Nestled between picturesque lakes, mountains and breathtaking scenery, Kashmir is a land even the gods are said to be jealous of. This beauty, however, is marred by centuries of strife, violent bloodshed and devastating natural calamities which befell it. In the pitched battles that have played out between Pakistan backed terrorist groups and the Indian security apparatus, the ordinary Kashmiri is often the first casualty. Out of envy or not, what quickly becomes apparent is that the gods are often not kind to this land or its people.
Overlooked amidst a litany of tragic tales haunting this land, January 19th, 2020 marks three decades since a forgotten tragedy unravelled itself in the blood-drenched soil of Kashmir. Driven from the homes they so painstakingly built, an entire community of Kashmiri Pandits was uprooted and forced into exile. And, as many of them continue to languish in foreign lands and dream of homecoming, this Kashmiri Pandit exodus remains a painful but overlooked tale of ethnic cleansing. Conveniently forgotten, criminally neglected and forcefully relegated to the margins of history, the tragic story of this community demands a retelling.
The Fateful Night
The year was 1990. Winds of hate were washing over the scenic land of Kashmir, fanned by Pakistan sponsored militant groups who nurtured dreams of ‘independence’. Repressed by the Indian state, their capacity for senseless violence found an outlet in the hapless minority of Pandits.
The months preceding the fateful day of January 19 were overcome with sectarian tensions. The first Pandit to fall to the bullets was a political activist Tika Lal Taplow. In the months which followed, more were assassinated and a climate of fear-driven by these targeted killings enveloped the Pandit community. As the days passed, the built-up simmering tension culminated in a cold macabre night in January that started the exodus. As the pandits settled to sleep in their homes, they were awakened with blaring slogans coming from mosques where extremists had taken control.
Col Tej Kumar Tikoo’s book describes the slogans as being a host of highly provocative, communal and threatening. These slogans were mixed with precise and unambiguous threats to Pandits. They were presented with three choices — Relive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert, leave the place or perish)
The writing on the wall was clear. To survive, the pandits must flee.
The Exodus And Its Aftermath
Rahul Pandita in his book recounts passing trucks filled with scared Pandits escaping to Jammu, the women “herded like cattle” leaving their homeland. Once living comfortable lives back home, they were now forced to wither away in dismal tents lacking hygiene, falling prey to diseases hitherto unknown to them, surviving on meagre rations of food.
All this while, the nation paid little attention. A community that prided itself on contributing to India many luminaries including its first prime Minister, found themselves rendered invisible under the cloak of indifference worn by society.
The community, however, survived. Many relocated to cities. They endured exploitative landlords, unkind neighbours, severe hardship and creeping xenophobia. Scarred by their memory but resolute to not let it define them, they began their life afresh.
Thirty years on. Nobody has been legally held responsible for the ethnic cleansing; justice hasn’t been served. The promise and possibility of the dignified return of the Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley seem as elusive today as it was in 1990. Scattered across the country and away from their roots, the community still hangs to the hope that someday they will return.