Why in Bihar’s Biswak, a Kashmiri sultan’s grave remains forgotten and neglected

There are no majestic gardens, or even a flowering bush or two, around the grave. Rather, the decrepit resting place of Yusuf Shah — as well as two other graves near his, said to be of his son Yakub Shah and wife Habba Khatoon — is approached by a pathway strewn by cow dung and human excreta. A simple stone tablet identifies it as the resting place of Sultan Yusuf Shah Chak, “King of Kashmir”, who was born in 1545 AD, exiled by Mughal emperor Akbar in 1586 AD, died in Odisha in September 1592 AD and buried in Biswak in December 1592 AD.

With Bihar in focus amidst the just-concluded assembly elections in the state, 40-year-old Yasir Rasheed Khan, the mutawalli (caretaker) of the graveyard which includes Yusuf Shah’s resting place, and who claims to be a descendant of the sultan, hopes some of the attention could be diverted to the pitiable condition of this historic site and efforts made for its restoration.

“The knowledge of Yusuf Chak’s final resting place will become oral history if the graveyard is not protected from encroachers. Fortunately, my grandfather, the late Dr Abdul Rashid Khan, had ensured that the details of the graveyard are documented with the Waqf Board [a statutory body which maintains records of all endowments made for religious and charitable purposes as recognised by Muslim Law],” claimed Yasir.

Biswak is a part of the Islampur assembly constituency in Nalanda, home district of Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, who seems set to return as Bihar chief minister following the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) emphatic victory in the just-concluded Bihar assembly elections. A key political area, there were speculations that Nitish’s son, Nishant, may contest the 2025 assembly elections from Islampur, but that did not happen. Held by an MLA of rival Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the previous assembly, the seat went to JD(U) when the results of the recent elections were announced on November 14.

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Yet, despite its location in such a politically high-profile constituency, the Kashmir sultan’s grave appears to have largely escaped administrative attention.

“The grave is of significance for Kashmiris, because Yusuf Shah was [according to Kashmiris] the last independent sultan of Kashmir. Whatever has to be done in terms of restoration and repair has to be done by the government of Jammu and Kashmir. But beyond visiting the grave occasionally, J&K politicians haven’t done any significant work there [in Biswak],” said Mohammad Saleem Beg, art conservator and historian and head of the Jammu and Kashmir chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Among the most recent of such visits by a Kashmiri leader is that of Mehbooba Mufti in June 2023. The former J&K CM had visited Yusuf Shah’s grave while in Bihar to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc of parties in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Expressing concern over the poor condition of the grave then, Mufti had reportedly said that Yusuf Shah’s resting place was a symbol of the ties between Kashmir and Bihar. “But unfortunately, the site is in absolute disrepair and in ruins,” she had been quoted as saying. Citing the historical significance of the tomb and the need for its preservation, she had added: “The area around the grave is open and without boundary walls. The place should have been developed as a tourist spot with facilities. Many people from Kashmir are eager to visit this place. The development of the site would boost tourism.” According to reports, Mufti had felt that the burial ground had enough land for a park to be developed.” She had added: “Nitish Kumar would definitely respond in a positive manner.” The JD(U) leader had then been a part of the INDIA bloc, switching sides to the NDA in January 2024.

Ironically, according to Beg, for centuries, Kashmiris were clueless as to the location of Yusuf Shah’s grave.

“For over 400 years, nobody in Kashmir knew where the grave was. It was identified before the government of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah [former J&K chief minister, who was in office in the ‘70s]. It was Shahibzada Mehmood, director of archives, J&K, in 1970-71, who sent a two-member team to search for the grave in Bihar based upon what was known about the history of Yusuf Shah, which was remembered more as anecdotes or local legend, than recorded history,” Beg said.

He added: “There is a rumour that his (Yusuf Chak’s wife) is also buried there. But there is no historical evidence of this. Historically, after Akbar exiled Chak, his whole clan went into disarray.”

According to the narrative popular in Kashmir, Yusuf Shah was on a hunting trip when he heard a young woman singing under a Chinar tree and fell in love with her and married her. Born Zoon, she was renamed Habba Khatoon when she became Yusuf’s queen. Regarded as one of the greatest cultural icons of Kashmir, her poetry and songs, which are still recited and sung by locals, bear testimony not only of her deep love for the Chak king but also provide details about the Sultan. It is said she had been previously married, but had walked out of the unhappy relationship before she met Yusuf Shah.

Beg, however, claimed that there was no historical evidence of Habba Khatoon having been Yusuf Shah’s wife. “In her poetry, Habba Khatoon makes references to two places—one, she says that she belongs to Syed clan and that she hails from Srinagar. Another reference she makes in her poetry is that she is ‘moon of Chandhara’, a village near Kashmir’s saffron town, Pampore, and she refers to her being the wife of a villager from the village. These are all poetic references. The same person cannot say that she belongs to Srinagar and Chandhara,” he reasoned.

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What is historically known, though, is that Akbar used deception to exile Yusuf Shah from Kashmir, Beg claimed.

It is believed that the Mughals had made several unsuccessful attempts to conquer Kashmir. Eventually, Akbar is said to have turned to his trusted army chief Mann Singh to ensure Mughal control over Kashmir. According to the Baristaan-e-Shahi — literally meaning the ‘Spring Garden of Royalty’, an account of medieval Kashmir, Singh was able to plant a fear in Yusuf Shah’s mind that the Mughal emperor was planning a severe assault on the Kashmir Valley that would bring destruction to the territory. He encouraged the Kashmir sultan to enter into a pact with Akbar to avoid the assault. He was asked to present himself to the emperor in Agra, but instead of a pact, Yusuf Shah was imprisoned and Mughal rule started in Kashmir.

When he was finally released, Yusuf Shah is said to have received “paanch hazaar mansaab”, an area of five villages including Sheikh Ali, Hydercheck, Khurampur, Kashmir Check and Biswak in the present Nalanda district, from Akbar. He was also purportedly given 500 horses and a monthly stipend. But he had to fight for the Mughals in their battles and it was during one such battle that he was eventually killed. Before his death, however, according to anecdotal history, Yusuf Shah had brought his family and relatives, including his queen Habba Khatoon to Bihar, thus establishing the village of Kashmir Chak, near Biswak.

While according to Beg, there is “no concrete evidence that the people belonging to the Chak dynasty are living in Bihar”, those like Yasir, claim descent from the Kashmir sultan.

Travelling from Patna to Biswak, the first sign of this Bihar village’s Kashmiri connect appears in the form of road signage, announcing it to be ‘Sheikh Abdullah Morh’; a three-kilometre stretch of road here is also named after the former J&K CM, ‘Sheikh Abdullah Road’. Locals say the road name bears testimony to Abdullah’s 1977 visit to Yusuf Shah’s grave.

Along this road is Kashmir Chak, the village said to have been established by Yusuf Shah for members of his family and relatives. No one claiming descent from the Chak family, however, has lived here since 1947, following the riots which accompanied the partition of the country.

Rajendra Prasad Yadav, a Biswak resident, remembers the role his father, Ganga Yadav, had played in ensuring the safety of the family of his childhood friend, Dr Abdul Rashid Khan, Yasir's grandfather, and their relatives. “I was a child then. I remember doctor sahab always mounted atop his horse and moved across the villages to treat people. My father and doctor sahab were close friends,” recalled Yadav. He added in the dead of night, his father had taken the entire Chak clan, claiming lineage to Yusuf Chak, to the nearest Muslim-dominated town, Islampur. It is where the clan has lived since; Yasir, who stays in Bhagalpur, also has a house in Islampur.

All that remains of the Chaks in Kashmir Chak now is a walled plot of overgrown land, with a mosque and a shrine, believed to be of Sufi saint Hazrat Peer Gauri, who is believed to have lived here during the time of Yusuf Shah. At one corner of the plot is a room where a caretaker lives with his family. Outside the walled compound, but also in Kashmir Chak, is a graveyard and the grave of another Sufi saint, Yaar Ali, who is also believed to have lived here during the time of the Chak king.

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A little further down the road from Kashmir Chak is Biswak, where Yusuf Shah lies buried.

“When Mehbooba Mufti had come here, she had presented a proposal to the district administration. The administration had made some plans [for renovation of the grave]. It was, however, never implemented. We wanted it to be developed on the lines of a historical place,” said Rakesh Kumar Roshan, RJD leader and former MLA from Islampur constituency.

Repeated calls to the new MLA Ruhail Ranjan, a JDU leader, went unanswered.

The Federal has also reached Kundan Kumar, district magistrate Nalanda, for comment. The article will be updated if a response is received.

Meanwhile, locals show little awareness of the slice of history buried in their midst. Satish Kumar Yadav, a farmer in Biswak who also rears cattle, told The Federal that the grave in their village didn’t appear to be “of importance”. “Otherwise why would it lie in a dilapidated condition. It isn't certainly a Taj Mahal that you have come to see,” he added.

Mohammad Moazam Arfee, a fruit seller, had a different story to narrate. “Sheikh Abdullah was badly treated by the government in Kashmir. He had come here. It is his memorial here,” he claimed.

For years, Yasir says he has been writing to people who matter in Kashmir's power corridors, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, to draw their attention to the need for conservation of Yusuf Shah’s grave, hoping they can influence their counterparts in Bihar to take up the matter. “Hundreds of letters, but there has been no reply,” said the Mutawalli, standing forlornly in front of the late ruler’s grave. Behind him, the stone tablet bearing Yusuf Shah’s name adds that the cemetery had been rebuilt and secured by Yasir Khan Chak in 2016.