A Forgotten Hero Named Jassa

Sameer,

This is a nice article in many ways but there are a few problems with it, IMHO.

YLH,

You make some good criticisms. Some points:

1. Jasrat was a Gakkar not a Khokar. These are two distinct tribes and in actual fact the Khokars tend to look down on the Gakkars. Khokars inhabit the plains of Central Punjab while Gakkars inhabit the semi-hills of Potohar-Rawalpindi. The confusion arises because some historical sources refer to the Gakkars (in Arabic script) as ``Khakars``.

2. The Syed dynasty were, believe it or not, Punjabi Muslims not Turks! They are the only native South Asians (Muslim or Hindu) to sit on the throne of Delhi in the last 800 years (though the area under their control was not very large). Therefore the Gakkars, who never put up any real resistance to foriegn rulers, in fact helped to bring down the rule of their fellow Punjabis and to perpetuate foriegn rule in Punjab!

3. YLH is absolutely correct when he says the Gakkars fought only for themselves. Throughout the last 1000 years they were constantly at war with Punjabi Muslim tribes such as the Tiwanas and Gondals in neighbouring Chakwal and Sargodha districts

4. Gakkars under Jasrat brought nothing but misery and suffering to the citizens of Lahore (both Muslim and Hindu). They ravaged the city, destroyed it`s parks, gardens, mansions, schools and trading centres and terrorized it`s inhabitants.

Only two leaders in history have made a real impression on the minds of Punjabi Muslims, the tragic hero Abdulla Bhatti and the mighty Jatt from Gujranwalla Ranjeet Singh Sukerchakia. Both are glorified in folklore and to this day revered by rural Punjabis. There are very good reasons why they are still remmebered and Jasrat Gakkar is forgetten.

Zahra #6: I agree with most of what you said. The sorry state of monuments goes hand-in-hand with more important sorry state of affairs in Pakistan. The identity issue alone is not going to solve much. The purpose of this article is not to drop all other efforts for improvement and concentrate on identity. This is something that must be persued in parallel with other issues what Bilal Ahmad, Shandana Minhas, FerozK and other have been expressing so tirelessly. In the case of history as in other areas, it is always better to know more. This alone would be pleasing enough for me that I contributed to the knowledge of few individuals.

The Sufi and Sikhism were both influenced by another great movement, the Bhakti movement. My thinking is greatly influenced from my reading about Bhakti movement. What I have heard from others who are familiar with Guru Nanak`s teaching that it is impossible to consider it any different than wahdat-ul-wujood until you bring in the more important (for Muslims) aspects of kalima, namaz, roza, hajj and Shari`a.

Here is a quote from Guru Nanak which says it all.

``What terrible separation it is to be separated from God and what blissful union to be united with Him`` from Adi Granth, p. 1.

What better a Sufi follower has to hear from Guru Nanak, to respect him a great deal?

jassa ?....... this is the kind of hindu-inspired drivel that the students of the great islamic university in the basement of faisal masjid and the graduate researchers in blue area are trying to protect us from .....revisionists, heathens, followers of the satanic maulana azad and lovers of gandhian enemas are trying to corrupt the minds of the young and impressionable who know full well that india, a barren land inhabited by half naked kaffirs, was discovered by a young arab lad, muhammad bin qasim, and subsequently settled and civilized by turkic-arab-persian momins .........ask any pakistani fifth grader, when he is not busy memorizing surat tauba and surat yasin, and he will tell you the truth - jassa is the creation of the american-israeli-indian conspiracy against the islam.......

........ i just got back from islamabad and am glad to report that Maulana Akram called off the march on his proposed seat of the khilafat; the cable companies ``voluntarily`` suspended their transmissions for the last two days of ramadhan; most people dutifully swithched from zee-tv to ptv at iftar for as long as five minutes; in his jumatul-widah khutba the maulana ranted and raved against the evils of sending eid cards with pictures on them; in his eid khutba he ranted and raved against the decadence of the women in islamabad and chalenged our man-hood to do something about it - i promptly came home and set fire to my daughters` levis and my wife`s make-up kit; the jamiat threatened to disrupt pagan festivals on new-year`s eve but luckily fell asleep; the party at the marriott at 1500 per head was sold out; the boot-leggers were charging six thousand rupees for a fifth of black label - and it was sold out; the shariah court was established in Malakand and it is hoped that all banks in the agency will soon be shut down so that the tribesmen can revert to a riba free system run by drug lords from kandahar; at citibank you can still purchase foreign currency bonds paying libor plus two percent and open zakat-free FE-25 accounts - it is amazing to see the tellers count bags and briefcases full of US dollars; ........ god`s in heaven, the ce is in army house, nawaz is in mecca, benazir is in dubai and all is well with the world ....

on a more pleasent note .... murree road has been completed and we now have a beautiful six lane divided boulevard all the way from marir to faizabad - all we have to do now is get the maniacs off the road; the kids were suffering from severe big-mac withdrawal because pindites are still languishing at KFC while the lahorites are partying at half a dozen macdonald`s inspite of qazi sahib`s call to boycott american goods; the dry spell was finally broken inspite of the faithlessness of the leadership; the price of bananas miraclously dropped from sixty rupees a dozen to twenty on the last day of ramadhan; you can now drive from faisalabad to pindi in three and a half hours instead of eight but it still takes eight days to see the patwari of adaila; i am still convinced that polymer shoppers are a bigger threat to pakistan than the indian bomb - they will suffocate us soon; the locals are beginning to grumble about the millions of afghan ``guests`` who still haven`t taken a shower after so many years and are being accused of every crime from murder to strealing man-hole covers - astaghfirullah, a properly abluted native pakistani would never do such a thing; red-haired middle class women tell me that the kameez is rising and capri pajamas are in vogue......

....... the institue of policy studies, which strategically looks down on the nefarious boutiques in Jinnah Super and its now ankle -bared patrons, continues to put out scholarly papers on the myth of jassa, the evils of riba, the great american conspiracy and the virtues of hijab.......

Sameer:

A nice article!

I liked the introduction - it was kind of taking one away from the modern world[elec-telc-research-software mania]to the fantasy land[history].

``The heroes are remembered in epics, in folklore, by making monuments in their memory and naming places after them.``

Yes, but is that enough? Despite the palm-pilot mania, I still like to carry a Franklin Planner - each page has a ``word of wisdom`` by a famous person. I have come across many by Khalil Gibran and Mahatma Gandhi by now. After reading a very moving story of Puran Bhagat, last year - I just wished some of his thoughts and actions were shared with the rest of the world. There is a lot of beauty and depth in our soil that is resting in the ``famous well,`` somewhere, near Sialkot. [I shared my notes with my father after reading this very disturbing story and Abu told me that the ``well`` still exists.] It is indeed sad that we never get to hear about these heroes and have been spending more time on the HRCR`s buk buk - I guess, different agendas!

A reality check: The historical sites that you`ve mentioned aren`t in a good shape that one would like to take a stroll and imagine being in the Raja/Maharaja days. In fact, passing by Shalimar Gardens [during my undergrad days at UET]I`d been in afsoas than in any kind of day dreaming. Culture[religious beliefs, social and moral codes and the courtesies of civilized behavior - as stated in Folk Romances of Pakistan By Sayyid Fayyaz Mahmud] stays alive as long as there are people who care to keep it alive.

On another note, I have grown up hearing teachings of Guru Nanak from my dear father. I`d agree with you that he was very well respected among Muslims. His teachings were very poignant, enlightening and close to Islamic view points. Most of the Sufia` happened to do the same job - enlighten! They conveyed their message regardless of their disciples`leanings. This should also lead to the point that none of the religious leaders disrespected other religions in those days. In fact, they welcomed all and sundry. In Guru Nanak`s case, I think it was also due to the affiliation with the soil that he was very much loved and respected. Water and soil, both are great binding factors!

Lastly, I am a little disappointed to see your list of modern day heroes/heroines. Many aren`t amongst us. Will you still regard them as ``modern day heroes?`` Out of six, only two are alive. Your list of heroes/heroines needs a little revision and should incorporate the ones who are alive and living besides Edhi and Asma J. Just a thought!

The following paras were worth contemplating:

``Was Jasrat a hero, a rebel or both? Do we really need a historical hero of native origin for identity in an atmosphere that accepts past heroes only of non-native origins? What is the problem to which Jasrat as a hero is the solution? It is for the sake of integral identity; an identity with a lion share of peoples` heritage. A thorough brainwashing with the help of textbooks, media, teaching and believing only from victors` standpoint has taken place. Additionally, removing all references of masses resistance and a strategy of silence about the stories of leaders who stood up for the rights of their people has resulted in recognition of rulers like Mahmud Ghaznavi, Ahmad Shah Abdali and Aurangzeb as heroes. Their imposition as our heroes is unfair to our traditions and heritage.

Here was a man who symbolized the people`s struggle against tyranny and foreign yoke as much as Shivaji did two centuries later. While Shivaji`s name is written in gold in the annals of people`s history of India, Jasrat`s is completely ignored in Pakistan. Jasrat was to Sultanate what Shivaji was to Mughals. Reading about Jasrat from several well-known history books, one finds no mention of religious differences among his followers. He was popular not only among his tribe but his successful activities in central and eastern Punjab suggest his popularity among other tribes also. He was against foreign rulers who were demanding lot more in taxes and tributes from his people than they could afford.``

In short, an interesting way of questioning history!

Take Care

rajanjua #1: Thanks for reading the article. I, myself came to know about this part of history only two weeks ago and wanted to know more from feedback through interaction. I believe it is good to know history from people`s point of view also. We are fortunate to have some enlightened historians in Pakistan, similar to Howard Zinn in USA. It is always better to see both sides of the mirror for a clear picture. I have used Jasrat as an example. As I learn more, it is possible to find even better characters from our history.

Bilal Ahmad #2: This was an article on demand, written, accepted and published too quickly. Here are two references I consulted about Jasrat. As you can see, rest of the material is my own thinking. I assure you that I am more open to accept any idea if it is better than my thinking-thanks to my research training in science.

1. History of the Punjab by S. M. Latif, p. 262-264.

2. ``People`s Struggle Against Political Tyranny`` by Dr. Buddha Prakash in History of the Punjab, Vol III, Ed. by L. M. Joshi and Fauja Singh. This article describes Jasrat career in detail with very large number of cross references including Tareekh Farishta, Tareekh-e-Mubarak Shahi.

I believe that both of these references rely heavily on Tareekh-e-Mubarak Shahi (based on most frequent citations). The inspiration to include Jasrat story in otherwise an identity related article came from reading Dr. Buddha Prakash`s article.

YLH #3: It is true that Khokars have a long history of rebellion But this story did not take place in khokar heartland. Do you know why Khokars were so rebellious? Because there area was at the middle of the road from Kabul to Panipat until the GT road by Suri. Their land being at the intersection of Indus plateau and Punjab plains was less forested, more easily cultivable, producing grain.

Hero are not perfect people, some are even more evil than good. It is the purpose that turns behind mythical or historical figures into heroes. It was my purpose in this article to find heroes from the native converts.

By the way, I do not have khokar roots.

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As a Pakistani I have no feelings for the Dehli Sultanate or whatever Muslim Kingdoms there were

despite the fact that I have done extensive reading on this.

Jasrat, like Shiva Jee, was an opportunist. It is sad that these opportunist trouble makers later become glorified in folk lore as rebels against the status quo. Written from a very Pakistani perspective no doubt, but still it shows confusion on the part of people Sameer JB.

Khokars didnot create trouble because of they were fighting against tyranny or oppression. Gakhars and Khokars had stood up against many rulers foreign and local. Sure from a native perspective you can glorify their struggle against Mahmud or against the Lodhis etc The truth is that Khokars fought against anyone who was a Non Khokar. They were almost a nation unto themselves, a fierce and proud people. Today a lot of them serve in the Pakistan Army.

Sher Shah Suri (1470-1545) also waged a number of wars against the Khokars which had prompted him to build the ``Rohtas`` fort in Jehlum (Rohtas Fort in Bihar had been his original head quarters which he got through marriage with his second wife, the widow of the Amir of Rohtas).

Khokars also fought on the side of the invading Mughals under Humayun and later Bairam Khan against Himmu Baqqal the Hindu General of the Suris....

In the bigger picture, and in light of the complexities of Indian History, I think this article is an emotional article without any sense of direction and I think chowk can do better than to promote pseudo-intellectualism.

-Yasser Hamdani

Dear Sameer:

A very well written article with an extremely sensible conclusion/message. Thanks!

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

P.S. Is this article historically valuable? I am not sure. A few citations would have helped.

Interesting, educational. Thanks Sameer.