A Tale Of Torture, Persecution and Exploitation; the NINE Migrations (EXODUS) of Kashmiri Pandits
By RKB
🥀First Migration ZUL QADIR KHAN a Turkish Tartar reigned in Kashmir for eight months In 1320 AD and resorted to loot of Hindus resulting in the death of many. He took 20,000 Kashmiris all hindus, including women and children, for sale as slaves in Turkistan but the whole lot perished in cold snow while crossing the ‘Devsar pass’ _ a place referred to as ‘BATA SAGAN’(Brahamans death oven). Jonaraja, a Kashmiri historian described the period as PRALAYA wherein rivers and streams turned red with human blood.
🥀Second Migration During the rule of Sultan Qutub-ud-din (1373-89 AD) a large number of sufi saints and Islamic scholars, accompanied by Ali Hamdani came to Kashmir from Persia and Central Asia, and successfully drew a wedge between the majority hindus and minority converts to Islam. He prescribed model of hatred, distrust, intolerance and bigotry against Kashmiri hindus. Qutub-ud-din converted 37,000 hindus to Islam. Mohammad Hamdani son of Ali Hamdani, forbidding hindus from applying ‘tilak’ on their forehead and launched relentless campaign for conversion to Islam urged the hindus to opt for conversion or exile or death. terror against those resisting conversion. He threw into Dal Lake all the sacred books of the hindus. Seven maunds of sacred thread of the murdered hindus were also burnt. Many hindus migrated to various places in India ( after reaching KISHTWAR and BHADERWAH via Simthan pass ) through BHATTA WATH( present day Batote), path of the Bhattas.
🥀Third Migration CHAKS, with well built body and wild nature, came to Valley from Dardistan area of Gilgit-Hunza region, and when SHAH MIR, a refugee forced to flee from SWAT, founded his Sultanate (1339-42 AD), he recruited Chaks in his army thus affording them a place of prominence. CHAKS were Shias by faith and adopted policy of conversion by coercion, loot, plunder and butchering of Kashmiri hindus. When Sultan Fateh Shah proclaimed himself as Ruler (1506-16 AD), he became a tool in the hands of intriguing SHAMS CHAK and his three friends, namely, Nusrat Raina, Sarhang Raina and Moosa Raina. temples to erect mosques on their foundations. 24,000 Brahamans were converted to Islam during this period. also gave no quarter and no time for recovery to the distressed Kashmiri hindus.
He used to get 900 hindus beheaded every day for not having accepted Islam. Hindus wearing sacred thread had to pay annual tax to CHAK Rulers. YAQUB CHAK, a rank communalist, even got hindus hauled up in their houses to roast them alive. Innumerable hindus left their homes and hearths and while fleeing a barrage of spiteful abuse was let loose to prevent their return to the land of their heritage.
🥀Fourth Migration JAHANGIR’S (1605-27 AD) sectarian predilection and prejudices were clearly pronounced resulting in his shuffling his stances in dealing with Kashmiri hindus, who were forced to marry their daughters to Mughal Officers and Subedars.He disapproved and opposed matrimonial relations between Hindus and Muslims and declared that while a Hindu was debarred by law to marry a Muslim woman, the Muslims had all the license to marry a Hindu woman. Hindus at gun point to get converted to Islam. 🥀A delegation of 500 Kashmiri Hindus led by KRIPA RAM, a learned person, called on SHRI GURU TEG BAHADUR to narrate the woeful tales of diabolical misrule of AURANGZEB patronized IFTEKHAR KHAN. The great saint from Punjab went to Delhi for redressal of Kashmiri Hindus grievances and got martyred. by AURANGZEB in 1675.
🥀Hence due to continued persecution including killings and desecration of temples the exodus continued unabated. Justice Jia Lal Kilam records in his ‘History of the Kashmiri Pandits’ (with due reference to the
fth Migration The AFGHAN RULE (1753-1820 AD) was ruthless and atrocious.
🥀The period under two upstarts, namely, LAL KHAN KHATTAK and FAQIR ULLAH was extremely tyrannical KHATTAK was given to insane rage and sometimes got the entire family killed on mere suspicion. He got hundreds of Hindus killed because he suspected his father had been killed at the instance of a Kashmiri Hindu noble, KAILASH DHAR, who was killed in broad day light in the court of the Shia Governor,Afghan Governor who got killed at Shopian on july15, 1819 AD, was once told by some one that it was a common notion among the Pandits that snow falls invariably at the Shivratri night (13th day of the dark fortnight Phagun). To test this, he ordered that the Pandits should not observe this festival in Phagun (February-March) but in Har (June-July). Accordingly, it had to be observed on the corresponding night in the latter months. It so happened that even on that night flakes of snow, preceded by a heavy rainfall which had rendered the atmosphere very cold, fell.
🥀The bard then, mocking at him sang : ‘Wuchhton Yi Jabbar Jandah Haras ti karun vandah’ (Look at Jabbar, the wretch, even Har he turned into winter)”.
🥀Sixth Migration The last Governor of the Sikh Rule, IMAM-UD-DIN was made to surrender the possession of Kashmir to Raja GULAB SINGH in pursuance of the Treaty of Amritsar signed on March 16, 1846 AD. The Dogra dynasty lasted for a little over a century and saw four Maharajas, namely, GULAB SINGH (!846-57), RANBIR SINGH (1857-85), PARTAP SINGH (1885-1925) and HARI SINGH (1925-1952). The British pursued their known policy of divide and rule and exploited the jealousy among the newly educated Muslim youth against the well educated Kashmiri Pandits to carve out a situation to set stage for desperate Muslim youth to enact scenes of violent political agitation. The KPs became a eyesore for the simple reason of their outshining others. SHEIKH ABDULLAH, then the most prominent leader of the Muslim Reading Room Group, minced no words to voice resentment and made provocative speeches in mosques resulting in Kashmiri Muslims repeating history of loot, arson and murder on July 13, 1931, a black day for Kashmiri Pandits, ironically celebrated by the local government and the Muslims as martyrs’ day even now. The frenzied mob went beserk and the Maharaja’s administration failed to protect the terrorized KPs, who were taken unawares.Thousands of KPs had to flee the Valley for life.
🥀Seventh Migration The post independence period witnessed yet another spell of migration by the hapless KPs from Northern, Northwestern and Northeastern parts of Kashmir; to capital city of Srinagar in the wake of Pak raiders invasion in October, 1947 aided and abetted by the State of Pakistan ; where local zealots joined hands with hordes of savages from NWFP, except Srinagar and South Kashmir, behaving worse that their Afghan ancestors. Innumerable prominent KPs had to bid unwilling adieu to their land of birth due to ever dwindling and waning chances of livelihood despite merit, abolition of zamindari system that reduced thousands of KP owners as paupers owing to lack of due compensation as also discrimination of KP youth in matters of admission to higher education and technical /professional institutions. The process of slow exodus was further aggravated by the events like Relic agitation (1963) and forcible abduction and conversion of a hindu girl (1967).
🥀Eighth Migration When G M SHAH @ GUL SHAH snatched political power from his estranged brother-in-law in 1984 he masterminded the construction of a mosque within the premises of New Secretariat at Jammu and provoked muslims in Srinagar (February 20, 1986) to communalise the situation to rebut the criticism of the valiant people of Jammu. He deliberately raised the bogey of ‘Islam Khatre Mein Hai’ that led to unleashing spree of desecration of hindus’ places of worship. MUFTI SYED, then President of the local Congress unit, patronized a crude and confirmed .The episode of 1986 made two things crystal clear that Kashmir was for muslims only and the slogan of Kashmiriat ( secularism with reference to Kashmir) was a farce. Looked from the historical perspective these events formed a link in the chain of persecution of of KPs over centuries in the past at the hands of muslims. Numerous KP families disposed of their immoveable properties and left the Valley.
🥀Ninth Migration The happenings of the midnight of January 19/20, 1990 dealt the blow responsible for the current spell of forcible en masse migration of the Kashmiri Pandit community. killings of over 300 people belonging to the miniscule minority throwin the whole community in a state of shock and continued mourning. This started with the exchange of five dreaded militants to secure release of Rubia; daughter of then Union Home Minister MUFTI SYED, whose secular and nationalist credentials were already suspect in the eyes of KPs; from the clutches of her kidnappers. The ‘holy’ war supposed to be against the infidels ruling Kashmir from New Delhi but a beginning was desired to be made with hitting the KPs labeling them as agents of India and branding them as traitors who had allegedly always stabbed local muslims in the back.
