Many people have accused Kashmiris of being dishonest and untrustworthy for a long time but over the last decade or two more and more people have been more vocal about it. Kashmiris have been described as notoriously treacherous and unscrupulous. There are many proverbs which describe them as rouges and not worthy of friendship.

Agar kahat ul rijal uftad, azehan uns kamgiri

Yake Afghan, doyum Kamboh soyam badzaat Kashmiri.

Although a scarcity of men should happen, do not cultivate the acquaintance of these three people:

The first an Afghan, the second a Kamboh and the third a rascal Kashmiri.

The Kashmiris have borne the reputation of being untrustworthy not only throughout India but throughout the world. According to the Kalahana’s Rajatarangini (the historical chronicle of Kashmir), the Kashmiris were noted to be dishonest and cunning. William Moorcroft in his Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab, in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawur, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara, from 1819 to 1825, writes, “In character the Kashmirian is selfish, superstitious, ignorant, supple, intriguing, dishonest and false; he has great ingenuity as a mechanic, and a decided genius for manufactures and commerce, but his transactions are always conducted in a fraudulent spirit.” Numerous people have written on Kashmir and most of them have nothing good to say of the character of Kashmiri people (p. 128).

The Kashmiris themselves have been at the forefront of it and have left no stone unturned to malign the character of fellow Kashmiris. A great number of conversations taking place between fellow Kashmiris even today, end up targeting the character of Kashmiris “Ye Gāye Kashir Khaslat” (this is the character of Kashmiris). Even a group of people talking about politics, business or anything for that matter use such phrases quite often.

While most of authors who have written disparaging accounts on the character of Kashmiris do appreciate the tyranny and oppression faced by the people. There are some Kashmiris who believe that they were once brave, honest, honorable people and that continued oppression has led them to be dishonest, tactful and opportunistic which they believe have helped them to survive even in worst times.

A glimpse through Kashmiri’s history suggests that even during Kalhana’s time Kashmir was in political turmoil and it was at the centre of barbarism. For many years Kashmiris were taught that they were slaves and did not have any rights. They were called Zulm parast, or worshippers of tyranny. The persecution and ill treatment of Kashmiris has been recorded over centuries.

Biscoe in his Kashmir in Sunlight and shade notes, “Kashmir has been conquered and re-conquered by invaders, who have murdered, oppressed and enslaved their ancestors, and so ground the life and heart out of them that their better selves have been crushed” and has even gone to the extent of saying: “It is quite possible that if we Britishers had to undergo what the Kashmiris have suffered in the past we might have lost our manhood.” (p. 79).

The Kashmiris have fought and struggled very hard for their survival and the only weapons available to him were lying and treachery. This has also been noted by Lawrence in The valley of Kashmir (p. 279).

Moorcroft also admits that “the vices of the Kashmiris are not innate, but are due to the government under which they lived. The natives of Kashmir have always been considered as amongst the most lively and ingenious people of Asia and deservedly so…” (ibid)

Allen Stacey in his Visiting Kashmir notes, history of natural disasters- floods, heavy snows, earthquakes etc- also played a part. “Survival was the one constant in the changing patterns of the Kashmiri people. To survive calamity, and conquest, they needed to develop a certain amount of guile, cunning and ruthlessness in both business and barter. Perhaps because of this many succumbed to an increasing lack of personal inner strength or morality. What did it matter though, when tomorrow might never come? And indeed, for many it did not” (p. 34).

The Kashmiris have suffered for long under the Salatini Kashmir (the Muslims of Kashmir), the Mughals, the Afghans, the Sikhs and the Dogras. Later they were betrayed by the leaders of India and Pakistan and even by their own leaders- from Nehru to Jinnah to Sheikh Abdullah down to this day. In fact it would not be wrong to say that persecution has been a major part of Kashmiri history.

Lawrence concludes that “the Kashmiri is what his rulers have made, but I believe and hope that two generations of just and strong rule will transform him into a useful, intelligent, and a fairly honest man.” (p. 283) ibid.

Despite their continued sufferings and persecution, Kashmiris ask: “aisi bhi koi shab hai jis ki sahar na ho” (can there be a night which does not yield to dawn). The emotions of Kashmiris cannot be expressed any better than by these couplets of Asrar-Ul-Haq Majaz:

Yeh musalsal aafaten, yeh shorishen, yeh qatal-e-aam

Aadmi kab tak rahe auham-e-baatil ka ghulaam.

Zehan-e-insaani ne ab auham ke zulmaat mein

Zindagi ki sakht toofani andheri raat mein.

Kuch nahin tau kam se kam khawab-e-sehar dekha tau hai

Jis taraf dekha na tha ab tak udhar dekha tau hai.

Those endless misfortunes, those sufferings, those carnages

How long can man remain enslaved to arbitrariness and deceit.

Now the human mind, amidst the tyranny of arbitrariness.

In the dark stormy night of life.

Has dreamed at last of a new dawn, if nothing else

Has looked down towards a vista it had never seen before.

M Syed