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CHAPTER — 2N0 (SOCIAL £n*NCIP*TION\
SOCIAL EMANC1P AT IQN»
Kashmiri society was afcerse to change until the beginning
of the twenteeth century, when changes began to take place owing
to the developed means of communication and transport* Despite
conservatism of the masses, a section of enlifhtened people taskU'p
ttve against the worn out traditions and customs*
Both the Hindus* *nd the Muslims of the Valley have an
elobrate code of rituals and ceremonies with regard to birth,2marriage and death, A careful study of the old customs and
traditions reveals that they s t i l l continue to practise by a great
majority of the people.
The Muslims differed from the Hindus in many of their
customs with regard to birth, marriage and death, but they had
resemblances in cert sin respects* Both were superstitious* For
instance, when there was a cholera or smallpox epidemic in the
valley, its occurence was attributed to the olnls and God or
1* Mr* Ernest Neve remarks, "the Hindus" whole l i fe , from the hour ?f his birth t i l l the day when he dies and his son sets light of his funeral pyre* is regulated by an elaborate code of religious rites, ceremonies and customs* These Involve daily worship with ablutions and offerings to idols of flowers and food, frequent fastings, and the observance of a very large nuonber of holy days? Beyond The
p- 240*2* Lawrence, OP* c l t . , pp. 257-71# fyndale Biscoe, op. c i ty
pp. 153-168* A. k* Bemzai# "The Kashmir yandltf pp. 21-27*
19
goddeaeaj while the Muslim* consulted the Fir4, the Pandits
perfumed some regular ceremonies uhen smallpox attacked their
chi ldren. These ceremonies, however* ceased to exist owing to5the spread of modern education*
The social evils that had crept in the Kashmiri society6did not escape the notice of Christian Missionaries. Inspired
by evangelical zeal they attempted to r«for a thy society* At the sane ti«e *ry« *ernejlets, Ahmedlyas and Wahabi *s, made their appearance in Sr interne to counter the missionary propog and a. rhus
7Committees and associations rapidly came into being in £rlnagar.
section— I < 3oclal Refor«_MQya^ntA)• • •
^he a rye Semaj was the earliest re-organised organisation.
?he word "Arya* is an ancient Indian epithet meaning "noble* and
the * SaraaJ" mean* "Society" or assembly. Arya SamaJ then mean*
"society of the noble?
3. fyndale Biscoe, op. d t » p. 63.
4. fo the custodians of local shrines the plague provided aunique occasion for trading upon the superstitions of the people. It is they who were the greatest obstacle* to the success of or. Arthur **eve, efforts, Shephered# o c .c l t .»P# 101.
5. Tyndale Biscoe, op. c i t . . p. 160.
6. Christlan .-Misf lonarles and the.we stern... ts&» chapter v .
7. Mohd Jsheq Khan# History of Jrinactr. p, 114.
20
?he Semaj was founded by a Gujrati Brahmin sect.
Day an end SarSwetl# on 10th of April* 1975 at Soabay. Fhe real
na»t of Sweatl D«y«nmd was Mulshan*ar son of Anb« 3hankax«
fhe Semaj was represented In the Valley by those Hindus
who had come from Punjab as stats etqployees and by those who had
settled permanently or semi-perananetitly in the city for business
purposes. It was set op in tha stats in 1892* but at the turn of
the century there were four Arya 3ar»aj associations in the state#
of then two were prominent, which were located in Musurl Bagh.
Srineser. To begin with, the SaraeJ did not register any success.
On account of the hostility with Charaai s«bhau purely of Kashmir10
Pandits . But with the passage of tim«# the Kashmiri bandits
extended their support to the Semaj in its social work. Ansuncj
the local reformers may be mentioned ^hrl Ram Chanderji Abhey#
who worked to M i w e disabilities of bandit vo»cn. Even attacks
were made cm his life by the fanatics# but he did not give up
the struggle.* The «ein alms of the Seaaj were:
9 . ». c . 4aju*dar. B r i t is h Par amount cv and In d ian S e n d s »nce.v o l . I ll# p . 108.
9* Census o f In d ie . Kashm ir, p . 62f a . L . whet, K a sh m iri£ f f ig i t a , t r if n s i t 4oa.j|? , unpubl i shed# p . 82.
10* Census o f 1911. I# pp. 148# 211.
11* In te rv ie w w ith 3 h rl Ram chanderji *%bhay.
21
1. To propagate Vedic principles*
2. To fieht against the custe system*
i , i’o raise the status of wontni
4 c ?o educct® the women*
5. To abolish the c iv il institution of child marriage*
6 . To promote remarriage and protection of widows.
rhe evil effacts of child carriage w«re publicised,
Propoganda was also conducted in fwout of widow remarrIage. It
is remarkable that during 1920-30# the Arya iaraajist* celebersted
the taarrisges of a half of doaen widows in 3rin»c*r. The s«aiej
conveyed its message through public u««*ti n$s and processions*12created public opinion against the slaughter of kine.
the 3amej in •irinsgar was al*o eng«c-ed in educational
propogands. I t maintained s g irls school i the middle. Standard
in wasir 3agh* wherein the number of atudent&d swelled to about
100* in 1931. Under its auspices ran Vanita Ashram at Rsinawsrl*
mhere widows were given lessons in the Three R*s and were also
taught embroidery end weaving work to enable them to earn a
living1.
Anothor socio-reform movement was started by Ksshrcirl
Fandlts in the beginning of the twenties of the present century*
The beginning was ra&de by two « endita, namely b end i t >ari xrishen
Koul and Fandit V«d Lai i>har* who formed an association called
12. Census of U 3 l« r* 297* Hflmdard Msy 15, 1?38.
13. I b id ..
22
Phnram Sabha. The alms of the Dhara Sabha were to ficht for
the eradication of social evil* prevalent among Kashmiri Hindus
to perauade the Fandits* to favour widow-remarri age* to halp the
spread of female education# to fight for the economic betterment
of the Pandit community and to educate Kashmiri Fandits on the
fundamental of Hinduism, Its office was established at Raghunath
Mandir Srinagarl*
<»> Fraternity society
* more important influence than the Arya was
p r o v id e d by a group o f young e d u c a t e d Kashmiri * e n d ita # who
organised themselves into a body kno*n as the Fraternity Society isi n 193 0 * Che f o r m a t io n o f t h e s o c i e t y was t h e r e s u l t o f
c o n t in u e d an d u n b r id g e a b le d i f f e r e n c e s b e tw e e n t h e c o n s e r v a t I v e s
end r a d i c a l s i n t h e Sharm Sabh lu w h ich e n d e d t o w a r d s t h e t h i r d
d e c a d e o f t h e p r e s e n t c e n t u r y * Among t h e p r o m in e n t p e r s o n s w ho
w e re d i r e c t l y o r i n d i r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e d w it h F r a t e r n i t y S o c i e t y
w e re 'Oamodhar «h a t# lU na N #th H unjura# M ohen K r is h 1 » r ik o o * U ln a
Math K schru* ? . N. X oul# J * l * l i # n in a N ath P « r im y , H in a N ath
D i l g l r and D r . S a l lg r a m K oul* P . >». 3 a s a s w as t h e s e n i o r m em ber o f
t h e g r o u p * ? T h e s o c i e t y c o n t in u e d w ith t h e t e s V s o c i a l r e fo r m *
F o r t h i s p u r p o s e i t h ad e n l i s t e d t h e s u p p o r t o f y o u n g b i:> o d f o r t h e
IS * * * # a s a » # D a u c h te r o f V lt a s t a u p p . 2 3 2 -2 3 3 .
1 4 .
23
f ir s t tint and had given to the Pandit cowrnunity a well-
organized <;r oup of disinterested end selflesa workers*/ ?he chief
architect of the society, P . N. dases had entered into correspondence
with Mahatma Gandhi over the issue of widow reaerriaoe. In • letter
to Bazas, Mahet«a had appealed to the young Hindus of kaah.nir that
"unti1 they found a widow, they should refute to ®arry*J®
within • short span of its career, the Fraternity Society
hed worked for refor** which included eradication of a ll evil customs
and practices connected with marriage ceremonies, exhortation
urcim upon the fiothers.iii.law to give just and respectable treat
ment to their daughters-in-law end to ur$e upon the Fandit coammity19to recognise the proprietary richt o t women •
i’he conception of social ref or m visualised by th# F t eternity
Society w«s c*ij>aretively broad and included not ynly check on
wasteful expenditure at weddings, and the like, but also spread
of education a^ong women, freedom of widows to remarry, revival of
17* Pandit Damodher »hat, Shri, Hohen Krishan Tikoo, PanditT, N. Koul, were other leading menbers of the society,
1 8 . P . si. Batts, kept this letter in a wooden frarae, so thatanyone could s«e and react Zhm to i t for hi3 s*tisf-action. Oh. Hasan Khan, op. c lt* . p. 57.
19. Gh. Hasan Khan, o p . c l t . . p . 57.
24
culture! activities* i*i*>rove*ent In community's health* rural
reconstruction and change In national dress to make I t decent*
graceful* dignified and suitable for local cllm stlc conditions?0
The Fraternity society launched a compaign to mobolis* public
opinion in favour of the proposed social reform* Frequent public me«tings were held at which women were aasewblirK? in large numbers*
The ‘movement for reform caused a reaction muong the orthodox Pandits
v^o had ore mixed themselves Into a group known as Oharaan $ebha In211923 . ?he raorebers of this groqp were opposed to any social r*f orm
and Indulged in a vehement propogand* against the reformers* P. N*
Saaa* wrote* “that i t became d ifficu lt for the young enthusiasts
to move freely in the city* Phey were nicknamed as Mun ha Kath22(progeny of widows) and were looked down upon"*
f*he Fraternity Society with a ll its progressive outlook
and advanced views could not, however# succeed in the achievement
of its aim end objectives. But as result of the activities of the
society* a new type of leadership emerged which played an important
4 0* P. t*. Baa as* * P* ^33*
21. JK 46/G-39-lf23.
22. ir*. tf. Bases* ftp*. ,c lt . m p. 240*
25
role In the Fand i t community • The society could not establish schools for the education of women, but Its workers served the cause
of education by acting as teachers in Women ttolfare i'rust.
The society deserves ieuch praise for taking steps towards
•mancipation of women and eradication of social evils even at the
cost of their lives. Their work was to blase a tra il to be followed
by the coming generation*
fhe political movement started In July, 1931 by Muslims
brought about a great change in the outlook of ^eshniri Fandits*
In this changed environment, the fraternity Society rechristened
its e lf in July, 1931, as San at an Pharam Yoono r4en*s Aaaocleclon
or (Yuvak iabha), with the sole purpose of safeguard inc. the Interests24of the r pivSit community • It la significant that even the orthodox
-ru-»nbers of the Dheram Sabha who had previously hampered the ref orm
found refuge in the Yuvak Sabha which now "acquired the halo of25
i tV i OU TS'**
rh*» Yuvak Sabha and Its activities brought about a nuaitoer
of dhangea in Hindu iociaty, thereby adding much to the emancipa
tion of women. Under the auspices of the jebha meetings ware held
?3. Gh* Has an Khan, op* c l t . . p. 57. B. L. Bhat, unpublished. ag t~ s,U .f r* 54.
24. ?h« tribune, ^ove-abar 21, 1131.
25* F . 3 « z a s , op* c l , p . 2 5 3 .
26
toy the Kashmiri Fendita in various parts of the Valley st26which wown'a participation was significant • Under Fandit Kaahyap
Bandhu'a leadership, the organisation became vary popular by
rallying public opinion to its stand. Not only women’ s freedom and
aducation were advocated# but also tha rtfornars wara auccaasful
in popularising widow ranwrriagss a mans the Kashmiri Pandits. Zt
*es due to the efforts of the reformers that the mraber of widow
remarriages be^an to increase day by dey. It was the courage and
preaervance of the reformer* that brought about the Widow Remarriage
Act of 1933# which legalised marriages of Hindu widows.
Fandit ref oraera of the period under review like Keshyap
aandhu, Mar$opel Koul# Gopi Kiahen and Uma Rasdan also raised their
voice against dowery. in 1944# *aiamal Judhar samltl* was founded
>querds of youths were organised to pickted homes where wealth was27lavishly spent on marriages and other festivals •
uo doubt# some ref or a* were introduced by the sidbhe# which
brought about a change in the social l i fe of the Kashmiri Pandits.
But the ref or *as Introduced regained in force only for a few years.
#^«in th3»e reforms proved more chaotic «nd d ifficu lt while the
reform scheme of the Yuvak 3abhf e»pha»i*ed s i .^ lic ity , the cheap
earee dress he$an to be replaced by costly aeries in course of time.
This had m unhealthy effect and thus the whole purpose of the
reform scheme was defeated to a considerable extant.
26. ?he ?ribune» September 25# 1931.
27. r. M. 3eaex, OP. Clt.,. p. 253.
27
The dawn of the present century brought also the Muslim#
of Kashinir to the threshold of socio-reli^ious fermentation. i’h*
fun decent el elm of these "uslim Reform Movements was to awaken
and arouse the Muslin community from the sluaiber and sloth of
centuries of decadence and exploitation* rhey were*
<D> aBridSM t»»..itAnm sL.
It is the earliest and raost important »x:io-relicioua
organisation in Kashmir* The Anjum«n was founded by Late .Mirwai*
of Kashmir, toulvi Rasool Shah in 1905* I*he main cause sf the
Muslim backwardness as perceived by the Moulvi lay in their lack
of education* In view of this, he established a Primary school in
1889* After some years* the Moulvi with the consultation* guidance
and co-operation of some eminent and influential M yalls of Punjab*28established an Anjuman* namely The An 1 uman-i-Nasrat-ul-lalaa *
The leaders of the Anjuman had realised that the fir s t
priority was the social reforms* auong other things to inf rove
their condition. The leaders had clearly perceived that there was
an intimate relationship between social reform and economic progress,
Centuries of sufferings had made the Muslins leay, lethargic and
tradition-bound* They had been suffering fro* various evil social
customs, uurine the first decade of 20th century* Mlrsa Ghulaai29Mustafa was pioneer among the reformers • He was an Important
28* Moulvi Atiq-Ullah* Serat-ul-Waiaeen. p. 24*
29. Mohenmud-ud-Dln Faun, T ar ikhl-. Aowaml-Kashmlr* vol. II#p. 89.
28
member of the *njuman-i-Nasrat-ul-Islem, H« realised that he
could not tackfte the teak of social reforms single hendedly, there
fore, In 1922, he brought the issue before the Anjuman, i'his gave
the Anjuman an opportunity "to think in tern* of social reform end
a social Reform Committee was appointed by i t for the purpose of30removing social evils from among the Muslim* • fhe Committee
recommended a number of reforms, ?he aim of introducing such reform#
was to save extravagant expenditure on marriages and deaths
ceremonies, spending money extravagantly on such occasions had
become a hebit with people, with the result, that the poor had often to borrow money to defray the expeaces incurred on such occasions, in order to prevent them from continuing with these evil custom#,
a programme was chalked out by the Anjuman, Accordingly, the
members and the Mirvais-l-Kashmlr were directed to preach these
reforms to the Muslims at public meeting# in every shrine and mosque
at the time of prayer meetings. Also a tract on social reform entitled Pasfcur-uJUAmal was compiled and published under the
signatures of the leaders of the Anjuman, ?he oeatur-ul-Amel was
infect, one of the remedies for economic evils for the lusllms of
Kashmir,
<£> .iSlSfflt.JJlUS&M-
?he Anjuman was established by few Punjabi luslims,
just after the worid war I had broken out, The leading figure of31the Anjuman was Bebu Mohemmud Ibrahim, The aim of this Anjuman
30, Hefi* Mohd Ismail, Personal Dlarv* July 4, 1322, Item*-3,
31, Mohenwud-ud-Din Fauq, O p , c it.„ p, 89,
29
was to ameliorate the conditions of the Muslims of Kashmir
whose state of existence was extremely pitiable, l'he Anjumen had
an orphanage for free board and lodge for those orphans who were
admitted to i t .
In order to meet the expences the Anj uman collected32donations # and membership fee and Issued appeals for financial
assistance to a ll Muslims, through the office of the All India
Muslim Kashmir Conference3?
The primary aim of the Anjuman-l-Hamdard Islam was to
encourage the Muslims of Kashmir in their pursuit for education*
It urged upon them to develop the habit of self-help by raising
funds for this purpose. Stress was laid on the learning of technical34end commercial education • The Anjuman made constant appeals to
a ll educated Muslims in Kashmir and other men of influence for
rendering e ll possible assistance to the Anjuman in implementation of its alms end objectives.
32. A deputation of five members was sent by the "Anjuman*to "3hri /"9*ulam 3adlq of Amritsar and another deputationof Sloven members to Neweb of Bhawlpure for granting some donation to the Anjuman. Haflx Mohmed Ismail# oc .c lt.* October 10# 1118, Item 2.
3 3. Phe Zemindar* August 3# 1928.
34. Ib jlt*
30
< /^jum»n-l-?ch*fug-l-»T<»ffiag>** iatrl ^ustur^ti
The Anju^an cam* into existence in 1923* through the
efforts of Ax ad *urlahi, Hakim Hohantiud Curishi and c>hul am Mohammed
M v i. fhe Anjomen wee purely a religious body. It had no concern
with p olitic*?5 The chief object of the Anj liman waa to acquaint
the ^ualiiW in general and thoae living in village* in particular
with the tenets of Islam and also to help them in eradicating social evils prevalent among the Muslims,
?he need for establishing the Anjtman was due to the Ignorance
of the Muslims living in village areas* who did not have the proper% jC
knowledge about the basic tenets )f Islam. I.van the Mullah* in
the villages did not have a proper knowledge about their religion.
io*t men and women did not wear pyjama** and the women did not
wear v eils . From the point of view of hygeian and shabby* the
leaders of the Anj’t en r.Vi'vvv>. c ;.*ogramrae of touring difierent
parts of th* •* j j .—ople the basic things about
personal hygeian. rar y § :• 1 * j cne tmzotmere practically
cs^ elled the worsen to wear pyjamas and o v er their needs properly,
i jreaver* the activities included getting bathroom constructed
and urging the people to establish school* for their children.
Education both religious end secular consisted th# most important
programme of the Anjuman'a policy.
35. K«is 3her All Khan Jegirdar Ranqpure** view on the Anjuman ( »Xbari-K ashmlr* July* 25* 1*25).
3 6 * r h e
31
It vm just after M«har«j« Hari Singh assumed office
that “Ahmediyas* made their appearance in Srinagar* The motivating
figure of tha sect was .Moulvi Abdulin. Featings ran vary hiqh
anong tha orthodox, whan Moulvi Abdullah courageously opposed
Vurdha. supported woman's education and launched a crusade against 37the Muslims • He also denounced the evil customs such as ritual
worship which hampered the progress of the Muslim women, Abdullah
would have certainly succeeded in his struggle, but for the movement of 1931, tha movement for reform among Muslim woman receded into the background on account of changed political condi
tions. It should, however, be remembered that social, economic end
p olitical changes, which occurred after 1931, contributed greatly
to tha emancipation of Muslim women* It was in 1931, that the
women of -Srinagar made their f ir s t step in the struggle for
Kashmir's freedom*
Bagum £afar All, aegum Abdullah, and Zaineb were the f ir s t38to discard the Furdha* Even those who did not part with the
Purdha were not immune to outside influences* Fashionable burqes
made of silk were worn as a challenge to the crusade against the
Purdha system* It was not as usual sight to see a well-to-do
37. P. H. Bazas, Qc* c lt* . pp. 242-43? Mohd Ishsq ’ han, 2E*-£l$x, P* 120.
3*3, The Khidmat, February 11, 1948*
32
c.Iuc&ted husband attired in the latest was tarn fashion with a
fashionable buxqa clad wife by his aid*, fhus impreceptibely changes39ware taking place in dress end old habits as wall •
2SSSuL2 a & z .M .
In parallel with other parts of India, child marriage was common in various classes of the population, witln the state territories. Realising the evil effects of thi» custom, Maharaja
Hari 3inch took the opportunity of conaulting the representatives
of Jammu province (as i t was common thara) in 1927. ?hey were
unanimous in the view, "that the practice should be stopped by law* and accordingly instructions were issued fixing the minimum
marr leg able age for boys 18 years and for g irls 14 years in 1928?°
Due to this law, a marriage between a boy below 18 and a
g ir l below 14, and any marriage to which one of the parties was
an infant, was decltrs:.* penei ot i «nce. runishments were severe for
those %£tere a male i *t»cv« x. »• of f i f ty marries an infant.
Enlightened people supported the reform but orthodoxy had always
regarded the law as an intervention with the religion, therefore,
the tradition dies hard, so i t waa after a great exertion, that the
practice of Infant marriages was eliminated particularly in the41Vilieges,
39. gt3.3|U3_..?i 1931, I, pp. 102, 141, Moulvi Majid, >air-l-Kashmir, 1936, pp. 23, 70.
* o . *. . aaf cs. , 3a„ 1 , 2 a * p - * 2 ** j k . 1 5 3 /R-3, 1934.
41. If a male person of 50 years of age marries an infant girl* he w*a puni*he<? with an imprisonment vither for a term of four years or with fine wnich may extend to ts. 2,000 or with both. 1134 . G.no«t».th RtPOIt, p. 347 .
33
The Census of 1141 shoved the feet that the number of
married girls under the eg* group 0-15 was well below the figures
of 1931. (1,000 of 1931 — 99 of 1940) indicates that infant
marriages had become less common and to that extent, thrw* who
sponsored this most desirable piece of reformist legislation
achieved « great satisfaction .2
At the same time i t was fe lt , that more could h?ve been
achieved i f the law would have been tightened* It was realized that
the machinery of prosecution was far from being adequate, and the
only mean to overcome the reluctance, was to make the offence
cognisable* Even i f the law was strengthened in these directions a
lopehold would s t i l l remain# namely the parties go outside the
state to perform marriages. I t was, therefore, necessary to have
such an intellegence system end the same penalties be affected
over them as well, to check the business of infant marriages end43the culprits should be brought to book .
-i ctlott— ill (Attitude Tfli_agdi-Perrg»««d cisf»e»I
It is natural that under these circumstances the position
of depressed classes should have some advene® aver that enjoyed by
them in other provinces and states, where caste prejudice have
taken a deep root in the body politic* Phe population of Harijnns
according to the Census of 1941, was 113464, 2.5% of the total
p * 3 4 9 «
34
population, hi* coawunity vm socially# economically aid educationally backward. Only 1.5% of the population of this
community was literate. Maly a tew of them were owner* of lend
wr.i 1<2 political consciousness tn*onq then was e matter of rwcent orowth?*
The policy of the Haharaje's government waa to -wi ke no
distinction between the various communities *nrt Qimmmmm within
the state and to extend the benefits of education impartially to45*11 who wished to avail themselves of It •
-*ha common disabilities of the community wer* abolished.
Legislation was passed in 1^31, to admit Hssrijana to the temples,
end schools «nd wells v*r* tbr' --vr; ■ n to then. ;ut in actual
practice prejudices sri 11 ; r ,: •. , ■ -•>•* * *v* remained a lead
letter, rhey confined to cart«*iri specialized tr«d*»»
Such «s bi'Sket-maklnQ* weaving# shoe-maXinc;. Most of th««n remained
content to be agricultural labourers; while this picture rxssented#
i t cannot be aaid to h*v*» over drawn. It is Maharaja's liberal
policy that the community was acquiring a m**sure of self-esteem
and assertiveness which was bound before long to secure for i t the
place in tha social li fe of the state to which both by its number46and its Importance it was entitled.
44. £fi0fiWJ&*J£«£2C&» P* 52.45. A Note on Jammu and Kashmir •*tat«, 1^28, r . 47.
46. Gj»ncanath Racort* t>. 52» <31ancv Commission. c. 17.t.H. Bases# JSfift 1131,1a pp. 304-305.
35
s»ctl<?p~-JV ( 3uppr»sa-loa Of I llic it Traffic in *om*n)
The nefarious enterprise, known «a "-ierdaf arosh* haa b««n
for *eny ye era the aubject of grave concern in various parts of the
Jarm»u province, where an organimed buainesa in abducting women
and girls and removing them beyond the limits of the state has been conducted .
?he practice w?a comaon in Kashmir also, the*r« were two
l l l~ f emed centre# of prostitution in irinagar i .e . Coahwan en<*
H»jiauTia. rhe early )ograa encouraged the buaineaa aa they were
getting 25% of the whole revenue ~>t hla at ate from the gains of
these liecenaed prostitutes* According to Robert I’horp, the
linearised granting permission for the purchase of a g irl for thia48r urpose, coat about 100 chi Ike rupee# in Ranbir Singh* a time •
rti<* government realized the seriousness of thia problem,
and attended the criminal law of the state, in order to give the administration more effective powers to put an end to thia e v il.
So in 1127, i t was decided to take more vigorous step# in thia
direction, a Committee waa appointed, which after going into the
whole question made 1 important recommendation# which h*ve been
accepted end given effect. ?he section dealing with auch offencaa
in the state penal code we# amended with a view to enable severe
47. Glancy Commission. p. 47.
4 $ . R o b e r t T h o r p # K a s h m i r M l a c o v e r n m e n t , p . 3 5 ,
36
punishment being meted out to persons engaged in this trade and
a special branch of the C, I , r>, was constituted to deal with such49offences • Despite this, the practice continued* the fovernment
used every possible effort in shape of Legislation, Executive
actions and propaganda to discourage and prevent these inhuman
activities, »‘in*y extended the propaganda compsign by the multiplica
tion of pamphlet* and lectures5?
In Kashmir i t was Hohd Subh&n Need ( daxbur) of Maiauma# who
crusaded against the evil practice after hearing the sad cries of
these poor creature* being a neighbour of one of the centres mentioned above, -hm se lfless sorvice of the valiant iubhan .aed,
ultimately bore frui-# '.cn lr. 1 *:h-~ '.t*te Assembly passed an
#-ct suppressing immoral tr«: i j.e ia vo rw.», It ^rovi-led penal tie* for persons who kept# manned or allowed the use of any place a*
brothel or procure women or girls for prostitution or live upon the earnings of prostitute or tra ffic in women and children,
[n
rhe suppression of Immoral ttrsff ic Act of 1134# had a
disastrous effect on a very large nuariber of prostitutes, it now
became d ifficu lt for them to eke out their existence, *^ile some
prostitutes made good etc ape to India, There were many who took to
Charkha on Subhana's advice, it is slso remarkable to n t e znat some
of the prostitutes earned a decent living by working in the lk
Factory*
49, » Niote on Jammu and Kashmir State# 1*128# p, 51,
50. GlancY Conrajssiggu p. 47.
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