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camps citizen journalism communal conflict communal harmony Community Correspondent Community Media Conflict ethnic conflict exile exodus hindus Indo-Pak conflict internally displaced jmmu kashmir kashmir valley Migrants militancy muslims Participatory video Partition pundits Refugees rehabilitation religion Sajad Rasool video volunteers violence
Altough the majority of Kashmiri pundits fled the valley, some stayed back under the protection of their Muslim neighbours.
The pundits are Hindu Brahmin. The community is believed to have been present in the Valley for centuries, living in harmony alongside followers of other religions and beliefs. But in the 1990s, the rise of militancy and the increase in violence in the region caused the majority of the community to migrate. Many pundits fled Kashmir fearing for their lives after members of their community got killed by militants. Today, over 400,000 pundits are in exile living in camps, settled in the Jammu region or in Delhi.
But there also exists another side to this dramatic story, that speaks of solidarity and mutual support. It is this story that Sajad, our Community Correspondent in Kashmir wanted to tell when he decided to report in Ichgaam village, where eight pundits and their families still live. At the peak of the militancy, these families decided to stay back because their Muslim neighbors assured them of their protection and support. Indeed, the families never had to fear for their lives, and communal harmony prevails there. The Muslim inhabitants even took the lead in constructing a temple, donating land and money to facilitate the project.
Sajad strongly wished to tell this story because it throws a different light on the situation in Kashmir, where trust and support win over violence and despair. “I was very young during the rise of militancy. But I remember that when I was a kid, our neighbor in my village was a pundit. I realized only much later that they were missing, and I took a long time to understand that they migrated because of the violence and the threat they faced during the 1990’s,” says Sajad to explain why he feels personally connected to this story. While making his video, Sajad had in mind one of the poem of Mahjoor, Kashmir most famous poet, “ Arise, O Gardener! And usher in the glory of a new spring. Create conditions for ‘bulbuls’ (a type of bird) to hover over full-blown roses. O Gardener!“. This poem, that was adopted as Kashmir national anthem during the freedom struggle, symbolizes the incompleteness of Kashmir without the Pundits community.
With his story, he wants to tell people that there is hope, and that different religious communities can live and support each other in peace and cooperation. He also wishes that this story will convince pundits who are still in exile to come back to Kashmir.
Dear Sajad,
I fully agree with u that we the kashmiris have been living in complete harmony for centries together come what may was the situation in the subcontinent. I still remember my childhood days when our ladies would go to wash clothes and utencits on little stream flowing through the adjacent mosque.The ladies from both the communities would narrate the tales of their illtreatment from in laws to each other and I at the tender age of 10 or 11 was asked to lift the bucket of washed clothes of old or infirm lady be it hindu or muslim to her home. I resdmember my mother would be escorted to her maternal home some 20 miles away from my home town by a muslim neighbour. This dwas the level of trust and confidence prevailing those days.
Secondly u are one of the very few muslims who has honestly admitted that panjdits left the valley due to increase in militancy and selective killing of minority members. Otherwise, believing aganst the belief most of the muslims even politically elevated, educationaly sound and morally upright opine that pandits left valley not due to militancy bust Governor Jagmohan advised them to leave. My just one question to them :- Is there any other example in the history of mankind where whole lot of community literate or illeterate, men women, rich or poor leave their home and hearth (amassed for generations together for future proginee), their services, bank balances and other saving on the simple message from someone from Govt. We the pandidts feel that nothing has changed in valley whem people still say that u were safe here but Jagmohan made u to flee.
Regarding some pundits who still live there, I may tell u that all the pandits didnot flee within a day or two. Althoguh majority left in Dec 89 to May 90 but still some people took risk or on your assurnces stayed but when mass killings like Wandhama, Telwani or Nai Sarak they also felt unsafe and migrated much later in 1991 onwards. To be honest when pandits started to migrate one of our neighbourers whose son was Gen Secy to Peoples Conferece insisted us to stay and not follow other pandits in the neighbourhood. My father told him that agreed that your son has been brought up in our house and being a functionary in terrorist organisation he will ensure that members of his outfit will not hit or harrass us. But do u assure me & my family of security from other 16 or 17 terror organisation existsing them. He said no. What in your opinion should we have done
Yet I agree that we the kashmiris have a separate culture. Years of absence have not mitigated that ethos of Kashmiriyat from our hearts. We still bloom on seeing a muslim brother in the streets of Delhi, Mumbai or Banglore.
Rest in nest
Dear Ashwani Bhat,
i would like to thank you for your valuable response to my story. so far my personal opinion, i believe in brotherhood and humanity.There has been unity in diversity found in Kashmir Valley in every walk of life. There we find communal harmony and what not, but there have been blacksheeps always in our society from centuries in all the sections whose job is to disintegrate the brotherhood based on religious harmony. We are the future of Valley, and we need to take innovative steps inorder to make Kashmir again a paradise to live.
I also request you if you are residing outside your Ancestral land, come back. we Kashmiris are on your back who believe in Humanity..
Thanks