From the President's Desk -Naad January 2024 -All of Us Are Together And We Will Because We Can!

Dr Ramesh Raina as President of AIKS 2024

19th January has become a symbol of larger issue for the voiceless Kashmiri Pandit Community long marginalised. The year 1990 marked a pivotal moment in the history of Kashmir as KPs were forced to leave their homes and hearths for unknown destiny, posing a great challenge to the very survival of KP’s as a community. It has been both, a psychologically and emotionally draining challenge for us all. It is a complex interplay of politics of opacity, obfuscation, disinformation and above all hate KP campaign. Moreover, this is not an organically generated sentiment. It has been actively fanned, and is reflective of a well-crafted war of narratives that facilitated the changing domestic realities of Kashmir where the religious domination has gone down to every conceivable area of the society.

In the face of such formidable challenges, it left an indelible mark on the inter-community relations of Kashmir. The tragic chapter of 1990 remains etched in the collective memory as a poignant reminder of the human cost of this toxic upheaval, mayhem and conflict. This is compounded by the political and moral impunity created by the lack of prosecutions against the groups, individuals and their authors that have played pivotal roles in human rights violations of minorities which, with the passage of time, has resulted in the loss of evidence to let memory of the gory incident of foisting a painful exodus on KP’s fade.

Having witnessed death, destruction and naked dance of democracy, the bigger question staring at our faces is the growing irrelevance of Kashmiri Pandits by main streaming their complete socio-cultural marginalisation from Kashmir. It has resulted in their entering into a state of permanent uncertainty. This situation prompts a response to a question that is knocking our consciousness loudly. It is a call to reflection on the possibility of coming together in the larger community interests lest we be forgotten and leave behind an unpleasant legacy for the posterity.

It is still possible for the KP organisations, activists and the thought leaders to steadfastly avoid the temptation to hold different thoughts pertaining to the core issues in contempt or as of a lesser strand. Instead try to forge a convergence on crucial community issues.

Let the 19th January 2024 make a new beginning and let all of us sow the seeds of sense of togetherness for the generations to come and rise to the occasion and proceed ahead in this new year with a slogan “All of us are together and we will because we can!”  

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Courtesy: Dr Ramesh Raina  and Naad: January, 2024