Author : Muneer Ahmad
Since the valley of Kashmir has been ruled by many dynasties and rulers from the very beginning, our history has become complicated so has our vision thinking, and decision-making. Many things have become taboos and we hold an opinion that has been told to us to frame and is not our own. This is only because we don't look at things from our perspective or in a border way.
This is in the backdrop of the comment our brothers / Sisters made on our “ Ganie the intellectuals ” titled reel on Instagram: ALL DOOMS ARE GANAIES!
This shows how ignorant we have become. We judge and conclude without knowing the context of the video or the information shared on any social media platform.
Anyways one should create content very responsibly come what may, So the topic of discussion was: Are All Dooms Ganies? But we should first know who were these people called Dums’. there were/are three Dum categories: First one Hindu Dums, Second one Muslim Dums & Third one Sikh Dums. The Sikh Dums are/were only in Jammu writes M M Fauq in his book giving the reference of the 1911 census of Jammu & Kashmir.
Kalhana in his Raj Tarangani has written that when Raja Chakar Varman took to the throne after killing 5000 religious scholars in 934 AD. He ruled the valley with arrogance fell prey to many bad habits and associated himself with “Rang” named Dum who used to sing. During this association, this tribe became influential in official matters and many of their ladies were made queens of the palaces. These were called “ Patranis” which gave a new status to this tribe and they started having political powers. The ladies of this tribe were the status of Ranis while as men from this tribe used to rule as courtiers of the King. But, “this status could not alleviate their mindsets,’ writes the Kalhana.
The Dum is mentioned by Sir Walter Lawerance in his book “The Valley Of Kashmir” on page 311. The Dums of Kashmir are an important tribe and have up to quite recent times had great power in the villages. The watchman was always a Dum, and in addition to his police functions, he was entrusted by the state with the duty of looking after the crops. This implies how important was their role when the whole state machinery was ruled by the economy driven by taxes labeled on different crops.
According to Lawernace Dums had never stolen any state treasure but still, they were labeled as having predatory instincts and were never trusted as private citizens. Despite that large amounts of silver were brought from the tehsil treasuries to Srinagar. Imagining a village watchman in the 1880s meant a sort of owner of the village who had immense opportunities to do any good or bad thing to anyone in the village.
Here arises a question, If this was the level of their influence then why was this tribe demeaned so much that members from this tribe took to other castes and assumed surnames like Dars, ganies, Mallas, and others?
If one tries to apply his / her common sense it is easy to infer the saying, “Power tends to corrupt. and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” ____John Emmerich Edward.
There are records of how village watchmen and village heads used to inflict physical, economic, and mental injuries to the villagers through their status in the name of taxes and other dues.
Read Dr. Afaq Aziziz’s book, “Tareekh E Siyasat-E-Kashmir” page number 49 for more minutes detailing the conditions that prevailed in villages during the 1880s-1947. Due to the cruelty of these watchmen and other officials like Saaz e Awal, people might have cursed them for their harsh nature in the villages. Maybe this could be the reason that this tribe got demeaned over the period and the people from this tribe started assuming other surnames as mentioned above.
As per Lawrence,” Many fables are told by Dums about their origin, some say that the Dums are descendants of the old Tsaks.” they always claim descent from a Hindu King, who afraid of his numerous sons, scattered them all over the valley, but it is believed that they are of Sudra extraction.
The whole subject of Kashmir Krams is fraught with difficulty, and this is increased by the fact that men of low occupations are arrogating high-sounding names. Thus in recent years, the Dums of Kashmir have steadily assumed the Kiram of Ganai, much to the annoyance of the original Ganais. To make matters worse the gardeners and butchers have also taken a fancy to the Kiram name Ganai.
Therefore it is mentioned nowhere that, “ALL DUMS ARE GANAI’S” Neither Lawrence wrote this statement anywhere in his book The Valley Of Kashmir nor did any writer like Munshi Mouhhamad Ud Din Fauq Sahab.
Waiting for your Comments again:
My name is Choudhary Sultan Khan, my caste is Thakri Choudhary our caste was once considered to be of Ganai origin but we were originally descended from a Mir cast family descending from an aristocratic lineage of Moghal tribe of Central Asian Origin, the reason behind our Ganai (Sub-cast Or Got) was one of our Mir ancestors washed or drunk water from an unclean pot or an object hence he got his surname Ganai/Ganie. Later our related Mirs informed his descendants about their original cast, so they changed their sub-caste to Thakri then Choudhary and now we are called Thakri Choudharys.
Your effort proves "Things are to be learned than to be inherited"
you are doing well
Plz muslim doom pay aik video banalo aur yah kaha se aa hai
You are doing Good job Muneer Sahab
Ganie is Persian word which means a writer..ganie caste was first literate caste in kashmir.
Mera ek dost kehta tha ki agr other than ganaie caste ka koi mufti b hoga to usko apni jagah gumand hoga ki me ek zamindar hu. Otherwise that mufti and ganaies are same because we are Ummah of Hazrat e Muhammad (S.A.W) And i would like to raise a question ? Jo hum logo neechi zaati ke samajte hai unke pass kya hai extra jo hamare paas nhi hai? I'm a ganaie and I'm proud of my caste Jo khudko zamindar kehte hai na unse zyada zameen meri bekar padi hai aur alhamdulillah un se achi outcome hai zamindari se.
Kalhana, a 12th-century Kashmiri historian and Brahmin, wrote Rajatarangini (River of Kings), a chronicle detailing the rulers of Kashmir. Although Kalhana provides valuable historical insights, his work often blends fact with legend and reflects his personal biases. One of the kings he discusses is King Chakravarman, who ruled Kashmir in the early 10th century. Kalhana describes Chakravarman's reign as marked by indulgence in vices and close associations with lower social groups. Among these groups was one involved in singing and entertainment, possibly referred to as the "Rang" tribe in some interpretations. Historically, similar communities like the Dum played significant roles in courtly entertainment and music but were marginalized in the social hierarchy. Kalhana criticizes Chakravarman for elevating women from this lower caste to the status of queens, or "Patranis," while men from the same group became influential courtiers. This shift allowed the group to gain unprecedented political power in the royal court. Kalhana's disapproval reflects the traditionalist outlook of his time, where the breakdown of caste barriers was seen negatively, particularly in royal circles.
I have a concern regarding the current educational and professional achievements among individuals from the Ganie caste. It seems that only a few from this community have reached notable levels of education and success. If the claims about the community’s potential are accurate, could you explain the reasons behind this disparity and the apparent decline in achievements among the Ganie caste?