Taraaj-E Shia in Kashmir

Taraaj-e Shia
Table of Contents
Background............................................................................ 2
The Incidents ......................................................................... 3
The First Taraaj .............................................................. 3
The Second Taraaj ......................................................... 3
The Third Taraaj ............................................................ 4
The Fourth Taraaj .......................................................... 4
The Fifth Taraaj ............................................................. 5
The Sixth Taraaj............................................................. 5
The Seventh Taraaj ........................................................ 6
The Eighth Taraaj .......................................................... 6
The Ninth Taraaj ............................................................ 7
The Tenth Taraaj ............................................................ 7
References: ............................................................................ 8
1
The Plunder of Shias, known in Kashmir's history as Taraaj-e

Shia (Urdu: ‫)تاراج شیعہ‬,
ِ refers to the ten campaigns of terror
against Shias of Kashmir in the years 1548, 1585, 1636, 1686,
1719, 1741, 1762, 1801, 1831 and 1872 CE, carried out by
Sunni clergy and fanatic militias of the area and abroad; during
which the Shia neighborhoods were plundered, Shia people
including women and children were slaughtered, raped or burnt
alive, books were burnt, corpses mutilated and sacred sites
were destroyed[1][2][3].
In the medieval period, the Middle East saw bloody clashes
between both sects but the Indian subcontinent remained safe
and peaceful because of the secular policy of Mughals. Until
the end of the seventeenth century AD, only two anti-Shia
books were written in India: Minhaj al-Din by Makhdoom-ul
Mulk Mullah Abdullah Sultanpuri and Radd-e Rawafiz by
Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi. As far as armed violence is concerned,
the medieval period has only few examples of Shias being
killed for their beliefs, most notable incidents are the killing of
Abdullah Shah Ghazi in 769 CE, the destruction of Multan by
Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi in 1005 CE, the persecution of
Shias of Delhi at the hands of Sultan Feroz Shah (1351–1388
CE), and the target killing of Mullah Ahmad Thathavi in 1589
CE. However, the killer of Mulla Ahmad Thathavi was served
justice by Emperor Akbar. The death of Syed Nurullah
Shushtari seems to be politically motivated as Emperor
Jahangir disliked his father who did not consider him suitable
for the throne, and persecuted men of his court. The region of
Srinagar in Kashmir is an exception in middle ages with ten
bloody Taraaj-e Shia campaigns.
2
Background
In 1381 CE, after Timur invaded Iran, Mir Syed Ali Hamdani,
an Iranian Sufi arrived in Kashmir with a large number of
disciples and preached Islam. He instilled the love of Ahlul
Bayt in the hearts of the new converts and wrote many books
and tracts. Shi'ism was properly introduced by Mir Shams-ud
Din Iraqi[4] whose grandfather Syed Muhammad Noor Bakhsh
belonged to the Sufi order of Mir Syed Ali Hamdani and had
huge following base in Iran, Qandhar, Kabul and Kashmir. Mir
Shams-ud Din arrived in Kashmir in 1481 CE and then returned
to Iran. Twenty years later in 1501 CE, he came to Kashmir
again, along with 700 Shia Sufis, scholars and missionaries. In
1505 CE, the King of the Shah Mir Dynasty converted to
Shi'ism and so did the Chak clan of Kashmir. Mir Shams-ud
Din Iraqi traveled in the valleys of Himalayas and spread
Shi'ism from Skardu to Tibet, converting thousands of Hindus
and Buddhists to Shi'ism. In 1516 CE, the Shia Chak dynasty
was established and forcible conversions of Hindus began. In
1586 CE, Kashmir was merged with the Mughal Empire.
Mughals appointed talented officers and contributed greatly to
the cultural and economic life of Kashmir[5]. In 1753 CE
Kashmir got conquered by Ahmad Shah Abdali, whose
descendants ruled over Kashmir untill they lost it to Sikhs in
1819 CE. The Kashmir valley came under the Dogra rule with
the treaty of Amritsar signed between the British and
Maharajah Gulab Singh of Jammu in 1846.
According to the 1873 British gazetteer of Kashmir:
"The Sunnis far outnumber the Shias, . . . of the latter there
were said to be only a thousand houses, numbering about five
or six thousand souls, . . . found chiefly at Zadibal, about two
3
koss to the north of Srinagar, at Nandapor and Hassanabad,

near to the city lake. Though so few in number, the men of this
sect form the most active, industrious, and well-to-do portion
of the Mohamedan community. The finest papier-mache
workers and shawl makers in Srinagar are Shias, and some of
the wealthiest men in the city belong to that sect"[6].
The Incidents
The First Taraaj
In 1532 CE, Sultan Said Khan dispatched an army under the
command of Mirza Haider Dughlat that attacked Kashmir from
Kashgar [7]. He was a Sunni religious scholar and therefore he
hated Shias. Soon he suffered a military defeat and fled to the
Mughal King Humayun in Lahore. He returned in 1540 CE,
accompanied by Mughal troops, at the invitation of one of the
two rival factions that continually fought for power in Kashmir.
He put an end to the Chak rule. His reign was a reign of terror
and Shias had no choice but to practice Taqiyya [7]. In 1550
CE, on the recommendation of fanatic Sunni elites Edi Reinah
and Haji Banday and clerics Qazi Ibrahim and Qazi Abdul
Ghafoor, he destroyed the Shia neighborhoods, dug the grave
of Mir Shams-ud Din Iraqi and burnt his corpse, and killed
hundreds of Shias including Mir Danial, the son of Mir Shams-
ud Din Iraqi. He had been arrested a year ago for proselytizing
in Kargil and Skardu region. His assassination was compared
by the Shias to the incidents Karbala [8]. This sparked an all-
out Shia uprising and Dughlat was assassinated by the end of
the same year and the Chak rule was restored [9].
The Second Taraaj

4
In 1585 CE, Mirza Qasim Khan attacked Kashmir to annex it

into Mughal Empire. When the Chak troops went outside to
face the Mughal army, Sunni rebels set the Shia neighborhood
of Zadibal on fire, looted their belongings and raped the Shia
women. They fled through Poonch to join the Mughal
army[10]. The Chak rule came to an end.
The Third Taraaj

In 1636 CE, while people were picking fruits, an argument
started between a Shia and a Sunni and it escalated to an all-out
attack on the Shia neighborhoods. The Shia neighborhood of
Zadibal was destroyed, inhabitants slaughtered, and the tomb
of Mir Shams-ud Din Iraqi was burnt to the ground [11].
The Fourth Taraaj

In 1686 CE, the fourth Taraaj started with a financial matter
between a Shia businessman Abdul Shakoor and a Sunni
fanatic. Abdul Shakoor was alleged to have insulted the
Companions of the Prophet and a local cleric issued a fatwa
against him. The governor Ibrahim Khan offered him security
and tried to control the situation, but the Sunni clerics managed
to bring in millitias of Sunni Pashtun tribesmen from as far as
Kabul, led by Alaf Khan, Farid Khan and Mirza Muqim, etc.
They forced the governor to hand over the Shia businessman to
the mob for lynching. After that, the militias went on to attack
the Shia neighborhood of Hasan Abad, killing many. A Sunni
cleric, Mulla Muhammad Tahir Mufti tried to stop the mob, but
his house was set on fire too. Another Shia notable, Baba
Qasim, was caught by the invading militias, humiliated and
5
tortured to death. The state tried to control the riots and some
of the perpetrators were punished by death [12].
The Fifth Taraaj

In 1719 CE, a Sunni cleric Mulla Abd-un Nabi, also known as
Mahtavi Khan, returned to Kashmir after being awarded a
special status of Shaikh-ul Islam by the Emperor in Delhi.
Following an argument with some Hindu officials of the
government, he issued a fatwa which banned horse riding,
covering head and wearing respectable dress for all the Hindus
and also made it mandatory for them to send their children to
the Islamic school (madrassa) and imposed religious tax on
them. The governor refused to implement this fatwa and he was
backed by the opinion of other clerics. This affair led to riots,
the fanatics among the Sunnis started to attack Hindu
properties, and police had to use force to protect them. The
governor ordered the arrest of Mulla Abd-un Nabi, whose
supporters retaliated by attacking the army. Meanwhile Mulla
Abd-un Nabi got killed and rumors spread that a Shia official
had conspired his assassination. The supporters of Mulla, led
by his son Sharaf-ud Din, attacked the Shia neighborhood of
Zadibal, and set it on fire. People were murdered, women were
raped. Some women and children tried to hide in the tomb of
Mir Shams-ud Din Iraqi, but when the Sunni mob reached
there, the tomb was set on fire and those hiding inside were
burnt alive. The Mughal governor was deposed and Kashmir
remained a lawless land for one and a half year. In 1721 CE,
the Mughal army entered Kashmir and restored order [13].
Sharaf-ud Din and fifty others were sentenced to death [14].
The Sixth Taraaj

6
In 1741 - 1745 CE, there was another rebellion against the

Mughal rule. Taking advantage of the situation, the rebels
inflicted atrocities towards the Shia Muslims. Their houses
were attacked and they were forced to pay heavy taxes and
fines [15].
The Seventh Taraaj

In 1762 - 1764 CE, the Afghan ruler of Kashmir Buland Khan
Bamzai persecuted the Shias. Once the rumor spread that some
Shias have passed negative remarks about a Sufi saint
Habibullah Nowsheri. Furious Sunni mob attacked Zadibal
neighborhood and torched the houses belonging to the Shias.
Buland Khan ordered arrests of the Shias accused of
blasphemy. They were terribly tortured and humiliated by
cutting off their nose, limbs, ears, and heavy fines were
imposed on them [16].
The Eighth Taraaj

In 1801 CE, Muharram procession was attacked by a Sunni
mob after rumors spread that Shias were doing tabarra. The
Pashtuns and extremists among the local Sunnis got together to
attack the Shia neighborhood. They looted the belongings and
raped the women [17]. The British gazetteer notes:
"In the times of the Pathans, the Shias were not allowed to
enact the feast of Moharem. In the time of Abdullah Khan, who
made himself independent of his master at Kabul, they
attempted to celebrate, but were attacked and plundered, and
their houses burnt; some 150 of them (for there were very few
in the city) were collected, their noses pierced, and one string
7
passed through them all, and thus linked together, they were
made to perambulate the bazars"[6].
The Ninth Taraaj

Kashmir was conquered by Sikhs in 1819. Since the reign of
Emperor Aurangzeb, the Shias were supposed to provide the
new carpets every year for Jamia Masjid, Srinagar. In 1831 CE,
it was alleged that they delayed the delivery of the carpets and
used them for Muharram gatherings in Imambara Zadibal. An
argument erupted and when the news spread to the city, a mob
attacked the Shia neighborhood. Precious belongings were
looted and women were raped. Some Sunni men even cut the
private parts of their female victims with knives [18]. The
British gazetteer notes:
"in the time of the governor Bama Singh, the Shias attempted
to celebrate the Moharem, but the enraged Sunnis fell upon
them, killed fifteen of them, and plundered their property; and
the Persian merchants, of whom there were two or three
hundred, retreated from Kashmir and have never since resided
there"[19].
The Tenth Taraaj

In 1872 CE, during the yearly gathering (Urs) at the Shrine of
a Sunni sufi saint Syed Muhammad Madani, the Sunnis
demolished parts of the Shia mosque nearby. The Shias got
together and beat the attackers up. The news spread in the city
and a Sunni mob attacked the Shia neighborhood at dawn. The
government acted swiftly and arrested around 1000 people.
After investigations, some of the rioters were handed prison
sentence for 2 to 3 years. The looters were made to pay for the
8
losses, which amounted to 280, 000 rupees [20]. The British

gazetteer narrates the riots as follows:
"the disturbances then raged for more than a weak, and for
some time defied the efforts of the governor, who called in the
aid of troops; whole districts were reduced to smoldering heaps
of ruins; and business was for some time entirely suspended, a
great portion of the city being deserted. The Shias fled in every
direction, some seeking safety on the adjacent mountains, while
others remained in the city in secret lurking places. Many of
the women and children of the Shias found an asylum from the
hands of their infuriated co-religionists in the houses of the
Hindu portion of the community. When order was at length
restored, the ringleaders of the riot were seized and
imprisoned, besides hundreds or thousands, it is said, of the
poorer inhabitants” [21].
References:
1. Pir Ghulam Hasan Khuihami, "Ta'rikh-e Hasan", vol.
1, "Taraaj-e Shia", p. 479, Research & Publ. Dpt.,
Jammu & Kashmir Gov., Srinagar (1960).
2. Zaheen, "Shi'ism in Kashmir, 1477–1885",
International Research Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.
4(4), 74–80, April (2015).
3. Seyed (2017-06-13). "Shias of Kashmir: Socio-
political dilemmas". IUVMPRESS. Retrieved 2020-
01-23.
4. S. A. A. Rizvi, "A Socio-Intellectual History of Isna
Ashari Shi'is in India", Vol. 1, pp. 168–169, Mar'ifat
Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
9
5. Christopher Snedden, "Understanding Kashmir and

Kashmiris", Oxford University Press, p. 29, (2015).
ISBN 9781849043427.
6. Gazetteer of the Kashmir, p. 31, (1872-73).
7. S. A. A. Rizvi, "A Socio-Intellectual History of Isna
Ashari Shi'is in India", Vol. 1, pp. 171–177, Mar'ifat
Publishing House, Canberra (1986).
1, "Taraaj-e Shia", pp. 480-481, Research & Publ.
Dpt., Jammu & Kashmir Gov., Srinagar (1960).
4(4), p. 77, April (2015).
4(4), p. 79, April (2015).
1, "Taraaj-e Shia", pp. 489 - 490, Research & Publ.
10

19. Gazetteer of the Kashmir, pp. 31 - 32, (1872-73).
21. Gazetteer of the Kashmir, p. 32, (1872-73).

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Taraaj-e Shia

The Plunder of Shias, known in Kashmir's history as Taraaj-e

koss to the north of Srinagar, at Nandapor and Hassanabad,

The Second Taraaj

In 1585 CE, Mirza Qasim Khan attacked Kashmir to annex it

The Third Taraaj

The Fourth Taraaj

The Fifth Taraaj

The Sixth Taraaj

In 1741 - 1745 CE, there was another rebellion against the

The Seventh Taraaj

The Eighth Taraaj

The Ninth Taraaj

The Tenth Taraaj

losses, which amounted to 280, 000 rupees [20]. The British

5. Christopher Snedden, "Understanding Kashmir and

16. Pir Ghulam Hasan Khuihami, "Ta'rikh-e Hasan", vol.

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