Hinduism: Details about 'Kashmiri Pandits'
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The Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) are the original inhabitants of the Valley of Kashmir. They have a rich culture and peaceful traditions that they have managed to maintain over five thousand years of recorded history. Kashmir is known amongst the Kashmiri Pandits and other Saraswats (who fled Kashmir during periods of Islamic persecution) as Sharadapeeth or the Abode of the Goddess of Learning and Fine Arts. During their five thousand years of history, they have made great contributions to world civilization in such diverse fields as religion, philosophy, Sanskrit literature, medicine, history, music and aesthetics. Kashmir's greatest historian, Kalhan, writes about his native land : "It is a country where the sun shines mildly, being the place created by Rishi Kashyap, for his glory - big and lofty houses, learning, saffron, icy cool water and grapes rare in Heaven are plentiful here - Kailash is the best place in the three worlds (Tri-lok), Himalayas the best place in Kailash, and Kashmir the best place in Himalayas". Kashmir, the land of rishis and saints, was however, ill-prepared for the Islamic onslaught that it has had to suffer over the last 500 years. During the Islamic period of rule, the Kashmiri Pandit population dwindled steadily and there were numerous times when the persecution was so severe that a large number of them had to flee to the hot plains of India. This process has been recently repeated (from 1990 onwards), but on a much vaster scale. Adittionaly, this encyclopedia entry is ecceptionaly demagogic and full of exaggerations. The Kashmiri Pandits have been driven from their homeland after a campaign of intimidation and harassment was launched against them by the military-wing of the Islamic secessionists. Kashmiri Pandits were forced from their hearths and homes at the point of gun. The objective of this ethnic cleansing was to create a minority free Kashmir valley where the goal of Islamization could be easily forced on the ordinary people. None-the-less what has happened is that an era has ended. The kashmiri pandit community survives just this generation and is an endangered species thereafter. This may sound radical but is the sober truth. There are not only political or ethenic bariers for the pandits to go back. There now have emerged economic barriers as the people who were forced to migrate have establishd a better opportunity and success outside kashmir. But their world and culture is lost. Yes there are a very few, possibly around 10,000 left in the valley of kashmir from over many hundreds of thousands a decade and a half back. Who cares, possible none in the world as they are lost in the vortex of geo political and terrorism backed propaganda that has forced an untrue view that there exists a real voice of kashmiris. Voters in hundreds of thousands who have voted in democratic elections are ignored, most of them muslim, and are overtaken by claimants backed by terror and the gun, worse; their voices are found credible by the world. A sad end. A bomber in bagdhad is a brigand but the same bomber genere in kashmir is fighting freedom and his local mentor, wearing a hurriat label, is a tru voice that must be heard. When a seemingly responsible world falls into traps like these what happens really is that the 'world' starts behaving irresponsibly. Yet the spirit of the Kashmiris will flourish as they have unique capabilities and a gift to excel in diffcult and trying circumstance. They will moult and adjust and contribute to the world and yet reach a point where their succeeding generations will chase their roots and the kashmiri pandit will live again - but never the same. The footsteps in the sand will get hardened into rock. There is yet another aspect, duality of world approaches have smothered the voice of the kashmiri pandit. Human rights of hundreds of thousands forced to flee are ignored, not mentioned, swept aside. The world does this and their ignorance or collusion will be debated. Kashmiri surnames
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