Monday, May 11, 2015

Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits – A circus being played out!


Resettlement of Kashmiri Pandit in their own land has been hot topic of debate and discussion in past few months. Many sections of society have kept the media busy with their extreme reactions on even a whimper about the resettlement.

Both Governments, national and state level, seem to be in a confused state, which is evident by the flip-flops at both levels. The golden solution proposed for the resettlement keeps changing every day based on the posturing of various actors in the play. A smart city exclusive for the community is announced one day, and then diluted the other day, by saying the community will only have 50% reservation in the smart city. On yet another day the solution is changed to multiple smaller settlements for the community across the valley. And, while the Governments are grappling to agree on a solution, the separatists and the terrorists in the valley would having nothing of this. They don’t want to give an inch to the Kashmiri Pandits. They shed crocodile tears and state that the Kashmiri Pandits are only allowed to come back to their scattered existence in the valley. And, if the absurdity wasn’t enough, Pakistan issues a statement out of nowhere that resettling of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley is violation of the defunct UN resolution – the resolution that they never honored in the first place in any part of the Jammu and Kashmir state that is in their illegal occupation!

What is the biggest and most obvious missing point in all this absurd narrative? You didn’t even notice? Yes, the very people who are the victims and need to be resettled, are being given zero say in any plan! Government is trying to thrust some proposal down the throats of the hapless community and wash their hands off the problem. And, the very people responsible for the ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandits from the land of their ancestors, are dictating terms for their return. How ironic can this be?

Time and again, for last 26 years, the community has been crying hoarse – they will not go back as a scattered community and make themselves guinea pigs to be persecuted yet again! The community swears by the Indian constitution and would only settle down in a single place within the valley where they are provided constitutional guarantee of their safety, security, honor, and dignity. Pretty much what an average Indian takes for granted!

Some folks question the Kashmiri Pandits – they say asking for a single separate area within the valley is communal. Really? Communal was when these self-declared champions of the so-called Kashmiri struggle unleashed mayhem on the un-armed peaceful citizens. The same Yasin Malik who today talks about a separate area for Kashmiri Pandits being akin to creating Palestine type situation in Kashmir, is responsible for the butchering of Kashmiri Pandits! The same Bitta Karate who is a self-styled leader, openly accepted on TV of killing dozens of Kashmiri Pandits! Why were the Kashmiri Pandits slaughtered and chased away from their homeland? It was because they were Hindus, and their existence does not suit the plans of these barbarians whose sole aim is to convert Kashmir into a complete Islamic region! Till the world doesn’t accept this as the root issue in Kashmir, the problem will never be solved!

Kashmiri Pandits, even after 26 years of exile, and being witness to inhuman killings of their community folks, have never resorted to return violence. There can be no bigger commitment to human values, democracy, and secularism! However, to now expect the community to be handled like cattle and be used as guinea pigs by pushing them into scattered existence in the valley – a place that has turned many times more fundamentalist in these two and a half decades, will be nothing less than hara-kiri – not only for the Indian nation, but a civilized world in general!

India, and the world, has to stand-up to the extremists who seem to be ruling the roost in the valley. All fundamental principles of modern democracy have been trampled in the valley. And, this place is not somewhere far away that we may close our eyes. This is within the largest democracy of the world. Cinema halls have been closed for many years now. Any musical performance is stifled in the valley. Pakistani flags are raised almost as a norm these days. Indian flag is burnt and insulted every now and then. Thousands of temples have been desecrated and destroyed. Even the names of ancient places are changed to sound Islamic! What more should happen to understand that the only problem in the valley is that some folks want to convert the place into an Islamic region?

In this scenario, when the world does not even clearly acknowledge the problem in the valley, there is no way that the Kashmiri Pandits will go back to a scattered existence there. Kashmiri Pandits are the aborigines of the valley and they have the right to demand a share of their homeland. For modern human values to survive in the region, the Kashmiri Pandits should be resettled in the valley at one single place under the free-flow of constitution of India! Nothing less than a separate homeland under the direct governance of the center guided by the Indian constitution in letter and spirit, is acceptable to the internally displaced community! I hope and pray that the fellow citizens of India, and the modern world in general, stand up with the community and ensure the menace of terrorism and fundamentalism is stopped here and now, lest today it is Kashmiri Pandits, tomorrow it will be rest of India, and then rest of the world!
 

Thursday, April 30, 2015

हुंकार


बिखरे हुए हैं हम पथ पथ पर

धूल से काया है लथ पथ पर

दिल में जोश का भवंडर है

अपनी मंज़िल अपना घर है!

 

सहमे हुए थे रात के साये

कातिल अपनी बंदूक उठाए

छलनी किया जिसने था सीना

गैर नहीं अपने हमसाये

सदमी हुई अपनी यह रूह है

आँख से बहता है जो लहू है

अत्याचार हुआ क्यूँ हम पे

छीन ली पहचान क्यूँ हम से?

तो अब - बिखरे हुए हैं हम पथ पथ पर

धूल से काया है लथ पथ पर

दिल में जोश का भवंडर है

अपनी मंज़िल अपना घर है!

 

बीत गए सावन हैं कितने

आँख से मेरी बहते बहते

आस की इक सुबह है जागी

जन्मभूमी की लगन है लागी

प्रण हमने नया यह लिया है

संघटठित अपना अब युवा है

मिलके अब हुंकार भरेंगे

अपना अधिकार लेके रहेंगे

चाहे - बिखरे हुए हैं हम पथ पथ पर

धूल से काया है लथ पथ पर

दिल में जोश का भवंडर है

अपनी मंज़िल अपना घर है!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Panun Kashmir - Probably the biggest impediment for the existence of Kashmiri Pandits?


There are many schools of thought on what Kashmiri Pandits should demand, or settle for. Some people advise us to just simply return to wherever we can, in Kashmir. Some people advise us to demand for a twin city in Srinagar and return to "New Srinagar". Some people advise us to accept fate and continue to live in exile. Some people demand a union territory within Kashmir where Kashmiri Pandits can live under the constitution of India, calling this place Panun Kashmir!

Personally, I started blindly following the dream of going back to Panun Kashmir. However, I want to take a step back and question my conviction - Is Panun Kashmir really what we want? Or, is it an illogical and impractical demand that is going to ensure that we continue to languish in exile and never return to our motherland - our homeland? On the face of it, I feel I need a rethink. Maybe Panun Kashmir is actually a hurdle! Let me describe why I think so.

I am a very proud Kashmiri Pandit (KP). I am proud of our legacy, of our history that dates back to at least 5000 years as per written records. I am sure it dates even earlier to that. We are part of the broader Hindu community that are the aborigines of the land called Bharata. While I take great pleasure in being a Hindu, I also cherish that my identity is more granularly defined by being a Kashmiri Pandit. I feel the bond with my ancestors and I am indebted to them for having kept the community alive through the good times, the bad times, and the atrocious times!

What defines me as a Kashmiri Pandit? Is it just the fact that I was born into a family of KPs? That obviously is one of the essential factors. However, the other important question is - what is that identity of mine that connects me to my ancestors, that makes me part of the great community?

Any community defines itself by its traditions, customs, practices, and language. I am no different. I identify myself with my language - Kashmiri. I identify myself with seemingly small and mundane customs like performing Herath Puza (Shivratri Puja), Gada Bata (Offering fish to the House God), Khyechi Maavas (Offering Meat to Yakshas), and many other such ancient rituals. I identify myself with another set of seemingly regular practices like our wedding rituals, posh-puza (flower ceremony as part of marriage), wanwun (traditional songs and singing style) athgat (money paid to visiting daughters and daughters-in-law), and more. I identify myself with the traditional dressing like pheran (Winter gown), ladies wearing dejhor and athor (ornaments worn after marriage). I identify myself with the fetish for typical KP food like Monji (Knol Khol), Nadru (Lotus stem), Haakh, sotchal, (various kinds of greens) etc; and even our typical cooking style. I identify myself with the sacred places in my homeland - Amarnath, Ganpatyar, Hari Parvat, Zyeethyar, Shankracharya, Tulmul, Khrew, and countless others. There is also one critical factor on top of all these, I will come to that in a moment.

I have the blessings of identifying with all these as I spent my first fourteen years in my homeland - the beautiful valley of Kashmir. It is there that I could learn my language, my customs and rituals, I could experience the places that link me to my lineage, I could develop myself as a Kashmiri Pandit. However, once I am leading my life far away from my homeland, how do I connect to my identity? I might still be able to keep my identity alive by falling back on my first fourteen years. I might also be able to pass on some of that to my children. However, I feel for my children. How long will they be able to identify with their legacy by just listening to my tales about our language, sacred places, dress, food, rituals, etc? How much out of that will they be able to pass on to their progeny? If we continue to live in exile, how long will we be able to survive as a KP? I am sure our progeny will thrive in rest of India. I am sure they will be able to lead good life here, but will they be KPs?

KPs have seen seven forced exoduses from their homeland during the reign of various warlords! Each exodus saw thousands of KPs who could not come back to their homeland. Where are their progeny? Where are the KPs whose ancestors were forced out of their homelands? Their children did survive, but they no longer identify themselves as KPs. It is not out of choice, but it is because they got merged with the local population and they did not have any way to stay connected to their roots! They could not pass on their identity (language, dress, food, sacred places, etc) to their children. I am proud that they must still be Indians and practicing Hindus. However, I am sad that they got cut-off from their ancestry! I shudder at the thought that my future generation wouldn’t even know that they are KPs and that they have such wonderful legacy to which they belong!

The biggest challenge for KPs today, while living in exile, is - how do we ensure our progeny continues to have the KP identity and they take our community and culture forward? That brings me back to the point I left earlier - the most critical factor defining the identity of a community: it is the land to which they belong. Tamil people belong to Tamil Nadu, Marathis belong to Maratha land (Maharashtra of today), Bengalis belong to Bengal, Americans belong to America, British belong to Britain - similarly KPs belong to Kashmir! They only way to sustain our identity is to be back where we belong - our homeland! If we continue to live in exile, it is just a matter for couple of generations and then our progeny would no longer be KPs. So, if we have to keep our community alive, we have to be back in Kashmir at the earliest possible time! It is here that I feel Panun Kashmir might be causing an impediment! While we make our demands clear, we also need to be cognizant of the fact that anything that delays our return to Kashmir, is pushing us towards the path of complete extinction as a community!

Why delay our return for a utopian kind of demand? The first thought that comes to my mind is: we should immediately start our efforts for return to Kashmir without any further discussions and debate! However, if we go back as individuals, we expose ourselves to the same dangers and risks that caused us to leave Kashmir in the first place. We will, as individuals (or individual families) face the disparity, bias, and discrimination from the majority community, and the local Government, that we faced for last many decades. We will also subject ourselves and our future generations to live a life of curtailed freedom, as we used to live before the exodus of 1990. The day will also not be far when there is another tide against the minorities and our future generation will suffer the same genocide and ethnic cleansing that we bore during the last two decades! Hence, going back to Kashmir and trying to lead our lives as we used to pre-exodus, is not practical at all! We need to do a little better than that!

We could surely go back as a community. We could build a few colonies and stay close together as a community. This will ensure we don’t have to face the extremities as individuals, but collectively we could brave the tide. However, will we lead our lives in a kind of house-arrest? We can't lead our lives in small colonies. Where will we work? Where will our children study, play, understand nature, and express themselves? Who would be governing these colonies? Who will provide essential services like water, electricity, civic amenities, etc to these colonies? Will we be at the mercy of the local Government agencies again? What have we learnt from existing township like Jagti? Jagti is a township where KPs currently live in Jammu district. With no electricity for many hours a day, with miniscule civic amenities, and constant struggle of the residents for basic necessities, this township provides us clear insights on what fate small KP colonies in Kashmir are bound to suffer! This doesn’t look like a path to take! We need to find another option!

This is where the idea of Nov Srinagar (New Srinagar) comes across as the most practical and attractive one. We can have a bigger area earmarked for KPs. This is where KPs can live, and work, and lead their lives. We will have access to schools, offices, markets, entertainment, and other essential amenities, as a community. We will be able to live in Kashmir and practice our culture and rituals. However, the governance would still be under the same people who were in part responsible for our miseries and destruction in the past two decades! We will still have to struggle to get Government jobs. We will still have to struggle to get access to modern facilities, in fact - even basic facilities. We will still have to be subject to the same bias and discrimination in all walks of life. Our children will again struggle to get admissions to good colleges! The fate of this "Nov Srinagar" would be no better than Jagti township!

What would it take for us to live a life guaranteed by the Indian constitution to all citizens of India? What would it take for us to live a life free of fear, free of discrimination, with freedom to practice our religion, with freedom to practice our customs, with freedom to express ourselves? The only instrument that can provide us all of this is - the Indian constitution itself!

The only way we can survive as KPs, the only way we can keep our customs, culture, language alive for ourselves and our progeny - is to have a place in Kashmir that is governed by the Indian constitution in letter and spirit. So, that is what we should demand, that is what we should strive for, and we should not settle for anything less!

Hold on! Isn't that exactly what Panun Kashmir is? Looks like that is the only path we have!

With all this rethinking and reconsideration of all alternatives, my conviction for Panun Kashmir has only strengthened manifolds! I salute the visionaries who thought about this way back in the early 1990s. I bow my head with respect for they could create this vision in spite of being in the midst of the worst crisis any person can be in. When most communities, facing even lesser situation, play victim, and surrender to fate and foes, our leaders had the courage and wisdom to pick our people up and come up with the demand that will ensure continued existence of our community! I am more convinced than ever - there is only one way for us - Panun Kashmir, and I will settle for nothing less!


Thursday, August 2, 2012

घना जंगल, घने बादल

घना जंगल, घने बादल, घनेरी घनेरी शाम!
बैठ फकीरा सोंचूं मैं – कैसा जीवन राम? कैसा जीवन राम?
घना जंगल, घने बादल!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!

हम जहाँ जन्मे थे कभी, वहीँ से हैं अनजान!
बीता था बचपन जहाँ, छूट गया वह धाम!
अब बैठूं, रोऊँ मैं – जाओं कहाँ किस गाम?
घना जंगल, घने बादल, घनेरी घनेरी शाम!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!

अपने ही अस्तित्व को ढूँढूं सुबहो शाम!
राह राह भटका फिरूं – पुकारूं कौन सो नाम?
जड़ से ही जब काट दिया, ढूँढूं कहाँ पहचान?
घना जंगल, घने बादल, घनेरी घनेरी शाम!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!

अंग अंग मेरा टूट गया, बिखर गए मेरे प्राण!
टुकड़े से टुकड़ा न जुड़े, ऐसा टूट गया इंसान!
उठना है, लड़ना है – चाहे जितनी बची है जान!
घना जंगल, घने बादल, घनेरी घनेरी शाम!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!
घना जंगल, घने बादल!

Monday, May 28, 2012

A new compact with whom?

Sometime last week I heard the news about the report from J&K interlocutors being now available. Immediately there were reactions across different segment of people about the various points raised in the report. I wanted to read the report thoroughly myself. I did that over this weekend. To sum it up in one line, reading through the report was a very depressing experience, but not entirely unexpected. 

Over the last two decades of living a life of an exile within our own country, we have understood that the Government of India is not bothered about a minority community that doesn’t show up as a vote bank. We have realized that we are caught between the devil and the deep sea. On one hand we are Hindus, considered to be the majority in India, hence never given any special status. In fact, the moment anybody speaks for our rights, the person is quickly labeled as a communal! On the other hand, we are a single digit percentage of population in the valley, hence too small to make any difference to anybody winning an election.  

The report from the interlocutors is on the same lines, as far as Kashmiri Pandits is concerned. While pages after pages are written about how the Kashmiri Muslims are feeling alienated, the issue of Kashmiri Pandits is completely ignored. Yes, Kashmiri Pandits have been mentioned at some places in the report - but there is no details on the issues they face in exile, there is no mention of crimes committed against them, there is no mention of how should their tormentors be dealt with. Only thing the report keeps harping on is - Kashmiri Pandits should be rehabilitated in the valley. Even that is complete hand waving - there are no details on how that is to be accomplished, there is no detail on how should it be ensured that they lead a life of honor and dignity in their homeland, there is no detail on how should it be ensured that they do not have to face the same atrocities again! 

There is a leap of faith that making Article 370 a permanent clause in the constitution will ensure all Kashmiri Muslims will swear by their Indian citizenship. There is another leap of faith that opening cross border trade across the LOC will make the separatists shun violence. There are many more such vague assumptions in the report. All this to ensure that the Kashmiri Muslims feel they will get what they want, and they can lead a free life. What about Kashmiri Pandits? How do the interlocutors think their faith in constitution of J&K will be improved? How do the interlocutors propose to solve the alienation of Kashmiri Pandits from the majority community in the Kashmir valley? If Kashmiri Muslims feel their distinct identity can only be protected by these special provisions for Kashmir, why doesn’t the same principle apply to Kashmiri Pandits? Why can't there be a portion in the Kashmir valley that has other special provisions that will build the confidence of Kashmiri Pandits to lead a life of honor and dignity?  

There is no mention of the demands of Kashmiri Pandits to bring out a whitepaper on the reasons of the community being forced out of the valley. No mention of the demand to identify and punish the terrorists responsible for the gruesome violence perpetrated on the community since 1989/90. No mention of the demand to accord minority status to the Kashmiri Pandits. No mention of the rapid attempts to change the demographics of the Kashmir valley by renaming ancient places in the valley - e.g., changing the name of the acnient Anantnag town to Islamabad, Shankracharya temple to Takht-e-suleman, Hari Parbat to Koh-i-maran, even Srinagar to Sheher-e-khas! No mention of the desecration and destruction of hundreds of hindu temples in the valley. No responsibility given to the state Government to ensure the restoration of the temples to their rightful glory and protection of the temples and their property! The list goes on and on. The community has been treated like a spec of dust that is expected to settle down on its own!!!  

The current report only focuses on ensuring appeasement of the majority community in the valley, without considering the fallout of such recommendation on the minority community of the valley, and to the very existence of our country! I have only mentioned some points for the perspective of Kashmiri Pandit community. As an Indian citizen, this report is full of recommendations that directly hurt the core fabric of our nation! It is ironic that a party that was formed by the epitome of non-violence considers only the viewpoints of those that use violence to state their demands, that too when the ruling party is headed by the family that bears the surname of the Guru of Ahimsa! We, Kashmiri Pandits,  out rightly reject this report!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

गूँज

हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!
धुन यही गूँजेगी सुबह सवेर -
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!

हारी परबत के शिखर से,
रैनावारी की गलियों से,
कूचा कूचा, बस्ती बस्ती
शहर की भीड़, गाँव के खेत!
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!
धुन यही गूँजेगी सुबह सवेर -
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!

क्षीरभावनी के मंदिर से,
मार्तंड के अमर खँड़र से,
चप्पा चप्पा, ज़र्रा ज़र्रा
बच्चा, भूढ़ा
जवां, अधेड़!
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!
धुन यही गूँजेगी सुबह सवेर -
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!

शंकराचार्य से, अनंतनाग से,
गणपतयार से, अमरनाथ से,
मिलके मिलके, हर इक दिल से
निकलेगी आवाज़ यही एक -
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!
धुन यही गूँजेगी सुबह सवेर -
हर हर हर हर हर महादेव!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

युथनई म्ये प्राण न्येरनई यपारी

मएज्यि काशीरी मएज्यि काशीरी
पादन तल चान्यन कुर्बान म्ये ज़िंदगी
मएज्यि काशीरी मएज्यि काशीरी

याद छिम प्यवान तिम दोह त राथ
यारन सीथ बोन्यन तल कथ त बाथ
अज़ कतयी रूज़ वन्य सो यार बरादरी
मएज्यि काशीरी मएज्यि काशीरी

हब्बकदलक्येन त्यिमन कोचन मंज नेरान
गणपतयार सूमयार ओसुस ब फेरान
अरमान छुम ब्यय फेरहा तपारी
मएज्यि काशीरी मएज्यि काशीरी

अमरनाथ किस नादस प्रारान
यिथ तिथ छुस ब जुव यि सारान
युथनई म्ये प्राण न्येरनई यपारी
मएज्यि काशीरी मएज्यि काशीरी