Kashmiri Pandit

Original Kashmiri Pandit (Hindi: कश्मीरी पण्डित) refers to a person who belongs to a sect of Hindu Pandits who originate from the Kashmir region. They have a recorded history in Kashmir for thousands of years and have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata. Kashmiri Pandits have Aryan features like most high caste Indians. Many experts speculate that the Aryans originated in Kashmir. The Aryan invasion theory has now been proven wrong and Aryans have been proven to be native to India. ^[1]

During the Islamic period of the Kashmir valley, hundreds of temples in Kashmir were destroyed.⁹ As a result, Kashmiri Pandits gradually migrated to other parts of India to escape persecution, which resulted in Kashmir becoming predominantly Muslim. The devastation wrought by the Turkish general from Turkmenistan Zulju in 1320, during his conquest of many regions of Kashmir Valley was especially unfortunate. This could have a been a reaction to Lalitaditya's earlier conquest of Turkmenistan. Sultan Sikander (1389-1413), the seventh Muslim ruler in Kashmir, is known for his oppression of non-Muslim populations in his drive to establish Shariah-based rule, which caused many Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Kashmir valley⁴. Historians call him an idol-breaker (or iconoclast) and he is said to have killed several thousand Kashmiri Pandits and forced them to convert to Islam or flee⁵. Sultan Ali Shah and others followed suit.⁹ There have been few Muslim rulers who were tolerant towards the Pandits; however they were not able to ultimately alleviate the plight of the Pandits. This can be ascertained from the fact that the Pandits never rose to their pre-Islamic glory and that their population in the valley continued to decrease over time. It must be pointed out that no where in the history of Kashmir is there any mention of link to the caucasions.

British historians, such as Walter Lawrence, note that persecution of Kashmiri Hindus by zealous Muslim rulers resulted in as little as eleven original Kashmiri Hindu families remaining in Kashmir at one point. Walter Lawrence mentions that:

"Tradition affirms that the persecution of the Hindus was so keen that only eleven families of Hindus remained in the valley. Their descendants are known by the name of Malmas, as distinguished from the fugitives and the Hindus of the Deccan, who came to Kashmir later on and are known as the Banamas. Some historians, however, state the Malmas Hindus to be the descendants of Kashaf, the saviour of the valley, and that the Banamas Brahmans were foreigners, who came from other countries. The Hindus who now live in Kashmir are, with a few exceptions, of the [Banamas] Brahman caste, and though tradition points to the fact that the Levite Brahmans were a powerful and numerous body, exerting great influence over the country and its rulers, there is frequent mention of the fighting class, and it is obvious that a large majority of the old Hindus must have been agricultural Jats. The Tantrins, Rajputras, Damaras were often excellent fighters in ancient Kashmir, though the Brahmins when they took up arms were often excellent fighters. Kashmiri Brahmins are a distinct caste and have been living in the Valley of Kashmir since time immorial. Politically motivated people such as Henny Sender have tried to change the history of Kashmir for political reasons. Most Kashmiri Muslims have descended from the Kashmiri Hindus and some also from Brahmins. "^[2]

More recently (1990), hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the Kashmir valley because of being targeted by Kashmiri and foreign militants.⁶ As per the statement of US Congressman Joe Wilson, beginning in 1989, mosques in Kashmir declared jihad and blared warnings from loudspeakers to the Hindus that they were infidels and had to leave Kashmir. He further says that "From 1989-1990, Islamists began a terror campaign to drive Hindus from Kashmir"⁷. Some people have noted that some Kashmiri Muslims were tolerant of minorities, but since partition, most Kashmiri Muslims have adopted a more conservative approach to Islam, and since 1989, a more militant and fundamentalist approach. By the turn of the last century, only 6.4% of Kashmiris were Hindus¹⁰. The US Department of State reports that the Kashmiri Pandit population in Jammu and Kashmir dropped from 15 percent in 1941 to 0.1 percent as of 2006.¹¹

Plight of Kashmiri Pandits Today

Thousands of displaced Kashmiri Pandits live in refugee camps even today. Their status has been described as "Refugees in their own country," and they remain the only internally displaced group within India to remain in refugee tents. Indian government statistics show that there were 55,476 registered Kashmiri Pandit families living in Jammu, 34,088 in Delhi, and 19,338 in other states receiving government support. Government-managed camps housed 5,778 families in Delhi and Jammu. The government provided monthly cash relief of $70 (Rs 3,000) and basic dry rations to the 14,869 families in Jammu. In Delhi, authorities provided $75 (Rs 3,200) to 4,100 families.⁸

Kashmiri Pandit Culture

Kashmiri Pandits have made significant contributions to Indian thought and science. Abhinavagupta, Kalhana have been stalwarts in the fields of, philosophy and history respectively. Kashmir figures prominently in sanskrit poet Kalidasa's compositions but it is not known conclusively whether he hailed from that ethnicity or region. The birth place of Charaka one of the founders of ayurveda and Indian medice in general is also considered to be in Kashmir .Many Sanskritic scholars and poets(i.e. Bilhana, Mahimbhatta, Ksemraja, Vasugupta, Anandvardhana, Ksemendra) were Kashmiris. Women pandits were normally called "Panditain."

Religion

Main article: Kashmir Shaivism

Kashmir's association with Hinduism is very old. The very name Kashmir is said to be derived from Kashyapa, one of the seven Saptarishis in Hindu mythology. Most Kashmiri Pandits are devout Shaivites, however many Kashmiri Pandit families who had migrated into other Indian territories have been ardent vaishnavites as well. Kashmir is home to some of the holiest shrines in Hinduism like Amarnath, Kheer bhawani, Shrine of Sharda, Shankaracharya Mandir, Hari Parbat, Zeethyar etc. A lot of these shrines were destroyed during and after the mass exodus of the pandits.

Kashmiri Pandit family names

The most common family names among Kashmiri Pandits include: 'Pattu, Channa, Handoo, Aga, Atal, Bandhu, Bhan, Bagati, Bahadur, Bhat/Bhatt(Butt), Bambroo,Bindroo,Budki(Burki), Chowdhary, Chakoo (Chaku), Dhar(Dar), Dass(Das), Dassi, Dulloo, Fotedar, Ganju (Ganjoo), GANHAR, Gigoo, Gurkha, Kaw, Gurtu, Hak, Haksar, Hangal, Hangoo, Hoon, Hukku, Jaju, Jalali, Jotshi, Kachru (Kachroo), Kak, Kakapuri, Kar, Kappu, Katju, Kaul (Koul), Kaw, Kemmu, Khar/Kher, Karwani, Kasid, Khandhar/Khandhari, Khazanchi, kharoo, Khosa, Kitchlu(Kitchlew), Kokru, Kukiloo, Kunzru, LANGAR , Lakhi, Langoo, Malla, Mantoo, Mehrishi, Munshi, Muthoo, Misri, Muttoo, PATTU, Pattu', Mattoo, Mattoo, Mujoo, Mukoo,Nagu, Nath, Natu, Nehru, Ogra, Pandit, Pandita, Panjabi, Parimoo, Potins, Qasba, Raina, Rawal, Ruggu, Rayu, Razdan, Reu, Sadhoo/Sadhu, Sahib, Sapru, Shah, Sharga, shishoo, Shivpuri, Shrunglu, Shunglu, Sopori, Soral, Sukhia,Suri, Tufchi, Tangnu, Trisal, Thusoo, Thotha, Tankha, Tiku/Tickoo/Tikku/Tikoo, Toshkhani/Toshakhani, Turki, Vuthoo, Wakhlu, Walli, Wanchoo/Wanchu, Wantoo/Wantu, Warikoo, Wattal, Wattoo, Yaksh, Zalpuri, Zarabi, Zaroo and Zutshi. Some Kashmiri Pandits use last names which are actually titles conferred upon them by kings such as Bahadur. There are also instances of several Kashmiri Pandit families changing their names to avoid being identified and persecuted. Most of these surnames of Kashmiri Pandits relate to the place, occupation or title. For example a person belonging to Sopore became Sopori or Khazanchi (Arabic for treasurer), or Sharga (Arabic related to law), etc. however the only accurate representation of the Kashmiri Brahmins can be from their origin from Rishis. The Kashmiri Brahmins are divided into 199 exogamous sections (gotras) the members of which profess to be descended from the Rishi or inspired saint whose name the gotra bears.

Prominent Kashmiri Pandits

Main article: List of Kashmiri Pandits

Grandson of Pt. Bhawani Prasad Razdan. Pt. Narain Dass Raina, Inventor, Kashmir Houseboat, father of Swami Lakshman Joo (Kashmir Shaivism), grandfather of Dr. Maharaj Krishan Raina (Indian Paper Manufacturing guru), also ancestor of Diwan Anand Kumar (Vice Chancellor of Undivided Punjab University) and Tapishwar Narain Raina (Chief of Indian Army staff and Diplomat), Sri Kamal Nath (Indian Commerce Minister)

S.N Channa was established and well known entrepreneur in early 90’s.

Forced Migration from the Valley of Kashmir

Kashmiri Pandits have suffered crimes amounting to ethnic cleansing from the Kashmir Valley, coinciding with the onset of the Kashmiri separatist movement in 1990.⁶ Roughly 12000 were killed since insurgency began in Kashmir, and 300,000 have been displaced, though some sources claim that more than four to five thousand Kashmiri Pandits were killed and more than Five hundred thousand were made homeless in the initial violence. Indian sources claim that nearly 500,000 internally displaced families of Kashmiri Hindu live in the National capital region, though this number contradicts Kashmiri Hindu estimates that 300,000 people have been forced into exile. (Delhi)⁸ US Rep Frank Pallone had referred to the Kashmiri Pandit movement as ethnic cleansing during his speech to the House of Representatives.⁶.

While most Kashmiri Hindu intellectuals vehemently deny, some Muslims have alleged the Muslim neighbors tried to save the Pandits from Islamic militants. However, many Kashmiri Hindus in refugee camps have said that their own Muslims neighbors turned against them and forced them to migrate. It's possible that both of these statements are true. Hindus probably were forced to flee by the militants, and in other instances, they were forced out by their own Muslim neighbors. In some instances, the Indian Army trucks were used to transport the Pandits to refugee camps which have led to some Muslim allegations that the Indian Army asked the Hindus to leave the valley. The army has denied this and said that the transportation was provided because the Pandits were hapless and had no other means to move to safety. & Many more

See also

• Panun Kashmir
• Brahmins
• Tulmul
• Khrew
• Hari Parbat
• Sharada Peeth
• List of topics on the land and the people of “Jammu and Kashmir”
• Zanskar-Kashmiri Pandit Music

References

1. http://www.ikashmir.net/crown/culture.html 2.http://www.kashmir-information.com/chronology.html
3. Kalhaṇa, Râjatarañgiṇî, Eng. trans. M.A. Stein. 2 vols. London, 1900.
4. Ronald M. Davidson, Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 70.

• "Our records indicate that Brahmans crisscrossed northern India during most of the period in question, emigrating from Madhyadesa, Bengal, Magadha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kashmir, and other locales at various times to seek employment in regions such as Madhya Pradesh, the Deccan, and preeminently, Orissa."

5. Mohibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under the Sultans (Srinagar: Ali Mohammad & Sons, 1974), 28-95.

• In case a Muslim bias is suspected, Mohibbul Hasan was a Professor and Head of the Department of History, Kashmir University, Srinagar.

6. Spread of Islam in Kashmir,
Kashmir Pandits: Problem Prospects And Future by Dr. Ajay Chungroo,
Gairoo Kaa Akeyla Shiv Dr. Rajiv Kumar
7. http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj06_pallone/pr_aug24_india_letter.html
8. Statement by US Congressman Joe Wilson
9. Kashmiri Pandits still in camps after 15 years
10. Muhammad Qãsim : Tãrîkh-i-Firishta
11. [2]
12. US Department of State Country Report: India (2006)

External links

• Kashmir Herald - A Web Opinion/News Journal on Kashmir
• Shehjar e-journal of Kashmiri Pandits
• [http://www.kashmirforum.org/ A personal Journey and a Political Memoir, USA
• Kashmiri Overseas Association, Inc. (KOA), USA
• Kashmir Group
• Kashmiri-Pandit.org
• Kashmir-information.com
• Indo-American Kashmir Forum -- A U.S. based political advocacy group for the Kashmiri Pandits
• Kashmir News Network
• Panun Kashmir: A Homeland for Kashmiri Pandits
• Music from Kashmir, India
• Kashmir Overseas Association of Canada
• Video Documentary detailing the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits by Ashok Pandit
• Video Documentary on RefugeeCamps of Kashmiri Hindus by Deepak Ganju