An Audio Documentary, titled "Landscape of Loss", produced by three students of Mass Communication at the Jamia Millia University, Delhi

Return to the valley

Recently I read a news report which said that only One Kashmiri Pandit family has returned to the valley under the Prime Minister Package for Kashmiri Migrants.  And I am sure that many would have presumed that Kashmiri Pandits do not want to go back for various reasons including much assumed that the community is now economically much better outside valley.

 

The problem is that the vision and thought process of main stream media, politician and bureaucrats is myopic. The all so called strategic thinkers forget to look at the root cause of exodus and link everything to economics and even these economic measures are half hearted & half baked. Soon Congress and other political parties including BJP will start claiming that we have done everything (everything means giving monetary incentive) and still Kashmiri Pandits are not taking it and hence we can’t do more.

 

I don’t find anything surprising with such thought process of our politicians. A system that instead of creating employment opportunities, promises food for free can’t think beyond aids and grants.

Now let’s look at the root cause of Kashmiri Hindus exoduses till date including the last exodus of 1990.  The last exodus is the 7^th exodus of a community which has been living in the valley for the past 5000 years. A community which has 100% literacy rate, almost negligible crime rate and one of the most progressive communities in the country. A community which gave up caste system long time back. And these exoduses are different from migration, a word which GOI uses to describe the ethnic cleaning of Hindus in the valley

 

The Kashmiri Pandit population in Kashmir was never rich and would have had a very small percentage of people who could even qualify to be called upper middle class. But then rarely did anyone qualify into BPL category. The Kashmiri Pandits earned decent enough to provide well for their family and take care of their day to day needs and occasional luxuries. All families were content and economic status played no role in social system of the Pandit community. What mattered more was the educational qualification and a decent job, preferably   government job

 

All the exoduses till date have happened primarily because of religious persecution. Whether it was Sikander Butshikan, Aurangzeb or Afghans, all exoduses were because of fanatical zeal to convert the Hindu population to Islam. They leashed atrocities unheard of, including but not limited to killing, burning alive, demolishing temple and learning institutions and kidnapping and raping of women.  The famous Hari Parbat Hill in Srinagar is also known as Koh-e-maran, which means mound of dead bodies. Even today there is an area in Srinagar known as Batt Mazar, the grave yards of Kashmiri Hindus.

 

Even when Kashmiri Pandits approached Guru Teg Bahadur or Maharaja Ranjit Singh, it was to save them from the religious persecution and not ask for support to migrate out of valley. There has been word ‘Kashmiryat’ used quite often to describe to the secular atmosphere of the valley. This word has been used more often by the persecutor than the persecuted. Often it is mentioned that Kashmir has been largely riot free even during worse communal tension in the rest of India. But even simple application of common sense will tell that all this is a lie. In 700 years, Kashmiri Hindus have been killed in lakhs, persecuted and discriminated. Someone needs to understand that it takes two to riot. And with Kashmiri Pandits never resorting to a violence, it was always at the receiving end from the majority community. How can there be ‘Kashmiryat’ when 2% most docile and peaceful minority was hounded out of its 5000 year old inhabitation in one single night? How can there be Kashmiriyat when the same minority was threatened, persecuted and killed?

 

The Government of India along with State Government appears to be lost and seems have to have no solid plan for the return of the displaced community. The Shrine and Temple Bill has been pending for 10 years, and now there are efforts from the ruling party to include Kashmiri Muslims in the management of Hindu Temples. Such acts surely not inspire any confidence in the minority community.

 

Recently the team of interlocutors suggested a twin-city concept. The concept proposes to build and develop a second city in the proximity of old Srinagar. The new city will become the habitat of all internally displaced as well as any number of local families in need of rehabilitation. So under the garb of twin city, the Pandits are expected to live in the same regime and with the same neighbour directly or indirectly were responsible for his current situation the first place. GOI wants Kashmiri Pandits to go back without even a fake effort of confidence building measure. There has been not a single conviction of the crimes committed against the minority community in the last 23 years. As per Panun Kashmir records around 3000 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in the various terrorist activities. Even state governments own record show more than thousand killings. The prominent killers like Yasin Malik and Bitta Karate, who have publicly admitted to killing of the minority community and defence personnel are today treated as VIPs and PM of India openly meets and greets them. Bitta Karate got a rousing welcome from the locals in Srinagar on his acquittal by court. This despite of fact that the judge highlighting that Bitta Karate was being acquitted for poor and shoddy investigation by CBI and not that there was conclusive roof of his innocence.

 

Yes, Kashmiri Pandits are determined to return to their homeland but this return will  happen only they are sure that they will live as citizens with equal rights and honour and will not be hounded out again.

Butt Butshikan

Butt Butshikan

 

Islam came to valley in 1320 with Rinchans conversion to Islam.  And with advent of Sayyid Hamdani, the Islam gained more prominence in the politics of the valley. The Islamic zeal gained fanatical proportions with Suktan Sikandar, the infamous Sikander Butshikan (Sikander Destroyer of idols)

Butshikan launched relentless campaign to convert the local population of Kashmir into Islam and destroy the religious symbols of Hindus. Tons of Januas (Sacred thread worn by Hindu Bhramins) were burnt. The cities were burnt and many temples destroyed or attempted to be destroyed. The famous sun Temple at Martand, built by the Great King Lalitdatiya was destroyed too. It is said the temple was so big and grand that even after employing all tactics, Sikander and his men could not completely destroy the temple and thankfully the remains of the temple still stand at Mattan and even the ruins clearly highlight the grandeur of the temple.

The fanatical zeal of Islam continued for centuries with occasional respites during the rule of Zani-ul-Abidin, more lovingly called as Budshah, Akbar and Sikhs. Lakhs of Hindus were forcibly converted and all the identity of Kashmiri Pandits would have been wiped out had it not been the courage and determination of our ancestors who managed to stay Hindu, preserve their 5000 year old culture and rebuild their places of worship. Our ancestors preferred to give up their lives than to give up their faith.

Let’s not forget that this is not the first exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. 1990 exodus was the seventh exodus in last 700 years.  But each time our ancestors did not let their desire to be back in their motherland die down. It is said during Afghan rule only 11 Hindu families were left in the valley, while all other Hindus had fled. But the families which fled did not forget their motherland and ensured that their religious shrines, their customs, their language remained intact.  

Inspite of being just 3% of the population, the Hindus of the valley safeguarded their temples with zeal. Almost all towns and villages had temples which were well maintained inspite of the meagre income of Hindus.

Post 1990 exodus, what we the Kashmiri Hindus have achieved in 20 years, was not even achieved by the Islamic fanatics, Shah Hamdan, Afghans and Sikander Butshikan in 700 years.  We are on verge of destroying our proofs of existence in Kashmir by sheer neglect and selfishness.  We sold our land, houses and other properties in Kashmir. Yes, it was more to help over the tide financial crisis most of the families were going through.  But what made many of us to sell the temples that belonged to community, our ancestors, our identity and our pride. 

I many times wonder that Panun Kashmir call of “ sethyum te pethyum’ (seventh and last exodus), does not end up in its literal meaning. I hope and pray that Kashmiri Hindus have not decided against going back because if the valley will be bereft of any Hindus, there can’t be any questions of any exodus.

Today our Kashmiri identity is reduced to roganjosh, Haakh, occasional Kehwa and a formality trip to Kashmir with our new borns, who can’t even speak Kashmiri. We visit as tourists, behave like tourists and come back as tourists from our real home to current postal address.

Our elders just 23 years back sacrificed everything of theirs to keep us safe and save our identity. They chose life of hardship even when an easier option of conversion was available to them. And when it is the time for us to express our gratitude, we seem to be hell bent on destroying the same identity which our elders preserved for 5000 years.

I have seen many prominent Kashmiri Pandits updating their blogs, facebook pages with stories and anecdotes of their childhood visits to their neighbourhood temple or prominent Kashmiri Hindu temples. They pretend to get emotional too, but I can guarantee that most of them will have no clue of the current condition of the temple they so fondly pretend to remember

Circumstances and choice forced me to visit Kashmir quite frequently in last few years. And lately I started visiting the temples of Kashmir, while I started with the famous ones; I also started visiting not so famous ones.

The trips to these temples have been eye openers for me.  These temples which one proudly stood as our symbols of our existence, faith, determination and proof of our courage, are today in conditions which only can bring tears to one’s eyes and make the entire community ashamed of itself.  I could feel my ancestors cursing themselves to have produced such progenies. I could feel the sarcastic smile of Shiva, which said I don’t need you to take care of me, but then don’t pretend that you love me. Don’t tell world that you are a proud Kashmir Pandit and a Shaivite

Yes, community has seen enough hardship post exodus, and we have worked very hard to rebuild our lives. And by the grace of the God, most of you who are reading this blog, are doing quite well on both professional and personal front.  Most of us earn 6 figure salaries, hefty bonuses and have multiple properties across India. But what have given back to our roots, our motherland, our temples, where our religion grew and created our identity.

Recently one of my friends told me that what is the use of the temples when the devotees don’t live there. I hope many of you who don’t stay with your parents don’t apply same analogy to them. What is the use of the parents when I don’t live with them?  What was the need for Guru Teg Bahadur to give up his life for us, when we were not even his followers, nor lived with him? Sikhs even today maintain their Gurudwars in Paksitan, even when there are no devotees. Mount Kailash is still revered even though it is in China and inaccessible to most of the Indians, except for a short period, where select few hundred visit by taking a hazardous trip through an inhospitable terrain and country. The crusade was led by Europeans, for a holy place they never lived or indented to live in. Even today Pandits of Varanasi complete their Janau (sacred thread) rituals by taking seven steps towards North, a symbolic gesture of having returned from Kashmir with knowledge, even when there are no institutions of Vedic learning left in Kashmir.

Kashmir is still part of India and easily accessible to all. And we have already given up our claims to our religious places.  

What have we Kashmiris done to claim our temples, our religious identities? We do occasional havans, where we behave more like greedy humans, collecting as much food we can for home. We have created grand replicas of the famous shrines of Kashmir and visit them as picnic spots. Yes, we need replicas, but those replicas should be pale in comparison to originals. To me these grand replicas portray a community that has given up hope and desire to go back.

It is time that we wake up and start claiming what is rightly ours. It is time we start building our temples back, re-establish to the world that the first claim to Kashmir lies with us, the original inhabitants.

Wake up before history forgets Sikander Butshikan and labels us as Butt Butshikan

World Refugee Day-Coverage

And thus passed another "World Refugee Day"

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-their-home-but-pandits-yearn-for-Valley/articleshow/14280328.cms

http://news.in.msn.com/exclusives/it/article.aspx?cp-documentid=250177556

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/silent-protest-by-kashmiri-pandits-to-mark-world-refugee-day/1014384.html

Silent Sit-in-World Refugee Day

As years pass by and our memories of our land and our sacred connection to it fades in the haze of the exile, a day comes by as a reminder of all that we were and we had to leave.20th June ,The World Refugee Day comes as reminder of our existence as refugees and sadly in... our country, as refugees whose ethnic cleansing this nation and the world at large has paid little heed to.

As we commemorate this day,we remember all this we were lost to the bullets of fanatics,all those who couldn’t survive the horrible concentration camps in which we were asked to live,all those who perished in exile.We will also remember our vandalised and burnt homes and desecrated and revered places of worship.

This day may be a day of recollection and reverence but at the same time a day of resolve that we will return to where we belong,we will keep seeking justice no matter how unjust the Indian State may have been to us,that we will live to tell our story to the world and that we will reclaim what is rightfully ours.

We will all assemble at Jantar Mantar at 3 PM on the 20th June, Wednesday in a silent sit in.

Walking distance from - Patel Chowk metro station

Roots in Kashmir
Manish Mattoo - 08860639642
Amit Raina - 9899972462