Mahjoor And Janbaaz Kishtwari The Heralds of Calm and Concord Professor Mohammad Aslam
Mahjoor And Janbaaz Kishtwari: The Heralds of Calm and Concord
Kashmir has, for ages, been known as a land where varied faiths and communities have lived side by side, shaping a uniquely pluralist ethos that has endured through centuries. Nestled among mountains and celebrated in poetry and lore, this region developed a social fabric woven from the threads of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Sikh traditions, each adding its flavours to a shared cultural life. The teachings of Kashmiri Shaivism, Sufism, and the Rishi tradition nurtured an environment in which spirituality transcended rigid boundaries, fostering compassion, humility, and mutual respect. Shrines, temples, mosques, and monasteries often stood only a short walk apart, symbolizing how daily life itself became a quiet affirmation of coexistence. Families of different faiths exchanged festivals, songs, and culinary customs. Neighbours celebrated one another’s joys and stood together in grief, creating a rhythm of life rooted in trust. Folk music, crafts, and storytelling further blended influences, making identity itself a shared space rather than a divided one. Even in times when political or external pressures unsettled the valley, the deeper cultural instinct of harmony persisted—an instinct shaped not by decree, but by lived experience. Generations grew up learning that diversity was not a challenge to be managed but a heritage to be cherished.
Different poets have played an essential role in shaping Kashmir’s ethos, weaving together its spiritual heritage, cultural memory, and collective longing for harmony. Through their verses, they preserved the valley’s deep-rooted traditions of mysticism, hospitality, and compassion. From the classical mystic voice of Lal Ded to the modern poetry of Mahjoor and Azad, poets have served as both chroniclers and healers. They have kept alive the region’s instinct for resilience, reminding people of their rootedness in beauty, nature, and dignity. Through metaphor, melody, and moral vision, these poets ensured that Kashmir’s story is not merely one of geography or politics, but of a people who learned to translate sorrow into song and memory into meaning. Their contributions remain a living force, shaping how Kashmiris understand themselves and how the world understands Kashmir.
Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor
Among the modern poets, Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor (nom de plume: Mahjoor) and Ghulam Nabi Doolwal (pseudonym: Janbaz) stand out as the pioneers of heralding calm and concord between communities, irrespective of religion and caste. Mahjoor left this world in 1952, while Janbaz Kishtwari was born in 1925, the time when Mahjoor had already achieved fame as a poet and writer. I don’t know if Janbaz and Mahjoor knew each other, but on reading their respective poetry, one finds both of them enjoining people to maintain communal harmony and not allow the divisive forces to kill peace and tranquillity in the region.
Mahjoor prays to Allah:
yim sokhan paida karan khalqan andar ulfat ta lol
The poetry that awakens love and compassion in people.
door yemi saet gatshi nafrat ti vanun hechnavtam!
Teach me to say the speech that chases away all hatred.
sahibo sath cham me chaeni vath me aslaech havtam
O my Lord, You alone are my refuge.
Guide me toward the true path.
koot kala roza be zaan zaeni hyund mas chavtam
How long shall I remain in darkness?
Let the light of knowledge shine upon me.
The poet is seeking Allah’s favours for showing him the true path and enabling him to write poetry that evokes love and compassion among people of all hues. The meaning of ‘khalqan’ is ‘among the people’. It is derived from ‘khalq’, meaning ‘mankind’, ‘creation’, or ‘people’.
A famous Urdu poet, Nazir Akbarabadi, has said:
jo ḳhushāmad kare ḳhalq us se sadā raazī hai
Whoever pleases, the world is always pleased with him.
sach to ye hai ki ḳhushāmad se ḳhudā raazī hai
The truth is that God is pleased with pleasing.
Mahjoor knew that he was writing for all, irrespective of creed or caste. Therefore, he invokes Allah’s blessings in teaching him the true knowledge. It is like the prayer in the holy Quran (20:14) “rabbi zidni ’ilma” (My Lord, improve me in knowledge). Here, ‘knowledge’ is used in a broader sense.
In another couplet, Mahjoor says:
shakli chus insaan magar insaeniyat nish bekhabar
Though shaped like a human, I scarcely know what it means to be one.
hyavtam mata imtihan yemi shakli mata mandchavtam
This trial will undo me—grant me, I beg, a gentler road to walk.
Humanity is what shapes a good human being, one who rises above sectarian considerations.
In a famed poem, Mahjoor asks his countrymen to live together and work toward building strong communal ties. He says:
nyay traeviv maay thaeviv pana vaen
Forget your quarrels.
Keep love among yourselves.
poz muhabat baegraeviv pana vaen
Keep true love amongst yourselves
zaat butraat kaeshren hinz chevi kuni
Kashmiris belong to one race
khamakha doorer ma paeviv panavaen
Do not fall apart for no reasons.
dod chu muslim hyund chu shakar saaf saaf
Pure is Muslim, and sweet is a Hindu
dod ta beyi ralaeviv panavaen
Let the purity and sweetness mix together.
hind’ rattan nam khoor vayan ahli deen
Hindus will take the lead, and Muslims will steer
naav yemi mulkaech chalaeviv panavaen
Let the boat of this nation be steered with each other’s help.
saani vatnuk kus chu dushman kus chu dost
Who is the friend and who is the foe of this country?
jahal traevith gaenzraeviv panavaen
Leave ignorance and explain this to each other.
yod thaeviv athavaas tohi poshav na kanh
If you remain united, no one can defeat you.
tshen karit yina poshi naeviv panavaen
Don’t get yourselves subdued by being divided.
milatsaruk deen mahjoorun sabaq
Mahjoor’s religion is to live in amity
yaad thaeviv boznaeviv panavaen
Remember this and speak to others about it.
You have a clear message of amity, brotherhood, and communal harmony from Mahjoor at a time when the Subcontinent was experiencing the worst kind of communal disharmony at the time of Independence. Kashmir maintained calm and concord and showed the world how to live together as human beings. Mahjoor wasn’t alone in heralding communal harmony. His contemporary and pupil, Abdul Ahad Azad had also advocated a peaceful coexistence between communities, especially Muslims and Hindus.
Ghulam Nabi Doolwal (Janbaz Kishtwari)
However, much after them, another poet, composer and singer from Kishtwar used his poetic talent to promote peace and harmony among the different sections of the society. His name was Ghulam Nabi Doolwal, who used Janbaz as nom de plume. Born in Dool, Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, in 1925, Janbaz emerged as a unique, melodious voice that has remained alive to date. He developed a distinctive, inimitable singing style called Chalant which captivates the listeners. Janbaz was a great human being who believed in all religions and championed the principles of mutual respect and coexistence.
I have come across only one of his poetic collections, Pholvaen Sangar (Blooming Peaks, 1983). In one of his poems, he says:
manun tse peyi sahib chu kunuy
You will have to understand that the Lord is One.
ya yeti manun ya tati manun
Whether you accept it here or there!
doshvaen alman sahib chu kunuy
Both the worlds have one God.
manza gayi vata byon pata bab chu kunuy
The paths diverged in the middle, but God is one.
davaech che faraq nata dab chu kunuy
Only the way of playing is different; the outcome is the same.
preth insanas rob chu kunuy
Every human being has one Lord.
aek’ ram ta aek rahman vanu
One calls Him Ram, another Rehman
aek’ sham ta aek’ subhan vanuy
One calls Him Shyam, another Subhan
aek’ krishan ta aek’ yezdan vanuy
One calls Him Krishen, another Yezdan
aek’ Allah ta aek’ Bhagwan vanuy
One calls Him Allah, another Bhagwan.
Seeking our Lord depends on who you are. A Muslim seeks Him in a mosque, a Hindu in a temple, a Christian in a church, and a Sikh in a gurudwara while an ascetic look for Him in a jungle. These different places of worship notwithstanding, people must know that there is only one God who controls this universe.
In another poem, Janbaz raises awareness in people about the importance of equality and unity. He says:
oonch neech ma cha rava
Judging people in terms of high and low isn’t good.
itihaduk yii chu muda
That is the purpose of unity.
asl kath tarina fikri
The essence of it will be lost on you.
kath chi vanaan masavaat
What is meant by equality?
nazneena yara myani yi chu mulaqaat
My elegant friend, that’s concord.
Janbaz’s message is for humanity in general. Even when he is addressing Muslims, he doesn’t feel shy of calling a spade a spade. In a poem, he says:
gatshi nai saaf dil dita laaf saasaa
If the mirror of the heart is clouded still with dust,
What glory is in your boasting, and what virtue in your trust?
netev cheta aab-e-zum zum toti kyah gov
What honour in a flood of Zamzam poured from rim to rim,
agar nai jazb-e-eesar aasi
dohas par ta ism-e-a’zam toti kya gov
And without the fire of sacrifice, what worth is praising Him?
Although Janbaz composed and sang hymns and encomiums in praising Allah, His Apostle and the different saints, he understood that the essence of all religions was to foster brotherhood and fellow feelings.
He sings:
buniyad preth kuni mazhabas chai seena safaeyee
Every religion is based on the purity of the heart.
byon byon rangan manz parzanaavun soy chai khdaeyi
Divinity lies in recognizing Him in different colours.
partan tsa kuni vizi granth sahib par ta kuni injeel
Sometimes you read the Granth, sometimes the Bible.
taurat ya zaboor a naghma-e-jibreel
Torah or Psalms or Quran.
The above lines articulate a universalist and pluralistic conception of religion, emphasizing the primacy of inner moral and spiritual integrity (“purity of the heart”) over external ritual or institutional affiliation. The assertion that “Divinity lies in recognizing Him in different colours” advances the idea of religious pluralism, suggesting that the divine reality is singular but manifests through diverse cultural, theological, and symbolic forms. The references to the Granth, the Bible, the Torah and Psalms, and the Quran serve as literary symbols for the world’s major scriptural traditions—the sacred texts as distinct yet equally valid vehicles of divine meaning within their respective traditions.
Janbaz, therefore, doesn’t believe in shallow humanism as advocated by hollow preachers. He reprimands the preacher thus:
me chuna taraan fikri vaazkhaana
Oh, Preacher, I don't understand,
barabari zan tsa kath vanaan chukh
what do you mean by equality?
yeten masaavaat oas laezim
Where equality was required,
taten shoobya amtiyaaz aasun
was it permissible to discriminate?
This verse employs rhetorical questioning to expose the contradiction between the ideal of equality and the reality of discriminatory practice. By directly addressing the “Preacher,” a symbolic representative of moral or religious authority, the speaker challenges the legitimacy of preached principles when they are not upheld in practice. The contrast between the invocation of equality and the tolerance of discrimination highlights moral hypocrisy and institutional inconsistency. Overall, the lines function as a critique of ethical doublespeak, questioning how equality can be meaningfully asserted if discrimination is permitted where justice is most required.
Such assertions in Janbaz place him in the category of great poets like Mahjoor and Azad in advocating communal calm and concord. When he sang along with his chorus, his melodious voice mesmerized listeners and forced them to admire this great son of the soil. Garima Sudan has said about him, “Ghulam Nabi Doolwal’s writings and musical compositions were creative expressions of love and longing, characterised by the simplicity that he spun into tales of endearment dedicated to his beloved and to his motherland. Reflecting on the maestro’s musical legacy, Rashid, an aspiring musician from Doda said, “His musical style and writing is[sic] very unique and it [sic] has inspired a lot of young artists, especially in Chenab Valley, where his music is beloved to us.”
Mirza Ghalib had said:
hain aur bhi dunya main sukhanva ache
There are other good poets in the world.
kehte hain ki ghalib ka hai andaz-e-bayan aur
It is said that Ghalib’s style of expression is different.
Janbaz says:
soz juda myon chuy vuch saaz juda myon
Different is my voice; distinct is my instrument.
yi chu raaz pardas manz khatith hu chu raaz juda myon
Hidden behind a curtain is this secret; my secret is different.
kyah sara karan chukh vangta yimav sarsari nazrav
What are you searching for with such a cursory look?
parvaaz juda chon tai parvaaz juda myon
You and I are meant for different heights.
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