[Reader-list] The Kashmiri encounter

[syed bismillah]

The Kashmiri Encounter:

I have searching for the meaning of kashmiriyat. It is supposed to be something that binds together Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Mulsims. In fact it has many interpretations and connotations. I was about 15 years old when the Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley so I did not have any real relationships with them. However, I have been hearing and reading about Kashmiriyat. 

The first question that arises in my mind is that what were the factors that produced Kashmiriyat? What kind of cultural traditions, religious institutions that formed the uniqueness of our Kashmiri culture and society. And then the inevitable question; why did this Kashmiriyat not bind the two communities in time of national crisis?

Perhaps the answers will be easier to find here in Delhi where both the Kashmiri Pandit and Kashmiri Muslims are living in exile. I have been attending meetings, both public and private where Kashmiris meet. There is always a certain tension in these meetings and a hesitancy to give addresses or contact numbers.



I have been interviewing Kashmiris from both communities. Both share a deep longing to go back to the beauty of their homes, to the culture which they left behind and to old times. But the life experiences of both the communities are so different that they seem to be able to share only the nostsalgia but rarely a dream of a future. 

There is a need to search for answers not only among the Kashmiris but also in our history and in the way politics impacts on our communities and shapes our perspectives of events both in Kashmir and in India. 



		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/attachments/20050124/e181ef3b/attachment.html