Tag: Panun Kashmir

Govt Owes Kashmiris

‘The Kashmir Files is A Farrago of Disinformation; A Propaganda’

By LokMarg

Omair Hasan* counters the Bollywood narrative which, he argues, is an attempt to further polarize the country and a disservice to the cause of Kashmiri Pandits

I was about three year old when the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley happened. I have very little memory of the incident. But the story of their migration came in front of me in various forms. As I grew, I realized a couple of houses in my neighbourhood were always deserted. Those were the houses of Pandits who left during the 1990 violence.

I also came across many other stories of violence against them. Nobody can justify the atrocity and violence which happened on them. But weaponising those tragic incidents against Kashmiri Muslims is also not justified.

I saw The Kashmir Files and I seriously doubt the intention of the movie. It is a farrago of disinformation. A complete distortion of facts; a misrepresentation of history and a vicious propaganda.

Every incident has been presented in the movie in a way with an agenda. If we start with the death toll, 89 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in attacks since the inception of militancy in 1990, according to the government data. The movie completely evades the data on the number of killings.

There are various scenes in the movie which show the massacre but never address the number of deaths or what led to the start of killings.

ALSO READ: Kashmir Files Brings Alive Our Pain & Plight

In his book Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years, AS Dulat addresses the reason behind the start of killings. He writes that some Pandits were on the payrolls of Intelligence Bureau which he was heading. He also goes on to name some of them who were killed. This vindicates the position taken by militant groups that they were not targeting Pandits in general but had selective targets not linked to their religion but for their affiliations with Indian Intelligence.

This thus debunks and punctures the Indian state’s propaganda to shame Kashmiri resistance movement. I believe that the intention behind hiding the numbers and reason in the movie was to obfuscate people than to make them aware of the event.

Another distorted fact which has been shown in the movie is Kashmiri Pandits demanding removal of Article 370 in 1990. It is laughable. Why were Pandits demanding the removal of Article 370 then, when it also suited them as much as it suits Kashmiri Muslims?

Now let’s talk about slogans used in the movie. Slogan has always been a big part of any movement and so it has been in Kashmir. But the film shows some false slogans that was never a part of the public movement in Kashmir. The film shows Kashmiri crowd raising slogans like “Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert to Islam, leave the place or perish).” This is completely false. It was never a part of the ‘Kashmir movement’ in its entire history.

According to the movie, all Kashmiri Muslims support Pakistan, including Abdullahs and Muftis. The fun fact for readers of this article is that the so-called nationalist BJP has formed many governments with these so-called Pakistani supporters both at the Centre and in Kashmir.

The movie hails the present government at the Centre as if this is the first time the BJP government has come to power since 1990. I would like to remind people that in these 32 years, the BJP government has remained in power at the Centre for 14 years. We must not forget that it also formed government in Kashmir too. In these years, how many Pandits have been resettled in Kashmir?

Injustice has happened to Pandits but we can’t do justice to them with this kind of propaganda by building anti-Kashmiri narratives. Such kind of movie will further polarise the country and anger of people will be vented out on innocent Kashmiri students who are studying in universities and colleges in different parts of the country. These students have nothing to do with things which happened when they were not even born or were very young and had no say in the politics of the state.

Whether Pandits or Muslims, I think Kashmir is the real victim here. It has been victim for many centuries and still fighting the battle.

As told to Md Tausif Alam

* Hasan declined to share his picture for safety reasons. Respecting his wish, we have used a representational picture

Kashmiri Pandit

‘The Kashmir Files Brings Alive Our Pain And Plight’

By LokMarg

Ashwani Kachru, a Kashmiri Pandit staying in Gr Noida, says the movie also exposes the political and intellectual ignorance about his community’s struggle

First and foremost, I wish to congratulate Vivek Agnihotri, the director of The Kashmir Files, from the bottom of my heart. Never ever before this movie, the facts about the forced and violent migration of Kashmiri Pandits were laid out before the rest of the country so realistically.

Some of the scenes in the movie brought alive my own frightening memories of the 1990s. My house was located barely one km from the spot where four Air Force personnel were shot dead in Srinagar by terrorists. Other scenes of selective killings of Kashmiri Pandits; the horrific announcements made from places of worship against non-Muslims and; the Hindu families from the Valley living in fear… as shown in the movie, left me in cold sweat.

Agnihotri has the heart to call a spade a spade. This was not an exodus; this was a genocide – premeditated ethnic cleansing of Pandits from the crown of India. Radical Islamic groups supported from within the country and across the border distinctly targeted a peace-loving community in Kashmir and the unfortunate part is that all this happened in a free and democratic India.

Yet, no one in over three decades every talked openly about the pain and tragedy of the victims; in fact repeated attempts were made by the previous governments, terrorist sympathisers, liberal thinkers and the so-called intellectuals to misguide the people of India on this issue and to cover up the real face of a radicalised movement.

ALSO READ: ‘Kashmir Will Never Be Same Without Pandits’

I am glad, the issue is now being talked and how! The filmmakers have done justice to our sufferings by revealing the truth. Simultaneously, they have also exposed the brain-washed Kashmiris involved in our killings, a couldn’t-care-less government machinery, a section of the deaf and dumb media, and the intelligentsia.

Communal harmony is the proven culture of India since centuries and this could not be digested by terror sympathizers who want to dismantle the several thousand years old Indian secular structure.

I often wondered why those people in power kept quiet to our situation. It seems as if these people and organisations were funded to prove the terrorists in the Valley innocent. Spineless governments and judiciary never showed the courage to act against such anti-national elements.

Through your columns, let me also congratulate the state governments who have made this movie tax free, this will definitely help in conveying the message to a large section of our society.

I recently read media reports that a political leader, an ally of the Congress party in Assam, has demanded a ban on this movie. I feel the Congress party has remained at the centre of many major problems that India is facing today. Their declining vote share is a clear indication that the new and young Indians don’t want to continue with their policies any longer.

As told to Deepti Sharma

Kashmiri Pandit Family

‘Pandits Can Return Only After Kashmiris Agree To Accept Them’

By LokMarg

Surbhi Sapru, 31, who belongs to a displaced Kashmiri Pandit family, says her return to the state is not possible unless the ruptured social fabric is restored in Kashmir

My family used to live in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, an area that saw mass exodus of Pandits in the 1990s. However, my grandfather had decided much earlier to leave the place, because socially active people like him had been getting targeted, threatened, much before ordinary people and in 1982 he (an educationist) decided it wasn’t safe for my family to remain there.

My brother and I weren’t born yet, so it is our parents and family who had to leave a piece of their heart and hearth behind in Kashmir. My family shifted base to Jammu, still hopeful that things might get better in Kashmir, but that was not to be; things only got worse from there.

I was born in 1990, at the cusp of change, when Kashmir’s history, geography, everything was being re-written. Even the Dogra community was against us. So when my father got a chance to settle in Jaipur, he jumped at it. Jaipur became home for us the next 14 years.

Abrogation of Article 370 did bring hope, but it is only a flicker and it is a long road before Kashmiri Pandits can think of going back ‘home’. The Jammu & Kashmir issue might be seen as a political issue but deep down it is a breakdown of the social fabric. People from different religions have coexisted in different parts of India, but in Kashmir that gets caught in religious turmoil.

Surbhi says her grandfather (left) would break down on every Maha Shivratri, which their family celebrated in Kashmir with much pomp

If the ordinary citizen understands each other, then the issue can be resolved, otherwise nothing will change, the problem will linger on. Thus both the Kashmiri Pandits as well as Muslims will have to reassure each other: Hum ek doosre ko jante hain padosi ke taur par, hum kisi teesre ki baton me nahi aayenge (We will resolve matter between us as neighbours; won’t allow a third party to mediate). While many leaders have advocated a special, safe zone for Pandits, labelled Panun Kashmir, I say why can’t Pandits stay wherever they want in Jammu & Kashmir?

We have been displaced once. If the government is talking about rehabilitation, then Pandits need to feel safe; that they can trust everyone around us in Kashmir. Let me share an incident. I had gone to our Kul Devi (family deity) temple (Kheer Bhawani) in 2016 along with my mother on a Friday. Right after the juma namaz got over, our car started getting chased by many people. Every few minutes, we would be stopped by someone or the other. Our driver, a local Sikh from Kashmir, kept on requesting people to let us go. Apparently there was some strike and they were angry that Sardarji was still driving us in his taxi and that we were Hindus.

ALSO READ: ‘Situation On Ground Is Improving In J-K’

Those angry faces, the fear that I felt that day cannot be explained in words. We also gave lift to two Ladakhi policemen midway, who were in the same predicament as us. They weren’t liked there. I was utterly surprised to see that even a 10 year old was threatening us. But how many people can you reason with? At one point a group of people pushed open the taxi door, to pull us out, and only after a lot of pleading from the Sardarji, we were let off.  Till the time this hatred among Jammu-Kashmiri citizens is there, the return of Pandits is not possible. Who knows one might be made to leave again.

I remember the teary eyes of my grandfather, on every Maha Shivaratri which they used to celebrate with great pomp in Kashmir. He told us a story that when he was posted in Gurez, a Peer Baba (holy man) had asked him to take the responsibility of educating a Muslim child. My grandfather followed his instruction and treated the boy like a son in the family. However, the family had to leave him behind. He still sometimes comes to meet us, now that we have shifted to Delhi, and my parents reminisce about the olden times.

Dadaji is no more. But his love for Kashmir flows in our veins too. But unless there is reassurance for peace on the ground, not by the political leadership, our return to homeland is not possible. I bear no hatred for any community in my heart, but also expect that we are not hated for our beliefs as well.