Unlike his counterparts, sociologist Bashir A Dabla (July 9, 1954 – September 2, 2015) was always preoccupied with his mission of understanding the trends in Kashmir society that people usually considered routine. He rarely stopped working despite Parkinson’s disease handicapped him for 23 years, Masood Hussain and Dr Khursheed ul Islam offer an idea of the contributions that made this academician relevant to the society
The study aimed at identifying the areas in which Kashmir’s half of the population, the women, were discriminated against by the male dominated society, the study found that in 21.75 percent cases husbands paid Mehr to their wives in installments. In 28.50 percent cases, the respondent women were unsure if they have received their Mehr or not and, interestingly, nothing had been paid in the name of Mehr in 19.77 percent marriages!
Explaining the phenomenon, researchers found weak economy of grooms or their ignorance was slightly more than those consciously giving it a slip. However, the study found the percentage of grooms making the one-time payment was gradually increasing, a direct consequence of the awareness brought about by the decontrolled faith.
The second major revelation was that Kashmir society was denying women their right to inherit property in more than 55 percent cases. Explaining the trend, the study said in most of the cases either the parents had meager immovable property to share it with daughters or they were married in families which lacked any requirement to seek meager shares. While Mehr amount is a consensus between two sides, Islam’s inheritance systems are fixed and women get half of the share, their brothers get.
There were a few more shocking findings: 175 of the 789 working women said they were harassed at work place and it was physical in 38 percent of the cases. They accused their immediate officers in 46 percent cases, their colleagues in 42 percent cases and the balance harassers were outside the office. Interestingly, 28.31 percent respondents said their families were discriminating the girl child. Tragically 871 women voiced their support for female foeticide!
The institution of marriage, as per various studied that he supervised, has undergone a number of changes. In a 2010 survey that his students carried out and involved 2500 respondents, they found polygamy almost dead. Survey revealed 83.90 percent marriages were monogamous and only 8.20 percent were polygamous. This study found more people marrying outside the clan (54.80%) than within the extended family or caste (45.35%), a major shift from the past. Interestingly, it found more “upper caste” males marrying lower caste” girls were more (22.76%) than the reverse of it (14.15%). Besides, the survey found out that nuclear families are increasing.
It was his UNICEF-sponsored study on gender discrimination that prompted the then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullaha to announce establishment of State Women’s Commission.
Dabla’s scholarship took off from Jawharlal Nehru University where he studied Arab during which he visited various destinations in the Gulf, West Asia and Turkey. Eventually, however, he settled down in Kashmir Studies and contributing substantially. He took up Kashmir case at a time when a new situation has started impacted the society differently. His series of studies on destitution was a key contribution in making the society responsive to ‘that’ new situation and try to manage it.
The pioneering work on destitution was carried out in 1999 itself for ‘Save The Children Fund’. After the researchers interacted with 300 women widowed by the situation, the real contribution of diverse killers was understand: 63 of them lost their husbands when they were caught in the crossfire; 78 by government forces, 45 were killed in custody of various agencies, 51 were killed by surrendered militants, 15 died at the LoC, 27 were killed by militants and the balance 21 died in the bomb explosions.
With their immediate bread-earners dead, they lived a pathetic life. Nearly 47 percent of them had married during 1981-90 period and nearly 39 percent of them were in 19-30 age group. With their husbands slain, 20 percent of them were denied any inheritance and 60 percent lacked any dependable resource to fund education of their children, orphaned by the situation.
Despite remarriages not being taboo, only 8.66 percent (26 out of 300) had re-married. While remarriage was a compromise, 35 percent of them had kept their orphans with grand parents. For not marrying, widows said they will devote themselves for development of their children, instead.
Insisting that theirs’ was a “socially undesirable lot” facing “physical insecurity and sexual harassment”, the widows flagged 13 serious issues they were facing: their children lacking education, dependence, insecurity, deterioration in the family environment, declining control over children, negative impact on personality growth, lesser chances of getting good matches for the children, denial to inherit property.
The state of orphans was worse. Of 300 orphans covered by the same study, 27.33 percent were not going to school and 19 percent had dropped out before matriculation. 82 orphans were not in school – of them 39 were sitting idle at home, three were home servants, 31 were in handicraft workers, and three each were in automobile workshops, non-government services, and salesmen. In return, they were getting pea-nuts despite the desire expressed by 93 percent of them that they wish to study further.
Orphans told the surveyors that death of their fathers meant a massive shift in the lives they were used to: 145 reported economic hardships of their families, 66 felt psychological setbacks, 41 saw love and affection missing, 26 felt apathy by relatives and 22 were blank, offering no response. The ‘change’ brought in new priorities for them: 235 wanted to maintain regular income for their families, 240 to pursue studies and 148 wanted social security.
To study the diversity of Kashmir’s sociology, Dabla successfully negotiated with UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO, Save the Children Fund, Action Aid, UGC, Planning Commission of India (now Niti Ayog) and many other institutions. Apart from routine basic sociological issues, Dabla carried out special studies in energy sector (like his ethnographic study for upcoming Sawlakote project), and disaster management.
Off late, Kashmir’s labour market has been exhibiting interesting trends. It was partly because of the adverse impact of the prevailing situation and partly because of white-color syndrome. The inability of the local manpower to grab the opportunities that the economic activity offered would create a gap that was filled by non-local workforce.
On labour issues, Dabla had two keen interests, one the child labour and second the labour migration. He was a strong believer of the fact that if child labour is banned, as the law suggests, it will adversely impact the families they belong to. Instead, he wanted better wages for them. His response to the issue was rooted in the United Nations policy shift, also upheld by the Planning Commission of India, that instead of banning child labour, interests of the child worker must be taken care of so that exploitation stops.
His ‘Save the Child Fund’ that was published as Un-bloomed Roses put the estimated child workers in carpet weaving Budgam and Srinagar districts at 18,749 and 4004, respectively. Capital city alone had around 3,000 children, half of whom had joined it when they were less than seven years of age, in automobile repairing alone. Economic compulsion was found as the single largest factor forcing children to work in hazardous sectors.
Dabla-piloted studies on labour migration into Kashmir continue to be the only reference outside the decadal census. On basis of personal interviews that his student researchers carried out, Dabla established that 55 percent of the labourers working seasonally in Kashmir belonged to Rs 10,000, a month background and in fact 34 percent of them belonged to a section of society making only half of it. While 73 percent of them were illiterates, the rest were having some literacy. They originated from different states: 46.93 percent from Bihar, 15.33 percent from UP, 8.86 percent from Gujarat, 8.60 percent from Rajasthan, and 8.14 percent from West Bengal, in addition to some percentage from Punjab, Nepal and Jharkhand.
Almost one-fourth of them (23.85%) were unskilled. Skilled lot included 17.40 percent masons, 10.06 percent each were carpenters and painters, 3.40 percent were barbers, 1.23 percent were vegetable sellers and balance were from other professions.
Majority of them (51.16%) migrated on their own but in 16 percent cases ‘agents’ and another 10.07 percent cases, employers brought them here. Almost 17.21 percent was contract labour, already engaged with contractors working in the state.
The interesting finding on this count was the shifting patterns. His studies found that Kashmir was dependent on merely 5.97 percent of non-local labour between 1980 and 1990. It increased four times to 20.19 percent in the subsequent decade and more than doubled to 51.19 percent between 2000 and 2010.
In 72 percent of cases, respondent labourers admitted they earned better if compared to their past at other places across India. In fact 61 percent said better earnings helped them economically better. Of their overall expenditure they spend locally housing, food and transport make most of it.
Dabla was afflicted by Parikinsons quite early. He fought this condition bravely, which is challenging at a place like Kashmir given the existing medical facilities. Known neurologist, Dr Shushil Razdan commented that his working while facing a challenging disease and survival was a medical wonder. Many people would say Dabla was the Kashmiri variant of Stephen Hawking (British physicist), lacking the specially designed computer.
He would keep himself busy with the issues confronting Kashmir. Not forgetting his humble family background (Pandan, Nowhatta), where handicrafts were the bread and butter, Dabla carried out a study on the earnings of the artisans. His study suggested that almost eighty percent of the workforce was being exploited either by middlemen or exporters.
In 2009, his study indicated behavioural shifts of society towards senior citizens. Quite recently he tried to study the angry new urban child and said he was “socially sadistic” because their “social participation has drastically reduced” coinciding with the loss of “patriarchal authority”. He predicated the continued situation will lead them to be “aggressive, violent, disobedient, and careless about their future and like short cuts to progress.”
Not many people know that prior to his academic assignment; Dabla was Press Officer to the then Chief Minister of J&K Dr Abdullah and latter Chief Warden in the Aligarh Muslim University.
Dabla’s loss as a socially relevant academician would be felt in Kashmir in coming days in the same manner in which mysterious death of Iranian Sociologist Dr Ali Shariatii was felt, many years after his death. Interestingly, Dabla had worked Shariatii and authored a book on his sociological interpretations. The only way out to minimize the costs would be finding some of his bright students and encourage them follow his footsteps.
(Hussain is a Srinagar based journalist and Khursheed teaches in IMPARD. Both have been Dabla’s students.)
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