcheli khanadaren heth
Sugov fariyadi pati kini luka hendi tas pyayi aazadi.
(The common man lost his spouse to abductors. He prayed to the powerful and his Azadi (freedom ) delivered somewhere else).
The author can be mailed at wanishafi999@gmail.com
