Some people in their lifetime become a symbol. Khaksar Mohammad Maqbool Shah was such a man. Unidentified gunmen shot him dead in Srinagar on February 9, after the evening prayers, near the mosque in which he had, for most of his life, prayed and preached. The bullets which pierced his body not only killed him but also ruptured the soul of Kashmiriyat. An Islamic scholar, he upheld the values of universalism, co-existence, and secularism.I first met Shah Sahib in 1999. A journalist friend in Reuters had insisted that I meet him. "You will get a profound insight about Islam and Sufism in Kashmir from him," he told me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet an imam of a local mosque for I strongly believed that there was no possibility of a dialogue with imams. I did not know at that stage that my search for peace would start from Shah Sahib’s doorsteps. With no appointments that day, I decided to go and meet the imam. He greeted me by placing a hand on my head and asked me to come and sit in the sun. "Be careful of the winter sun in Kashmir. It befools people," he said. I told him that I was aware of the fact. He looked surprised. When I told that I was a Kashmiri, he got up to hug me, "I am fortunate and blessed to have you as my guest. I miss the Pandits." With that he broke into tears. Lost in a bygone world, he narrated tales about how Muslims and Pandits used to live together. "I had many Pandit friends in college. Winds of irrationality, extremist ideologies sounded the death knell to centuries-old Kashmiri traditions. It was a sailab which drowned brotherhood." He then whispered, "We should say sorry to the Pandits." For me, the vulnerable submission of Shah Sahib was like balm on my wounded self. Loaded with prejudices, I was unable to reconcile to the divide between people and myths which had taken birth. One is most lonely when one is surrounded by myths and that’s how I had felt during my visits to the Valley. Meeting with Shah Sahib dispelled many of them. I felt encouraged by his indomitable spirit that sowed within me the seeds of recovery.The discussions that day revealed Shah Sahib’s immense understanding of different faiths. Within him he carried the essence of the teachings of the Vedas, the Granth, the Bible and the Quran. And that day he revealed to me the real meaning of Islam. "Secular, compassionate and democratic," he said. It is from him, I understood the ‘Other’. Later, he told me, "Ashima keep the quest on. You must be like the Prophet. He spoke to Nature and She revealed Herself to Him. You, too, talk to the Nature and go write your own Quran." Views that could be considered blasphemous. But he just looked reassuring and said, "Don’t be ever sacred. Always follow your spirit."No bullet can pierce his words of wisdom that I share with you. Yes, there’s deep anger at the way he went. Elected on a NC ticket, he was the top contender for the mayor’s seat. Given this, and the killing of a councillor in Badgam a day before, it is nothing short of tragic that he was not provided security. But whenever in the annals of history, the names of those who sacrificed their lives for Kashmir is called out, Shah Sahib’s will shine as a guiding star. Ameen!
