From Presidents Desk -Lets Be Proud Of Our Inherent Strength

Vijay Aima -President -AIKS

Migration of hordes of refugees to European coasts, of late, is creating ripples across the globe. European nations are accepting these hapless people from Syria and Iraq though murmurs of protests are also being felt in these host countries. Even American Govt, has reportedly agreed to accommodate some of these migrants. National Govts, across the globe have taken note of these developments and many of them have extended a helping hand, though many countries in the Middle East have been averse to welcome these migrants.

 

In comparison to Kashmiri Pandits’ forced exodus caused by atrocities and mayhem unleashed on our own community in the fateful nineties, went largely unnoticed and not many tears were shed by those in power as well as the political class across the country with odd exceptions here and there. Our struggle for survival during our own exile across our own country, has been a long and arduous journey. Now having crossed a quarter century of our existence outside the land of our birth, our struggle has been a lonely one most of the times. We went almost unnoticed even by the mass media and it was our own perseverance, resilience and undaunted spirit which made us rise over the ashes of exodus.

 

Today the political class across the spectrum in our country vociferously reacts whenever an incident, small or big, occurs against the minority groups in any part of this vast land, and rightly so, but the same political class failed to take notice of our miserable plight and tattered existence for the last 25 years. We were left to fend for ourselves in order to survive amidst inhospitable environs with which our community members were hardly familiar. To ensure the retention and preservation of our identity, religious and cultural traditions, a daunting task undoubtedly, was as much a part of our struggle as was the priority to re-establish ourselves and plan for the future of our children, their education and eventual settlement, which could not wait. During this period of turmoil and uncertainty, community members also created their own organisations, sabhas and samitis to help bind us together, in bigger cities as well as the smaller ones wherever our fate or vocations took us. The need of the hour was to be together and sustain our identity. It was this necessity which led to the mushrooming of many such associations and also replicas of many of our famous temples and shrines of Kashmir to help us remain connected with our roots. This was extremely important. It is heartening to see the enthusiasm and the zeal of our exiled community to occasionally travel to the Valley on pilgrimages to relive their associations with our shrines, temples and abodes of our venerated gurus and saints and to renovate these places of worship. Over a period of time, many of these organisations, it must be acknowledged, have been rendering yeoman services to the community in various spheres, according to their needs and requirements.

 

Today when enough water has flown down the Vitasta, we as a community shall have to continue exhibiting the same degree of wisdom, sagacity and decisiveness together to chart our future course of action. Consolidation of this collective wisdom is the need of the hour. AIKS, along with its affiliates, shall always be in the forefront to work in tandem with all such community organisations and institutions to ensure a dignified future for our community in the Kashmir Valley where we belong to and wherever we presently live.

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Courtesy:- Vijay Aima Sahib and 2015 October Naad