My Kashmir

‘Similar to Kashmiri Pandits, how many other communities in free India have ever chosen to leave their traditional home? It needed strong convictions and guts of this unique community to do so; many other communities would have resorted to other options in order to stay back. The world history is full of those other options. Kashmiri Pandits have remained tall and resolute, peaceful and without malice or hate, progressive and hopeful.

A considerable number of Kashmiri Pandits thank the 1990 mass exodus of the community for their current prosperity, and the education and bright careers of their youth; of course, some people live with gratitude to many stalwarts and leaders, such as late Balasaheb Thackeray (23 Jan 1926 – 17 Nov 2012), who proved to be nothing short of angels for this then shocked and grief-stricken internally displaced community. All future generations of the Pandits must remain grateful to Thackeray sahib for his timely assistance. This group alleges the Pandit community was openly discriminated against in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, at least in so far as their admission to professional institutions (engineering, medical, agriculture etc.) and government job opportunities were concerned.

There is, of course, another group of the Pandits, also a considerable one, which believes the 1990 exodus has immensely damaged the community in so far as their previously unique identity and culture – language, food and spirituality – is concerned. They still crave for their home – the valley of Kashmir – and continue to suffer internally. Many look forward to their return to the valley, despite their materialistic successes. Many people from this group unfortunately seem to have lost much of their hope of returning to their homeland in their lifetime. The reason being none of the Indian governments, since 1990, has practically made any visible difference to their status – they continue to be abhorrently known as the Kashmiri Pandit migrants, and not even as an ‘internally displaced community’.

On a brighter note, many members of this second group are tirelessly, on their own and without any proactive support from any government, trying to get in touch with their Muslim brethren in the valley in order to stitch the two communities back together, as they were in the pre-1990 era, and try and revive the famous Kashmiriyaat.

Both Kashmiri communities, Pandits and the Muslims, have suffered in their own ways, which is altogether a separate topic for discussion, and now potentially face the prospect of losing their Kashmiri identity and culture, and the Kashmiriyaat.  They belong to each other and need each other for the sake of survival of their cultural identity.

Kashmiris from both sides of the religious divide, which is not such a serious division because both communities belong to the same ethnicity and, therefore, are related by blood, must continue to engage with one another and try to recreate and reclaim their unique identity. No government will ever help them to reclaim their culture; it will be their own endeavour, which will make any difference.

Historically and anecdotally, in the past, there was a time when Kashmir was left with only 11 Pandit families, as most others had left for reasons similar to the 1990 exodus. These 11 families regrew in time. One day, I was born in the valley to such a Pandit family.

Kashmir is my home and all Kashmiris are my relatives, my people.’ … Bill K Koul