Sunday 24 August 2008
Saturday 23 August 2008
Lest We Forget - Pakistan Army in Bangladesh
The images in the videos are very disturbing.
Lest We Forget - Balochistan
As i personally read more about the baloch people and their struggle, i realise more about the fundamental differences between the dispute in my state J&K and Balochistan. I will discuss all those points in some later blog but right now please read this wonderful speech of Dr. Baloch.
The speech
"Balochistan is a Texas sized region, divided among Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. The Iranian portion was given to Iran by British rulers in 1928 as part of the British forward policy to serve as a buffer between its imperial possessions in India with the Russian communist empire. The Pakistani portion that remained in British hands was granted freedom separately from India and Pakistan. Balochistan emerged on the map of the world as a sovereign state for more than seven-and-half months until March 1948, when Pakistani army attacked Balochistan and forcefully annexed it into Pakistan. Just as a matter of record, the issue of Balochistan's independence was taken up before the bicameral Baloch parliament, Diwan-i-A'am, or the House of Commons, and Diwan-i-Kha'as, or House of Lords, both of which unanimously opted for independence. The second option for the Baloch was acceding to India, which they thought made better political sense. And still do.
Since March 1948, Balochistan, a land rich in oil, gas and minerals, with a 900 miles of strategically located warm water coastline on the Straits of Hormuz has been under the Pakistani occupation. The Baloch people never accepted to this day the illegal occupation of their homeland and the loot and plunder of their natural resources that is being done at the gun point by Pakistan. On July 19, 2008 a 12-year old boy named Jani Baloch was among nearly 100 civilians killed in Dera Bugti area by the Pakistan army.
Thousands Baloch have lost their lives in this war and tens of thousands of Bugti and Marri tribesmen have been forced to leave their homes and thrown into destitution because of the Pakistan army operation that began in 2005. According to a UN survey report there are more than 80, 0000 displaced homeless Balochs and 59,000 of those suffering are women and children. Quote I would say, this qualifies as 'crimes against humanity', unquote, said a UN official who visited the affected area.
For those who don't know about Pakistan army, it is a Jihadi army. To be more precise, they are in fact Taliban in uniform holding U.S. arms in their hands. For those who still think that Pakistan is a an ally in the war in terror, they need to re-check the facts. Pakistan has never been an ally in the war on terror, because Pakistan itself is the terror. Pakistan, its military and ISI, are the main sources of terrorism.
We have no doubt Islamabad played a crucial role in the 9/11 attacks against America. If the Taliba'an and Al Qaeda had a hand, how come their main sponsors can be innocent?
The killing of Balochs is continuing on both sides of the artificial border of Balochisan as I speak before you.
In Iran, extremist Mullahs and Iranian revolutionary guards arrest and kill Baloch at will, on flimsy pretexts. The case of Yaqub Mehrnihad, a journalist and civil rights activist, who was hanged on August 4, 2008 in Zahedan in Iranian occupied Balochistan is a case in point. Thousands of young Baloch activists are victims of torture and languishing in Pakistani and Iranian Jails. Their only crime was attending peaceful demonstrations and protest rallies.
In Pakistan, many hundred Baloch have been made to disappear and their loved ones don't know where they are. In Iran the Mullahs hang the Baloch in public, without a fair trial on mere charges of being 'mufssid fil arz' (miscreant on earth). Each time they hang a Baloch in public the mullahs Chant slogans like "Allahu Akbar, Margbar Amreeka, Margbar Israel", Which mean, "God is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel." They think killing innocent Balochs is their religious duty as they consider the Baloch agents of Israel and U.S.A.
Similar slogans are raised by the Pakistan army soldiers when they attack Baloch villages.
The Pakistanis use the label Indian and Afghan agents to kill and torture the Baloch. More recently they have started suspecting the Baloch nationalists and their allies of pushing the U.S. agenda. One case is that of activist Dr. Safdar Sarki, who was tortured for 20 months in Pakistan military intelligence dungeons on suspicion he has links with the Baloch resistance and was working for CIA and pushing a U.S. agenda.
Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, 79, former governor and chief minister, president of the Jamhoori Watan party and chief of the Bugti tribe, was killed extra judicially by the Pakistan army, who began suspecting him in the late 1980s when he befriended the then U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Robert Oakley. Balach Marri, a member of Balochistan assembly, was also killed by Pakistan army.
All of this must stop
The Iranian and Pakistani jihadi armies can not fight the Indian and Israeli armies, but with impunity, they are carrying on their shameful terror campaign against the defenseless innocent Baloch civilians, which is going on for many decades.
Since August 2006, after the extra judicial killing of Nawab Bugti by Pakistani army, Pakistan has increased its terror campaign against the Baloch people. The genocide of Baloch nation is continuing on both side of the border. The US F-16 jets and Cobra gunship helicopters given to Pakistan to hunt down Taliban terrorists are being used in Balochistan against the innocent secular Baloch people. Last week Pakistani jihadi terrorist army attacked a village in Dera Bugti Balochistan, killed 48 people and arrested several hundred innocent Bugti Baloch who were then taken to nearby military camp, where they were summarily executed in Nazi style and their bodies were dumped in mass graves t cover up their crimes. This is not the first time Pakistani army has committed such crimes against humanity. The genocide of three million innocent people in Bengal and rape of half million Bengali Muslim women is now part of the world's history books.
1n 2006, a key Pakistani organization, the Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in their fact finding mission report, reported gross human right violations, scores cases of arbitrary arrests, detentions, tortures, disappearances and summary extra judicial execution by Pakistan army in Balochistan. Appeals and urgent actions have been issued many times by Amnesty International, Asian Human Right Commission and other human right organizations to highlight the Pakistani and Iranian military atrocities against Baloch people.
Soon after Nawab Bugti's assassination,the dejure ruler of Balochistan the Khan of Kalat, Suleman Dawood Ahmedzai, called upon the Balochistan's representative assembly, the Grand Balochi Jirga, which was attended by almost all Baloch tribal leaders, political activists, and students--nearly 100 tribal chiefs and 400 notables. The historic Grand Balochi Jirga denounced the Pakistani military operation in Balochistan and extra judicial killing of Nawab Bugti and they unanimously made a declaration to challenge the illegal occupation of Balochistan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague.
Let it be crystal clear that Balochistan was never a part of Pakistan. Trying to Pakistanize Balochistan at the gun point and through the slogan of Allahu Akbar has not worked for the last six decades and will not work in the future. Simply because the state of Pakistan in itself is not a very legitimate State by herslf. Just because the majority of Baloch are born Muslim, does not give the jihadi armies of Pakistan and Iran a license to continue to occupy our lands, conduct genocide of our people, loot and plunder our resources, and test their nuclear weapons in Balochistan. The world community must not close their eyes over the crimes against secular Baloch people. I urge the U.S. Government, in particular the Pentagon, and international community, in particular the N.A.T.O., to immediately intervene and initiate dialogue with De Jure ruler of Balochistan Mir Suleman Daud Ahmedzai, who is seeking asylum in the UK. I ask the other international leaders, particularly the leaders of India, Afghanistan, Israel, Russia and European Union and His Royal Majesty King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the leaders of Gulf States to support the Balochistan's case at the ICJ against Pakistan's illegal, unjust and immoral occupation of Balochistan.
Baloch people, just like the Kurds, are secular and a great ally in the war on terror. We support and defend the International Security Assistance Force and the democratic government of Afghanistan's right to pursue the Taliban and Al-Qaida terrorists right into the sanctuaries provided to them by the Pakistan army and the Inter Services Intelligence. A Balochistan ruled by secular forces is in the interest of the peoples of the world, including the United States.
We urge our friends on the Capitol Hill to not support Pakistan, a terrorist State, but extend a helping hand to the Baloch people who are their best and natural ally in the war on terror in the region. Small baby steps can make a sea of difference. One of these steps is an embargo on all military supplies and equipment until Pakistan ends its illegal and immoral occupation of Balochistan, hands over terrorists like A.Q. Khan, Osama bin Laden, Ayman Alzwahiri, Daud Ebrahim and Rashid Rauf and rolls back its nuclear weapons program.
We urge the U.S. Department of State to set up the Voice of America Balochi service as soon as possible. We also urge immediate resumption of USAID for Balochistan to bring in more Baluch youths into the U.S. by an enabling visa waiver program and political asylum for Baloch activists who are facing Pakistani and Iranian persecution".
(Text of Speech given at the National Press Club, Washington DC on 15th August, 2008 - http://www.bso-na.org/ )
(Dr. Wahid Baloch is the President of Baloch Society of North America and can be reached at e-mail: dr_wahid_baloch@bso-na.org)
Monday 18 August 2008
Ahmedabad Blast - Abdul Rashid alias Mufti Abu Bashir Ilahi
Lucknow: On the evening of August 14, when a middle-aged man knocked at the door of a dilapidated house in Sarai Meer police circle of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, the house owner, Abu Bakar was a bit surprised. Introducing himself as Qudus Alvi of Jalaun, the stranger expressed his desire to meet Abdul Bashar, the eldest son of Abu Bakar, for a marriage proposal.
"We are actually looking for a pious man for my daughter. Mizban saheb of Jalaun told us about your son. We are looking for a god-fearing match for our daughter," he said in one go before Bakar could open his mouth. "My family members are waiting outside in a car. Should I call them?" he asked as a perplexed Abu Bakar nodded his head in the affirmative. Moments later, 'Qudus Alvi' was back with four other men.
Barely had the men made themselves comfortable on a cot, when Qudus Alvi started off again: "Sahabzade dikhai nahi par rahe hain. Kahan hain? (Your son is not to be seen, where is he?) ." "Nahi. Hain yahin. Abhi bulwate hain (He is here. I will call him just now)," Bakar replied as he called for Bashar.
Moments later, a lean man of average height appeared from a dingy room. "As salaam alai kum," he greeted the guests. 'Qudus Alvi' got up on his feet to shake hands with Bashar. But everything changed in a fraction of a second. The guests herded Bashar out of the house and virtually dragged him to a waiting Sumo. Even before Bakar could understand what was happening, the men had disappeared with Bashar. A little later, some local residents who witnessed the "kidnapping' ' told Bakar that Bashar has apparently been taken away by the police.
credit: Times of India 17th Aug 08
Thursday 14 August 2008
Amarnath Yatra Struggle - Reply
This is my repsonse to comments that i got from someone calling himself Indian Muslim. As you would see from his comments, his understanding of India and his ethos is very low. Please decide yourself.
- Definition of Legend Oxford Concise English Dictionary: A traditional story popularly regarded as historical but which is not authenticated; Oxford Pocket English Dictionary: A traditional story from the past which may or may not be true
Definition of Puranas : eighteen ancient books consisting of legends and mythological narrations dealing with creation, recreation and the genealogies of sages and rulers
Definition of Mythology (Oxford Pocket English Dictionary): Set of widely held but exaggerated or false stories or beliefs.
Reply: Thanks for telling me the oxford pocket dictionary meaning of English words. I definitely need it given that I am on a temporary assignment in London.
Look my friend, matter of faith is never solved by oxford dictionary meanings.
Faith is something that you and I cannot comprehend. How can you define the fact when people travel to places like Kumb Mela or Perform Hajj and think that their soul will get cleansed by doing so? When holy books say that God create the world with Adam and Eve and Noah had an Arc through which he saved the world. You and I can discuss scientifically all this and maybe able reject these theories but for most it is a matter of faith and I as an Indian and that too a proud one – am committed to make sure that people are allowed to maintain that faith until it doesn’t harm my Nation. I am committed to the fact that our holy constitution has framed a system for all to practise the same and not to ridicule Holy Books like Veda’s or Puran’s or Quran or Bible. Can you scientifically prove anything written in these books? So it is your limited knowledge about other people and their religion and maybe including your own which prompts you to tell me the Oxford dictionary meaning of faith and mythology.
Faith is said to move mountains and that is all I can say.
2. Supported by Malik Family agreed. But who are the pony owners? Who give shelter to Yatris during storms? Who carry the old on their backs? For your information, they are all Muslims since you seem to have seen Kashmir only through the internet and through “mythological” stories.
Reply: Well I really did not know that 300,000 people stay with Pony wallah’s at their homes during storms. I do not think that in the snow storm on the yatra route in 1996, the 250 people who died were the ones who were left out of the pony owner houses. Please let us stop to dramatise the situation. Religions and people co exist and for multiple reasons, maybe trade and commerce, maybe faith. Leave it to them to run their lives like it is and create situations to smoothen the yatra. Take a look at what Jagmohan did for Vashino Devi Yatra and see how the vested interests tried to do what they are doing in the valley for the Amarnath yatra. Read his book “My Frozen Turbulence” and you get a better idea in your closed mindset.
3. Total No. of Kashmiri Muslims Killed (as per Govt. of India Statistics) since 1988 – 31,000
Total Number of Kashmiri Pandits Killed (as per your own blog): 361
It is grossly incorrect to term Kashmiri Muslims as terrorists. The statement “All terrorists are Kashmiri Muslims” can to an extent be a valid statement. But when you take the converse statement it is an utter violation of logical reasoning. The total Terrorist population by exaggerated estimates would be no more than 1% of the entire population.
Hence if you say Yatris were killed by Kashmiri Muslims, I suggest you go back to school and take a class in reasoning.
By the way, terrorists have no religion and have been misusing religion/race/creed since time immemorial across the world.
Reply: Deaths in a conflict zone are inevitable and as there are no Pandits left, it is the Muslims who would be on the death list. If there are 200,000 official guns of the security forces in the valley and 3500 terrorists, you can well imagine that killings would happen. Guns do not shoot out roses but deadly bullets. As far as who kills these people, well I cannot say Robots or Birds or Hunguls; it must be humans and if there are mostly one community there, it is some disgruntled elements from the same doing it on provocation of our friendly Jhootistan neighbour. Once peace returns in the valley and one day it will, the people in valley will understand that the cost they paid for all this violence was far greater than what they were promised by our friendly Jhootistan neighbour.
Also thanks for the school suggestion, will look into it.
4. SASB had only 8 Hindu members - Justice (Retd) G D Sharma, Prof Vishnu Murti Shastri, Sunil Sachdeva, Manoj Gaur, Dr Vimla Dhar, Professor Neerja Mattoo, Raghu Modi and Dr Arun Kumar. The people who did the actual work on field were all Kashmiri Muslims. Thus, to say that just 8 people managed a gathering of 300,000 people is absolutely ridiculous.
Reply: Does your oxford dictionary tell you about the word Governance or Leadership? There are only 40 Lt Generals in the Indian Army of 1 Million Men and Women. Does this that they do all the fighting or they are just to lead men without discriminating on any basis? I really do not believe in this hindu members in hindu shrines or muslim in muslim shrines. My simple yardstick is that if any Indian can lead an army battalion without any discrimination, why shrine boards can’t be run like same. We are not asking them to pray but to behave like a professional and work in his or her area of professional expertise to enhance the spiritual quest of the followers.
5. I absolutely agree with your statement. The primary aim of Pakistan is to destroy any and every system in India. They had been trying to disconnect the Valley from the rest of India for the past 20 years. When they didn’t succeed people in Jammu came to their aid. For God’s sake stop communalizing the whole issue.
Reply: How is it not communalised? Look the problem if it has to be tackled needs to be sorted head on. First accept that there is an insurgency and that too Muslim insurgency in India’s only Muslim majority state. Just by saying so does not make the personal communal. It is like older people in India never say the person has cancer but they always say that he has a bad illness – running away from the reality. There are number of questions that need to be asked: Why is the insurgency there? How has the Indian state treated Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh? How are the people doing vis a vis other parts of India and also P.O.K? How has the Indian Army ever operated in a counter insurgency operations in the valley before 1988? What was the crime rate in J&K before 1988 and what is it now? Why cannot the people in valley have this fascination for Jhootistan? As you have no idea of the valley; Pakistan Independence Day was celebrated and Indian Independence Day always had a strike call? Why Pakistani team victory was celebrated and not the Indian teams? As you have no idea of Kashmir, probably not coming from there, you are mostly like the Barkha Dutts of Indian Media, who are out of sync with the genesis of the problem. The minute Jammu came out for something it was turned communal and for 20 years valley people have driven out all minorities the situation was secular.
6. As in point No 4
7. I’m sorry but I’ll again say that Jagmohan was responsible for the unfortunate uprooting of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. He planned to “cleanse” the Kasmiri separatists in an indiscriminate planned attack. He along with his agencies spread terror amongst the KPs and they used to send Military Trucks to aid the migration. Even today, 1100 KP families still live in the valley. Why did anyone not touch them?
Point 1: Well this is something that if you have not been there you are unable to comprehend. I cannot say much but just to tell you what land means to people in India is that 80% of cases in our courts pertain to Land & Housing. Why such a big number; the reason is that people are unwilling to part with their land or houses even when they are paid hefty amounts. You all would have seen scenes at narmada, nandigram and singur and that is a reflection on what happens if you taken someone out from your land even after paying them money. So pandits were fools to leave their homeland for living in tents because one gentleman had so much power to do that. Maybe we use Mr. Jagmohan for all such places like singur and nandigram.
Point 2. Even today, 1100 KP families still live in the valley. Why did anyone not touch them?
Wandhama massacre refers to the murder of Kashmiri Hindus in the town of Wandhama on January 1998.It was one of the worst incidences of violence against Kashmiri Pandits being carried out by terrorists in Kashmir. It was an illustration of the Kashmiri terrorist's policy of ethnic cleansing .The victims, all of them Hindus, included four children, nine women and 10 men.
Point 3. Military Trucks
Personal Story II: Well I would not like to go far but start with my own family. Our family resided at Karan Nagar locality in Sringar. On 20th of January when Farooq Abdullah had resigned and Mr. Jagmohan had not taken charge (when was no real government in place), the whole valley was shouting slogans like kashmiri pandits leave the valley but keep your women behind for us (translated), what will rule here – nizam e Mustafa, what to worship here holy quran and only quran…..what we need azaadi……there are some more but I really do not want to remember that period. All the newspapers were filled up of notices for KP and other secular people along with their pictures giving notices to them either embrace the movement or suffer death. Leave the valley or suffer death. Who was the person doing all that; people like bitta karate, Yasin malik and their likes. Slowly they started killing key KP people and that too at different localities across the city and the valley to create a feeling that terror had reached the doorsteps of the pandits. Then on the 21st Jan 90, all the mosques in the valley started making theses slogans from their loudspeakers and that went on till at least 2 more days. Similar slogans and that too simultaneously from all over the city. The Doordarshan was totally taken over by terrorist and was broadcasting their news (this was before the entire programming was transferred to Delhi-you might not know and neither it might have been in your oxford dictionary).
So the situation was really terrible and on 24th January, just 2 days before the Republic day; one of my cousins who had grown a beard, went to the batmaloo bus stand to look for a K.M.D (Kashmir Motor Drivers Association) bus to take us to Jammu. No one agreed as they need buses for the mass rally on the 26th where they were told to bring 10 Million people in total to enforce the blockade/strike on the 26th January 1990. Finally one driver agreed (charging 4 times the money) so the family started at 3.30 am in the morning loading 4 suit cases. It was all we took from a 4 storied house having 20 rooms. That was the last time we would see the house. All of the journey will banihal was undertaken sitting on the floor of the very cold bus between the seats. The driver was stopped at 1 or 2 places (even at 3.30 AM) but he told that his “duty” was to collect the people for the rally from banihal. Only once we crossed the tunnel did we get a chance to sit on our seats; 12 people in a bus for 65 people.
Personal Story II: Another cousin of mine (55 year old husband and wife) had come to Delhi in November 1989 during the winter break to meet their son. Learning that the situation was fast deteriorating in the valley for KP’s, my uncle decided that he needs to go back to collect some more clothes and some other valuables from his house. 2 days before he was to leave, our cousins in Jammu (who had moved out of the valley some days earlier) sent a copy of a newspaper having his picture with a warning for him to leave the Valley for good. That was the last he would ever think of visiting his house (nearly 200 year old house for nearly 4 generations – all left because of Mr. Jagmohan).
Anyhow, as half of my family and friends work in the Army/ Defence Forces, after 3 years of migration (in 1993) we could manage to arrange 1 small 407 truck (on a personal basis) with 2 escort trucks of CRPF men (as army cannot be used for all these jobs –so much for the military trucks of Mr. Jagmohan). My uncle’s was given exactly 25 minutes by the Asst Commandant of the CRPF to take his belongings from a house where his family had stayed for nearly 200 years. As my uncle stayed near Habba Kadal – and very near to a major terrorist leaders house (he now has turned hurriyat politician, the commandant did not want to anyone to know that we were vacating the house; so all lights were cut and my uncle and aunt was both given a burkah to wear and take away their 200 years old belongings in 25 minutes. As they went in their house of 200 years without electricity, they realised that it had already been used as a militant store house previously. The temple etc had been desecrated and so had some rooms. Anyways within 25 minutes (like a reality game show) they could gather 3 suitcases and that was the last they saw of their 4 generational home (Thanks to Mr. Jagmohan). Just for your information this uncle of mine is one of the top kashmiri writers whose Books and plays have something like a cult status in the valley for all Hindus and Muslims- who had nothing to do with either Jagmohan or Politics.
Sorry but I have yet to thank Mr. Jagmohan for helping us and also other KP’s with all this including military trucks.
Mr. Indian Muslim – please keep you logic with you. I and also any another KP does not need either your certificate in secularism or oxford dictionary meaning for any word.
Coming to issues at Jammu, we have heard all voices coming from Jammu and from Kashmir. The voices and actions from Jammu are categorically against Muslims to the extent that even houses of Gujjars are being destroyed and supplies to the valley have been stopped.
On the contrary, Kashmiris made all attempts to make the Yatra successful by all means. Who is communal?
Reply: Given last time. Please tell me what Jammu or even Doda (Hindus and Muslims) have got in the last 60 years from Kashmiri politicians.
8. Excuse me; the land belongs to the people of Jammu as well, unless they choose not to associate themselves with the state. They have an equal right being state subjects. I agree that Kashmiri Pandits are also inhabitants of the land and Omar never disputed that in his speech. However, many of the Pandits chose to leave their homeland. I have read the other story about your childhood on your blog. But tell me how were Muslims different from Pandits. More Muslims who went against the terrorists were killed than Pandits. I will again reiterate that Jagmohan was responsible for the migration. Why did Sikhs and Christians never leave? Even after Chhati Singhpora incident? As I have already stated more than 31,000 Kashmiri Muslims have died due to Militancy, and the number excludes the number of Kashmiri Terrorists.
Reply: There are 30 Christians in the Valley and that too mostly running some churchs and schools. Even in the Zionist state of Israel, there are more Muslims (not counting west bank and gaza). The target was to remove the KP as they had a larger share of Central Government Jobs in the valley (the state government jobs were slowly out of the reach for the younger generation). Once that was achieved, no one had any problems for them to visit the valley like a tourist. The fight was to move them out of the valley; as long as they came as tourist, there were always wazawans ready. As for the Sikhs; in 1990 the slogan was “Muslim sikh bhai bhai, yeh Hindu kom kahan se aayee” and there were lots more but unprintable. The fight was to remove Hindus and keep the Sikhs; 2 reasons – 1. the kashmiri terrorist were getting a lot of help from Khalastani terrorists 2. the Sikhs were located in pockets mainly into commerce and agriculture and not in government jobs.
9. It is not about demographics. It is about pollution and contamination of ecology. The SASB started a helicopter service to add to the pollution. They were constructing permanent structures thereby destructing ecology. For evidence you may check their site at http://www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/amarnath-shrine-board.html
Moreover, if the Yatra is going on smoothly, isn’t it immaterial whether the land is transferred or not?
Reply: Ok, that is a new thing. Railways have denuded couple of Lakh trees, the Big Baglihar Dam has done the same, so has been the condition of the city forest that Jagmohan created at casmishai next to the governor’s house for creating a golf course, the big timber mafia at dacigam, nearly 10,000 trees on the Uri Poonch Road, the trees for creating the campus of Baba Ghulam Shah university at Poonch/Rajouri, etc. The structures were temporary as they were the same DRDO made stuff that helped Kashmiri earthquake victims in their time of crisis some years back.
The problem with Omar was his speech was highly charged and when politicians like him with whom people associate themselves overcoming their own religious or regional lines, such politicians need to make speeches in a different tenor. His speech like I said was the final straw in the camels back and now this whole issue has become a matter of prestige.
10. Same a/a
11. Pakistan & ISI are benefiting from the protests and from the economic blockade. Wake up!
Reply: There is no blockade and there was only disruptions. Pleae avoid going by Jhootistan news.
12. Our soldiers died to keep the link open but our fellow citizens- brothers and citizens succeeded!
Yes, everything was well till Jammuites called a strike. The strike called by secular Yasin Malik, Sajjad Lone, Syed Ali Shah Geelani (who unashamedly took 70 lakhs of Indian Tax payers money for his health bills), etc are not economic blockades for people of Kargil, Dras or Leh.
13. By blocking the road they are supporting the plans of secessionists
Yes, the same way as today sitram yechury of CPM has said in his article in the Hindustan Times , that we should not vote for BJP or any other party that we like - as the Militants say that they too like that party. There can be nothing more ridiculous than this. This is what creates communal politics in the long run. Also today Mr. Geelani has blamed the entire problems of J&K on the communal parties of Jammu. Look who is talking.
14. We want a unified state under India. Recent developments in Jammu aim at further dividing the state.
Yes when Jammu does anything it is dividing and when valley does the same it is all secular. When salman rushdie says something to the prophet Mohd. 5000 miles away the valley will burn, when danes publish highly objectionable cartoons – the valley will burn, when taslima nasreen writes something wrong in Bangladesh the valley must burn – but when jammu protest for 400 acres of land for temporary structures it is all communal and aimed at dividing the state. Please stop saying such unrelevant and unreasonable things. It only strikes fire.
15. I’m sorry but Sikhs and Christians still continue to live in harmony with us. They, like us, never bowed down to terrorism. We have some of the leading schools run by Christian missionaries. Churches, Gurudwaras and temples and mosques continue with their religious proceedings.
If you now say that temples were destroyed, I would like you to find out how many mosques and shrines were destroyed by terrorists? Remember the destruction of one of the holiest shrines at Chraresharief? I again reiterate, terrorists don’t have any religion.
Reply: Thanks but really when you write Christians in the valley, I cannot help laughing at your poor knowledge of the valley or its demographic composition. The terrorist burnt a dargah and that is something that they consider as un Islamic in the deoband-wahibi school of Islamic thought. As the terrorists who did that were non kashmiri, they felt is easy to burn down something that they did not believe in. It also signalled the end of the great sufi tradition of Kashmir. Not a single person on the street rose to condemn that (very similar to what happened during the KP exit from the valley) – no mass hysteria like the land transfer agitation. Even that is the one and only discretion that the terrorist did to a mosque.
It is very unfortunate that sometimes ill informed individuals start to "blog" half-truths encouraging communalism. In the world today when everyone is striving towards peace, please use your efforts to contribute for a better tomorrow. Dont sow seeds of violence and hatered!
Yes, thank you Mr. Oxford Dictionary informed person. For someone to comment on the other judgement is very easy. It is sad that people like you who have no relevance or have not even been there talk about the valley as if it is their play ground. I term it as the Barkha Dutt syndrome – you unfortunately have it and I really cannot help. I do not need your secular tag and you can keep that with yourself, writing irrelevant responses to blog’s without understanding what people construe as a simple thing as religion. For you the purans as well as other holy books of muslims, Sikhs, Christians, jews and others are a source of mythology which in turn is all falsehood, then I can not discuss this issue any further. I might be personally an atheist but I have no right to question the beliefs of millions of muslims, hindus or other religious people of India. This is how this great nation of Bharat has run for 5000 years and this is how it will run for 50000000000 + years. This is why our nation is named Bharat and I might not agree with everything of King Bharata but on his name is our great country named.
I guess like millions of other Indian who do not know this story or of why our country was named Bharata, please read this and realise the importance of mythology in the life of all Indian Hindus, muslims , Sikhs and each and every one who calls himself an Indian citizen. Maybe it will help make you a better Indian and also a better Muslim.
Lest We Forget - Kargil War 1999 - Captain Vijayant Thapar , Vrc
Credit: Do not know for sure but definitely Captain Vijayant Thapar, Vrc family.
This is something that i never intended to post (as it is a personal letter) until i got it today in my mail. It takes precedence over some of the replies that i wanted to post on the comments sent to me 2 days back. This blog as mentioned earlier is a tribute to all such martyrs who gave up their lives for our better tomorrow.
Monday 11 August 2008
Truth about Holy Amarnath Cave and the Yatra
Hi Bloggers,
I got these comments from one of the bloggers and my response is given below.
Some points for thought!
1. The shrine was discovered by a Kashmiri Muslim.
Reply: According to legend, when Kashyap Reshi drained the Kashmir valley of water (it was believed to have been a vast lake), the cave and the lingam were discovered by Bregish Reshi who was travelling the Himalayas. When people heard of the lingam, Amarnath for them became Shiva's abode and a centre of pilgrimage.
Then it was rediscovered by a Muslim shepherd named Buta Malik who was given a sack of coal by a sadhu. Upon reaching home he discovered that the sack, in fact, contained gold. Overjoyed and overcome, Buta Malik rushed back to look for the sadhu and thank him, but on the spot of their meeting discovered a cave, and eventually this became a place of pilgrimage for all believers. To date, a percentage of the donations made by pilgrims are given to the descendants of Malik and the remaining to the trust which manages the shrine.
As the history of Kashmir goes back to the days to Sharda Peeth, Kalhan’s Raj Tarangni and the fact that Kashmir was a major centre of learning for the Shivite School of thought, the probability of the cave being discovered earlier also remain. It however should not be an issue to score brownie points but to understand that the history of Kashmir is ancient and way beyond what is being taught to the kids in the valley.
There is ample and conclusive historical evidence, on the other hand, to prove that the holy cave and the ice lingam were known to the people since very ancient times and have been continuously and regularly visited by pilgrims not only from Kashmir but also from different parts of India.
“While the earliest reference to Amarnath can be seen in the Nilamata Purana (v.1324), a 6th century Sanskrit text which depicts the religious and cultural life of early Kashmiris and gives Kashmir’s own creation myth, the pilgrimage to the holy cave has been described with full topographical details in the Bhringish Samhita and the Amarnatha Mahatmya, both ancient texts said to have been composed even earlier.”
References to Amarnath, known have also been made in historical chronicles like the Rajatarangini and its sequels and several Western travellers’ accounts also leaving no doubt about the fact that the holy cave has been known to people for centuries. The original name of the tirtha, as given in the ancient texts, is of course Amareshwara, Amarnath being a name given later to it.
Giving the legend of the Naga Sushruvas, who in his fury burnt to ashes the kingdom of King Nara when he tried to abduct his daughter already married to a Brahmin youth, and after the carnage took his abode in the lake now known as Sheshnag (Kashmiri Sushramnag), Kalahana writes:
“The lake of dazzling whiteness [resembling] a sea of milk (Sheshnag), which he created [for himself as residence] on a far off mountain, is to the present day seen by the people on the pilgrimage to Amareshwara.”(Rajatarangini, Book I v. 267.Translation: M. A. Stein).
This makes it very clear that pilgrims continued to visit the holy Amarnath cave in the 12th century, for Kalhana wrote his chronicle in the years1148-49.
At another place in the Rajatarangini (Book II v. 138), Kalhana says that King Samdhimat Aryaraja (34 BCE-17CE) used to spend “the most delightful Kashmir summer” in worshiping a linga formed of snow “in the regions above the forests”. This too appears to be a reference to the ice linga at Amarnath. There is yet another reference to Amareshwara or Amarnath in the Rajatarangini (Book VII v.183). According to Kalhana, Queen Suryamati, the wife of King Ananta (1028-1063), “granted under her husband’s name agraharas at Amareshwara, and arranged for the consecration of trishulas, banalingas and other [sacred emblems]“.
In his Chronicle of Kashmir, a sequel to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, Jonaraja relates that that Sultan Zainu’l-abidin (1420-1470) paid a visit to the sacred tirtha of Amarnath while constructing a canal on the left bank of the river Lidder (vv.1232-1234). The canal is now known as Shah Kol.
In the Fourth Chronicle named Rajavalipataka, which was begun by Prjayabhatta and completed by Shuka, there is a clear and detailed reference to the pilgrimage to the sacred site (v.841,vv. 847-849). According to it, in a reply to Akbar’s query about Kashmir Yusuf Khan, the Mughal governor of Kashmir at that time, described among other things the Amarnath Yatra in full detail. His description shows that the not only was the pilgrimage in vogue in Akbar’s time - Akbar annexed Kashmir in 1586 - but the phenomenon of waxing and waning of the ice linga was also well known.
Amareshwar (Amarnath) was a famous pilgrimage place in the time of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan also. In his eulogy of Shah Jahan’s father-in-law Asif Khan, titled “Asaf Vilas”, the famous Sanskrit scholar and aesthete Panditraj Jagannath makes clear mention of Amareshwara (Amarnath) while describing the Mughal garden Nishat laid out by Asif Khan. The King of gods Indra himself, he says, comes here to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva”.
As we well know Francois Bernier, a French physician accompanied Emperor Aurangzeb during his visit to Kashmir in 1663. In his book “Travels in Mughal Empire” he writes while giving an account the places he visited in Kashmir that he was “pursuing journey to a grotto full of wonderful congelations, two days journey from Sangsafed” when he “received intelligence that my Nawab felt very impatient and uneasy on account of my long absence”. The “grotto” he refers to is obviously the Amarnath cave as the editor of the second edition of the English translation of the book, Vincient A. Smith makes clear in his introduction. He writes: “The grotto full of wonderful congelations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof are worshipped by many Hindus who resort here as images of Shiva…..”
Another traveler, Vigne, in his book “Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardu” writes about the pilgrimage to the sacred spot in detail, clearly mentioning that “the ceremony at the cave of Amarnath takes place on the 15th of the Hindoo month of Sawan” and that “not only Hindoos of every rank and caste can be seen collecting together and traveling up the valley of Liddar towards the celebrated cave……” Vigne visited Kashmir after his return from Ladakh in 1840-41 and published his book in 1842. His book makes it very clear that the Amarnath Yatra drew pilgrims from the whole of India in his time and was undertaken with great enthusiasm.
Again, the great Sikh Guru Arjan Dev is said to have granted land in Amritsar for the ceremonial departure of Chari, the holy mace of Lord Shiva which marks the beginning of the Yatra to the Holy Cave. In 1819, the year in which the Afghan rule came to an end in Kashmir, Pandit Hardas Tiku “founded the Chhawni Anmarnath at Ram Bagh in Srinagar where the Sadhus from the plains assembled and where he gave them free rations for the journey, both ways from his own private resources”, as the noted Kashmiri naturalist Pandit Samsar Chand Kaul has pointed out in his booklet titled “The Mysterious cave of Amarnath”.
2. The Yatra has always been conducted by Kashmiri Muslims.
Reply: Yes the yatra has been supported by the Malik family descendents but not conducted by them.
3. No Yatri was ever harmed by a Kashmiri Muslim.
Reply: Yes, numerous. Even this year some were killed at Bus Stand (5), grenade attack at Gulmarg, etc. Here are only some of them from previous years, it is a long list but i have taken only 3 years;
2000: At least 25 persons, including 16 Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 60 others were injured in an attack by militants at Pahalgam base camp.
2001: Twelve persons, including three women pilgrims and two police officials, were killed and 15 injured when a militant hurled two grenades at a camp and later fired indiscriminately near the holy cave.
2002: Two pilgrims were killed and two others injured when militants threw a grenade and later opened fire on a group of devotees in Jammu ahead of their trek to Amarnath cave shrine.
Twenty four persons were injured in a powerful grenade attack by suspected militants at a bus station on the route of the Amarnath pilgrimage.
A devotee and a taxi driver were killed and three injured when suspected militants lobbed a grenade in Anantnag along the pilgrim route.
Eight persons were killed and 27 wounded in an attack by militants on a base camp at Nunwan.
4. This year, we had record number of Yatris (more than 300,000) visiting the holy Shrine.
Reply: Yes, that is good but it has nothing to do with the valley as the arrangements are done by the SASB. Generally Yatra’s world over are matter of faith and people endure great hardship to complete them. Kashmir being part of India, 300,000 or 3 million is no big deal.
5. Each and every Yatri had praises for the locals who fed them in spite of scanty supplies due to the economic blockage of the highway.
Reply: Well, that is what was the great sufi kashmiri culture that Paki’s wanted to destroy. This was the culture of Lal Ded and Rishi peer. This was the culture where hindus celebrated the 3 day Herath festival (shivratri) with the next day as Salam for their Muslim neighbours. This was the valley which not only fed but gave alms to one and all inculuding hindu sadhu’s coming or going to the cave.
6. Entire country including the 300,000 Yatris are fully satisfied with the arrangements.
Reply: Well, the arrangements were done by SASB.
7. A handful of communal elements at Jammu have a problem.
Reply: It is not as our P.M say “an issue of modalities”. It is a decision of how people will be treated. 400,000 pandits were forced out of their land, 361 were killed, their temples destroyed and sahbir shah, sajjad lone, yasin mailk and their likes are saying that Jammu has communal elements. Well it is like Pakistan accusing India of supporting Taliban.
8. The local Jammu Dogra has never in history protested like this.
Reply: Well that is the point, their patience has now broken and the last straw in the camels backs was Omar Abdullah’s speech in the parliament. It is he who shouted “it is OUR LAND and we will die but not give it away”. How dare he, Kashmiri Pandits were the original inhabitants of the land and by saying so he has proved that he no sense or understanding of history. Clarifying that he meant all of J&K, well please do not lie now. If state subject was the issue, how come land was transferred to Railways, Airports Authourity, NHPC, HMT, Centaur, etc.
9. Some of the people who migrated from valley more than decade ago see this as an opportunity to take a revenge to rout out Muslims from Jammu
Reply: Well again you are missing the point. Surely 20 years is a long time to take revenge. It is akin to agreeing that temporary structures 13000 feet at Baltal can be used for changing the demographic’s of the valley.
10. The Jammu Dogras have fallen prey to the game plan.
Reply: same as above. Sadly, you are missing the point.
11. Who is benefiting from the protests?
Reply: Sometimes, protests are done without immediate gains. What will be gained is that the fact that Kashmiri’s have got too much without doing anything. How many pay taxes- state or central, pay for their electricity bills, etc. The formula of aid dispersal for rest of India is 75% loan and 25% grant, whereas Kashmir it is 75% grant and 25% loan (even that is not repaid back).
12. Our soldiers have laid down their lives fighting militants to keep the National Highway open for the past 20 years.
Reply: Yes, that is the point. The Highway is a scared piece if land for all and we cannot allow it to be used to pump in secessionist elements. Just for your information, an R.O.P (road opening party) of the army clearing the highway, starts their day at 4AM in the morning and ends it at 12PM midnight. It is too holy for anyone to understand. Hopefully the people would now realise how much it takes to keep the lifeline open. Troops can always be flown in as they have been for such a long time, it is common people who will suffer if disruptions occur.
13. Whose cause are people at Jammu supporting?
Reply: They are fighting for the cause of India and the right of an Indian over secessionists.
14. Kashmiri Leaders want a unified state including Jammu/Kashmir/POK/Ladakh
Reply: Sorry but that is not a consolation. It is and will remain unified as per the 1947 agreed boundaries. It is the writ of the Parliament that the P.O.K been taken back from Pakistan. Please read the pre 1947 history of J&K and the exploits of Maharaja Gulab Singh and how Indian have a claim over the entire state of J&K.
15. Protestors at Jammu want separate Jammu, Separate Kashmir, Separate KP Land, Separate Ladakh and maybe further slices of the flesh of our motherland.
Reply: Haven’t heard that but there will always be multiple view points and that is the corner stone of democracy. People in valley who have been following nizam e Mustafa cannot and will not understand what a pluralistic society is. After all they forced out 400,000 people out of the valley by the fear of gun to enforce their singular point of view. Imagine an entire generation of people growing up in a place where there are no minorities left. Most of the over 20 year olds in the valley have not even seen what Diwali, Herath, Nevreh or any other minority festival is like and that is the root cause of all these problems.
If this was not the case, tell me one conflict where the state has suffered so much in spite of their claim being backed by history that Pandits were the original inhabitants of the valley. The problem is the fact that people in the valley are not used to the other side reacting back and this is what has really puzzled them. It was always this Paki notion of a superior race being fed into the valley people which has now turned back to haunt them.
For 60 years Paki’s have fed into the people of valley a sense of utopia something which can only be compared to the communist. A false sense of bravado and beliefs. If you take a step back and understand that a nation who is number 6 or 7 in the list of failed states has not right to talk to India about running a nation or handling it’s conflicts. What they did to Lal Masjid, their use of gunships and missles against Tribal people, balti’s and balouch is well known. It is a country that sold its people to America for as less as 1000$$ and sent them to guantanamo bay and other American prisons.
Have a look at these 2 links and you would understand what I am trying to say. Have a look at this gentleman Amanullah Khan part I and II who was once the so called great freedom fighter of Kashmiri’s and what he has been reduced to. He is also talking of utopia but look at the fear in his speech when he says something about the Pakistan Army and ISI. He is senile but looking at his position you feel nothing but sad. This is what happens to someone who is backed by Paki’s.
Have a look at all this and then decide for yourself which way to go!
Sunday 10 August 2008
Lest we forget - Tales of Kashmiri Pandits forced to flee their homeland of 5000 years
Tales of Kashmiri Pandits forced to flee their homeland of 5000 years
For all my "secular" friends who keep on saying that Mr. Jagmohan was responsible for my community to leave their 5000 year homeland and happily survive in tents in other parts of India.
One day we will go back to our Vitasta and our Khir Bhavani and the land of Sharda Peeth. The land for which hundreds including Sikh Gurus (and their families) gave their life, we will return. It took jews nearly 1000+ years to get their place and we will wait even longer but will go back to our roots.
SURVIVOR’S STORY
Srinagar
For past couple of months the situation had been extremely tense in the valley. Everywhere there was fear and uncertainty. A lot of our relatives and friends had already fled from Kashmir. My mother and I were still resisting because we had nowhere to go, no home outside Kashmir, no source of income outside the valley. My mother had told me on 19th January that no one could make her leave her home. “This is my home and my state, I was born here and I will die here, no body can drive me out of here”, she told me categorically. Little did she know that she would have to change her statement in less than 24 hours. My school had been closed down because of the turmoil and I was restless and fear stricken at home desperately listening to every news bulletin on the radio.
On 20th morning everything looked normal or so it seemed. It was my grandfather’s birthday. Usually this occasion was a big day for our entire clan. All my cousins and aunts and uncles got together in my grandfather’s house and we all spent this day together with traditional gaiety and tons of happiness. But today was different. Everything was gloomy and sad. We lived about 15 mins away from my grandfather’s house but my other aunts lived far away. For the first time in my life we were contemplating whether we should go to our grandfather’s house or not on this day. My mother was crying since morning. She told me she had never felt so helpless all her life. I had known my mother to be a rock who would face every situation with calm and poise. ‘If she was feeling helpless something must be terribly wrong’, I told myself.
Around lunchtime my mother told me to dress up in my warm clothes.’ We are going to nana’s house’ she told me simply. I quickly dressed up and we set out. My mother held my hand and two of us walked down to my nana’s house. January is probably the coldest month in Kashmir. The walk to my grandfather’s house had never seemed so long before. My mother held my hand firmly in her hand and we walked, shivering more with fear than cold. We were met with cold stares from policemen and BSF officials who could be spotted everywhere. It must have been quite a sight for them to see two women walking on the deserted road. My mother told me not to look at anybody and we quietly walked. Little did we know that this would be our last trip to nana’s house. My mother told me that we would wish nana happy birthday and come back before it gets dark. Finally we reached nana’s house. For the first time I found their door locked. I don’t remember them ever locking their front door, but today things were different. We lived in tough times. My mother knocked on the door. My grandmother shouted from inside asking who it was. After confirming that it was my mother and I, she opened the door and let us in. The fear on her face was obvious. She was glad that we could make it. She was almost sure that her two other daughters would not be able to make it because they lived little far away and would not be able to brave the situation. Inside the house my grandfather sat at his usual place with hookah in front of him, but he was not smoking today. He looked worried too. I quickly ran to him and wished him happy birthday and he in return hugged me and told me to sit in the blanket because I was very cold. He told my mother to stay over for the night. ‘Your brother will drop you back tomorrow morning.’ My mother agreed and soon we were chatting away and for some time forgot what was happening outside. That night after dinner we sat around the TV watching some old classic movie. After a while I saw my mother get up and suddenly I heard a loud shriek from her. All of us rushed to the courtyard and heard loud noises coming from loud speakers. At first we were too shocked to understand what was happening. All the noises seemed like battle cries and we all huddled together in fear. We were standing in the courtyard and our faces were white with fear. Slowly everything started making sense. All the militants or so-called Jehadis were declaring Jehad from the loudspeakers placed in the mosques. They were coaxing Muslim men, women and children to come out of their houses and join them in the so-called holy Jehad. All kafirs or Pandits were threatened to join them or face serious consequences. In the fifteen years of my existence I had not known what fear really was and for the first time I asked my mother that why was being Hindu such a big crime. The noises were getting louder and louder and we all had blank expressions on our faces. No one knew what all this meant or why all this was happening to us. Later we got to know that all the Mujahideens or simply militants had crowded in Maisuma Chowk and a battle ensued between security forces and militants. That night the government of India had named Jagmohan as the governor of Kashmir and then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had resigned in protest. So that night, on 20th of January 1990 there was no government in Kashmir, no one to control the situation and no one to protect us. My grandfather went around his house like a mad man frantically praying to God to protect his family. Tears were trickling down his eyes and he kept repeating ‘ kabali loot gav, kabali loot gav’ [the kabalis have struck again! (ref to kabali invasion that Pakistan had masterminded in 1947)]. My mother looked at me and said ‘ my child we will have to leave Kashmir, for you I will have to go. You are more precious to me than anything else’
Next morning Curfew was clamped in the city. We were at Nana’s place for a week. And then returned to our house. I still remember how sad my house looked that day. As soon as we reached all our immediate neighbors came to meet us and they all were sure that the time to leave their homeland had come. Nobody said anything but they all knew that it was all over. After that we hardly left our homes. We were literally trapped in our own homes. All we could see everywhere were security forces marching up and down. Soon it was almost clear that schools could not run properly in this situation and my mother was concerned about my studies. All our neighbors had fled and we were the only Pandit family in that neighborhood. Militants had also started selective killings of Pandits and one of our close relatives had also become a victim of this manslaughter. By now it had become clear that militants wanted all Pandits to leave Kashmir. The gory tales of their violence spread everywhere like wild fire. My mother was concerned about our safety and well being. With a heavy heart she woke me up one night and said, ‘ I have decided to go to Delhi and get you enrolled in some school there.’ She was heart broken. We had no where to go in Delhi. We had to start life all over again. My mother would have to look for a job there and it would be a very different life from what we were leading at Kashmir. In about two weeks, we packed just the bare essentials and left our home forever.
I still remember the night before we left our homes. My mother cooked our last meal in the house that we still called our own. She had been quiet the whole day and in the evening as she was serving the food she could bear it no longer. She broke down and told me ‘ I came to this house as a young bride. This house has been a witness to all my good times and bad times and even when your father left us forever, this house protected me against all outsiders and evils. Today I am leaving the security of my house and don’t know where I am going. I cannot pack the moments spent in this house. I cannot pack my memories, why am I being forced to leave my homeland, I have not committed any crime, why am I paying the price for the mistakes of others.’ I was too small then to say anything. I just wiped the tears from the face of my mother and two of us quietly ate our last meal in our house and wept till we could weep no more.
The moment we left our house we were branded as ‘MIGRANTS’ by the Government and so called ‘ALREADY SETTLED’ Pandits living outside valley. For the first time I realized how tough it was to survive in this harsh world. We lived in a rented apartment in Faridabad, near Delhi. The house we lived in had no windows and no fans. For first couple of weeks we didn’t even have a refrigerator. We had to battle against a lot of things outside valley, heat of plains being one of them. God somehow gave us, and many families like us, a lot of strength. We survived and took everything as a challenge. My mother found a job for herself. We started gathering the threads of our life with time. But strangely enough, the scars have only become bigger with time. My grandfather literally went insane. He could not bear the fact that he was being forcibly made to leave his house. He could not bear that he had left his palatial bungalow and was living in a rented home in Jammu with absolutely no amenities. He soon stopped recognizing people and stopped eating. We lost him soon and the tragedy was that we could not even mourn for him properly. Many more such tragedies happened. Many people have been languishing ever since in the migrant camps and normal life has never been restored for them.
More than a decade has passed but the wounds are still there. When I see how callously the Kashmir situation is being handled the wounds start bleeding all over again. When I hear of Bamiyan Buddhas being destroyed by Afghan Vandals my wounds become fresh and I am reminded of the vandalism I am a victim of. When I see no one taking up the cause of Kashmiri Pandits because we don’t form the vote bank for any politician my wounds start aching.
Although we are all survivors but something has died in all of us. We are all leading an incomplete life. Our homes have been burnt down, our dreams have been trampled upon, our numbers are decreasing fast, yet we are holding against all odds hoping that one day we will return to our land of ancestors, our home land.
I can only say in the end
‘zuv chum braman ghar ghasha”…..[I am pining to go back to my home]
Sunanda Vashisht (Zadu) - 2004-09-13
That Scary Night....
It was horrible to witness the night, when the roads, lanes were filled with people and crying for the Azadi. We were taken aback and could expect anything possible. Even we could not decide that why people are on the roads, unexpectedly. One of our neighbors came to us and knocked our door, saying, "Do you know what is happening?". We also were as surprised and shocked as they were. We could not respond a little bit, other than saying "What to do next?" They too had no reply, quite obviously. Then we quickly decided to segregate our ladies lot, so that at least they are saved and nothing adverse happens in our presence. This was what we could decide instantaneously/briskly, without a second to wait. Thereafter, my two friends went to the KPs in our belt, which were about 10 to 12 and told them to send the ladies folk to one house which was slightly off in our belt and gave them some money, so that they can save their honor/ lives, if it comes to running away from the place.
Everybody had a little option to decide otherwise and we landed all the ladies/girls in one house, which we thought was safer as compared to other ones. Though this was a only a matter of self-satisfaction, which we could depend during that crisis. We all men folk decided to guard our houses and it was crystal clear that we could prefer to die rather than witnessing our ladies folk to be dishonored in front of our eyes. We called the police station, and they advised us to stay inside rather than giving any hope for a safety. This was the height of desperation, but we had little to do about it. Every second of that night passed on like a hell, not knowing what shall be the next, but fortunately nothing happened as we were expecting. we had a sigh of relief in the morning, thinking that we had got a breathing time to decide what to do. The next move landed us only at Jammu without bag and baggage and reeling under the tremendous agony, desperation and exasperation, thinking what is in our fate. Rest all of us are very well aware and need not to be updated.
Satish Raina - 2004-09-13
Why my 24 years old son was killed? My son Dilip was promised a job by one Habib Rishi of Reshipora Zanipora a local Congress leader. He assured us of all protection being head of a militant outfit in the area. It was 1990. He directed some militants to help us to do our normal business (looking after our orchards and agricultural land). As insurgency escalated, Habib asked for money to be paid to some Govt. authority for issuing appointment order to Dilip. We had no money. "Sell your land which after sometime will be usurped by the militants and you will have neither land nor job" he repeatedly said. Dilip sold a portion of land. Habib borrowed spray machine and other Agro-equipments (costing Rs. 50,000). In all he made Rs. 70,000 from us. But as no orders were received, Dilip asked for return of the money. This annoyed Habib who had obtained money to the tune of Rs 70,000 - including cost of agricultural equipment with the promise of returning the equipment back costing about Rs. 50,000.
Dilip was mercilessly beaten by Unidentified militants and his body badly mutilated thrown on a street. Dilip's Grandmother, Mother (both widows), sister and unemployed younger brother were brought to Jammu with the help of security forces. The Grandmother passed away with a heat stroke. Rest of the destitute family, all females, are in the Muthi camp today.
Mother of one Dilip Kumar, B.A. (aged 24 years) S/o of Late Mohan Lal R/O village Mujamarg, Tehsil Shopiyan, District Pulwama, J&K, India, presently in Muthi Refugee Camp, Jammu, J&K, India.
A Mother - 2004-09-13
What is my greatest problem in the Valley?
"When you kill one person, you go to the prison. When you kill one hundred persons, you are a hero. And when you are responsible for the killings of hundreds of persons you are invited to peace talks."
My father a petty shopkeeper was picked up from our home, within minutes hanged to death in the precincts of our house in presence of my mother, sister and brother with no charge, rhyme or reason. Neighbouring elderly Muslim women came to console us. Some of them said that it was God's will. Not an insect can be killed unless Allah wills. There were tears in the eyes of a few girls, my class mates, but when one of them told me to forget the dark past and rejoice in the new faith I was greatly hurt. She told me this while the dead body was still hanging from our walnut tree in front of our house. I was shown a Muslim neighbour elder to me 10 or 15 years to be my husband.
BSF by chance suspected something wrong as they saw hundreds of men, women and children running to our house. BSF helped us to move to Jammu. In Jammu I pin-pointed names of all those who mercilessly eliminated my dearest father but all in vain. Kashmir is 100% Islamised now. If I return to my home in the valley someday, how shall I feel when I face the same people who proved so cruel and barbaric and easily escaped any punishment even the formality of being questioned.
(Name withheld), Resident of District Badgam, J&K, India.
Name withheld - 2004-09-13
Where is secularism in Kashmir?
I belong to downtown Srinagar. During 1987-88 I spent Rs. 80,000 of my life savings to renovate my house. The lure of property kept me in my home till August,1990 while my Hindu neighbours fled from Jan, 1990. But I had to pay Rs. 300 per month from March to July 1990 for being allowed to stay back in my house towards donation to the so-called freedom movement (Aazadi).
In mid August, 1990 militants from some far of place in Srinagar came with arms. They packed up all our valuables, beat us mercilessly and asked us to flee. No neighbour even whispered in our favour, not even those who recovered the monthly Jaziya from us.
Now six long years have elapsed. Our house in Srinagar has become residence of a militant family. Here in Jammu I pay Rs. 1200 monthly as rent without getting even a penny from the one who occupied my house. I am not an exception. Same is true with many many families in exile. For the Central Govt., things have improved. There is a change in Muslim hearts. For me it is a blatant lie and bluff of the nincompoop rulers ignorant of ground realities.
Mohan Rani (Surname withheld upon request)
Camp Muthi-Jammu, J&K, India.
Mohan Rani - 2004-09-13
Kashmiri Hindu - the acid test for secularism in India
You can retain the land called Kashmir but can you give a place of honour and dignity to the exiled Kashmiri Hindu when he returns back to his 10,000 year old homeland ? The future of Kashmiri Hindu is the acid test for secularism in India.
How was it that every Muslim contributed to the hounding out of Kashmiri Hindu from the valley from 1947-90. Now when the dream of gifting away the land to Pakistan became impossible they purchase immovable property of Hindus on throw away prices. Day in and day out you see Kashmiri Muslims in refugee camps in Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere. They are erstwhile neighbours urging ailing patients, starving inhabitants, parents with grown up girls with no means for their weddings to sell their property in Kashmir. They did so in 1992-93 in a different way. Then terrorists openly threatened them that their houses would be set ablaze if not sold. In many cases Insurance Companies refused to entertain the insurance proposals of the exiled Hindus.
Only one option was left to the Secularist pro-Indian Hindu that was to sell his house under duress. Will anybody believe that a house built at the cost of 15 lakhs in 1983 fetched Rs. 2 lakhs to a family when one of their members became victim of kidney failure ?
Roshan Lal in exile in Mishriwalla Refugee Camp, Jammu, J&K, India.
Roshan Lal - 2004-09-13
I want to share the experience we had in our colony on the day when all Muslims came out on the road and started crying for Azadi. It was sudden outburst of something underlying since a longtime, but we were certainly unfortunate not to have taken any cognizance of it before hand, otherwise, we would have not been taken aback. The horrible experience on that night still passes shudders in my body. We were certainly out of wits to decide what to do and what no to do on witnessing a mammoth crowd out on the roads. One of our neighbors came to us with his wits off to have a interaction what is happening and what could we do. We had a few young boys in our colony and we immediately decided to collect the ladies/girls of our colony at one place and gave them some money so that if something untoward happens at least they would be equipped to tackle the problem of running away in what ever transport available. All the gents gathered to see what they had to face next, but it was pre-decided that we would not see our mothers/sisters/wives being dishonored with our eyes. We had very little to save ourselves, except to alter our lives for our the sake of our families. The conditions seemed to be like a person where he finds himself deserted amid a huge populace, but we had hardly anything to do about it. we were left with no alternative, but to reconcile with the situations presented to us.
With the blessing of that Almighty, nothing happened to us except for a huge amount of tension which we reeled for that full night. We had a sigh of relief on finding ourselves with our families again. The amount of exhilaration can not be described in words, this one can only feel and I do not find any words to explain the moments which rejoined us with our families. There and then everybody of us felt that we are unsafe here, hence the resultant was an exodus from our birth place. I am forced to put on record that when we left our houses, we all had a last glance of it and thereafter till date , things are amply clear to everyone of us.
We still long to go back, but how and when is a question which haunts all of us.
Satish Raina - 2004-09-13
My family suffered not only once....
We used to stay at a small village about 15kms from Anantnag.
I still remember Shivratri(a major festival of Kashmiris) of the year 1986.My maternal grandfather was in the last stages of his cancer so all my masis(aunts)and mausas(uncles)were there at his place trying their best to serve him during his last days of life.During this period,riots had started in the southern part of the valley and some miscreants in Kashmir had started looting the Hindu families.One morning we got the news that my Aunt's place had been looted.It was like a nightmare, on one side my grandfather was very sick and on the other side we had no knowledge of the whereabouts of my cousins and their paternal grandmother who were there at that time.
Then my Masi(Aunt) borrowed a burkha(veil)from a neighbour to conceal her identity as a hindu woman and walked for hours to reach her village just to find her wrecked house and shocked children and mother-in-law.
After a few days my grandfather passed away and slowly we had to return to our normal lives trying to forget the painful past.
Then came a time (ending 1989 onwards)when everybody had to decide whether to leave the valley or not.My parents had to stay there for a little longer than everybody else did due our personal problems.I was sent to Jammu,since my school had been shut down, to take admission in another school there.
One night,when my perents,grandmother and great grandmother were getting ready for the dinner, they heard a knock at the door.My mother went to open the door and the first thing to enter was a barrel of a gun followed by two masked terrorists.She almost lost consciousness. They took my father in a separate room and started questioning him about him having a wireless telephone and being involved with the Indian Army calling him mukhbir(informer).Truth being, my father had nothing to do with a wireless telephone.He is a man of principle and has always believed in a live and let live policy. They showed him a letter stamped by some area commander saying that if they found him guilty he would be given the appropriate punishment according to the rules.
In the other room my mother and grandmother tried to escape through the window to get some help when they realised that our house had been surrounded from all sides by the terrorists.
My great grandmother who was a courageous and selfless woman, forcefully entered the room where they were questioning my father and she started screaming at the top her voice, condemning them of killing innocent people without any reason. With her entrance in the room, my father gathered courage and started yelling at them telling them to do whatever they had to do in front of the whole village. He told them that they were cowards and challenged them to prove his guilt and then punish him in front of everyone in the village.
The terrorists were really shocked as my father pushed them aside and dragged one of the two terrorists outside in the courtyard and told him repeatedly to call the villagers. They got confused and fled without harming anyone from my family.
Later when my father reported the incident to the so-called elders of the village(who tried to assure him that nothing like this would happen in future and he doesn't have to fear any more),they did an investigation and we came know that an ex-tiller of ours had hired these terrorists so that he could own our land that was just next to his.
My family had to leave the place soon after this incident since my family no longer felt secure there.
I am thankful to God for blessing us with my father's precious life.
It is really shameful that we have lost so many precious and innocents lives and the culprits are still at large.
Namrata Kaul - 2004-09-13
My Dad had a good business in the heart of city which was first targetted by the radicals so we have to sit idle for the next four months and one day we had to leave our home in the dead of night leaving our belongings. Then we came to Faridabad were we do not have anything to do, for the next 6months. Then my sister found a job as a teacher in Faridabad to sustain us. Now our precious 15years have passed and we are not able to go to our birth place freely. Some people are going there just as tourists. No Govt. Central or State is doing anything for us as we are not a vote bank for them , but we have a glorious past of 5000 years and one day we will see the light of the tunnel. As we are not a vote bank no one is interested in us , it is our fault we should elect our leader who can raise our voice and who can be heard, I would prefer Shri Jag Mohan as every K.P. know what he is for us. When 2500 sikhs died in 1984 riots, now politicians are creating hue and cry and they bow they heads in shame, Sikhs are coming on streets. When about 600-800 Muslims died in Gujrat Riots politicians are saying that it is black blot in ones party face (BJP). When around 1lacs K.P. were forced to leave their homes and apprx. 1500 were mercillesly killed by radicals ,where were these politicians then, when one is focibly taken out of their homes and given the name of migrants in their own country. DO NOT THEY FEEL ASHAMED they should also bow their heads for this community. If our politicians do not stop appeasing these radicals, one day OUR HINDUSTAN will become ISLAMISTAN. Hope some good sense will prevail to our politicians and will work earnestly to solve the Kashmir problem and pave for our return to our maez kashir.
jatinder - 2005-08-21
16 years back “Wake up Shreyas, wake up. We have to leave, wake up”, said my mother shaking my hand briskly. On opening my eyes, I saw my father unfastening the chain of his bag and inserting his clothes and other personal things in it. Shree was standing in corner of room gazing mother continuously. I went up to her and asked, “What is happening didi, where is papa going”. She murmured, “We all are going”, as if she was talking to herself. I turned to mother and asked, “Where are we going ma”. “GOD knows where are we going, what all I know is that we are leaving KASHMIR, and don’t ask anything just wear your clothes,” she said, “Shree will help you. Go now”. “Should I pack up my passbook, cheque book, job related credentials and other documents?” asked ma to papa. I saw tears swelling and rolling down her eyes. Papa replied in negation and said, “better keep them in locker or handover them to pitaji”. I kept on asking the same questions repeatedly to Shree while she was buttoning my shirt but was not reciprocated with answers. She was looking eccentric to me, as I had never ever seen her so blank and numb. As it was a usual December night with sub zero temperature I was left covered with woolen from top to bottom. While papa, ma and didi continued what they were doing, I rushed to my grandparents' room. Dadi was sitting on her couch with her legs folded and her wrinkled yet glowing face resting on her knees, which was vacant and reddened eye. Dada on seeing me came forward, kissed me on my forehead, and said, “Let them go now, we need not to be anxious about anything and if you wish so, we will join them afterwards. Let them go and do not increase their troubles. Come, come and help them”. Dada raised me into his arms and walked into our bedroom with dadi following him. “Don’t you worry about us. We will stay here. They will not harm us. We are old and of no value for them. After all this is our motherland, we have been living here for centuries. We share common blood and a mere difference of faith will not make them so brittle. If GOD will be kind upon us then we won’t be required to leave our home and you too will return”. Tears rolled down on cheeks of dadi nevertheless she quickly wiped them off. “Onkar beta take all necessary things and your personal belongings with you so that you don’t have to look up at others for aid and support’’ said dadi and while she articulated these words I clearly saw her hands quacking. Dadi headed toward ma, brought ma close to her and murmured something into her ears. What she said , I will never ever be able to know but after completing her words she bursted into tears. As if tears are contagious, they instantaneously infected ma and Shree and swelled up in their eyes. Dada walked out of the room. When packing was done papa ringed up Hariom Uncle and asked his whereabouts. Leaving valley was a group resolution and pundits fled away in large chunks, some in their own vehicles and some in private vehicles. The centuries old tradition of KASHMIRIYAT was being torned by PUPPETS of ALLAH. This mass exodus of pundits was not very first incidence of its kind in the history of Kashmir. This time we were driven out of our homes, of our motherland, of our culture for the fifth time. This time it was for the AZADI of Kashmir from the illicit occupation of INDIA. Pundits, the centuries old inhabitants of KASHMIR were tagged as INDIAN agents and KASHMIR was being unfurnished by MUJAHIDIENS from this unwanted debris. Names of pundits were being pasted on walls of civic buildings and on local mosques. Letters bearing threats and warning notes were left on doorsteps by anonymous. Such edicts were also published in local Urdu newspapers. It all started something around November 1989 when I was just seven years old and shree was something around 12 years. Our four-storied dwelling was located in GANPATYAR locality of SRINAGAR district. My grandfather Sh. Brij Nath Koul was ex-chairman of history Department in Kashmir University. He was a man of values. Everyone in our locality knew him well. He was a divine lover of Kashmir and was a devout SHIVAIT. My father Sh. Onkar Nath Koul was Jr. Engineer in state Electricity board. He was the only son of my dadaji. My mother Smt. Kalpana Koul, carried on the profession of dadaji and was reader of zoology in Kashmir university. Hariom uncle, my ma’s brother was a resident of Jawaher Nager and ran a store in Residency Road area. We were living a reasonably happy life before it all started. My parents all the time thought that happen what may we will not be harmed by anyone for we were not drawn in anything happening at that time in valley. Our firm consideration was further strengthened by words of uncle Junaid Ahmed Bhatt and Aashiq Rasool Wani, both of them being my father’s friends. Uncle JUNAID was also our neighbor. His son waseem and I were of same age and therefore were best of friends, that time. However, destiny played a harsh game with us. One fine evening Junaid uncle informed papa that his name was pasted on wall of a nearby mosque with names of many other pundits counting Hariom mamaji as well, asking all of them to abscond Kashmir or to get ready to see their fate. A small group of pundits assembled and it was decided that we will leave Kashmir for the interim as a safety measure only and will come back to our dwellings as soon as the blizzard vanishes. The governor of the state, then, is also blamed for our exodus from our houses. As dada’s name was not on the list, he decided to stay back. Our turn arrived a bit late; a number of Pundits had already fled away to JAMMU. It was our turn now. After discussing, the situation with Hariom uncle on phone papa asked all of us to walk down to garage and get seated in our car. Hariom uncle was coming to our house with whole of his kin and some other pundits. Ma jam-packed five large bags, all of them full of our household things and other necessary items. All that time dadi kept on howling and cursing the terrorists. Ma tried to console nevertheless she was weeping herself. Papa, dada and didi were all vacant and pale with no emotions on their faces except that of fright. Thirteen other cars and mini buses arrived near our house and Hariom uncle jumped out of one of them speedily. He wished my grandparents, kissed me on my forehead, and said, “Onkar bhaisaab the valley is burning and situations are worse for Hindus to continue here. Do not wait even for a second; just run for your lives”. Hearing his words dadi started crying as if she was mourning for someone who is dead now. Junaid uncle might have heard our conversation by then so he opened his door and walked out of his house. He took papa’s hand and said with a heavy throat, “what a day has arrived. My friend is being forced to leave his home and I am not in a position to do anything. Oh Allah, what should I do. How can I see you fleeing away like this?” “Don’t you worry Junaid everything will end up correctly and we will be back before long” said papa “and pitaji and ma are staying here so please look after my old parents. If conditions will become fatal then I will take them away with me but until then they and my house are your responsibility. Please take care of them”. “Oh don’t worry at all they are my own parents, mouj is mirror image of my mother for me. Now you all should leave. Go,” said he “Allah hafiz Onkar bhai”. He handed over his kangri to ma and kissed didi’s forehead. While all this was happening Zarina aunty, wife of Junaid uncle and Waseem were peeping out at us through window in their house. Our car became an entity of long caravan of vehicles taking pundits away to safer places. I turned and gazed at my grand parents standing with Junaid uncle at our gate. Dadi was continuously crying and dada was trying to console her. That time I didn’t thought that I was seeing my grandparents for the last time. I kept on looking them continuously until they were in my range of vision. Along with Hariom uncle, we were five souls in that fastening car and all were as silent and immovable as dead. Snow was heavily pouring down and the chill was shivering our bones and jaws. As we moved on and came near GOW KADAL (a bridge in Srinagar city), I don’t know what happened to ma that she started beating her forehead with her palms and started crying. Those outbursts of emotions bring a shivering in my spine even today whenever I think of it. Our cars kept on moving until a mad crowd of our Kashmiri counterpart stopped them. It was a mob of over hundred Kashmiri men, all of them dressed in pheren and carrying kangris in their hands. They all were shouting “Allah o akbar, Allah o akbar. Kashmir mian rehna hoga, Allah o akbar kehna hoga. (Saying Allah o akbar is the only condition to live in Kashmir). Asi gachi Pakistan bata rosta batanev san (We will go to Pakistan and will take hindu women folk with us)”. That throng emerged out from nowhere like a flash mob, enmeshed us, chanted out these slogans, grimed at us and suddenly disappeared in dark. Some of them turned back and forced out all pundit men out of their cars at their gunpoint. This increased the trauma of my mother manifold. She soaked Shree didi and me into her shawl. A shrouded face came to us, knocked at glass of window, and pointed out his armament on father. Ma started pleading him of our lives. I remember those eyes behind that mask. They were full of fury and revenge. The image of those eyes is intact in my memories. Even today, I can identify them. He stared at all of us for a while and pulled out papa from the driver’s seat. Papa was pulled as if he was not a human being but a sack of flesh and bones. Ma at once jumped out of car, took hold of his arm and begged “As per instructions we are leaving Kashmir then why are you holding us here like this”. The man opened his mouth for the first time “We are letting you go out of valley, is that not enough for you. What are you people taking with you in these bags? Your lives are the only thing, which you will be allowed to take from Kashmir. Rest all belongs to poor and oppressed muslims of our Kashmir whom you pundits have never considered as human as yourself. You handful pundits have always been overweighed. For centuries, you cowards have dominated in every run of life. It’s our turn now. Leave Kashmir, India awaits you and Kashmir awaits NIZAM -E- MUSTAFA”. His question was immediately answered by ma and she pulled out all five bags out of car and handed over to him. By then he let papa free from his grip. “I said punditani take your lives with you, rest all is ours,” he shouted “don’t you listen”. “We have given you all our belongings, nothing is left to us. What the hell do you want now, for GOD’S sake let us go now at least” said Hariom uncle. The man replied at once in an angry tone “look at your lady. She is wearing dejharoos, handover them to me immediately otherwise bullets of my gun are ready to penetrate your body”. Ma handed over her dejharoos to him at once and he gave a silent permission to all of us to proceed. Ma collected a bit of courage within her and asked that man to give our bag of clothes back to us. I think this irritated him a lot, he turned back to her and snatched the kangri which uncle Junaid had given her and crushed that kangri under his boots. He looked at us and asked us to leave immediately. Our fellow pundits were also bereaved. Life cheats, sometimes atleast. The same scenes were repeated in other parts of valley too. Pundits were appalled in every corner of valley. In our way, we saw thousands of eyes staring at us, ‘the busted pundits’ from their windows. The streets were all deserted as it was nighttime and curfew was imposed in all parts of the valley. The last thing, which I remember of that night, is JAWAHER TUNNEL. This tunnel is gateway to Kashmir. After passing safely out of valley well and safe, my parents and all of us felt relieved and in warm lap of my mother I felt asleep soon. TODAY That night changed the course of my life, not only mine but of over four hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus who are popularly known as pundits for their knowledge, intelligence and standard of education. I am Shreyas Koul and I am 24 years old now. I am living in a tent made up of plastic sheet with my parents in outskirts of Jammu district on Jammu-Udhampur road. Ours is a complete village comprising of about 800 tents and a population of over 7600. I have graduated in commerce from Government Degree College three years back and I am still looking out for a job. In meantime I had learned repairing and maintenance of mobile phones at a near by electronic shop and presently I am earning about Rs. 1700 from it. My elder sister Shree(now 28) is married to Vijay Zaroo and Mrs. Shree Koul Zaroo is now a mother of three tiny tots who were born in the same tent in which they are living presently. One of her boy child is suffering from hysteria. My brother-in-law, Vijay assists a pharmacist at his drug shop. Hariom uncle left our tent village six years back when he got a job in a private textile mill in SURAT. They are now living an enjoyable lower middle class life, over there. As my parents left their papers back home, the government found itself hapless in providing them their salaries and any other job. On inquiry papa found that, his service book was missing from office records. Ma was not differently treated. God knows who had eaten up the service books. Ma is something around 52 but she looks like 102. Reader of zoology in Kashmir University now gives home tuition for 300 bucks. Papa works with PANUN KASHMIR and thinks that one day they will succeed in carving a separate homeland for pundits within the valley. He is 125 years old now, I suppose. My grandparents thought they were of no value for those freedom seekers but they were so wrong. They made a huge contribution in freedom struggle and cleaning of Kashmir. As per what we were told by those who fled late, some freedom seekers rushed into our house two nights after we left valley. They pumped thirteen bullets into my dada’s body, three of them in head, two in heart, and three in his legs and rest in his groin region. Before this, his head was beaten with hammer and skin was pealed off on which he used to apply a TIKA very proudly. There was no scar on my dadi’s body. They say she just died of shock. Death of my grandparents paved a way for easy and automatic cleansing of Kashmir from unwanted debris. Junaid uncle who kept every word of what he had promised to papa did the cremation rites of my grandparents. He was rewarded for this deed by freedom seekers. He was beaten mercilessly for showing sympathy to pundits. We still have some contact with each other by exchange of letters. His son Waseem, whom I had not seen since we left Kashmir, is now pursuing his degree in medicine from AMU Aligarh. Destiny has been kind upon him. Agony hurts. He is rising and I am in a pitfall. The exile of Shree RAM was of fourteen years but we are out of our homes for over sixteen years and RAVAN has not been identified yet. In these past sixteen years life had taught me a number of lessons. Life has made me tolerant. Today I know a lot about life but the biggest agony of my life will be that I don’t know myself. I am a rootless sapling, planted on a barren land. I do not know what does being a Kashmiri Hindu means. I don’t remember anything about Kashmir. I had never been there since we came here. That night is very much there in front of my eyes as it was a night that deserted my life but besides that, I don’t have anything in my mind. I barely remember our house, except for our bedroom. Neither I remember much of it nor will I ever be able to see it again because it was burnt down to ashes as an act of revenge after demolition of BABRI MASJID. Along with our house, the tiny temple of our locality was rocked down to a heap of bricks and mud. My ma often talks about SHANKARACHARYA TEMPLE and KHEER BHAVANI TEMPLE both of which are in Kashmir. She describes how fondly she used to take me there; but here too I am blank. I will never know how SHIVRATRI and NAVRATRA were celebrated over there in Kashmir. MAA SHARDA is already behind iron bars in AZAD JAMMU and KASHMIR. Although I am a Kashmiri pundit yet I found it difficult to talk in KOSHUR; HINDI and DOGRI are much easy, at least for me. I think the game is about to get over in near future. Soon the culturally and otherwise distinct community of Kashmiri pundits will be extinct. Today I am just a Hindu, nothing more than that. Let them be proud about their Kashmir ‘the paradise on earth’. The heaven has lost its charm in my eyes when they ‘hell-bent for AZADI’ ruined my life and made it a living hell. Today my tent is heaven for me and for next few centuries, it will remain so. I wonder how people live in cages of concrete and bricks. We don’t think about future anymore. We left everything in valley which we owned; by everything I mean our culture, traditions, kashmiriyat and our future too. We have stopped dreaming. Making the ends meet is in itself quite troublesome. My biggest desire presently is to owe a TV set and to have electricity connection in our tent. Silly thought; I know it is. A tent does not deserve to have an electricity connection but an ailing old Jr engineer in state electricity board needs and deserves a bit of comfort, atleast at dusk of his life. I don’t know when did all this started. Neither have I had any clue of it nor am I interested in that rubbish thought. Some say the root cause is marked differences in both the faiths. Some others are of firm belief that it is result of incomplete partition of the sub continent. A few also believe that misgovernance of the state governments of nineteen eighties’ is the mother of this freedom struggle. However, for me it all started when my mother waked me up one night saying “wake up Shreyas, wake up. We have to leave”. its a piece of fiction which i had written taking tha name of shreyas. i am aniruddh singh, 21 years old and presently living in aligarh with my parents. i feel as if i a also a kashmiri. i want to do something for kashmir. if you find me worth entertaining then please do reply me at aniruddh_singh85@yahoo.co.in
aniruddh singh - 2006-11-10
My story is nothing different from the thousands of KP's who fled from the valley of their dreams (Kashmir) for their life in around Jan/Feb 1990. I lived alongwith my family of four in a small house in Nai Sadak, Near Badiyar Bala in Srinagar. I'm witness to the numerous brutalities that the KP's had to face and the final blow of 19/20 Jan '90 (Night)when the loudspeakers from the Mosques blazed venom and we finally decided to leave. The morning was a scene when the road leading Lalchowk was filled with KP ladies,men and children running with loads of their belongings on their backs and heads and the Muslims on the roadside and windows of their houses laughing away the plight of the hapless Pandits running for their life to get a lift for Jammu outside the bounds of the fanatic Muslim population. The scene is engraved in my memory and can never be viped away. Our journey Jammu also commenced the same morning and what were the odds that we had to face there is a real story to tell but --------------
JL Bhat - 2006-12-22
My story is nothing different from the thousands of KP's who fled from the valley of their dreams (Kashmir) for their life in around Jan/Feb 1990. I lived alongwith my family of four in a small house in Nai Sadak, Near Badiyar Bala in Srinagar. I'm witness to the numerous brutalities that the KP's had to face and the final blow of 19/20 Jan '90 (Night)when the loudspeakers from the Mosques blazed venom and we finally decided to leave. The morning was a scene when the road leading Lalchowk was filled with KP ladies,men and children running with loads of their belongings on their backs and heads and the Muslims on the roadside and windows of their houses laughing away the plight of the hapless Pandits running for their life to get a lift for Jammu outside the bounds of the fanatic Muslim population. The scene is engraved in my memory and can never be viped away. Our journey Jammu also commenced the same morning and what were the odds that we had to face there is a real story to tell but --------------
JL Bhat - 2006-12-22
Dear Sir, I wish to make an appeal thru this portal. Wanted to put an appeal up for one Ms. Kusum Handoo who is alone staying with her parents and her son is batelling lukemia,and to save the precious life docs have recommended bone marrow transplant. The kid is presently hospitalised at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and needs to undergo the transplant at either Vellore Hoppital-Tamil Nadu or TATA at Bombay. If possible can u post this message on ur portal to help kusum handoo save here kid. She at the moment is batteling it out alone. Should voluntary donors come forward we may b able to save a precious life Kusum Can be reached at her mobile # +919871893360
Rajiv Munshi - 2007-01-05
Dear Sir, I wish to make an appeal thru this portal. Wanted to put an appeal up for one Ms. Kusum Handoo who is alone staying with her parents and her son is batelling lukemia,and to save the precious life docs have recommended bone marrow transplant. The kid is presently hospitalised at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and needs to undergo the transplant at either Vellore Hoppital-Tamil Nadu or TATA at Bombay. If possible can u post this message on ur portal to help kusum handoo save here kid. She at the moment is batteling it out alone. Should voluntary donors come forward we may b able to save a precious life Kusum Can be reached at her mobile # +919871893360
Rajiv Munshi - 2007-01-05
Though being called a survivor will not be fair to people who actually fought for their existence. I was only 7 year old at the time we left kashmir therefore was unaware of the turbulances my elders faced thus i would call my father and other elders in our community the survivors. I still get shivers when i remember a day when 4 terrorists came to a mosque just behind our house at rainawari(Naidywar).It was the first time in my life i saw a terrorist with a gun hidden under his pheran.He was a bearded man . He shouted anti india anti pandit slogans. It was kind of a festival for local kashmiri muslims. I remember people shouting and pelting stones at our house during the time these terrorist kept speaking. These were same muslims who used to play on our fields. The other incident i remember is of Burning of DAV SCHOOL which was visible from the Kaani(Balcony) of our house. It was during a cold winter night we heard screams of people that DAV SChool is burning. We all went to our balcony and saw the burning DAV. I remember my father had tears in his eyes as it his Alma Mater. I started crying with fear and asked my father to leave for Jammu. The last incident that will be in my memory till i Die is when we left for Jammu. It was early in the morning we left towards the Bus Station.Though i dont remember its location but i remember Shankracharya could be seen from there.My Grandma,My aunty,DAD, Uncle and cousin sister and 3 months old brother all boarded the bus to jammu. I remember the last words uttered by my grandmother"HEY MAEJ KASHIR AES DRAYE" meaning MOTHER KASHMIR WE ARE LEAVING.I would like to mention here that when we reached Jammu it was raining heavly may be raingods also cried . WE LEFT KASHMIR.....
Vithal Motilal Chowdhary - 2007-10-06