Kashmiri Pandit Exodus Day: 27 Years of Pain, Longing, Suffering and Helplessness
- In Reports
- 01:21 PM, Jan 19, 2017
- Myind Staff
27 Years ago, on this day original inhabitants of Kashmir valley, reduced to micro minority after brutal persecution of centuries were forced to flee their homes again. This was their seventh exodus and first and only exodus of such kind in modern independent India. Original laboratory of Islamic Jihad, Kashmir was first to fall to radical Islamist elements after Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. Mujahideen landed in Kashmir and aided by ISI wreaked havoc on the streets of valley. Hindus of Kashmir were given three choices – convert, flee or die. Many of them died, those who were alive fled.
19th January 1990 is a blot on the secular fabric of India. On this day began the only exodus of Hindus of Kashmir. Here we present 5 authors and their stories about Kashmiri Pandit Exodus. These stories must be told again and again and again for these are our stories and never must this be repeated anywhere. Meanwhile Hindus of Kashmir wait to return to their homes and roots- 28th year of exile has begun for them.
Betrayal in the Backyard: Tale of an Exodus by Sunanda Vashisht
Twenty-seven years later, no one has been punished for the heinous crimes against this tiny community, their homes in Kashmir have either been burnt or occupied, their temples have been destroyed. With every passing year in exile their 5,000-year-old history is getting eroded.
The biggest tragedy of the Pandits, however, is not their burnt homes and lost heritage, it is their complete absence from the ‘Kashmir narrative’. Whenever there is any attempt to solve the so-called ‘Kashmir riddle’, Pandits are always missing from the picture.
One often hears that there is nothing preventing the Pandits from going back to Kashmir and that the situation has vastly improved. However, I don’t see what has improved for Pandits.
There is an overwhelming majority in the Valley that still considers Kashmir ‘disputed’, and believes India is an aggressor. How can this small community then even think of going back and living with the same people?
Murderers like Bitta Karate and Yasin Malik roam freely on the streets of Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani still goes around pledging allegiance to Pakistan at every given opportunity. How can anyone expect Pandits to go back and reclaim what is rightfully theirs in this situation?
As Kashmiri Pandits solemnly observe Exodus Day today in memory of all innocent victims who became targets only because of their religion and in the memory of their lost homes, it is very important that we remember everything that happened twenty-six years ago.
The exodus of Pandits is a blot on the secular fabric of our country. We can never truly call ourselves secular as long as there are Pandits languishing in ‘migrant camps’ hoping to return to the land of their ancestors one day.
As beautiful as the Valley of Kashmir is, in its bosom it hides many stories of betrayal and deceit. Truth has been a casualty here. As long as we keep burying the truth under politically correct labels, there can be no long-lasting solutions.
For, where there is no truth there can be no reconciliation either.
Read more at: https://www.myind.net/betrayal-backyard-tale-exodus#.dpuf
The Seven Exoduses of Kashmiri Hindus by Sona Roy
19th Jan 1990- When that cold dark night brought the worst nightmare to Kashmiri Pandit community living in Kashmir. Kashmir had been simmering for quite some time but last few months it had reached the boiling point with mosques blaring Azadi slogans and pamphlets being stuck outside Pandit houses.
The message-
Kashmir me rehna hai to Allah o Akbar kehna hoga
(If you want to live in Kashmir you have to say Allah o Akbar)
Asi gachi Pakistan bata ros ta batanev san
(We want Pakistan with Kashmiri Hindu women and without their men)
Yahan kya chalega, nizam e mustafa
(Prophets governance will be here)
Islam hamara maqsad hai, Quran hamara dastoor hai, jihad hamara raasta hai
(Islam is our destination, Quran is our constitution and Jihad is our way)
And many more such highly provocative and threatening slogans were pasted on walls across the valley.
Panic stricken Pandit families knew if they had to live they have to leave their home, their homeland and that too if they can make it through fanaticism roaming on the streets. Community was already living under shadow of fear after the gruesome killing of Tika Laal Taploo and few others. This was not the first but the seventh exodus this community was facing.
Read more at: https://www.myind.net/seven-exoduses-kashmiri-hindus#.dpuf
A case for Quadrification of Jammu and Kashmir- Only Way forward by Lalit Koul
A solution based on quadrification would create a separate territory, Panun Kashmir, where the ethnically cleansed and exiled Kashmiri Hindus would be able to return in safety and live without any fear of gun and prejudice. This would be a place free from Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. It would be a place where everyone including Kashmiri Hindus and other minorities can freely practice their political, cultural, economic, social and religious rights as charted in United Nations' "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", and as in the rest of India. Contrary to what some vested interests say, Panun Kashmir would be a place for anyone (including Muslims) who believes in the Indian constitution without any riders like Article 370. It would be a place for anyone who believes in one nation, one flag, and one constitution for all Indian citizens.
Read More at: https://www.myind.net/case-quadrification-jammu-and-kashmir-only-way-forward#.dpuf
For a century and beyond, the 'Kashmir Conflict' remains a euphemism for 'Islamic Jihad' by Shwetank Bhushan
In 1989, Jihadi sentiments reached a new high. The jihadi militancy in Kashmir acquired a new terrorist character in 1989. The first political murder took place in Srinagar on 21st August when the block president of NC Mr. Yusuf Halwai was gunned down. On 14th September, the first Kashmiri Pandit to be murdered was BJP leader Tika Lal Taploo. On November 4, JKLF militants shot dead judge Neelkanth Ganjoo, who had sentenced Maqbul Bhat to death.
The militants gained further when the government reacted to their kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of Home Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on December 8, 1989. The National Front Govt acted in sheer panic and agreed to release five dreaded imprisoned Jihadi leaders in exchange. There are unsubstantiated claims that this kidnapping was 'sate-managed.'
The quest for 'Azadi', had been overtaken by proclamation of 'Jihad'. The cold, dark night of January 19, 1990, had stirred into life the worst nightmares of non-Muslims, especially the Kashmiri Pandits living in the valley. Screaming from loudspeakers and crowded streets was a message for the Sikhs and Hindus living in Kashmir:
"Zalimo, O Kafiro, Kashmir harmara chhod do. Kashmir mein agar rehna hai, Allah-ho-Akbar kahna hoga. La Sharqia la gharbia, Islamia! Islamia! Musalmano jago, Kafiro bhago! Islam hamara maqsad hai, Quran hamara dastur hai, jehad hamara Rasta hai! Kashir banawon Pakistan, Bataw varaie, Batneiw saan!!
Meaning:
"O! Merciless, O! Kafirs leave our Kashmir. Anyone wanting to live in Kashmir will have to convert to Islam. From East to West, there will be only Islam. O! Muslims, Arise, O! Kafirs, scoot. Islam is our objective, Quran is our constitution, Jehad is our way! We will turn Kashmir into Pakistan along with Kashmiri Pandit women, but without their men."
Read More:
https://www.myind.net/century-and-beyond-kashmir-conflict-remains-euphemism-islamic-jihad#.dpuf
An Exercise to Exorcise – Diary of a Kashmiri Pandit-Part 2 (KP Exodus Day)
A transliteration of my late grandmother’s favourite proverb or phrase would be something to this effect – silence is silver, when maintained, it turns golden! Ironically, just this once, I am not heeding her advice. Instead, I am taking the liberty to modify an African saying to state that unless my persecuted community writes its own history, #KPExodusDay might continue to remain unknown to the world. The ostrich like behavior of the perpetrators, of the only instance of ethnic cleansing in the history of India, needs calling out, lest, we should be relegated to the margins of history with not even a distinct footnote!
Read more: https://www.myind.net/exercise-exorcise-%E2%80%93-diary-kashmiri-pandit-part-2#.dpuf
Some images that haunt and remind us of the terror that was and continues to be.
Kashmir through a Pandit’s Lens by Lalit Koul
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