#2020 This is my response to ‘A Letter By A Kashmiri Pandit’ posted on this page a few days ago. I am the person who had been using the pseudonym with the initials NB(the name of a rather funny, and self-proclaimed saint who sells ‘kripa’) to comment on this page. I have deactivated that account and won’t be using it any further. Dear writer(and I know who you are), being a Kashmiri Pandit, I am very well aware of our exodus that was engineered by the Pak-sponsored Islamist terrorists and watched over by the so-called “silent majority” of Kashmir. The gory images of the early nineties when, after being hounded out of our homes, many of us had to live like refugees in tents braving the scorching heat in Jammu, are still fresh in our minds. We have gone through agonizing times, and have suffered immensely for the mere fault of having been born into a faith which was different from that of our persecutors. So I can very much relate to the state of despair you are still living in. But, dear friend, I find the contents of your letter very objectionable, and I want to convey this message to everyone on this page that you do not represent an entire community but only yourself. It is shrewd opportunism on your part that you considered this calamitous time appropriate to vent your ire against the majority community. I hope that you understand that a natural disaster is blind to religion of the inhabitants of the area it engulfs; that if the downpour would have continued for a few more days, entire state could have got submerged. Probably none of us would have been in a position to read your letter. It was appalling to see some of our KP/Hindu brothers terming the flood as “God’s revenge”. I ask them: what was God avenging when a similar disaster took place in Uttarakhand last year? What sins were committed by the victims of Uttarakhand floods and Leh cloud burst? Who had committed the sins, the innocents who lost their lives? You say that your attitude towards the flood situation in Kashmir is that of total apathy, and that you cannot bemoan the losses of Kashmiri Muslims. Fine, that defines YOU as a person. But what is the need to announce it publicly if your intention is not to rub salt on the wounds of thousands of innocent souls who have suffered immensely? It’s like saying, “hey look, I know that you are dying, but I don’t give two hoots about the fact that you are dying!” And yet you want me to believe that your mental makeup is somehow different than the very people you vilify – your persecutors, that is. It is very true that Islamist terrorists and their supporters were responsible for our exodus, but by what token of logic can you vilify an entire community, many of whom were not even born in 1990, and hold them responsible for your exodus twenty-four years down the line? How are little children wailing on rooftops, waiting for someone to rescue them, famished and exhausted, responsible for our exodus? How are toddlers getting washed away in floods and patients dying in hospitals responsible for our exodus? Whose sins are they paying for? I know scores of young, ultra-liberal, and rationalist Kashmiri Muslims who consider themselves very Indian. They do love this country. Why should we gloat over their suffering? You seem to not understand the concept of individuality, that no two individuals are alike. Your single point agenda is to tar an entire community with the same brush. Kashmir is encountering a very tough time. Some separatist elements are trying their best to disrupt the rescue operations, and sporadic incidents of stone-pelting are being reported. The hate machinery is indulging in rumor-mongering as also spewing venom on Facebook. Yet there are Kashmiri Muslim locals who are working tirelessly and rescuing humans – irrespective of their religion. Some of my relatives were rescued by Kashmiri Muslims. They even offered them cash and food. A lot of Indians are sending relief materials to Kashmir and donating generously. This includes some Kashmiri Pandits, too. Our army is doing a commendable job and rescuing thousands of people. Basically, humans are helping humans. I felt the need to post this reply, because you used the term “Kashmiri Pandit” to describe yourself. Let people not think that every KP thinks the way you think. Let people not think that the victims of terror now have a terrorist mindset. In this hour of catastrophe, a lot of people are trying to help in whatever little ways they can. Writings or speeches that flare up communal passions are a slighting of their efforts. Hateful commentaries dilute the efforts of the very army we so much love, respect and valorize. Let hate not blind us so much that we forget the basic tenets of humanity. -A Human Being, who also happens to be a Kashmiri Pandit. P.S. I will soon start commenting on this page using another pseudonym. My next confession would be for a girl who comments here intermittently. Stay tuned.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:53:24 +0000
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