Kashmir: an integral part of Bharatvarsh from the time immemorial

For many years, the separatists, the terrorist, the apologists and Pakistan have been propagating a lie to justify the Jihad in Kashmir by saying that Kashmir has never been a part of India or the Bharatvarsh. Not only have left liberals supported this lie, the intellectual class to has fallen for the lie and constantly used this lie to justify the crimes of terror in Kashmir, as an indigenous movement of a free nation. Unfortunately, the articles 370 and 35A helped this lie and even the innocent people not only in Kashmir but across India started believing in this lie.

Bharat etymologically is rooted in the verb Bha, which means light and rat which means devoted or immersed. So, Bharatvarsha is not just a geo-space but also a geo-cultural matrix from which various thoughts, concepts embedded in the depth of its consciousness of its people have emanated, giving shape to a great civilization called Bharatvarsha or India. Vishnupuran defines this land a country that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains. Thus, Kashmir is not only by geo-space definition but also because of geo-cultural matrix has been part of this great civilization and land from time immemorial.

The land Kashmir derives its name the great Indian Sage – Kashyapa. The story of Kashmir has Sanatan Dharma written all over it. The SSatisar as Kashmir was known earlier was given to Nagas  by Vishnu on the request of Wasuki (whose village ‘Waskur’ still exists in Gandherbal district), after they were losing out to Gaurda, their perpetual enemy. It is here that Jalodbhava, the demon was killed by the mother Godess after she came in form of a sparrow (ha-ri in Kashmiri) and crushed him under a hill. The hill still exists as Hari Parbat and the temple of Ha-ri too exists even now. It is here that on request of Sage Kashyapa, Nila, the King of Nagas allowed the Manu Putras to reside in Kashmir. The recorded history of Hindus of Kashmir dates back to almost 5200 years.

The Nilamat Puran, is probably the only puran which talks about a land and its people, starts with a question, ‘why did Kashmir not participate in the great war Mahabharta, where every King of Bharatvarsha did. The kingdom of Kashmir was no less than any other in the country?’ Nilmat says that King Gonanda was a relative of Jarasandha and he had joined him in his fight against Yadavas. Gonanda was killed by Balram and Gonanda’s sons Damodra went to fight Lord Krishna and was slain in the battle field by Krishna. Realising the sanctity of Kashmir, Bhagwan Krishna himself coronated the widow of Damodara, Yasmoti as the ruler of Kashmir. For the first time in the history of mankind, a female was made a ruler and Bhagwan Krishna herself coronated her. At the time of Mahabharta, Yasomati son was a minor, so Kashmir was exempted from joining either Kauravas or Pandavas. The Mahabharta, adi parva 2.64 states that sons of Pandu grew up in the holy mountains of Himavat. An area which many believe is Kashmir.

Every inch of Kashmir talks about its connection with Bharatvarsha. When Jalodbhava was to be killed, Lord Vishnu instructed Ananta to drain the water of Satisar by breaking the mountain barrier. The place Ananta did this is called Varahamula. Kashmiris still call it Varmul.

Kashmir has geographically been located in a difficult terrain and thus made the pilgrimage of Kashmiris to key tirthas spread in rest of India difficult. So, they created their own replicas of these key pilgrimage centres. Kashmir has its own Godavari, Ganga, Prayag and Sangam. Has Bhadrakali of Bengal, a temple of Tripura Sundari. And are used for the same religious activity the originals are used for. The gangbal of Kashmir has the same sanctity as Ganga of plains. It also flows from the locks of Shiva residing at the Kailash of Kashmir, Harmukh. The Sangam and Prayag have their Kumbhs and same religious activities as done at Allahabad or Nashik.

The land of Kashmir has had great contribution to the vedic civilization and won’t be unfair to call it ‘The Hub.’ Patanjali, the great commentator of Panani’s work often refers to the people pf Kashmir, whom he calls Kashmirikas. It is believed that Patanjali himself belonged to Kashmir. Many Puranas including Matsya, Vayu, Padma, Vishnu mention Kashmir. In the field of creative literature, the whole gateway of brilliant scholars were from Kashmir; Damodargupta, Jayanta, Somadeva, Bilhan, Kalhan amongst many others. It is here in this land that Somadeva wrote his magnum opus Katha Sarita Sagar.

Daughter of Sanskrit is what Dr. Toskhani calls Kashmiri. George Buhler, the most respected scholar of Indian Languages believed that Kashmiri descended from the Vedic speech, one of the dialects of classic Sanskrit.

Adi Shankaracharya, the great Saint and philosopher who in his desire to re-establish the faith in Upanishads decided to travel the length and breadth of this country. And part of his tour of this country, he decided to visit Kashmir also. It is here that Adi Shankaracharya accepted and acknowledged the importance of Shakti and wrote the beautiful Saundarya Lahiri on top of a hill that is today known as Shankaracharya Hill. In awe of Adi Shankaracharya, the Sharda Peeth (now in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir), the great Indian learning centre of those times, opened the never opened South Door in his honour. The targa, traditional headgear that Kashnmiri Pandit women wear is a gift from Adi Shankaracharya and symbolically represents crown as gift from ascetic.

Even today most of the Indians including Kashmiris start their day with a recital ‘Namaste Shaarade Devii Kaashmiira-Pura-Vaasini. Tvaam-Aham Praarthaye Nityam Vidyaa-Daanam Cha Dehi Me’. Salutations to you, O Sharada, O Goddess, O one who resides in Kashmir. I pray to you daily, please give me the charity of knowledge.

The Mahayana Buddhism had its birth in Kashmir. It is from here that Buddhism spread to China, Japan, Tibet and Korea. Even today China admits that India conquered and dominated the China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border. India conquered them, not Kashmir. Because even for Chinese, Kashmir has been a part of India form time immemorial.

The Kashmiri Pandits have seen many exoduses, some small, some big. It is a well-documented fact that there have been 7 major exoduses all driven by the atrocities of Islamic rulers or their officers. And where does one go to if driven out of home. One goes to a place where he/she is comfortable with. A place which practices his own religion, a place is part of his own country but safer. In 1990, Kashmiri Pandits did not go to flee to Pakistan, China, Tibet or Afghanistan. Most went to Jammu, a peaceful part of the J&K state and few others to the other parts  of India. Even in the earlier exoduses Kashmiri Pandits fled to other parts of India only. Although the exoduses brought suffering to them, they also did enrich arts and culture in many other parts of India. The Pahari-Kangra school of Art is one such example. The fugitive KP family who escaped the forced conversion, swept the region of Kangra and surroundings with their genius. While Seu Raina established the pre-Kangra style, his descendants led to the ultimate blooming of the style.

Kashmir has been part of many great Indian empires including those of Mauryas, Kushanas, Kamboj, Mughals, Sikhs and British India. Ashoka, the great King of India, founded the capital city of Kashmir, Shri Nagri, today known as Srinagar. The Shri is the honorific title for the Goddess Lakshmi, and the capital city of Jammu & Kashmir has been named after her.

It was on the outskirts of Srinagar that Kanishka, again a great Indian emperor, held the 4^th Buddhist council. Kashmir is the birth place of what is known as Sanskrit Buddhism. The great scholar of Shaivism Acharya Abhinavgupta ancestors belonged to Kannauj and had moved to Kashmir on the request of the great Indian King, Lalitaditya Mukhtipida. Lalitaditya, a Kashmiri, is considered one of the greatest kings of India, whose kingdom extended from Karnataka in South to Orrisa & Bengal in East to Konkan in west and Afghanistan and many parts of central Asia in North.

With the advent of Islam, Kashmir saw the last of its local rulers. The first Muslim King dynasty in Kashmir was the Shahmir dynasty. The Shahmir himself was of Turk or Persian origin and sought asylum in Kashmir after he was banished from the SWAT region. Many Kashmiris are often heard saying that ‘Yusuf Chak was the last indigenous King of Jammu & Kashmir’. This is a blatant lie and highlights ignorance or deliberate mischief. The last indigenous King of Jammu & Kashmir was Maharaja Hari Singh. The Dogra rulers of Jammu & Kashmir claim to be descendants of Bhagwan Ram, an Indian God. The last indigenous ruler from Kashmir valley was Kota Rani. Chaks are not from Kashmir but are Dardis. And interestingly Yususf Chak was defeated by Mughals, who were invited to Kashmir by the famous Sufi Saint of Kashmir, Sheikh Hamza Maqdoom.

In the last 450 years of Kashmir’s history, expect for 67 years of Afghan rule, the state of Kashmir has been part of part of the Indian Empires including Mughals, Sikhs and British India. Maharaja Hari was of one of the many princely kings in the British India empire and his status was as same as the others. He was no different and like other princely states were subject to suzerainty of the British Crown exercised through Viceroy of India. In 1947, the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir signed the same Instrument of Accession as did other 569 princely states.

Such has been the foolish attempts to claim that Kashmir has not been part of India, when some of the most prominent Indian freedom fighters were Kashmiris; Tej Bahahur Saproo, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Moti Lal Nehru, Kailash Nath Katju, Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even Allama Iqbal, the poet who wrote ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha.’ Infact India’s two prime ministers including the first, the longest serving and the first female were Kashmiris. It was a Kashmiri that set up India’s highly respected foreign intelligence wing R&AW. Kashmiris have served as Chief of Army, Airforce, Bureaucracy and various premier institutions of this country. Kashmiri is amongst the 22 scheduled languages of India.

Sources:

1. Nilmat Puran – Dr. Ved Kumari
2. The Hindu History of Kashmir – H H Wilson
3. Cultural Heritage of Kashmiri Pandits – S S Toshkhani & K Warikoo

https://rainaamit.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/kashmir-an-integral-part-of-bharatvarsh-from-the-time-immemorial/

19/01/90: When Kashmiri Pandits fled Islamic terror - Kanchan Gupta

Srinagar, January 4, 1990. Aftab, a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for Jammu and Kashmir's secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order.

In the following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir valley with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference government abdicating all responsibilities of the State. Masked men run amok, waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans.

Reports of killing of Hindus, invariably Kashmiri Pandits, begin to trickle in; there are explosions; inflammatory speeches are made from the pulpits of mosques, using public address systems meant for calling the faithful to prayers. A terrifying fear psychosis begins to take grip of Kashmiri Pandits.

Walls are plastered with posters and handbills, summarily ordering all Kashmiris to strictly follow the Islamic dress code, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks and imposing a ban on video parlours and cinemas. The masked men with Kalashnikovs force people to re-set their watches and clocks to Pakistan Standard Time.

Shops, business establishments and homes of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir valley with a recorded cultural and civilisational history dating back 5,000 years, are marked out. Notices are pasted on doors of Pandit houses, peremptorily asking the occupants to leave Kashmir within 24 hours or face death and worse. Some are more lucid: "Be one with us, run, or die!"

* * *

Srinagar, January 19, 1990. Jagmohan arrives to take charge as governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah, whose pathetic, whimpering, snivelling government has all but ceased to exist and has gone into hiding, resigns and goes into a sulk. Curfew is imposed as a first measure to restore some semblance of law and order. But it fails to have a deterrent effect.

Throughout the day, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists use public address systems at mosques to exhort people to defy curfew and take to the streets. Masked men, firing from their Kalashnikovs, march up and down, terrorising cowering Pandits who, by then, have locked themselves in their homes.

As evening falls, the exhortations become louder and shriller. Three taped slogans are repeatedly played the whole night from mosques: 'Kashmir mei agar rehna hai, Allah-O-Akbar kehna hai' (If you want to stay in Kashmir, you have to say Allah-O-Akbar); 'Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa' (What do we want here? Rule of Shariah); 'Asi gachchi Pakistan, Batao roas te Batanev san' (We want Pakistan along with Hindu women but without their men).

In the preceding months, 300 Hindu men and women, nearly all of them Kashmiri Pandits, had been slaughtered ever since the brutal murder of Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, noted lawyer and BJP national executive member, by the JKLF in Srinagar on September 14, 1989. Soon after that, Justice N K Ganju of the Srinagar high court was shot dead. Pandit Sarwanand Premi, 80-year-old poet, and his son were kidnapped, tortured, their eyes gouged out, and hanged to death. A Kashmiri Pandit nurse working at the Soura Medical College Hospital in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death. Another woman was abducted, raped and sliced into bits and pieces at a sawmill.

In villages and towns across the Kashmir valley, terrorist hit lists have been floating about. All the names are of Kashmiri Pandits. With no government worth its name, the administration having collapsed and disappeared, the police nowhere to be seen, despondency sets in. As the night of January 19, 1990, wears itself out, despondency gives way to desperation.

And tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits across the valley take a painful decision: to flee their homeland to save their lives from rabid jihadis. Thus takes place a 20th century Exodus.

* * *

Srinagar, January 19, 2005. There are no Kashmiri Pandits in Srinagar, or, for that matter, anywhere else in the Kashmir valley; they don't live here anymore. You can find them in squalid refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi. As many as 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have fled their home and hearth and been reduced to living the lives of refugees in their own country.

Two-thirds of them are camping in Jammu. The rest are in Delhi and in other Indian cities. Many of them, once prosperous and proud of their rich heritage, now live in grovelling poverty, dependent on government dole and charity. In these 15 years, an entire generation of exiled Kashmiri Pandits has grown up, without seeing the land from where their parents fled to escape the brutalities of Islamic terrorism, a land they dare not return to, although that land still remains a part of their country.

A large number of them are suffering from a variety of stress and depression related diseases. A group of doctors who surveyed the mental and physical health of the Kashmiri Pandits living in refugee camps, found high incidence of 'economic distress, stress induced diabetes, partial lunacy, hypertension and mental retardation.' Statistics reflect high death rate and low birth rate among the Kashmiri Pandit refugees.

And thereby hangs a tragic tale that has been all but wiped out from public memory.

An entire people have been uprooted from the land of their ancestors and left to fend for themselves as a weak-kneed Indian state shamelessly panders to Islamic terrorists and separatists who claim they are the final arbiters of Jammu and Kashmir's destiny. A part of India's cultural heritage has been destroyed; a chapter of India's civilisational history has been erased.

Had this tragedy occurred elsewhere in Hindu majority India, and had the victims been Muslims, we would have described it as 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide.' We would have made films with horror-inducing titles. We would have filed cases in the Supreme Court of India. Our media would have marshalled remarkable rage in reporting the smallest detail.

But, this tragedy has occurred in Muslim majority Kashmir valley, and the victims are all Hindus, that too Pandits. What has been lost is part of India's Hindu culture, what has been erased is integral to India's Hindu civilisation.

Therefore, the government makes bold to record that the Kashmiri Pandits have "migrated on their own" and their 'displacement (is) self-imposed;' the National Human Rights Commission, after a perfunctory inquiry, refuses to concede that what has happened is 'genocide' or 'ethnic cleansing,' though facts add up to no less than that, never mind that 300,000 lives have been destroyed.

And, our jhola-wallah brigade of secular activists rudely turn up their noses to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits: Hindu sorrow, inflicted by Islamic terror, stinks.

Today, on January 19, the 15th anniversary of the forced flight of Kashmiri Pandits, look back at India's wretched history of secular politics and consider the terrible price the nation has paid at the altar of appeasement because the Indian State has, and continues to, toe the line of least resistance.

Reflect. Resolve. React.

https://m.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/19kanch.htm

It pays to be a separatist in Kashmir

The recent exposé of Syed Ali Shah Geelani's grandson getting a plum posting has once again exposed the working of an unimaginative,  thoughtless government in handling the Kashmir issue.

Over the years, it has become abduntaly clear that none of governments irrespective of the party they belong to have any vision, strategy or plan to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio. They have no expert for this conundrum.

There was a hope that with Modi government in centre and BJP in power in Jammu & Kashmir, there will be atleast  a clear thought process on the way forward.

But unfortunately, the BJP has continued with the policy that has plagued the Indian system for too long. The lack of vision and misconceived notions of Sangh Parivar (who is quite active in Kashmir issue) have taken situation from bad to worse.

The first thing that was expected out of Indian state after the new government took over was to stop extending favours to separatists in hope of winning them over. Second was to weed out the pro-seperatists government officials, act against them and atleast ensure that they are given postings that are insignificant, with very limited influence. Third, but very important was to keep heat on the seperatists by ensuring that legal cases against them are taken to their logical conclussion. And last but most important was to have people who are loyal to the state and government in key administrative positions.

All these basic principles has been grossly violated in J&K and today the whole nation is paying the price of this folly.

From offering MBBS seat to Syed Salauddin's son in early 90's to helping Asiya Andrabi's son get admission in Malaysia, to offering VIP treatments to anti-India rabble rousers, to the recent incident of giving a government job to Geelani's grandson, all show the government assumes their acts of foolishness as magnanimity.

It does not require even commonsense to see that the key postings in the Kashmir valley across government departments from judiciary to police department to horticulture to key educational institutions are with people who are seperatist sympathisers. Last year a senior police officer heading a very crucial post in South Kashmir was believed to have acted as a broker in a dispute that erupted between Abu Dujan of L.e.T and now dead Burhan Wani, who was then the head of Hizbul Mujahedeen in Kashmir. If sources are to be believed, even the death of Burhan Wani was not a chance encounter, but an attempt by a senior police officer to please his political bosses to consider him for the top role in his department. A DSP, who is now on deputation to another department was hired by Mufti government inspite of being a former deserter. He was supposedly hired on a recommendation of a well known separatist leader. By turning a blind eye to the background of these employees while recruiting and posting them on important postings after giving them a job – the field is left open for the anti-India elements in J&K to create an entire ecosystem that takes salary from government but works for seperatists.

Indian state over the years have always acted in a way that has always put the well wishers of Indian state or for that matter, people who supported Indian state for whatever reasons including personal or materialistic gains at risk. Ikhwanis, who almost wiped out the militancy in Kashmir (their approach and creation can be debated) were exposed and given almost as gift to be killed by ISI backed terrorists. Kashmiri Pandits, who have always been Indians from the core of their heart, enjoying tremendous respect (even by their adversaries) for their sincerity towards work have been denied job opportunities in Kashmir or sidelined when it comes to key positions in the state machinery. Even non Kashmiri speaking muslims, who form a sizeable population of the state and are largely seen as pro-India have been ignored and discriminated. All policies in Jammu & Kashmir are planned in such way that they are favourable to valley residents, especially to seperatist sympathizing population.

Multiple cases against terrorists and seperatist leaders are lingering in courts for decades. From henious crimes like murders, assassinations, rapes, to cases like sedition, hawala, assault on law officers have seen no closure. People like Yasin Malik, Bitta Karate, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and many others have virtually no fear of the law. In 2006, the TADA designated judge Mr.Wani while giving his judgement on releasing Bitta Karate said the following "The court is aware of the fact that the allegations levelled against the accused are of serious nature and carry a punishment of death sentence or life imprisonment but the fact is that the prosecution has shown total disinterest in arguing the case, which is in complete violation of Article 21 of the Constitution." Even after 27 years, there has been no progress in the case against Yasin Malik on the charges of killing 5 Airforce officers. Law in Kashmir today is not a deterrent but a great motivator, as it gives instant fame without any fear of punishment.

It is time that Indian state comes out of the delusian they can purchase peace. Because peace is not in the intrest of the people they  buy up from. For them conflict means money. The message in Kashmir is clear; if you want incentives
join the chorus "Hum kya chahte azadi"

https://rainaamit.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/%e2%80%8bit-pays-to-be-a-separatist-in-kashmir/

Brave Girl Shabroza

Roots in Kashmir salutes the brave girl Shabroza from Badgam for the immense courage displayed by her by raising the Indian flag at her house roof top in Badgam district, in the process defying the writ of separatists and their masters based out of Pakistan and showing way to many Kashmiris who are patriotic and Indian but don't have the courage to express it due to the threat of violence and terrorism.

Addressing a gathering of Roots in Kashmir members, Ashish Zutshi, senior member, Roots in Kashmir said "No one understands the price one has to pay to be nationalistic in Kashmir better than Kashmiri Pandits and hence the Roots in Kashmir is worried about the safety and security of this young Kashmiri girl."

At the meeting it was unanimously agreed by all members present that the group will provide all possible support to Shabroza including the completion of her education outside the valley in case she feels threatened or finds it difficult to pursue her studies in the valley.

Aroop Rayu of Roots in Kashmir said "as a fellow Kashmiri girl, I assure Shabroza that all the girls and all the members of Roots in Kashmir are with her"

Reh 2011 - Kashmiri Pandit Youth Festival

Be it the chords of music or the cords of emotion, it does create ripples. Far away from home, a new generation of us has grown. Time may have elapsed and distance may have hazed our view but the moment the chords strike and the music begins ,it sets us all swinging, singing and turns back the wheel of times, the valley in us resonates.

On the 13th day of this March we will all sing together, dance together shout aloud til...l our voice resonates in the valley. As a new generation of Kashmiri musicians change tacks from Chakri to Rock to fusion or the more mellowed form of music, we will sing to the celebration of life in a new way and mark the arrival of the next gen of the Kashmiri Pandits.

Renowned bands like Prithvi, October, young Santoor masteros and the nightingales of the valley will set the stage on fire and illuminate the flame within us. The flame of continuity – Reh as it is aptly called in Kashmiri.

Reh - the flame of eternalness, the flame of warmth and togetherness, the flamer of love and brotherhood, the flame of enlightenment, the flame that keep the young generation of Kashmiri Pandits treading.

Come, lets all celebrate the joy of togetherness, the commonness of our roots, the bond of love.

Lets Rock!!!
-Entry by Complimentary Pass only.

To obtain passes contact:

Amal Magazine - 9873900479
Anoop Bhat - 9911543003
Sanjay Peshin - 8527764911

A Roots In Kashmir Initiative

Separatist Paid Goons target Security forces in Kashmir

Security personnel run for cover as armed riot mob targets them.

Also Read...

The New Stone Age

The Other side of the story in Kashmir: Blame it on Police

A J&K Police Constable is mercilessly beaten by a street goon.

A paid good targets J&K Police vehicle with stones.

A gang of paid goons attacks a lone J&K Police constable.

"We will burn you like we burnt your temples"

There are only 3000 Kashmiri Pandits living in Kashmir now.The title of the post is the message that they were given by "peace loving Muslims of Kashmir".
Here is the press release of KPSS for everyone to see the brutal colours of Kashmiriyat.I can bet that no media house will ever take this story up because it would be hurt their "secular" credentials and neither will the "intellectuals" because then it would go against their creed.Shame India once again.


KASHMIRI PANDIT SANGARSH SAMITI
Sathu Barbar Shah, Srinagar Kashmir
Dated: 16.11.2009



1. Hon’ble the Prime Minister

Union of India

New Delhi



2. Hon’ble the Chief Minister

State of Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu / Srinagar.



3. Chairman,

All Party Hurriyat Conference (G)

Hyderpora, Srinagar



4. Chairman,

All Party Hurriyat Conference (M)

Raj Bagh, Srinagar.



Open Letter / Press Release



(It is not right time of return of Migrant Kashmiri Pandits

But it is ripe time for the left out Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley

to choose migration with dignity)





Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) is working for the last more than 3 years to create a space for reconciliation between Majority Community and Minorities in the Valley and initiated the celebration of religious functions in public to play a role to bring back the co-existence environment in the Valley.



From the last 2 years KPSS is also taking steps for the preservation of the religious places of the minorities and bring back them to their glory. And to make it a mark of success organized its maiden Seminar – cum – Temple Photo Exhibition on 31st March, 2009.



On 15th of November, 2009 two of our members went to Bhairav Ghat, Chattabal, Srinagar to take some pictures of the temple ruins so that its fate could be settled with the concerned authorities. But the members of the Majority Community who had encroached the temple land abstained them from taking pictures and used un-parliamentary language against the Kashmiri Pandits and the religious places. The started the slogans like “Jis tarah humne tumhare mandiroon ko Jalaya hai vaise hi tum logon ko jalayenge, aur kisi ko pata bi nahi chalega” The way we have burnt your temples in the same way we will burn you and no one will know about you. “Yehan sirf Islam Chalega” Only Islam will prevail here. “India ko lagta hai kit tum logon ko vapas layega, jo bi aaye ga mara jayega, hum log phir se gun uthayenge” India thinks that they can bring Kashmiri Pandits back to Valley, who so ever will come will die, we will again raise arms against you. The mob there even man handled the members of KPSS and they had to leave the place. Even they could not file an FIR against the mob due to the life threat given by these hooligans belonging to a particular community.


KPSS strongly condemn the act and appeal to the Separatist leadership to look into the matter and reply back within a stipulated time that when at one hand they recommend the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley then why on the other hand their men are thirsty for KP blood.



KPSS requests the State and Central Administration to re-think about their proposal to bring back the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley instead they should be prepared to register the fresh lot of migrants who will leave the Valley in the coming days if the situation is not taken care of in due course of time.



KPSS also appeals to the International Community to take the matter seriously and ensure that all necessary steps are taken to safe guard the Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.





(Sanjay K. Tickoo)

President

+91-9906564741

The Election Farce,Sajjad Lone etc

Che Kamyu Kareneay taveez pan
Yaaro van bale yaaro van

Who hath cast thy spell on thou?
Speak up my friend, speak up

Wahab Khar the 18th Century poet probably had the power to see future. How else does one explain the above verse unless he knew that Sajjad Lone, the most vociferous of the separatists would one day take a U-turn (strategic not ideological-let us laugh over it) and join the election fray. Intrigue has always been a part of Kashmir’s history and Kashmir’s leaders have more often that not been treacherous and perfidious. Sajjad Lone can be no exception.

After all he is following in the footsteps of his illustrious father who was first a minister in the Govt.of Jammu and Kashmir and then when the tide of separatism engulfed the valley he too changed his colours and became a separatist. As they say in Kashmir, Once a turncoat always a turncoat. Abdul Ghani Lone was about to don his old colours when the rival separatist gangs got a whiff of it and killed him. Sajjad and Bilal had a chance to speak up then but then the fear of death at the hands of terrorists had the better of them. If you can’t beat them join them.

Bilal joined the Hurriyat Conference while Sajjad kept to his People’s Conference because the Hurriyat did not want him amongst them. They were wary of him for various reasons, the primary being his proximity to some sections of the Indian Establishment. Sajjad who spends more time outside the valley found support from the liberal media and some sections of chatterati and thus was propelled to the national television screens as a “a separatist leader”. It was of little consequence that he enjoyed little or no support at the ground. His English speaking abilities and his suave ways became his passport for leadership. It is another matter that he was a leader because of his connections with the Editors of English News Channels.

Then came his big moment! The Amarnath agitation divided the state of Jammu and Kashmir like never before.The Govt of Jammu and Kashmir cancelled the temporary allocation of land which led to protests in Jammu.Sajjad Lone scoffed Arnab Goswami,”Are you comparing the agitation in a few Mohallas in Jammu to that of a Pan-Kashmir Agitation”.When the agitation in Jammu further gained ground he told Rajdeep Sardesai”We should give one and half district to Jammu and live peacefully”. It all reached a crescendo when he shouted at Dr.Jitendra Singh in Barkha Dutt’s programme that the land row is settled, all that is to be settled is Azadi.He even wanted Jitender Singh’s mike to be muted.

He was arrogant and rude to say the least. He was so vocal about his being Kashmiri separatist that he forgot that he is human too. He rubbed many people the wrong way.

Soon the elections were around the corner. The separatists including him gave a boycott call but a determined Election Commission went ahead with the election schedule. He was once again the most vocal face of the boycotters. Even on the day when the first phase figures came out and when 64% electorate had polled in he told Arnab Goswami” One Swallow does not make a spring. Wait there still is six more phases”. Meanwhile his sister Shabnam Lone too stood for elections. He swore by the Holy Quran that he had nothing to do with her candidature. He said, he did not support the farce called elections. He renewed his calls for boycott and his sister lost.

The Election Results were announced. Sajjad Lone was forlorn and dejected. He seemed to have lost the guftaar (the art of conversation) though he still maintained that he did not regret his decision to boycott polls. He was suddenly seen biting dust. He called for introspection but then who would have thought that this would be introspection. His introspection will be to swear in the name of the Indian Constitution. Whether he represents Kashmir in India or India in Kashmir is mere semantics. Doesn’t Sharad Pawar represent Maharashtra in India and India in Maharashtra?

A word is due to our columnists who see this as some “paradigm shift” in the politics of Kashmir, those who believe that Lone is a “moderate voice” among the separatists and for those who believed that his “Achievable Freedom Document” was some Godsend solution to Kashmir. It is time for them to spend some more time in Kashmir and go beyond what they see from their Shikara’s. It is time for them to talk to normal Kashmiris and know what the Lone U-turn means. It is time that they stop bullshitting and telling us that in the last assembly elections the Kashmiris voted for Bijli,Sadak,Paani and not for India.Do they think we are so dumb as to believe that all these years Kashmiris did not need Bijli,sadak and Paani.Go drink some paani from Chasme Shahi in Kashmir.It is believed to have medicinal values that cures brain disorders.

One just hopes that the establishment lets the elections be free and fair and does not in any way or form aid the candidature of Sajjad Lone. It is only then that we would know how much of a leader Sajjad is outside the studios of TV Channels. Only time will tell whether he is elected or not or whether the Indian Establishment covertly gets him to the Parliament or not. What we know for sure is that he represents himself and himself alone in Kashmir as well as India. Seldom has a Kashmiri leader represented anyone but himself and Lone can not be alone in this.

And the "Indian Media" calls them secular

Killers in arms-Hafiz Saeed of Lashkar and Syed Ali Shah Geelani

On day of LoC march, Dawah chief called Geelani

FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW WHAT DAWAH IS,IT IS LASHKAR-E-TOIBA WHO HAVE MURDERED THOUSANDS OF INDIANS AND HAVE UNLEASHED BRUTAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM ON ALL OF US...

so now we all know where the "Muzzafarabad March" came from.

The biggest tragedy is that this news found little or no mention in our National Media.They seem to be too busy in showing that the "Economic Blockade" imposed by "Hindu Goons" is to" kill secular and peace loving Muslims of Kashmir".

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/348594.html

Srinagar, August 13: On the day Kashmiris marched in their thousands on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani received a call from Jamat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed informing him that workers of the Dawah were waiting for the marchers at Chakothi on the other side of the Line of Control. Saeed reportedly welcomed the Hurriyat Conference’s decision “to sever trade ties with India”.
“Both leaders expressed their determination to stand united against the Indian conspiracies and plots,” a statement posted on the Dawah’s website said.
“Hafiz Saeed assured (Geelani) that every possible assistance including provision of food and medicines would be made available to Kashmiris,” it added.
Sayeed reportedly said the Dawah would launch a “countrywide campaign” to restore supply lines to Kashmir through Pakistan occupied Kashmir. “We urge Kashmiris to persevere and assure them that they have the backing of the entire Pakistani nation,” he said.

Govt clueless about death toll of Pandits in the Valley

Hindustan Times (Yahoo News)

Sat, Jun 21 01:10 AM

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The Centre may have the number of security personnel or militants killed in J and amp;K since the outbreak of violence in 1989, but it does not have any count of the Kashmiri Pandits who fell prey to insurgency. This admission, by the Centre, came in response to an RTI application filed by a Kashmiri Pandit, Aditya Raj Kaul, who wanted to know how many of his community members were killed in the state since 1989.

"J&K Police has not shared information on the killings of Kashmiri Pandits with the Central Government," the Union Home Ministry had said in its reply. Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told HT that sharing of information with the Centre was a routine matter.

"We furnish whatever information is sought from us." The RTI came in the wake of a report, carried by a newspaper recently, and said to have been compiled by the J&K Police for the first time since the outbreak of violence in the Valley.

It said militants had killed 209 Kashmiri Pandits since 1989. The report also said 31 militants were booked for killings in 24 out of 140 cases while killers in 115 cases remain unidentified or untraced.

"Since we contest the numbers of Kashmiri Pandits killed as cited by the report, we wanted to cross check it. The fact that all 31 militants charge-sheeted for killing Kashmiri Pandits were on bail was what prompted me to seek more information about it" Kaul said.

The Ministry said while 20,621 militants had been killed between January 1990 and April 2008 about 5147 security personnel laid down their lives while fighting terrorism. Kaul had filed another RTI with the Home Ministry, seeking details on the Wandhama massacre, in which militants killed 23 Kashmir Pandits on January 25, 1998.

However, the Centre again had no information about the incident. "We wanted to know what real progress had been made in this case and why wasn't it referred to a better agency had the local police failed to make any headway," said Kaul.

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Pictures - 20th June - International Refugee's Day - New Delhi Seminar
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The PANELISTS - Gautam Kaul, Ex-DG-ITBP, Mukul Sharma, Dir.-Amnesty Inte'l India, Tarun Vijay, Columnist, Aasha Khosa, Journalist.

A section of the audience.

The audience keenly watching the audio-video presentation on Wandhama.

A Delegate making a point to Mukul Sharma, Director - Amnesty Inte'l India.

J&K better than PoK, say Euro MPs(www.expressindia.com)

New Delhi, April 9: Prominent Members of European Parliament (MEP) have come down heavily on the Pakistan government for "lack of democracy and development" in Gilgit and Baltistan areas of Pak-occupied Kashmir.
While Pakistan was seeking self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir, "it was not even prepared to allow democracy on its side of the border," Baronness Emma Nicholson MEP said at a two-day international conference on 'Constitutional, Political and Socio-economic conditions of Gilgit Baltistan' at the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday.
Nicholson, who represents the Liberal Democratic Party, had authored a report on the "suppression of human rights" in the Northern Areas of PoK which was adopted by the European Parliament in 2007.
Participating in the conference, another MEP Geoffrey van Orden said while there had been extensive political and economic development in the Indian side of J and K, this was "totally lacking" in PoK.
Charles Tannock, MEP from the UK, drew a sharp contrast between India and Pakistan in terms of economic development and democracy, while UNPO chief Marino Musdaschin said there could be no progress on Kashmir "till the initiation of full political process in PoK".
The conference was also attended by several other MEPs, NGO representatives and leaders of the International Kashmir Alliance (IKA).
IKA General Secretary Shaukat Ali Kashmiri wanted the European Parliament to set up a fact-finding mission on the ground realities in the Gilgit and Baltistan region and other parts of the PoK. He also sought starting of a bus service between Gilgit-Baltistan in PoK and Ladakh as part of Indo-Pak confidence-building measures.

NHRC fails to provide succour: Kashmiri Pandits (THE TRIBUNE)

The Nowhere People - Shivi Verma, SAHARA TIME, New Delhi

The Kashmiri Pandits want their dignity to be restored and not refugee status on the outskirts of Jammu.

Liberals or Hypocrites by Nishant Dudha

The urban Indian intellectuals proudly declare themselves as liberals. They do not stop there, they go a step ahead and claim themselves to be the reason for the existence of Indian nation state and everything good that India stands for. Everything that this nation has managed to uphold, despite naysayer’s prediction about us 60 years ago.

This may be true to some extent, but I wonder how to define this India liberalism, that makes messiahs of monsters. That allows secessionist venom to be spewed in the name of “Freedom of Expression” but scoffs at ultra-nationalism. That loves to label MinorityAppeasement as Affirmative Action but when the recipient of appeasement is Majority, it is quick to label it as Fundamentalism.

All these questions used to arise in my mind at different points of time, but what has collated them is the following sequence of events.

Kamla Nehru College (Delhi University) authorities allowed RIK to screen a movie “And the world remained silent” followed by a panel discussion about this alternate perspective of truth nation refuses to see.

A few days later they revoke the permission assigning the cause as non-availability of proper facilities. And now we get to know, in the same time slot and on the same day another movie is being screened at the same venue.

I can’t fathom the reason, the question that arises inmy head which possibly you could help me find ananswer to is:

"Is Indian intelligentsia Liberal or Hypocrite? "

Screening at Maharaja Agrasen Collge

One more screening,one more day of learning.It was interesting experience for all of us when the movie was screened to a 125 odd students and some teachers at the Maharaja Agrasen College.A large section of the students were Journalism students so the discussion after the screening was thought provoking to say the least.Kashmir issue is so mired and vexed that it is impossible to even suggest solutions without fraying tempers and raising eyebrows.The panelists Vinod Verma(Leftist leaning intellectual) and Madhusree Chatterjee of Hindustan Times raised vital issues and the discussion did go beyond Kashmir.The minority question and treatment of minorities as an issue did come around.Students joined in and new perspectives to the problem were seen and some brushed aside.As a moderate,liberal and modern initiative "Roots in Kashmir" has always encouraged persepctives,ideas and solutions which are different than ours.It was one such effort to reach out and discuss and maybe explore the "new dimension".A humanitarian view of the Pandit problem would help the nation raise it better said Madhusree.Vinod stressed the need for a more inclusive agenda wherein we as a nation could address marginalised populations,Pandits being one.

The curtain however came down when a student asked Rashneek to answer in Yes or No and the question was"Do you think that the Pandit problem is being swept under the carpet to appease the minorities in general in India" and Rashneek answering Yes.

Hope to see you this Friday ie 24th Aug at Kamla Nehru College at 2.30 PM.

This EVENT was covered here...

http://headlinesindia.com/national/index.jsp?news_code=52968

http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/20/stories/2007082054880300.htm