Why Hindus left Kashmir Valley- A story that we must never forget
- In History & Culture
- 04:43 AM, Jan 19, 2018
- Anupama Handoo
It cannot be said that all was well in the Kashmir valley before the winter of 1989-90. Much before anyone had any inkling about the cross-border terrorism, a sizeable number of Kashmiri Muslims aligned to Pakistan more than India. This was evident in their reaction during cricket matches. Joy if Pakistan won and despair when India won, anywhere, any match, against any country. Joy expressed through fireworks and partying, despair expressed by shouting abusive words for India and breaking window panes of Kashmiri Hindu homes. Just like that. We Hindus just took it in our stride like the proverbial frog in boiling water.
So what happened in 1989-90 that changed the face of Kashmir valley forever?
In 1989 Hindus were but a miniscule minority in the valley. Mind you, this was the land of our ancestors, of Rishi Kashyap who engineered the drainage of lake 'Satisar’ and made the valley habitable for humans. Since then it was the abode of Shaivite Hindus who practiced Trika (the philosophy of the triad: Shiv-Shakti-self). It's said that Shakti Mata relinquished Ravan when he abducted Sita and asked Hanuman to bring her to Kashmir. Here she lived with nagas at the Mata Kheer Bhawani springs. Adi Shankaracharya came to Kashmir ten centuries ago and was initiated into Shakti Cult by Swami Abhinavgupt. We have the first ever recorded history in India written by Kalhana, Rajtarangini. It tells us about the Rulers of Kashmir, its Hindu history, culture and ways of living. Unfortunately, over a period of time invaders from central Asia and Afghanistan brought in a militant version of Islam to Kashmir valley. They came in waves and engaged in killing, looting, conversion and devastation of the local population and desecration of their places of worship. Kashmiri Hindus faced 6 exoduses under these tyrants. Shah Mir (1389-1413), Sultan Chak (1506-1585), Mughals after Akbar (1585-1700), Fasal Kanth (1753), Kabaili raid (1947) and Gul Shah (1986). Unfortunately, over a period of time, once Hindu majority became a negligible minority. In 1989-90 Hindus were less than 5% of the population, only about 350-400,000. Today, only a handful remain in the valley.
Coming back to 1989-90. It had been brewing for a while. That little sweet pill that elders called 'lihaz’ was eroding away. Lihaz can be crudely described as respect, but it was much more than that. It wasn't based on religion, age, superiority or status etc. but was about the right code of conduct in public. Gradually, but decidedly the mask was falling off. Shopkeepers were denigrating to Hindu customers. The workmen would openly say- go ahead make your house to good taste, but it's us who will live here. The bus conductors would ask Hindu ladies to cover heads or take off their bindis. Students and subordinates became unabashedly rude. Hindus were not used to this, but possibly attributed it to the belligerence of youth.
Curiously, mosques started mushrooming all over the landscape. Previously, locals who rarely spoke about religion (you to your religion and me to mine) suddenly started praying five times a day and longer on Fridays. Fridays became de-facto holiday as attendance in schools and workplaces dropped. Often one would come across posters bearing slogans like ‘kya aapko nimaz ke liye fursat nahin; ta’ajjub hai’ and ultimatums like ‘nimaz padhiye, is sey pehle ki aap ki nimaz padhi jaye’. It became usual site to see guilt-faced neighbours and friends with a copy of the Holy Quran frequenting the Mosques. People started to wear skullcaps and burqa and sporting moustache-less beards. This felt unusual in a place where latest fashion and grooming styles were first to be copied thanks to the foreign tourists. Kashmiris are generally tall, fair, light eyed, good looking and the western styles suited them well. Now all Muslims suddenly started looking like ‘yezaar’ (loose pyjama) -wearing clones.
Youth had started being smuggled into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir for militant training from 1984. Once returned they received hero's welcome when they returned with arms and ammunition. These youth were often seen in Mosques and public places, addressing crowds with anti-India rhetoric. Kashmiri society had been one where murder was a rare occurrence, where guns and assault rifles were unseen, abusive language was unheard of. This society was steadily being changed by this unabashed gang of militants and they were being hailed as heroes for that. Separatist politicians like Maulvi Farooq and Ali Shah Gilani as well as mercenaries like Bitta Karate, Yasin Malik and Mushtaq Mir (Latram) started dictating terms to the people who followed them like much obliged zombies. People were asked to adjust their watches to Pakistan standard time. Cinemas and liquor stores were banned from operating; initially through a newspaper adverts which was enforced through torching and stone pelting. Schools and police stations were set ablaze. Temples were vandalized and desecrated. Hindu business owners were unnecessarily victimised.
There was no Army, except on the border with Pakistan. Police was either ill-equipped or unwilling to deal with this. There were stray incidents of arms recovery or elimination of a militant but these incidents were few and far between. Respect and trust for administration was severely diluted. Anyone bothering to file FIRs for crimes was either intimidated or discouraged. Then Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah decided to take a vacation in London and the rest of his Legislative Assembly similarly abdicated their responsibility. This created a vacuum in effective governance which was quickly filled by these self-styled militant leaders. Often these armed militants would march in processions for miles, brandishing their arms. Civilians including women and children joined the procession, bystanders showering petals and sweetmeats on them. Hindu youth were forcibly dragged into the procession to guard the flanks and act as human shield. For them Azadi was just around the corner. Their slogans didn't leave much to imagination about their motives:
Hum kya chahtey: Azadi
Cheen key lenge: Azadi
Azadi ka matlab kya: La-ila-ha-ill-alha
Pakistan sey rishta kya: La-ila-ha-ill-alha
Yehan kya chalega: Nizam-e-Mustafa
La sharqia la garbia Islamia, Islamia
This show of strength was specifically intimidating for the Hindus, who understood neither the idea nor the ideology of this armed campaign.
Hindus had never lived in ghettos. As a matter of fact they preferred to live in newly developed colonies and had started constructing big comfortable houses, in contrast to cramped conditions in the inner city. Their insurance against this sudden intimidation was their close Muslim friends and neighbours. Initially the assurance was forthcoming - 'masterji, you teach our children, we will protect you with our life’, 'sister you have grown up with our girls, you are safe here’ or 'your daughter is like my own daughter’. These assurances fizzled out as time went by. Neighbours and trusted friends started harbouring militants in their own homes. Sometimes they would expect the Hindus to welcome a complete gun-bearing stranger into their home. Soon hit-lists got issued from the Mosques. Out of nowhere pamphlets and newspaper advertisements announced lists of people who were deemed to be 'mukhbir’ or informants and thereby enemies of the movement. This public naming and shaming served as a warning - raliv, chaliv ya galiv - convert, flee or perish. In their books these people deserved to die, as they overtly or covertly supported the Indian stand on Kashmir and rejected the idea of ‘Kashmir banega Pakistan’. Even well-meaning well-wishers could no longer guarantee the safety of their Hindu acquaintances as the orders were well and truly served.
A trickle of high profile murders of prominent Hindus had started. Prominent persons like Tika Lal Taploo, Neel Kanth Ganjoo, Prem Nath Bhat, Sarvanand Kaul Premi, Lassa Koul and many more were murdered in broad daylight between September and December 1989. Ordinary men and women like housewife Sheela Kaul and businessman Ajay Kapur were not spared either. Come 1990, murders became more prolific and gruesome. Every week there was a horrific story - Broad day light killing of Bansi Lal Saproo, Radha Krishna Kaw, Pushkar Nath Razdan, Chandji Kher, Raj Nath Dhar, Jagar Nath Pandita, Smt. Girija Tiku, Smt. Usha Koul, Smt. Sarla Bhat, Prof. K. L. Ganjoo, Smt. Prana Ganjoo, Dina Nath Mujoo, Navin Sapru, Prof Nil Kanth Raina, Smt. Durga Koul, Satish Tikoo, Ramesh Razdan, Prithvi Nath Kaul, Chaman Lal Pandita, Vasudev Pandita, Chuni Lal Shalla, Ashok Kumar Qazi, M.L. Bhan, T.K. Razdan, B.K. Ganjoo, Dr. Mrs. Soni, Durga Nath Hafiz, Keshav Nath Pandit, Smt. Babli Raina, Brij Nath Kaul, Smt. Roopawati– far too many to count here. The killings became progressively gory. Burning cigarettes and boiling wax were applied to the naked bodies. Nails were driven into the foreheads, eye-balls gouged out, hair painfully plucked and tongues chopped off. Genitals of both male and female victims were cut off. Women were sawn on electric saws. Bullets were pumped into innocent bodies in presence of their family members. Community was warned to deny last rites to the victims. Gang-rapes and dismemberment became the weapon of choice.
What initially seemed like a targeted campaign against prominent public figures had now trickled down to the common men and women. Anyone could be next on the list. Militants also charged money to settle personal scores. There was a rate list for threatening, for evicting from property, for kidnapping girls and for murdering people. Fear and uncertainty was written large on Hindu foreheads as they didn't know where to go and whom to turn to. A large number of Hindus as well as Muslims sent their children away to boarding schools and to live with relatives to keep them safe.
Then came the dreaded night in January 19.01.1990. It was a cold night and everyone was cozying up in the bed. Suddenly the lights went out. The whole neighbourhood was engulfed in darkness. Muslims gathered en-masse at the Mosques, where lights were still on. Loudspeakers blared slogans asking Kaffirs to leave. Slogans reverberated through the neighbourhood:
Indian dogs go back
Ae kaffiro aye zaalimo Kashmir hamara chhod do
Kashmir mein agar rehna, allah-hu-akbar kehna hai
Assi gasci Pakistan, batav ros batinav saan' (we demand to live in Pakistan with Hindu women sans Hindu men)
The noise was as unbearable as unsettling. Hindu families huddled together fearing the worst. Hindu neighbours came together in groups thinking about plan of action. Women armed themselves with knives and chili powder, kids were instructed to run as fast as their legs could carry them, men guarded the doors. Crying and screaming kids did not know what was happening. Grandparents shared gory stories of partition, kabaili attack in 1947 and 6 previous exoduses. Who could be trusted anymore? If the neighbours were baying for blood at night, how could they be trusted to protect the Hindus during the day? Anyone could be abducted, shot, raped. What then?
That cursed night was when most Hindus made the decision to leave Kashmir valley. One by one and in groups, as the daylight shone, and as the days and weeks went on; Hindu men hired trucks, vans, taxis or whatever means of transport available. Women folk packed the bare essentials and books. Saying one last goodbye to their homes, they even left their keys with the Muslim neighbours, and headed for the unknown. Women and girls were hidden under seats, covered by shawls, hiding like thieves. On highways miscreants lined to throw stones at the vehicles and to stop and loot them. Somehow the Hindus saved their honour to lead a life in the plains, without any prospects. A life lived in refugee camps and a one-room homes. Lack of water, electricity, housing, basic sanitation, medical facilities, nourishing food, schooling, honourable employment, coupled with heat, shock, stroke as well as snake and scorpion bites, took its toll. Many perished in the first year of exodus alone. Those who survive have been fighting for justice for nearly 3 decades.
Uprooted from their ancestry; without jobs, assets and money; stripped off their dignity and honour; trying to protect their language and culture; Shaivite Hindus of Kashmir valley became refugees in their own country.
Comments