Recently I read a story about a teenage boy who was complaining his mother about the way he had been
ridiculed among his peers and friends. His friends were taunting and making of fun him. Reason being he did not know about his aboriginal place, his family history and was unable to converse in his mother tongue.
That narrative was about a young boy belonging to an indigenous tribe in Papua-New Guinea. He had been adopted by the Christian family and taken away from his ancestral village to New Zealand. He had been bestowed upon with a privilege to get civilized as per modern customs and be a so called gentleman.
In present scenario, we witness similar aspersions being met out to Kashmiri Pandit (KP) children whether it is common society in J&K or in other unfamiliar territory. Our children face similar kind of outlook as if we from other planet. Being born and brought outside their homeland, all away from their cultural and linguistic traditions, they often find themselves at crossroads. Unaware of their origins, whenever new generation KPs are challenged about their bonafide identity they oft-times find solace in disguising themselves in larger national identity.
We are and will always remain the proud citizens of the Indian nation and it is true to this sense that
Mahatma Gandhi pointing towards Kashmiriyat, Kashmiri cultural brotherhood and the social relationship once said, “Umeed ki koi kiran nazar aayi tou muje Kashmir mein hi nazar aayi”. In this all-encompassing and whole accommodative social setup, Kashmiri Pandit commands a very unique place in it. However due to several known and unknown historical, political and social factors this distinctive status of Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmiri society went into turmoil from time to time. They were designated as Kashmiri Migrants which mostly comprised of Kashmiri Pandits who had to leave their homes and hearths in Kashmir to flee for their life due to terrorist violence. It has been a long time since KPs were internally displaced and were deemed as refugees in their own land. Much water has flown down the river Jhelum since then; the circumstances have also changed for good.
In the search of secured career options new generation KPs find themselves caught up in the horns of
dilemma. Having brought up in the atmosphere which cherishes an Engineer or Doctor more than an Artist or Military Officer, our community has lost in the race of diversity and reach. On one hand we crave for political representation and on the other hand we don’t prefer our children learn Humanities but to focus entirely on sciences. We even encourage our youngster to go overseas for education or for work. Old generation often blames youngsters for having neglected their elders in pursuit of their careers who in turn take on elders boldly and often rebel for not meeting their aspirations. Whom do we actually blame for this situation? It is a million dollar question. Our community lies in shambles today and is going through a tough phase, never ever witnessed before. Though there were times in the yore, when legends say that only 11 families of KPs were left in Kashmir. Those families survived as they managed to stay in their motherland.
Present danger is multifold, because we are ousted from our native place. We are at the verge of extinction. It is pertinent to mention here that at least more than ninety percent of our youngsters don’t speak in their mother tongue, let alone knowing their culture and traditions. Our elders also keep on pressing children for studying but never ever venture or show interest in recapitulating ancient stories and wise tales of folklore.
Busy schedule and cumbersome life is cited as a leeway forward. We are not realizing that the plight is getting worse day by day and we are failing to anticipate the change.
However change might not be a positive one but we are taking it for granted. When we delve further we
discover that many families have sent their wards to the far off places for study or for work, in fact new
generation is getting settled outside their homeland. Only left behind are their ailing parents and infirm
elders. This shows the neglect and disregard towards our own identity. Biggest reasons of this migration
outside J&K state is the disharmony among KPs themselves and economic reason to some extent. We all
want our children to be high achievers as brilliant scientists and popular doctors. No one needs best artist, dedicated military officer, career administrator. Lack of chances in J&K is also to blame. Therefore everyone is sending his child to distant places to earn livelihood. If they were less privileged in Kashmir, now their child has several options to choose from & earn money for them. However what is happening in fact is very excruciating. Children are leaving their parents back alone and getting settled outside their homeland.
Families are breaking apart and relations are vanishing in midair. We as a community have to work hard and struggle to recover from this dilapidated condition once for all.
Now is the time to re-capitalize the brand image of KPs in Kashmir. He is regarded as a learned and well
educated fellow. He is professionally highly qualified today and is still highly revered in the Kashmiri
society for his uncanny wit. Several positive steps need to be taken for rising the status of KPs in J&K.
Education field has been viewed as home turf of KPs, which also made them uncounted in other spheres.
Venturing into the other fields such as Military, Business, Sports, and Politics will pay dividends for KPs in near future. Encouragement and recognition has to be given to non-educational fields as career options for new generation. Having confined to the soft sectors as secured career options, KPs have done more harm to their emergence as a united community. Only confined to certain occupations have made them dependent on the limited career options. This has taken toll on their existence as a community with least diversity & has also hindered their evolution as a society in the process.
Our egos and arrogance has to be kept in check. One KP person must respect other KP person. We must not criticize and look down upon other KP with suspicion. This suspension and harassment has to end for all times to come. Respect and reverence is to be granted equally to rich and poor, to rustic and urban amongst our community. We have to live by this golden rule “United we stand, divided we fall”. It has to start from our immediate family. We have to check the adverse impact of westernization on our new generation. Saving our core cultural values and traditions for generations to come will help in regaining the lost pride of KPs.
Learning and teaching has long been a forte of KPs. We should reinforce it and muster courage to advance into other vocations too. As every cloud has a silver lining. Turmoil has brought some positives in our community too.
In present times Kashmiri Pandit has evolved into a polyglot. Having to face new cultures due to migration, learning a new language came handy to him. Thus Kashmiri Pandit mastered different languages and assimilated in himself numerous cultural values. Therefore a Kashmiri Pandit is fluent in different languages and is well versed in traditions and cultural traits of different people. Due to migration at different times in the history, Kashmiri Pandit developed the ability to absorb in himself the new cultural values. Wherever destiny has led him, he has successfully carved a niche for himself there. Today Kashmiri Pandit can contribute much more than ever before. He can be indispensable in ending the political and social crisis through which J&K is going. Being familiar with the Kashmiri Muslim culture and fully aware of Hindu Dogra rituals and ceremonies, KPs can bridge the present gap. Kashmiri Pandit’s knowledge and experience can be put to use purposefully for peace and development of J&K. Misunderstanding and mistrust due to non-familiarity with one another’s cultures, languages and traditions often creates apple of discord among societies and hinder their evolution and progress. This eventually leads to the gradual but sure downfall of the society and civilization. Here Kashmiri Pandit’s ability can bridge this divide and help in creating the atmosphere of mutual understanding among different provinces of our largely diverse state of J&K. His intellectual prowess and deep understanding of society can be applied for the betterment of relations among different sections of our community. His intrinsic ability to quickly assimilate ones thoughts and expressions will come handy. Learning, studying and venturing into new fields of knowledge has given him the edge over others. Therefore in the pervading mood and ripe atmosphere, it is to be seen whether present political dispensation augments the rise of Kashmiri Pandits like a phoenix from the ashes or he is left unchaperoned to struggle for his survival & eventually vanish into unknown oblivion.
By Dated: 22nd Dec, 2015
Lalit Anjum (M.Tech, BE) Presently at,
Independent Researcher Sharda Colony 15/2 Patoli Brahmana
Alumni-NIT Hamirpur HP (Gold Medallist) Akhnoor Road, Jammu-181205 J&K
Formerly, Programmer Analyst +91-9419701248, 0191-2605449
Cognizant Technology Solutions (Fortune-500 Company)
Website: https://nitham.academia.edu/LalitAnjumMTechB
