CULTURE OF INTOLERANCE REACHES NEW HIGH Dr. Romesh Raina M A Ashraf in a write up RETURN OF PANDITS in GREATER KASHMIR (July 18,2014) says “In spite of these harsh realities, the Muslims have not turned against the Pandits. This is so in spite of the worst worldwide anti-Muslim propaganda by a section of the Pandits. Everyone wants them to return to revive the centuries old composite Culture of Kashmir”. For the knowledge of the readers the write up was a summary of a seminar held by the civil society of Kashmir to record its views about the proposed GOI’s roadmap for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. For a moment it gave me a sense of relief that ultimately civil society has woken up to play its role and I chose to ignore the above mentioned lines even though it was highly provocative for me to respond. Not to respond was driven by a gut feeling that when civil society any where starts exerting it can move mountains and the great example of defeating the terrorism set by the Punjab was the public lynching of the terrorists there. I was under the illusion that if not the same but something to restore the faith and confidence of the people including minorities is in the offing but my out of box thinking was shattered much early than anticipated. The hard anti Kashmiri pandit attitudes have once again come to the fore though it is only an extension of Post 1990 phenomenon with only one difference that there are hardly any Kashmiri Pandits left in Kashmir to become the targets of ire. Denial of Kaunsar Nag yatra therefore should not be seen in isolation as there is a pattern to it; before it there was an Anti- Amarnath yatra violence at Baltal where scores of free langars for yatris where torched and many yatris were injured as a fall out. It did not stop at that. Illegal encroachment of the land at Tirath Raj Temple at Mattan is yet another part of the same process. It is in fact the continuation of an agenda to purge Kashmir of its minorities. It is being manifested by the same language as in 90’s only this time there are many more tongues added to it. This time the polity of Kashmir is positioning differently as it is yet to reconcile to the idea of the return of Kashmiri Pandits. This is because the politics there is driven by an ideology which has of late religious overtones added to it. In the light of above arguments, I wish to respond to MA Ashraf’s argument of worst worldwide anti Muslim propaganda by a section of Pandits. There is a fundamental difference between propaganda and awareness. Let us put all the arguments aside for a moment and ask a very simple question to ourselves that what will a person in our position do especially when his world comes crumbling down overnight and he doesnt know what to do and where to go. Under this situation he will talk about his pain, rights as a citizen and campaign against the injustice meted out to him. The sum total of all these things is to make people aware of the happenings that force them to remain away from their homes and any attempt in that direction by the KPs is met with Sangramporas,Nadimargs’ Telwanis Chitisingpora like mass murders. Mr Ashraf still expects us to be mute and tongue tied. It has unfortunately created a duly recorded History which is never a process moving according to its own dynamics. It is made by the people and some sections in Kashmir have enabled it to move away on a path that is not consistent with the mainstream political life of India. Kashmir History therefore is full of events and actions which generate consequences that are unforeseen even for those who author them. Denial of plurality and dethroning Kashmiri Pandits from power structures is a serious consequence. The silence of civil society on the denial of Kaunsar Nag yatra and succumbing of the Govt to the dictates of Separatists is intriguing. It is a matter of justice, if not contested now the culture of intolerance will take roots and at some stage will engulf and endanger the Valley as a whole. The emphasis of intolerance stretches far beyond the absence of violence and other unspecified majoritarian might and strength. It begins by showing the real face as it has become a norm and a driving force of the politics of the place. It has fundamentally changed the way world looks at Kashmir. More precisely it has brought Kashmir to the thinking table. We understand that there is a palpable unease in some sections about the prospect of KPs return and that anxiety should not hold the entire place to ransom. Such incidents are a setback but will not hold back displaced community permanently from coming back to our place of origin. Our temples and shrines constitute the living symbols of KP existence and no matter how hard one may attempt to erase pre-Islamic History of Kashmir is bound to fail. After all defacing Buddha statue in Bamiyan Afghanistan did not erase its existence from the History of Afghanistan. While concluding I wish to reiterate that History is like a sleeping giant never arouse it.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 16:48:18 +0000
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