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Kashmiri Pandits

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Kashmiri Pandit
File:Panditani.jpg
A Kashmiri panditani, photograph by Fred Bremner, circa ~1900
Regions with significant populations
Jammu and Kashmir
Languages
Kashmiri
Religion
Hinduism

Kashmiri Pandit (Hindi: कश्मीरी पण्डित) refers to a person who belongs to a sect of Hindu Pandits who originate from the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent.

History

During the period of Islamic rule of the Kashmir valley, hundreds of Hindu and Buddhist temples in Kashmir were destroyed.[1] As a result, Kashmiri Pandits gradually migrated to other parts of India to escape persecution. Many Kashmiri pandits and buddhist were converted which in time 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 noteworthy.[2]

Sultan Sikandar Butshikan (1389-1413), the seventh Muslim ruler in Kashmir, is known for his oppression of non-Muslim populations, which caused many Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Kashmir valley.[3] Historians call him an idol-breaker (or iconoclast) and he is said to have killed several thousand Kashmiri Pandits and/or forced them to convert to Islam or flee.[4] Sultan Ali Shah and others followed suit.[5] There have been a 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. From the 14th century due to the growth of Islam and forced conversions into Islam[6][7] their numbers in the valley began to diminish and the Muslims by spreading Islam began to outnumber them. According to oral history of Kashmiri pandits, at one point only eleven families of pandits remained in the Kashmir. Walter Roper Lawrence, who came to Kashmir in 1889 as the British Land Settlement Commissioner, mentioned this oral tradition in his note on Kashmiri Pandits for his book 'The Valley of Kashmir'.

Militancy in Kashmir

In late 1989 and early 1990, Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the Kashmir valley because of being targeted by Kashmiri and foreign militants. By the turn of the last century, only 6.4% of Kashmiris were Hindus.[8] The US Department of State reports that, according to the Indian National Human Rights Commission, the Kashmiri Pandit population in Jammu and Kashmir dropped from 15 percent in 1941 to 0.1 percent as of 2006.[9][10]. According to the 1901 census, "In the Kashmir province they [Hindus] represent only 524 in every 10,000 of population [or 5.24%]..."[11] while the 1941 census estimated the Hindu population of the Kashmir valley to be 4%.[12]. According to a 2007 poll conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, 84 percent of people in Srinagar want to see the return of Kashmiri Pandits.[13] A MORI survey found that within the Kashmir Valley, 92% respondents opposed the state of Kashmir being divided on the basis of religion or ethnicity.[14] In 1931 a group of Kashmiri Pandits formed the organization in Srinagar (Kashmir),named Sanatan Dharam Yuvak Sabha later changed to All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference. The 1st conference of the organization was presided over by Late Justice Jia Lal Kilam .

The violent Islamic insurgency has specifically targeted the Hindu Kashmiri Pandit minority and 400,000 have either been murdered or displaced.[15] This has been condemned and labeled as ethnic cleansing in a 2006 resolution passed by the United States Congress.[16] Also in 2009 Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to recognize September 14, 2007, as Martyrs Day to acknowledge ethnic cleansing and campaigns of terror inflicted on non-Muslim minorities of Jammu and Kashmir by militants seeking to establish an Islamic state.[17]


The ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits continues, with anti-Hindu threats made to them by militants as recently as 2009[18]

Kashmiri Pandit Culture

Kashmiri Pandits have made significant contributions to Indian thought and science[citation needed]. 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". The myth about migratory character of the inhabitants of Kashmir, in ancient times or the medieval times must be discarded. The arrival of Sanskrit Aryans from India into Kashmir, in the beginning of the Neelmat period, which commenced with the induction of the calcolithic tools or metals into Kashmir, most probably from the surrounding Sind Valley civilization, indicates a cultural change, which was not dictated by any race movement. The people living in Kashmir, from the time of the Neolithic age of Burzahom, have been of a single racial stock. There is hardly any anthropological evidence to prove that ancient people of Kashmir were racially of a different stock than the people inhabiting the Burzahom settlements.

The Austroloid, proto-Austroloid and Alpanoid race remnants, which lingered on in remote regions, settling into endocrine social groups in India, and very often recognized as the aborigine tribes of India have a specific racial content and are not related to the early people of Kashmir. There were no aborigine people in Kashmir, and Nagas and Pisachas have no aboriginal history.

The ritual culture of the people of Kashmir grew from its Burzahom past and is, therefore, formed of several sediments; the basic sediments have their origin in the ritual structure of the Burzahom people and the people of Kashmir who lived through the Neelmat period. The Vedic Grah-Sutras and Kalpa- Sutras were adopted for the Battas of Kashmir, or the Kashmiri Pandits, by Laugaksha Muni, a great sage, sometime in the first millennium B.C. Before the adaptation of Sanskrit scriptures, Kashmiri Battas had already a highly evolved and intricate ritual structure, which symbolised their proto-Vedic origin. A part of the pre-Laugaksha ritual was integrated into the Laugaksha adaptation. The rest lingered on and survived and in due course of time became a part of the religious culture of the Battas. These rituals are still extant, and preserved and practised by the Kashmiri Pandits even now. A vast number of rituals followed by Kashmiri Pandits, in their birth, death and marriage rituals have a phenomenal identity and theological content. Besides there are numerous rituals, traditions and festivals of proto-Vedic origin which the Kashmiri Pandits follow.

Perhaps, the most interesting development of the Neelmat period was the evolution of Shakht religious system with its deep theological basis. Shakht ultimately formed the substructure of the Bhawani worship and Tantric Buddhism as well as Shaivism in Kashmir.

Rituals like Gada-Batta (gaDa in Sanskrit=fish), Batta (Rice), Kaw Punim, Khachi Mavas, Herath, etc. have an ancient past and are symbolic of a theological philosophy, which predates the advent of the Vedic culture in Kashmir. Mythology is a part of the cultural tradition of all people, and Hindu mythology is also a part of its cultural tradition. Gada Batta is a ritual form which must be traced to the Butzahom period of Kashmir history and has a long theological tradition. Gada-Batta is a ritual associated with the family and the clan organisation of the early Hindus of Kashmir and is not in any way connected to superstition or the last long meal left for the aged who were unable to migrate in winter as suggested in an article published in the Hindi Seetion of the 'Koshur Samachar' (Shivratri Special: March 1994).

Religion

Main article: Kashmir Shaivism
Buddha Amarnath Mandir, Poonch

Kashmir's association with Hinduism is very old. The very name Kashmir is said to be derived from Kashyapa, one of the seven Rishis 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, and Zeethyar. A lot of these shrines were destroyed during and after the mass exodus of the Pandits.[19]

The religious philosophy of Kashmiri Hindus is rooted in Kashmiri Shaivism, a school of Shiva philosophy that originated near Kailasha in Himalayas around 400 AD. The first teacher of this school was Tryambakaditya, a disciple of sage Durvasas. Sangamaditya, the sixteenth descendent in the line of Tryambakaditya, later settled in Kashmir valley around 800 AD. His fourth descendent, Somananda, extracted the principles of monistic Shiva philosophy from the scriptures and incorporated them in his own work, Shivadrishti, which is the first philosophical treatise on Kashmiri Shaivism. Later a galaxy of illumined sages, such as Vasugupta, Kallata, Utapaladeva, and Abinavagupta further refined this philosophy. The philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism is generally called Trika Shastra, since it is a philosophy of the Triad: Shiva, Shakti, and Nara (the bound individual self). The literature of the Trika System of Kashmir comprises three categories: the Agama Shastra, the Spanda Shastra, and the Pratyabhijna Shastra.

Kashmiri Shaivism, also known as Pratyabhijna (meaning "recognition") school of Shaivism, adopts a purely monistic metaphysical position. It considers the Supreme Lord, called Shiva or Maheshvara, as the Supreme Reality, which is innermost as well as transcendent. As a conscious and active principle, the individual self (atman) is identical with the Supreme Lord. Due to the influence of maya (ignorance) the individual self forgets its divine nature, becomes liable to limitation and bondage, and thinks itself to be different from the Supreme Lord. Thus one's mukti (spiritual freedom) lies in one's clear recognition (Pratyabhijna) of one's identity with the Supreme Lord. In Kashmiri Shaivism we find a type of religious thought which synthesizes pluralism, dualism, and the Buddhist doctrine of Shunya, and develops a nondualist philosophy which is sweet, sublime and constructive. This philosophy is closer to the theism of the Bhagvad Gita than to the nihilism of Buddha.

Kashmiri Shaivism is free from restrictions of caste, creed, and gender. Any devout aspirant can have access to both the theory and practice of this philosophy. In Kashmiri Shaivism, practice of religion is considered more important than theological debates and discussions. Kashmiri Shaivism does not advocate a life of renunciation (Sannyasahood) or profession of monks, but recommends an active householder's life with daily practice of worship, yoga and meditation. The use of outward symbols, such as yellow and orange robes, matted hair, and ashes are prohibited. Worldly enjoyment as a goal of worldly life is recognized and respected, but a spiritual path aimed at harmonizing bhukti (worldly enjoyment) and mukti (liberation) is advocated. Kashmiri Shaivism does not advocate suppression of one's emotions and instincts, but provides a spiritual path aimed at their sublimation towards the ultimate goal of spiritual freedom.

Prominent Kashmiri Pandits

Jawaharlal Nehru
Main article: List of Kashmiri Pandits

See also

[20]

References

  1. ^ Muhammad Qãsim Hindû Shãh Firishta : Tãrîkh-i-Firishta, translated by John Briggs under the title "History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India." First published in 1829, New Delhi Reprint 1981.
  2. ^ 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."
  3. ^ 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."
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Kashmiri Pandits still in camps after 15 years
  6. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahaj_Ram_Sapru
  7. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragho_Ram_Koul
  8. ^ Muhammad Qãsim: Tãrîkh-i-Firishta
  9. ^ The valley of Kashmir
  10. ^ ISBN 0691116881. page 37.
  11. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, volume 15. 1908. Oxford University Press, Oxford and London. Page 99.
  12. ^ Rai, Mridu. 2004. Hindu Ruler, Muslim Subjects: Islam and the History of Kashmir. Princeton University Press. 320 pages. ISBN 0691116881. page 37.
  13. ^ Reuters
  14. ^ Full text of Mori survey on Kashmir
  15. ^ Pallone introduces resolution condemning Human rights violation against Kashmiri Pandits, United States House of Representatives, 2006-02-15
  16. ^ Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of the Republic of India and the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir should take immediate steps to remedy the situation of the Kashmiri Pandits and should act to ensure the physical, political, and economic security of this embattled community. HR Resolution 344,United States House of Representatives, 2006-02-15
  17. ^ Senate Joint Resolution 23, 75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ http://www.kashmir-information.com/Atrocities/Temples/temples7.html
  20. ^ http://www.hibt.uk.com/index.php/hibt-in-your-country/asia/malaysia.html

Notes

  1. US Department of State Country Report: India (2006)
  2. The valley of Kashmir
  3. Kashmir's contribution to Indian Culture
  4. Kalhaṇa, Râjatarañgiṇî, Eng. trans. M. A. Stein. 2 vols. London, 1900.
  5. 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.
  6. Mohibbul Hasan, Kashmir Under the Sultans (Srinagar: Ali Mohammad & Sons, 1974), 28-95. (Mohibbul Hasan was a Professor and Head of the Department of History, Kashmir University, Srinagar.
  7. Spread of Islam in Kashmir, Kashmir Pandits: Problem Prospects And Future by Dr. Ajay Chungroo, Gairoo Kaa Akeyla Shiv Dr. Rajiv Kumar
  8. Frank Pallone
  9. Statement by US Congressman Joe Wilson
  10. Kashmiri Pandits still in camps after 15 years
  11. Muhammad Qãsim: Tãrîkh-i-Firishta
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