WHY WERE KASHMIRI PANDITS CHASED AWAY FROM KASHMIR. MUST READ FOR THOSE WHO DONT WANNA COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKE .. The religious-political mobilization of Kashmiri Muslims perhaps started with the theft of the Moe-e-Muqaddas in December 1963. Though the relic was restored a week later, the intervening period saw the law and order of the valley paralyzed. The incident increased the prominence of the Mullahs in politics, with Pakistan giving ready support to them over this crisis (Maheshwari 2-5). Eager to grab this chance, Pakistan launched Operation Gibraltar in 1965, and the first batch of mujahideen started crossing over from Azad Kashmir in the winter of that year (Lamb 259). Though Pakistan lost the war, the attempt infused confused Kashmiri youth with rebellious romanticism that percolated to the young and ill-educated (Maheshwari 6). In the early 20th century, Kashmir was trying to break out of feudalism, and pirs and Muslim landlords were discomfited by the strength of Pandits in official positions (Devadas 6-7). Adding to this was the impetus provided by Iran’s revolution and the Afghan jihad. In 1987, after the rigged elections, this secessionist sentiment peaked, and Pakistan, for the first time since 1965, sensed an opportunity in Kashmir, carried on the warhead of religious crusade. Kashmir’s historical sense of ethnic superiority was swept aside by the winds of Islam flowing from Afghanistan and Iran, and the movement for freedom started turning into pure Islamic jihad. Says David Devadas, “Kashmiris could see on Western media how Eastern Europe was lapping up freedom, and theirs would be topped by the divine flavor of the decade: Islam.” (Devadas 173) Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims have a complicated love-hate relationship with a common ancestry and culture, but faith a differentiating factor. The syncretic tolerant culture of Kashmiriyat has prevented open communal conflict in society. In the late 20th century however, tensions rose, and the primary cause of this was unemployment. The Hindus, historically patrons of learning, managed to keep the tradition alive, learning Pashtun, Dogri, Urdu and English, and thus being useful to their rulers. Muslims were kept away from modern education by influential maulvis, and the common Muslim found it hard to obtain education and jobs. Gradually, a Hindu was seen as part of the government, on account of his better skills and opportunities, and thus earned the hate of the majority populace (Wakhlu 380-82). In the insurgency of 1989-90, the struggle shifted from an ethnic one and assumed communal flavour. In the wake of socio-economic frustrations, many terrorist organizations sprung up, with the desperate and confused youth taking to terrorism dressed as revolutionaries. For their cause, eliminating Kashmiri Pandits and wealthy Muslims was paramount, as they were seen as agents of India (Maheshwari 74). Opposing the state’s exclusion from India, they were branded enemies of its Muslim identity and bore the heaviest brunt (Teng, Zadoo). Nascent terrorist groups, plagued by lack of direction, turned to Pakistan for help, and were welcomed, thousands of Kashmiri youth crossing over to receive training and support. Disordered, desperate and cunning, they made it easy for the Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan based transnational mujahideen to take over the ideologies of the uprising and bathe it in the colour of jihad (Devadas 212). The very presence of a Pandit in the valley was therefore a challenge to its extensive Islamization and thus its struggle for freedom in a time when religious and ethnic identities were tangled up. Pyarelal Koul says that the exodus of Pandits was clearly caused due to collective intimidation by the Muslim community (Koul 56-57). Extremist leaders considered Pandits to be traitors and their aggressive stance ultimately seeded the ethnic cleansing that drove Pandits out of the valley (Bhat). ---- MR GANJOO WRITES : My fathers family lived in this town in North Kashmir called Sopore. We had a big house by the Jhelum. It had many rooms, gardens and spacious compounds. Since our departure, the house has been taken over by the Indian Army. Their barracks and base are set up there, and last I heard, they pay us a meagre rent for their forced occupation. My grandfather was then a high ranking official in the municipality of Sopore. His father was a well-known name through all Kashmir. True to the theme of targeting prominent Pandits, they were given multiple death threats, and once my grandfathers office was also made the target of a crude bomb attack. My mothers family had a mansion in the center of Srinagar, in a locality called Karan Nagar. We went there in 2004, and we saw a half-constructed mall in its place. The beautiful house, constructed by my mothers grandfather, a minister in the court of Hari Singh, had been demolished without ceremony. My mother remembers how it was unsafe to remain out in the dark as a Pandit girl. She was doing her internship, and she would never be sure if she would return home in the evening. Entire properties and belongings of many Pandit families faced the same fate. My mother says they had this humongous collection of old and rare books that had to be left behind. The fleeing minority had to let go of anything they could not carry on their person. Every outgoing truck carried so many broken homes. Pandits were in the minority, and were scared. Never ones for conflict, most families quietly fled their homeland, taking all they could. The message was everywhere: in warnings blared out from mosques, hit-lists stuck on walls and doors, and in the threatening whispers that abounded. Their young were being killed and mutilated, their daughters raped and bloodied. They saw no other way but to save their lives and make a run for it. Luckily, we had land in Delhi and Gurgaon. We came here and settled. My mothers family settled in Jammu. Many others were not half as lucky, and still rot and die in migrant camps. This story has been lost and buried long ago, eclipsed by the cries of human rights violations in Kashmir by the Army. The media chose to forget the story of the original inhabitants of the valley, who were finally driven out as a result of intimidation through selective genocide. The ones who live there now conveniently forget their war against the Pandits which began this macabre period in Kashmiri history, and whine about the presence of the Army in their land. Hypocrites. The story is a painful one, full of loss and gore, riddled with personal grievances, and lost dreams. Unfortunately, it remains an unspoken spectre in popular media, and a nonexistent episode in public memory. Wail of a Valley References: Bhat, Ghulam Rasool. The Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and Its Impact. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences & Humanities (2002): 103-116. Devadas, David. In Search of A Future. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007. Gadoo, Chaman Lal and Mohan Krishen Teng. White Paper on Kashmir. New Delhi: Jeoffrey & Bell Inc. Publishers, 1996. Koul, Pyarelal. Kashmir - Trail and Travail. New Delhi: Suman Publications, 1996. Lamb, Alastair. Kashmir: A Disputed Legacy 1846-1990. Hertfordshire: Roxford Books, 1991. Maheshwari, Anil. Crescent Over Kashmir. Delhi: 1993, Rupa & Co. Wakhlu, Khem Lata. Kashmir: Behind The White Curtain. New Delhi: Konark Publishers, 1992.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 07:37:30 +0000
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