In response to my post ' Admit your Guilt ' I received the following email from a Kashmiri Muslim. I have removed the name of the sender as well as the name of the organization of moderate Kashmiris, of which he is an office bearer, to avoid their identification :
Dear Sir,
Your recent post on the Kashmiri issue of atrocities committed against Pandits is one sided. Without doubt the brutal killings of many innocent Kashmiri Pandits during the armed insurgency, can and never will find even the slightest justification. There is, however, much more to the story between the two communities than just hate and violence, which does not find its rightful mention in the post.
I would like inform you that, during the militancy, there were several instances where Kashmiri Muslim neighbours risked their own lives and went to sleep in the houses of their Pandit bretheren, so that the militants would not attack them. One of the members of our Facebook forum, ------ has related a personal incident from back in 1989 when Bitta Karate, the prime suspect in the Pandit killings used to go around searching for them. He relates how his own Kashmiri Muslim friend stood in front of the murderous Bitta Karate and protected his Pandit friend, swearing upon verse after verse of the Qur'an for his friend. Not only this, in many villages Kashmiri Pandits chose to stay back because they were confident that their KM neighbours would protect them, as was proven later on. Recently a Kashmiri Pandit lady was elected as the Sarpanch of a KM majority village. There are numerous such examples which have been published in newspapers like Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, TOI as well as the Hindu.
Moreover, what has to be understood is that the Kashmiri Muslim population was itself under siege and unending crackdowns. Thousands of innocent men women and children were killed. Enforced disappearances and tortures were common occurrences. My family has personally witnessed two young boys get shot in front of our house by paramilitary forces, as their blood slowly tricked in from below the gate.
So, there was a great deal of paranoia and fear psychosis at that time, it can be little expected of a fearful community to take care of another, though it would have been the morally astute thing to do.
I, without any reservations, agree that there were certain instances where even the KMs, mostly in villages, were involved in deplorable communal acts and sloganeering, but it needs to be understood that the politics of fear is a very strong corruptor of the human mind. Truth is, the people in many villages had been brainwashed into thinking that Kashmiri Pandits were spies who falsely gave names of the innocent youngsters to the army, accusing them of being militants. It was a most horrible time and how it all happened is difficult to explain, as holds true for most regions of conflict.
Therefore, what I would like to say is that along with the instances of selective killings and paranoia, there was also a great wall of friendship, courage and brotherhood between the two communities which stands even today, although somewhat broken after the exodus .
I, therefore, request you to write another post (or simply copy paste this message as you usually do in a status) in support of KP and KM brotherhood, as was the primary objective of the Chinaar Foundation you have come up with. Things won't work if people are not willing to let go of inhibitions and move forward.
We of the-----, of which I am an office bearer, are trying to effect a positive change between the two communities because we have, first and foremost, based our views on facts rather than hearsay and chosen to see the good in both, while maintaining that the culprits involved in the brutal killings of so many innocent people must be brought to task.
Warm Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
P.S. :- Forever a fan and admirer of yours, here are some articles to supplement my message. Please ignore any mistakes and errors in my mail.
1.Concerning the Kashmiri Pandit Woman who was elected as the Sarpanch, defeating the local Muslim candidate in an overwhelmingly Muslim majority village :
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/kashmiri-pandit-woman-is-sarpanch-in-valley/788187/
2. "Why we never fled." in Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/kashmirtheforgottenconflict/2011/07/201176134818984961.html
3. Another unbiased article about the re-settlement issue of KP's back into Kashmiri Society :
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article5626.html
Below is a link to the group I have mentioned in my previous message, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx where we strive to share our sorrows and empathize with each other.
https:
Dear Sir,
Your recent post on the Kashmiri issue of atrocities committed against Pandits is one sided. Without doubt the brutal killings of many innocent Kashmiri Pandits during the armed insurgency, can and never will find even the slightest justification. There is, however, much more to the story between the two communities than just hate and violence, which does not find its rightful mention in the post.
I would like inform you that, during the militancy, there were several instances where Kashmiri Muslim neighbours risked their own lives and went to sleep in the houses of their Pandit bretheren, so that the militants would not attack them. One of the members of our Facebook forum, ------ has related a personal incident from back in 1989 when Bitta Karate, the prime suspect in the Pandit killings used to go around searching for them. He relates how his own Kashmiri Muslim friend stood in front of the murderous Bitta Karate and protected his Pandit friend, swearing upon verse after verse of the Qur'an for his friend. Not only this, in many villages Kashmiri Pandits chose to stay back because they were confident that their KM neighbours would protect them, as was proven later on. Recently a Kashmiri Pandit lady was elected as the Sarpanch of a KM majority village. There are numerous such examples which have been published in newspapers like Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, TOI as well as the Hindu.
Moreover, what has to be understood is that the Kashmiri Muslim population was itself under siege and unending crackdowns. Thousands of innocent men women and children were killed. Enforced disappearances and tortures were common occurrences. My family has personally witnessed two young boys get shot in front of our house by paramilitary forces, as their blood slowly tricked in from below the gate.
So, there was a great deal of paranoia and fear psychosis at that time, it can be little expected of a fearful community to take care of another, though it would have been the morally astute thing to do.
I, without any reservations, agree that there were certain instances where even the KMs, mostly in villages, were involved in deplorable communal acts and sloganeering, but it needs to be understood that the politics of fear is a very strong corruptor of the human mind. Truth is, the people in many villages had been brainwashed into thinking that Kashmiri Pandits were spies who falsely gave names of the innocent youngsters to the army, accusing them of being militants. It was a most horrible time and how it all happened is difficult to explain, as holds true for most regions of conflict.
Therefore, what I would like to say is that along with the instances of selective killings and paranoia, there was also a great wall of friendship, courage and brotherhood between the two communities which stands even today, although somewhat broken after the exodus .
I, therefore, request you to write another post (or simply copy paste this message as you usually do in a status) in support of KP and KM brotherhood, as was the primary objective of the Chinaar Foundation you have come up with. Things won't work if people are not willing to let go of inhibitions and move forward.
We of the-----, of which I am an office bearer, are trying to effect a positive change between the two communities because we have, first and foremost, based our views on facts rather than hearsay and chosen to see the good in both, while maintaining that the culprits involved in the brutal killings of so many innocent people must be brought to task.
Warm Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
P.S. :- Forever a fan and admirer of yours, here are some articles to supplement my message. Please ignore any mistakes and errors in my mail.
1.Concerning the Kashmiri Pandit Woman who was elected as the Sarpanch, defeating the local Muslim candidate in an overwhelmingly Muslim majority village :
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/kashmiri-pandit-woman-is-sarpanch-in-valley/788187/
2. "Why we never fled." in Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/kashmirtheforgottenconflict/2011/07/201176134818984961.html
3. Another unbiased article about the re-settlement issue of KP's back into Kashmiri Society :
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article5626.html
Below is a link to the group I have mentioned in my previous message, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx where we strive to share our sorrows and empathize with each other.
https:
