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The tragedy that befell Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s, the violence they faced and their forced migration has remained a black chapter in India’s history. A story that has remained as a scar in the memory of all those who were forced to leave their home.
Nightmare in Heaven: The tragedy of Kashmiri Pandits
The outright violence and the forced exile began in the late 80s and 90s, but the seeds of this nightmare were sown way back in time. Some trace the ongoing conflict to the partition of India and the ensuing struggle for Kashmir between India and Pakistan, others find the deep divisive communal rhetoric being played in the state for vote bank politics at the epicentre of this violence. The locals of Kashmir had a strained relationship with the Indian state, they feared a loss of their separate identity. When the decision was taken to integrate Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian state in 1975, it aggravated people who feared for their autonomy.
However, not everyone living in Kashmir had the same opinion. The Kashmiri pandits and a few small groups of Muslims saw the demand for the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India as anti-national. However, the Kashmiri Pandits formed a minor part of the overall population, only 4-6%. The insecurities of the majority of the Muslim population were exploited by radical Islamist groups and political leaders for vote bank politics.
They were fed propaganda, one of the most prevalent ones was that the Kashmiri pandits were spies of the Indian states. This led to a further drifting apart of two communities in Kashmiri society. The politics being played in the state had begun to incite communal hatred and bigotry.
The Kashmiri Pandits had started to move out of Kashmir in the 1950s itself, the unstable political atmosphere, the threat of declining economic conditions, and a growing fear of communal violence motivated people to move to different parts of India in search of a better life.
However in 1989, the real nightmare began, the trust of the Kashmiri population in the Indian federal government was at an all-time low. They believed that the 1987 elections were rigged and the promises of greater autonomy for Kashmir, were nothing but lies. This dissatisfaction mixed with the communal politics and bigotry fed throughout the years resulted in a violent militant uprising, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front led this uprising. They assassinated some of the top Kashmiri Pandit officials, mosque began blaring warnings to Kashmiri Pandits to leave the valley.
Tika Lal Taploo who was a lawyer and a member of the Bhartiya Janta Party was murdered in his home by the militants. He was one of the first Kashmiri Pandits to be killed by the militants and the public nature of his death established an atmosphere of fear among the Kashmiri Pandits. Soon the militants start assassinating people they saw as a threat to their cause, supreme court judges, poets, teachers, trade union leaders, etc were gunned down by the militants.
Members of JKLF also brutally murdered four members of the Indian Air Force, Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna, Corporal D.B. Singh, Corporal Uday Shankar, and Airman Azad Ahmad while they were waiting for their vehicle to pick them up at Rawalpora bus station in the morning. Such was the apathy towards the Indian federal state and the influence of the militants, that the adjoining Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police post didn’t even respond when this attack was taking place. Incidents like this accelerated the Hindu migration from Kashmir.
Some political groups did take up the cause of Kashmiri Pandits, but just for pretence. The cause of Kashmiri Pandits was reduced to an excuse to further their brand of divisive politics and communal rhetoric. For the Kashmiri pandits, the violence that unfolded in the 1990s has turned into a generational trauma. And the valleys of Kashmir still echo with the cries and screams of thousands of innocent, who lost their everything, caught in a storm of blind hatred and bigotry.
Several massacres took place and the valley of Kashmir ran red with the blood of innocents. The incidents of violence continued years after years and led to one of the darkest chapters in Indian history. Countless women were kidnapped, raped, and murdered. Families were separated and many lost their lives in this forced exodus, with no fault of their own.
Amir Khusrow once wrote about Kashmir that
“Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast”
If there’s heaven on earth,
It's here it’s here it’s here.
This heaven on earth, became the ground of one of the worst humanitarian disasters this country has witnessed and continues to bear scars of militant violence and the loss of lives of innocent even today. These stories are hard to hear, but they need to be told. Countless Kashmiri Pandits who bore these atrocities with their lips sealed have now started to speak up about these stories of horror, for all to witness. Their stories are a testament to the horrors and tragedy that bigotry, divisive politics, and communal hatred could lead to.
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