Abstract

THE EXODUS OF KASHMIRI PANDITS AND ITS IMPACT (1989- 2002)

Gh. Rasool Bhat

Volume: 2 Issue: 4 2012

Abstract:

Once the militant violence engulfed the state of J&K, majority of the Pandit community living in the valley left to other parts of the country. Some 90% of 160,000-170,000 community left in what is described as a case of ethnic cleansing. What led to the exodus of these Pandits? What was the impact of this exodus? The present paper will focus on these issues. The Pandit community of Kashmir irrespective of their Hindu religion have a distinct place in the society of Kashmir. The Muslims and Pandits of Kashmir have been living together through the ages as brothers with complete amity. Kashmiri pandits sanskritised the Himalayas. The contribution of Kashmiri Pandits to language, linguistics and grammer, philosophy and religion, aesthetics and historiography, astrology and mathematics is imparalleled and is deeply embedded in the edifice of Indian civilisation. However, in the wake of mass uprising in Kashmir against the Indian state, Kashmiri Pandits like their Muslim compatriots also become victims of post1988 voilence1 in Kashmir, relatively little has been published on them. Two studies described history and anthropology of KP’s prior to 1990 2. On the other hand a number of books present communally painted pictures of the community3. Many opinion based but less informative articles have been written4 . Most of the scholarly works on Kashmir since 1990 mention Kashmiri Pandits in a passing reference5. Focus of the most of the academic studies has been the majority in the valley6, wider theories of causatian7 or interpretations through a nationalist prism8. Leaving the Pandits overlooked or reduced to a couple of footnotes. The present article tries to explain what happened to Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and beyond examining the fallout of the mass-migration and its impact on the various facets of life

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