05-16-2006, 08:15 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->An encounter with truth
By K. Easwaran Nambudiri
Desecrated temples, decapitated idols, obscene graffiti on temple walls; bulldozed houses and destroyed locality of minority Hindus; burnt pages from sacred Vedic texts; couples being dragged to death after being tied to a jeep and appeals by ânon-communalâ Muslims to surgically remove the âcancerâ called Hindus.
Vignettes from Afghanistan or the plight of minorities in Islamic Pakistan. No, these are the grim but real pictures from Kashmir, which were on show at a recent exhibition in the Capital.
Aptly titled âSakshatkarâAn encounter with truthâ, the photo exhibition organised by Panun Kashmir at the Open Palm Court Gallery at the India Habitat Centre depicted the various facets of religious cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus in the Kashmir Valley.
The calamitous events that led to the exodus, the struggle to survive in refugee camps and recreate a dignified life in exile were laid bare in the exhibition.
âThe black stone statue of Mahakali was one of the 20 deities who left their home in Hari Parbat Fort and vanished forever. A priceless deity from the ninth century fled the Lok Bhavan in Anantnag and was never seen again. The Shivalingam of the Devan temple also mysteriously disappeared. Their exits were timely because soon after they occurred, the fire bombings beganâ, wrote internationally acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie in his Shalimar, the Clown.
No one knows better the ire of Islamic fundamentalists better than the author of Satanic Verses, who still lives under the shadow of death.
On display at the exhibition were the painful and heart-rendering photographs of a Hindu couple from Herman in Pulwama who were tied behind a jeep and dragged till death. Their only crimeâthey were Hindus.
There were also snaps of the Shivalingam of the destroyed Basantbagh temple in Srinagar, the decapitated idol of Adi Shankara at Khojbagh in Baramulla, the desecrated Shiva idol outside the Raghunath temple at Fatehkadal in Srinagar, the desecrated and destroyed idols of Shiva temple at Hoonpura in Srinagar, the bulldozed three-storey magnificent Guptganga temple in Baramulla and a leaf from the sacred text in the burnt library of Tarbuni temple in Navakadal.
Reminiscent of the brutalities of Aurangzeb, Nadir Shah and Taimur, the photo exhibition was the outcome of a protracted and detailed survey for three years conducted by a team led by Dr Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman of the Panun Kashmir in all the six districts of the Valley.
Interestingly, the photographs displayed are not taken by professionals but by the victims themselves who could barely manage a rudimentary camera to document their tragedy.
âThe displays merely try to state that in Kashmir, Hindus have suffered a genocide. The entire country knows about it, but formally denies it. Sakshatkar is an attempt to help every one to come out of this denial modeâ, says Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary of Panun Kashmir.
And for those secularists who wax eloquently about the peace-loving and fraternal feelings of the ordinary Kashmiri Muslims towards their Kashmir Pandit brethren, there is a letter from one Mir Niaz Ahmed of Zaina Kadal, Srinagar which appeared in the local Daily Alsafa daily.
âI claim to be a rational and non-communal Muslim but at the same time, I sincerely feel that we Kashmiri Muslims should try our best to thwart any attempt by Pandits to return to the Valley. Pandits have been a cancer and once this cancer is removed, it should not be allowed to re-appearâ, he says.
This should leave nobody in doubt that the mindset that guided the destruction of the Bamian Buddhas guides the separatist movement in Kashmir. The objective behind the expulsion of the Hindus from Kashmir was to create a religious monolith at a place which has nutured and nourished pluralism and co-existence through the millennia.
âTerrorism breeds a culture of intolerance. It is never revolutionary in content. It is anti-freedom and a crime against humanity. It canât be legitimised under any pretext. Genocide is its ultimate expression. Peace in Kashmir will remain elusive if the peace initiatives donât incorporate a comprehensive and permanent reversal of the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, as its cardinal principleâ, says the brochure brought out by Panun Kashmir on the occasion.
Terming the recent massacre of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir as a ânational shameâ and the attacks on Kashmiri Pandits as an âassault on a civilisationâ, Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Shri L.K. Advani said, âtalks on Jammu and Kashmir have to incorporate this particular aspect relating to the problems of Kashmiri Pandits as one of the most important stepsâ.
Shri Advani, who spent some time at the exhibition, said the photographs on display âtell a powerful story. And the story is of tragedy, which is a shame for our countryâ.
âThis exhibition focuses not just on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits but also depicts the destruction of a civilisation and cultureâ, he said.
NDA Convener George Fernandes, former Union Ministers Jagmohan and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Swadeshi ideologue K N Govindacharya, Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah were among the dignitaries who visited the exhibition.
The secularists who still rue the destruction of the disputed structure in Ayodhya and cry hoarse from roof tops over the demolition of an encroached âDargahâ in Vadodara would do well to visit the exhibition and see the truth for themselves. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
By K. Easwaran Nambudiri
Desecrated temples, decapitated idols, obscene graffiti on temple walls; bulldozed houses and destroyed locality of minority Hindus; burnt pages from sacred Vedic texts; couples being dragged to death after being tied to a jeep and appeals by ânon-communalâ Muslims to surgically remove the âcancerâ called Hindus.
Vignettes from Afghanistan or the plight of minorities in Islamic Pakistan. No, these are the grim but real pictures from Kashmir, which were on show at a recent exhibition in the Capital.
Aptly titled âSakshatkarâAn encounter with truthâ, the photo exhibition organised by Panun Kashmir at the Open Palm Court Gallery at the India Habitat Centre depicted the various facets of religious cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus in the Kashmir Valley.
The calamitous events that led to the exodus, the struggle to survive in refugee camps and recreate a dignified life in exile were laid bare in the exhibition.
âThe black stone statue of Mahakali was one of the 20 deities who left their home in Hari Parbat Fort and vanished forever. A priceless deity from the ninth century fled the Lok Bhavan in Anantnag and was never seen again. The Shivalingam of the Devan temple also mysteriously disappeared. Their exits were timely because soon after they occurred, the fire bombings beganâ, wrote internationally acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie in his Shalimar, the Clown.
No one knows better the ire of Islamic fundamentalists better than the author of Satanic Verses, who still lives under the shadow of death.
On display at the exhibition were the painful and heart-rendering photographs of a Hindu couple from Herman in Pulwama who were tied behind a jeep and dragged till death. Their only crimeâthey were Hindus.
There were also snaps of the Shivalingam of the destroyed Basantbagh temple in Srinagar, the decapitated idol of Adi Shankara at Khojbagh in Baramulla, the desecrated Shiva idol outside the Raghunath temple at Fatehkadal in Srinagar, the desecrated and destroyed idols of Shiva temple at Hoonpura in Srinagar, the bulldozed three-storey magnificent Guptganga temple in Baramulla and a leaf from the sacred text in the burnt library of Tarbuni temple in Navakadal.
Reminiscent of the brutalities of Aurangzeb, Nadir Shah and Taimur, the photo exhibition was the outcome of a protracted and detailed survey for three years conducted by a team led by Dr Ajay Chrungoo, Chairman of the Panun Kashmir in all the six districts of the Valley.
Interestingly, the photographs displayed are not taken by professionals but by the victims themselves who could barely manage a rudimentary camera to document their tragedy.
âThe displays merely try to state that in Kashmir, Hindus have suffered a genocide. The entire country knows about it, but formally denies it. Sakshatkar is an attempt to help every one to come out of this denial modeâ, says Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary of Panun Kashmir.
And for those secularists who wax eloquently about the peace-loving and fraternal feelings of the ordinary Kashmiri Muslims towards their Kashmir Pandit brethren, there is a letter from one Mir Niaz Ahmed of Zaina Kadal, Srinagar which appeared in the local Daily Alsafa daily.
âI claim to be a rational and non-communal Muslim but at the same time, I sincerely feel that we Kashmiri Muslims should try our best to thwart any attempt by Pandits to return to the Valley. Pandits have been a cancer and once this cancer is removed, it should not be allowed to re-appearâ, he says.
This should leave nobody in doubt that the mindset that guided the destruction of the Bamian Buddhas guides the separatist movement in Kashmir. The objective behind the expulsion of the Hindus from Kashmir was to create a religious monolith at a place which has nutured and nourished pluralism and co-existence through the millennia.
âTerrorism breeds a culture of intolerance. It is never revolutionary in content. It is anti-freedom and a crime against humanity. It canât be legitimised under any pretext. Genocide is its ultimate expression. Peace in Kashmir will remain elusive if the peace initiatives donât incorporate a comprehensive and permanent reversal of the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, as its cardinal principleâ, says the brochure brought out by Panun Kashmir on the occasion.
Terming the recent massacre of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir as a ânational shameâ and the attacks on Kashmiri Pandits as an âassault on a civilisationâ, Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Shri L.K. Advani said, âtalks on Jammu and Kashmir have to incorporate this particular aspect relating to the problems of Kashmiri Pandits as one of the most important stepsâ.
Shri Advani, who spent some time at the exhibition, said the photographs on display âtell a powerful story. And the story is of tragedy, which is a shame for our countryâ.
âThis exhibition focuses not just on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits but also depicts the destruction of a civilisation and cultureâ, he said.
NDA Convener George Fernandes, former Union Ministers Jagmohan and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Swadeshi ideologue K N Govindacharya, Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah were among the dignitaries who visited the exhibition.
The secularists who still rue the destruction of the disputed structure in Ayodhya and cry hoarse from roof tops over the demolition of an encroached âDargahâ in Vadodara would do well to visit the exhibition and see the truth for themselves. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->