The Odyssey Of Kashmiri Pandits

This book The Odyssey of Kashmiri Pandits presents the pathetic life of Kashmiri Pandits in exile. The Mass Exodus from their homes in the year 1990, have left them as refugees in their own country. The original inhabitants of Kashmir, scattered all over the world, are now haunted by nostalgia of Paradise on Earth. They were hounded out, after inflicting taunts, physical abuse, miseries, loot, and selective killing. The exiled community hopes to go back to their home land some day. What could have been the reasons for all these miseries? Were the killers caught?

Twenty-five years ago, in the winter of 1990, about four hundred thousand Pandits of Kashmir were forced to leave Kashmir, their homeland, to save their lives when militancy erupted there. Even today, they continue to live as 'internally displaced migrants' in their own country. While most Kashmiri Pandits have now carved a niche for themselves in different parts of India, several thousands are still languishing in migrant camps in and around Jammu. The stories of their struggles and plight have remained untold for years. The authors of the memoirs in this anthology belong to four generations. Those who were born and brought up in Kashmir, and fled while they were in their forties and fifties; those who lingered on in their homes in Kashmir despite the threat to their lives; those who got displaced in their teens; and those who were born in migrant camps in exile. These narratives explore several aspects of the history, cultural identity and existence of the Kashmiri Pandits.These are untold narratives about the persecution of Pandits in Kashmir during the advent of militancy in 1989, the killings and kidnappings, loss of homeland, uprootedness, camp-life, struggle, survival, alienation and an ardent yearning to return to their land. These are stories about the re-discovery of their past, their ancestry, culture, and roots and moorings.

A moving portrait of a community reduced to being tourists in their own homeland.It has been twenty-five years since around 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits were uprooted from their homes in the Kashmir valley due to militancy and changed circumstances. Many of them had to face the ignominy of living in tents, then in one-room tenements or flats, as refugees in their own country. They felt let down by both the state and central governments and by Indian society as a whole -- as well as by the Muslims of the valley. There was to be no going back for them.From Home to House is an anthology of short stories, essays and writings by Kashmiri Pandits in exile, vividly bringing out their nostalgia for Kashmir, their sense of betrayal, their attempts to pick up the pieces and carve a new life for themselves. These are the reflections of a lost and scattered people in what for them is an alien land. The writings show both their vulnerability -- their helplessness as they see their culture and way of life getting eroded -- and their resilience -- as the younger generation of Pandits spreads its wings and builds a whole new life for itself. This anthology holds a mirror to the troubled valley of Kashmir, a mirror from which the reflection of a section of its population is now missing.

Traces The Journey Of The Land And People From Ancient To The Modern Day. Captures The Factors For The Decline Of Kashmiri Civilization From Glory To The Present State Of Murder And Repire. The Author Hopes The Worst Is Over And The Old Practices Of Kashmiriyat Will Return.

The Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits or Hindus is their migration from the Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir in the early 1990s as a result of growing insurgency violence. Eighty to ninety percent of the total population of 1.2 million to 1.4 million pandits evacuated or were forced to leave the valley; those who refused were executed. During the period of significant migration, the insurgency was led by a movement advocating for a secular and independent Kashmir, but there was also an increasing number of Islamic factions advocating for an Islamic state. Targeted assassinations of high-profile leaders created an atmosphere of dread and panic throughout the state. The migration was caused by the Indian government's absence from the state and the lack of safety assurances.