Perverted Patriotism-A dangerous trend.

There are many people in India who idolize Mahatma Gandhi. He is regarded as the Father of India; and his photo is printed on the Indian currency. Some of the leaders around the Globe have openly attributed their non-violent struggle to the teachings of Mahtma Gandhi like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.

It is a well known fact that many people like to keep the photo of their loved ones, in their Wallets. The loved ones can vary from a girlfriend, a wife, parents, children, an actor or an actress, spiritual guru, God and Goddesses or revolutionary leaders like Bhagat singh or Mahtma Gandhi Etc. One thing is sure; the person whose photo has been kept in the Wallet, has to a large extent, influenced the psyche of that person, who is carrying the picture.

In the Kashmir valley, the Barber’s shop used to be a place where one could hear the wildest ,weirdest yet most interesting tales. And almost all the Barbers were gifted Raconteurs. They could spin the tales whether real or imaginary with eloquence. The customers after getting their hair trimmed by the Barber would open their wallet and give the money in lieu of his service. During such times, I had seen, many a times, these customers carrying the photos of their icons in their wallets ;while folding or unfolding their purses. The glimpses of the photo of Imran Khan , Wasim Akram or Javed Miandad are still fresh in my mind. It did not look odd to me, that many people in the valley were carrying the photos of Pakistani Criket players or Pakistani Politicians in their Wallets.

In 1988, when I was still in my School, our history Teacher-who also happened to be the son of the principal and owner of School-would try to Galvanize the students for a “Jihaad”. Our English teacher, a Sardarni from Punjab would narrate the horrendous tales of atrocities happening in Punjab. I did not say a thing to my History teacher, nor did I protested to my English teacher for fanning anti-India sentiments. No Kashmiri Hindu used to say anything. Hindus had made a tacit compromise. After all they had to live in that land. But destiny had different plans…..

In Pakistan, General Parvez Musharraf is trying hard to make a dent in the Pakistan’s Political Arena. The once lucky and Mighty General and former President is no more lucky or Mighty. He had constantly negated in the past , India’s allegations that, Pakistani soldiers were actively involved in Kargil war. But now ,in the changing times, he is openly claiming that the Pakistani Army was involved in the Kargil War, he is even taking credit for that. He was the one who killed the system of Democracy in Pakistan. But at the same time, He is alive unlike his previous military contemporaries who became the Presidents of Pakistan. It is a sort of an achievement. Having said that, he is still , definitely not the most popular leader of Pakistan.

Back in India, a section of Muslims are being exploited by their religious teachers and Religious Schools who are being funded by Oil-Rich nations like Saudi Arabia. Though these Oil-Rich nations propound their Faith all over the Globe, But in their own country, they invidiously discriminate the people of India, Pakistan as well as Bangladesh irrespective of common Religion. But that does not deter the Religious leaders as well as the Demagogues in India; using Indian Muslims for their own good .

Since 1947, the Muslims of India are feeling alienated, the feeling of alienation has increased manifolds with each decade passing by. The quality of education is easily the worst among the Indian Muslims. Though they have produced scientists like Homi jehangir Baba and A.P.J Abdul Kalam, but by and large they are still ,one of the largest segments of illiterates/semi-literates. Their Religious Leaders and many politicians want them this way-deprived, neglected and helpless. Many of these men often take refuge in their religion and are sometimes manipulated by their leaders as well as their Religious Teachers, in such a way, that they grow up hating India. For example; if there happens to be a Inda-Pakistan cricket Match; Majority of Muslim localities cheer for Pakistan-Though legally they are Indian Citizens. Majority of Muslims have a keen interest in Pakistan’s Politics. In Muslim-majority localities, they conspicuously display their emotions for Pakistan and Islamic Countries. In Places like Muradabad and Rampur in U.P, where there is a considerable population of Muslims, they clash with the Karvariyas(pilgrims who get the waters of Ganga from Haridwar in the month of Sawan[july-Aug]) each year.It has sort of become fashionable. And these trends are increasing alarmingly.

Already, there is a considerable presence of Maoists and Naxalites in places like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Orrisa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. They are also in war with India. It is a well-known fact that these groups are being supported by China. And terrorism is supported by Pakistan. And Pakistan-China forge a strong bond with each-other, That is why Aksai-Chin was gifted by Pakistan to China.

Some years back, I was in Nainital. I along with my two friends decided to go for a hike to Tiffin top. While we were walking slowly towards the tiffin-top, we were accosted by a group of horsemen. They offered us a ride to the top at a very reasonable price. To make sure, they are not con-men, they also showed us their photo I.d’s. We decided to complete the trek on the Horses. I asked them ,”What are the names of the Horses?”one of them said, ”He is Michael Jackson”, pointing to my friends Horse.”He is Hero”, pointing to my other friend’s horse and “he is Tyson”, pointing to the horse, I was riding. I asked them ”what are your names ?”. One of them said, ”My name is Akhtar , He is Imran and that is Khurshid”. He further said, ”we are from Rampur”.

We spent some time on the top and came back down pretty soon. After alighting from the horses, It was time to give them Money. I gave two five hundred notes to Akhtar, as he looked like an Alpha amongst them. He had to give me four hundred rupees back. He took the money from me. He took his Wallet from his Pocket. I could easily make it that his wallet was made of Mixed Leather. He unfolded his Wallet. And there it was! “Parvez Musharraf’s” Photo. He was carrying the photo of Pakistan’s President in his wallet. He gave me back four Hundred Rupees. And we parted our ways after exchanging our final pleasantries. We never met again.

Out of all the men on Earth, The Horseman was carrying the Photo of Musharaf. Had he carried the Ayaat’s of Holy Quaran, I would not have been surprised, Or for that matter a picture of Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan.I would not have been surprised. Had he been carrying a photo of Bollywood actress, or for that matter a photo of Khomeini, I would not have been surprised. But he choose to carry the photo of the Head of a country, that happens to be the enemy number one of India.

This trend may prove to be detrimental to the security of India in the long run. After all, wasn’t it the Pakistan who fanned the religious card in Kashmir and is waging successfully a low-cost war with India. Wasn’t it the Islam-card that helped the Pakistan to annex what is now known as Pakistan occupied Kashmir. And let us not forget Indian Mujahideen-who are responsible for many recent terrorist attacks in India. Aren’t they fighting with India on the name of Islam ?It is a known fact that they are being supported by the ISI and groups operating from Middle-east.

Arresting the culprits is not enough. The source that is giving them support, whether financially ,logistically or ideally, should also be attacked and wiped out completely.

Gandhiji may be an Ideal for those who are peaceful and non-violent by nature. He may be an ideal for those who believe in a peaceful struggle. But, In India there is a large section of people who are feeling neglected and are endorsing the views of Mao and extremism, Thanks to the rampant corruption ,nepotism and plutocracy prevailing in India. The hegemonic political parties whether at National or Regional scale are both culprits for pushing India into a state of disarray.

And then, there are some people like that horse-man whom I encountered in Nainital, who are holding the leaders of Pakistan very close to their skin, maybe imagining to prove their loyalty whenever the need arises; It is not difficult to comprehend whom they will support in case there is a war between India and Pakistan.

May be the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi has been superimposed by the teachings of jingoistic leaders. whatever may be the reason, the root-cause must be analyzed rationally in order to find a cure of the disease that is eating out the roots; on which India stands.

We have already seen the division of United-India in 1947.The partition was based on Religion.Another partition is not accepted.For that, the trend of perverted anti-India patriotism should be checked, reversed and stopped immediately…..

P.S-Gandhiji is loved of course by perverts also…..but only on Crisp new Currency Notes..

LAL DED HAS NO LINKAGE WITH ISLAMIC SUFFISM

LALLA HAS NO LINKAGE WITH ISLAMIC SUFFISM
Prof. M. L. Koul

R.N. Koul’s book on Lalla Ded has in no manner thrown any new light on the historical times that provided background setting for the emergence of a personality like Lalla who by and large shaped a response to the challenge posed by the forces of religious intolerance and obscurantism. A mere superficial reference to the religious and political turbulence, that ravaged the Happy Valley does not explain it. The learned author could have taken a cue from Sir Richard Temple, who, despite his distortions and misinterpretations, has surveyed the total political and religious scenario to ensure a thorough comprehension of the shaping processes of Lalla’s mind and thought. ‘Orthodex’ ‘Brahmanism’ and ‘aggressive Islam’ (due to some fanatics) fall into a pattern of cliches in absence of a relevant exposition objective in approach and premise. ‘A tradition or cult engendered by Hindu mystics and Muslim Sufis’ needs a thorough and dispassionate discussion which the author has given a short shrift.
There are evidences galore to establish that Kashmir enjoyed a tremendous reputation for being an abode of rishis (rishi vatika) harbouring a strong and coherent indigenous tradition of rishi-cult with its root systems embedded in the vedic age. In terms of history, Sufism in its essence was absolutely foreign to Kashmir. It was introduced in the religious ambience of Kashmir by the Muslim proselytizers. Most of them sought protection in Kashmir when they were under persecution in their native lands for their indulgence in politics and affairs mundane. A Sufi owing affiliation to the Kubrawe sect of sufism imposed twenty humiliating conditions on Hindus. The learned author does not seem to be sure which Sufi-cult he is alluding to. Does he refer to the same sufis that have authorized the chapter of inconoclasm and religious strife in Kashmir’ He is perhaps led-into the belief of the existence of a mis-labelled Sufi-cult in Kashmir by the native rishis, are perpetuators of the mainstream native tradition bequeathed to them by Lalla and her galaxy of cultural progenitors having no linkages with the Islamic Sufisim of Central Asian vintage.
In the sub-title of the book the learned author has perhaps more wittingly than unwittingly re-introduced an Islamised name for Lalla Ded. A similar campaign was spearheaded at the inaugural function of Lalla Ded Hospital, which was initially christened as Lalla Arifa Hospital by the powers that be. A person sitting in the audience challenged the far-fetched and unhistorical references to Lalla Ded. The function presided over by Sheikh Abdullah was literally disrupted by the vigorous intervention of an old man leaning against his scaff. The Sheikh dithered under a wave of protest by a number of genuine intellectuals including Pt Jaya Lal Koul and Pt PN Pusp (professors of classical vintage) and ordered formation of a committee to have a second look at the Lalla Arifa nomenclature. On the recommendations of the committee the Islamised nomenclature was dropped again to be picked up by the learned author for a new dress up a revival for wayward reasons, may, opportunist considerations.
Lack of thorough grounding in the basics of Kashmir Shaiva monism (paradvya) is the Achile’s heel of the whole work which in fact has impaired the critical evaluation and treatment of the pithy vakhs of Lalla. It is a misnomer to call Trika Shastra as Kashmir Shaivism. Trika is a strand of Kashmir Shaiva monism and understandably a part cannot represent the entire thought model. It is equally relevant to point out that Kashmir Shaivism is not an apt name for the system which has pristine non-dualism as its cardinal principle. The deceptive no-menclature gained currency with the publication of JC Chatterje’s first doctoral thesis on the subject. ‘The theory and practice of Kashmir Shaivism’ in which Lalla was initiated by her preceptor, Siddha Shri Kanth, was neither dualist nor dual-cum-non-dualist, but essentially monist in assumptions. Sir Richard Temple has expressed an amazing grasp of the over-riding spirit of Lalla when he chracterised her as ‘Shaiva Yogini’. Had the learned author heeded his appraisal, he would not have digressed to recount all forms of yoga that have little relevance in Kashmir Shaiva monist thought. Patanjali Yoga stresses the regression of human senses and other natural proclivities. But the monist thought recognised their positive role in the processes of higher ascension through their sublimation and satiation. The yogic terms have been absorbed in the system but stand ruminated with new nuances of meaning and semantics. The word ‘Bindu’ originally known as ‘Vindu’ denotes unidifferentiated condition of infinite luminous consciousness supreme. ‘The mystic moon and the mystic sun’ carry three shades of meanings in sync with Shaiva Yoga methodologies of Shambava, Shakta and Anava. In Shambava methodology the mystic moon and the sun are representative combination of supreme luminosity (Prakash) and I-consciousness (Vimarsa). In Shakta methodology they imply Jnana and Kriya and in Anava methodology they denote prana and apana. The mystic sun also symbolises an inflamable energy that burns out meshes of duality. The mystic moon also refers to ‘apana breath’ deemed as cool and invigorating and the mystic sun alludes to ‘prana breath’ which is suffused with warmth. Sahasrasar is the repertoire of infinite consciousness in the being supreme. ‘Hamsa’ is derivable to ‘ham’ and ‘sah’, the former indicates the divine will of the Lord and the latter divine knowledge. In Swacchand Tantra ‘Hamsah’ is explained in the sense of ‘I am That’ symbolising’ undifferentiated and indivisible being. ‘Sushumna’ is known by other variants like brahma-nadi, madhya nadi or madhya-dham. Buit as per Shaiva-yoga in tersm transcendental it is known as all pervading Samvit-Shakti penetrating the sentient and insentient objects.In the classic work of Ishwarpratybijjna utpaldev has explicitly explained five forms of prana-shakti as prana, apana, saman, udana, and vyana (Ishwarpratybijjna, 3,2,19).
A systematic study of Lalla’s Vakhs as is deftly made by BN Parimu in his book ‘Ascent of self ‘ establishes that she had undergone all relevant processes of becoming to mature into the state of divine consciousness which in Shaivite parlance is known as ‘Shiva Samavesh’. When initiated she had to work out the practices recognised under Anava methodology like japa, vrata, niyam, dhyam, dharna for yoking the sensesinatured tendencies for entry into the Shakta grade for higher elevation. An initiate is certainly helped is under proper guidance he practises all the formulae which the learned author has huddled under, Hindu, ritealistic system’. After a seeker attains higher phases of consciousness, such methodologies become redundant and are of nouse. In sivastatravali, utpaldev has put:-
Na yoga nor tapo Nacharkrama koapi preniyate!
Amaye Shivamarge asmin bhakti eka prashyaste !!
Lalla was a witness to the turbulent times. She was honing up her thought and working out its actualisation by harnessing her body potentialities and inherent urges. She through her vakh “Shiva chuy thali thali rozan, mozan Heund ta musalman..” castigated the proselytisers not to differentiate between Hindus and Muslims and called upon them to take to the path of Trika (trial of para, parapara and apara) which would lead them to self-recognition (pratybijjna). As an initiated follower of Shiva monism she had learnt to rise above the distinctions of caste and religion and disseminated the message to proselytisors who advocated and practised conversions as cure to imaginary ills out of xenophobic considerations.
In his curious explanation of the Vakh ‘temple is built of stone as the stone he worships’ the learned author establishes her as a ‘trend-setter’ as he has decried the ‘false pantheon of Hindu’s and ‘their blind faith’ in finding God by ‘singing hymns to the stone lingam’. As Lalla was thoroughly grounded in the fundamental precepts and tenets of Shaiva monism planked on tantric assumptions, she could not subscribe to external forms of worship signifying duality notwithstanding their efficacy at initatory stages. ‘Shaiva Bakhti’ rejects daulism and focuses on Shiva pervading the worshipper, the worshipped and instruments of worship as the focal point of worship. Tantras have not accepted any form of external and ritual worship and as Kashmir Shaiva monism has tantric asumptions as its substatum, Lalla as an initiated practitioner of it could not but reject it in ultimate analysis. She has in no way rejected or decried the pantheon of Buddhist and Hindu Gods who as per her thought considered them as various manifestations of Citi (supreme consciousness). Before coming to a far-fetched conclusions, the author should have considered the following vakh:-
Shiva of Keshava or Jina
or Brahma, the lotus born Lord
May be remove from me
the sickness of the world!
It may be He or He or He
(For He is one though variously called)
J.L. Koul’s rendering.
That Lalla danced naked as put in an emotion-packed vakh and moved about naked as per a legend has evoked various responses from scholars who have written upon Lalla’s life and her poetical outpourings. Shanker Pandit, a scholar and practitioner, suggested to replace the word ‘nangaya’ (naked) by the word ‘nonguy’, said to be a flower growing wild on mountain slopes. The learned author, Koul, finds a lot of incompatibility in Lalla ‘moving about naked’ and ‘her incarnation as the ‘Muse of knowledge’ and more prcisely ‘as the Muse of poesy’. In his attempt at reconciliation he attributes it to her ‘miraculous powers’.
The fact about Lalla remains that she was initiated by her preceptor, a perfect soul, through the laconic metaphor of ‘turn your gaze within’ which like an alchemy metamorphosed her whole being. She became one with the Shiva consciousness in a manner of absolute synthesis. As freedom (swatnatrya) is an inherent attribute, call it nature, of absolute consciousness, Lalla in the same condition of consciousness cognised her self and true cognition lies in the realisation that pure undifferentiated consciousness is infinite freedom itself. It is the same stateof infinite freedom that is symbolised by Lalla singing that she danced naked in joyecstactic.
What is said above is corroborated by the statement about Shambhava, Upaya in Malinivijaya Tantra. That is said to be Shambhava-Samavesha which happens to one whohas attained freedom from all ideation by an awakening imparted by the guru (preceptor) or by an intense awakening of one’s own.
There are other inaccuracies and mis-statements littering over the book. Kashmir Shaiva monism does not consider ‘flesh’ i.e. human body as ‘dross’. It has given the body an utmost importance as it serves as a vehicle for purposes spiritual. Five bhutas have been stated as five senses. ‘Moha’ is translated as illusory pleasures. It should have been translated as delusory pleasurers as Kashmir monism does not subscribe tothe thesis of world as an illusion or chimmera. World as per its tenets is a manifestatino of Shiva. It,therefore, cannot be termed as illusory. Delusory implies all that which is taken for self, but falls withinthe ambit of ‘not’self’. Desires and other natural urges are not to be crushed to powerdish non-existence’ nor are these to be ‘burnt’. Kashmir Shiava monism advocates the sublimation and gratification of senses and desires which paves the wa to the final state of self-cognition.
The book is a good reading especially in the portions where inner theme of the Vaakhs has been elucidated. Such an attempt pioneers a new trend in the exposition of Lalla Book: Kashmir’s Hermat Poetess Lalla Ded Alias Lalla Arifa by R.N. Koul Pages 101, Price 150.

Source: Kashmir Sentinel

Kashmiri Pandits fear dream may turn sour

Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, February 17
Expectation is running high among around 10,000 migrant Kashmiri Pandits, who filled in consent forms to return to their homeland in the Kashmir valley in April last year under the Prime Minister’s package for their return and rehabilitation, amid fear whether conditions are conducive.

The three families, which returned to the valley and tried to live in their homes there, had to return humiliated by people and authorities.

Yogesh Kandhari, who took voluntary retirement from Deccan Aviation to settle down in his home in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar a year ago, returned to Jammu unhappy and dejected within a year.

His dreams got shattered when he found a part of his house and a shop encroached.

Kandhari says, “Last year, I went back to Habba Kadal with my family in a hope to spend the remaining part of my life at my birth place. But I was shocked to see a large part of my house encroached upon by my neighbour. Somebody also broke open one of my three shops and occupied it. It took me one year running from one office to another to retrieve the rights of my properties. I was able to get my house vacated, but my shop was handed over to the intruder. Aghast over the sickening attitude of people there, I returned to Jammu to find peace of mind.”

Pushkar Razdan, a retired teacher at Pulwama, has not been even that lucky. He saw his house taken over by the state police and farms invaded by local people.

He lamented, “Expensive walnut trees in my orchards were felled and stolen by some people. A 32 feet road was drawn across my fields without my permission. My house was taken over by the state police, which created a police post there after the infamous Vandhama mass killing case. The police even refused to pay me rent. Now, the matter has got stuck with the Home Ministry. Ultimately, I had to leave my home in the valley.”

Equally distraught is Triloki Nath Bhatt, a resident of Monghama, who is physically challenged with a twisted arm by birth, to see that his own people have become estranged to him.

“When I went back this year to reconstruct my ruined home in Monghama to make it worth living, I was restrained by people and the local administration. I was aghast to know that I can’t carry out construction at my place. This shows people who keep an eye on profitable properties never want us to return.” He too returned empty-handed and disheartened.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090218/j&k.htm#3

religions and politics

All the major religions across world have almost same message. The message of love, peace, harmony, brotherhood…etc….Hinduism and Buddhism have evolved from same basic philosophy and has a common base and evolved in Eastern part of world. On the other hand Judaism, Christianity and Islam have evolved in Middle East and eastern part of Europe and they also share a lot in terms of Philosophy, religious beliefs and the role of angels…..subtle messengers of the almighty.

I have written in my earlier blogs about 330 million gods and goddess and their significance. This idea will definitely confuse readers from the west. Actually this whole concept of gods and goddesses has been given to us (Hindus) by Britishers….Who deliberately tried to confuse the west. In  Hinduism there is a concept of 330 million devtas(interpreted as gods) and devis(interpreted as goddesses).These devtas and devis are believed to govern our day to day needs and act as messengers of nature and carry on the duties assigned to them by  almighty. These devtas and devis are not immortal and they also are subjected to Maya (read earlier blogs) and laws of karma. Karma means action, Thinking, executing thoughts into action are all part of Karma. In Hinduism. It is believed that soul is immortal and bodies are mortal and souls get a body according to one’s karma.

Devis and devtas can be best compared with Angels. Christians, Muslims and Jews have a great respect for angels. Angel Gabriel or jib rail appeared in Mother Mary’s dream and told her how she was chosen by God to give birth to her son…Jesus Christ. In Islam Gabriel or jib rail is believed to have revealed Holy Koran to Prophet Mohammed. Gabriel’s primary tasks are to bring messages from God to His messengers.

In Hinduism Indra devta is the King of Devtas .He is responsible for Rain (god of rain). Vayu Devta is the god of air, Yamraj is god of Death, Surya devta is the sun god……etc…

 

Logically and rationally not a single religion can be defined. Be it Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or Judaism….But we all and since our childhood have been programmed by our elders, cultures and society to follow our chosen religion with sincerity and without asking questions?? Conflicts arising out of religions have killed millions and wiped out civilizations all across globe and this ugly side of organized religions have been very tactfully and diplomatically shielded by the so called freedom fighters, politicians and politics all over world….Religions and politics are different sides of same coin. Religion has been used as a tool to bind common people to common beliefs and thus common cultures, so that it becomes easy for the rulers of the country to rule the masses.

Often the basic meaning of religion and basic principle of religions are sidelined and new meaning is given to religious scriptures by religious leaders and of course the politicians, so as to make their plans work for selfish motives. The whole idea of countries is a direct result of religious conflicts and selfish political motives of rulers, Religious leaders and politics spanning over thousands of years….

Nowadays there are dedicated web sites which give meaning to different religions in a deformed way. One can find dedicated websites against Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. Nature has universal laws for everyone. Irrespective of Religion, nationality, race, color or gender. The different terminologies of almighty have already killed millions and it is still killing. Millions of people all over the globe have been uprooted from their motherland on the name of religions and nationalities. On the other side new cultures have developed in the past very often by violence….Religious and political violence…But things are changing…With the coming of internet we are part of a global village and we can all do our bit to Make the cultural, religious and political exchange more beautiful, tolerant and compulsory and make this beautiful world a better place to live..

 

 

propoganda against hindus of kashmir

Here are the headlines which show that how Hindus in Kashmir are wiped out in last 19 years…source by Mr.Manish zijoo

Srinagar (January 4, 1990): Aftab, a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for Jammu and Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order.

In the following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir valley with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference government abdicating all responsibilities of the State. Masked men run amok, waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans.

Reports of killing of Hindus, invariably Kashmiri Pandits, begin to trickle in; there are explosions; inflammatory speeches are made from the pulpits of mosques, using public address systems meant for calling the faithful to prayers. A terrifying fear psychosis begins to take grip of Kashmiri Pandits.

Walls are plastered with posters and handbills, summarily ordering all Kashmiris to strictly follow the Islamic dress code, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks and imposing a ban on video parlours and cinemas. The masked men with Kalashnikovs force people to re-set their watches and clocks to Pakistan Standard Time.

Shops, business establishments and homes of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir valley with a recorded cultural and civilisational history dating back 5,000 years, are marked out. Notices are pasted on doors of Pandit houses, peremptorily asking the occupants to leave Kashmir within 24 hours or face death and worse. Some are more lucid: “Be one with us, run, or die!”

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Srinagar (January 19, 1990): Jagmohan arrives to take charge as governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq Abdullah, whose pathetic, whimpering, snivelling government has all but ceased to exist and has gone into hiding, resigns and goes into a sulk. Curfew is imposed as a first measure to restore some semblance of law and order. But it fails to have a deterrent effect.

Throughout the day, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists use public address systems at mosques to exhort people to defy curfew and take to the streets. Masked men, firing from their Kalashnikovs, march up and down, terrorising cowering Pandits who, by then, have locked themselves in their homes.

As evening falls, the exhortations become louder and shriller. Three taped slogans are repeatedly played the whole night from mosques: ‘Kashmir mei agar rehna hai, Allah-O-Akbar kehna hai’ (If you want to stay in Kashmir, you have to say Allah-O-Akbar); ‘Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa’ (What do we want here? Rule of Shariah); ‘Asi gachchi Pakistan, Batao roas te Batanev san’ (We want Pakistan along with Hindu women but without their men).

In the preceding months, 3000 Hindu men and women, nearly all of them Kashmiri Pandits, had been slaughtered ever since the brutal murder of Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, noted lawyer and BJP national executive member, by the JKLF in Srinagar on September 14, 1989. Soon after that, Justice N K Ganju of the Srinagar high court was shot dead. Pandit Sarwanand Premi, 80-year-old poet, and his son were kidnapped, tortured, their eyes gouged out, and hanged to death. A Kashmiri Pandit nurse working at the Soura Medical College Hospital in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death. Another woman was abducted, raped and sliced into bits and pieces at a sawmill.

In villages and towns across the Kashmir valley, terrorist hit lists have been floating about. All the names are of Kashmiri Pandits. With no government worth its name, the administration having collapsed and disappeared, the police nowhere to be seen, despondency sets in. As the night of January 19, 1990, wears itself out, despondency gives way to desperation.

And tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits across the valley take a painful decision: to flee their homeland to save their lives from rabid jihadis. Thus takes place a 20th century Exodus.

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Srinagar (January 19, 2005): There are no Kashmiri Pandits in Srinagar, or, for that matter, anywhere else in the Kashmir valley; they don’t live here anymore. You can find them in squalid refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi. As many as 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have fled their home and hearth and been reduced to living the lives of refugees in their own country.

Two-thirds of them are camping in Jammu. The rest are in Delhi and in other Indian cities. Many of them, once prosperous and proud of their rich heritage, now live in grovelling poverty, dependent on government dole and charity. In these 18 years, an entire generation of exiled Kashmiri Pandits has grown up, without seeing the land from where their parents fled to escape the brutalities of Islamic terrorism, a land they dare not return to, although that land still remains a part of their country.

A large number of them are suffering from a variety of stress and depression related diseases. A group of doctors who surveyed the mental and physical health of the Kashmiri Pandits living in refugee camps, found high incidence of ‘economic distress, stress induced diabetes, partial lunacy, hypertension and mental retardation.’ Statistics reflect high death rate and low birth rate among the Kashmiri Pandit refugees.

And thereby hangs a tragic tale that has been all but wiped out from public memory.

An entire people have been uprooted from the land of their ancestors and left to fend for themselves as a weak-kneed Indian state shamelessly panders to Islamic terrorists and separatists who claim they are the final arbiters of Jammu and Kashmir’s destiny. A part of India’s cultural heritage has been destroyed; a chapter of India’s civilisational history has been erased.

Had this tragedy occurred elsewhere in Hindu majority India, and had the victims been Muslims, we would have described it as ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide.’ We would have made films with horror-inducing titles. We would have filed cases in the Supreme Court of India. Our media would have marshalled remarkable rage in reporting the smallest detail.

But, this tragedy has occurred in Muslim majority Kashmir valley, and the victims are all Hindus, that too Pandits. What has been lost is part of India’s Hindu culture, what has been erased is integral to India’s Hindu civilisation.

Therefore, the government makes bold to record that the Kashmiri Pandits have “migrated on their own” and their ‘displacement (is) self-imposed;’ the National Human Rights Commission, after a perfunctory inquiry, refuses to concede that what has happened is ‘genocide’ or ‘ethnic cleansing,’ though facts add up to no less than that, never mind that 300,000 lives have been destroyed.

And, our jhola-wallah brigade of secular activists rudely turn up their noses to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits: Hindu sorrow, inflicted by Islamic terror, stinks.

Now Year 2008 18th anniversary of the forced flight of Kashmiri Pandits, look back at India’s wretched history of secular politics and consider the terrible price the nation has paid at the altar of appeasement because the Indian State has, and continues to, toe the line of least resistance.

What exactly Those Terrorist are proposing? Are they saying that They have a fundamental right of self-determination and Kashmiri Hindus don’t have a right to exercise their fundamental right of political voice? terrorists can have a political voice and a peace-loving patriot cannot. What kind of standard is it?