Kashmiri Pandit

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Castes of India
Kashmiri Pandits
Classification	Brahmin
Subdivisions	-
Significant populations in	Jammu and other parts of Northern India
Languages	Kashmiri
Religions	Hinduism

Kashmiri Pandit (Hindi: कश्मीरी पण्डित) refers to a person who belongs to a sect of Hindu Pandits who ancestrally originate from the Kashmir Valley. They have a recorded history in Kashmir for thousands of years and have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata.

During Muslim conquest of the Kashmir valley, hundreds of temples and centers of learning in Kashmir were destroyed. At this time, thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were killed or forcefully converted to Islam. As a result, Kashmiri Pandits gradually migrated to other parts of India, which resulted in Kashmir becoming predominantly Muslim. The devastation wrought by the Turko-Mongol general Zulju during his conquest of Kashmir in 1320 is especially noteworthy. Sultan Sikander (1389-1413), the seventh Muslim ruler in Kashmir, is known for his oppression of non-Muslim populations in his drive to establish shariah-based rule, which no doubt caused many Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Kashmir valley⁴. Historians call him an idol-breaker (or iconoclast) and he is said to have killed several Kashmiri Pandits and forced several of them to convert or flee⁵. Sultan Ali Shah and others followed suit.⁹ There have been some 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.

More recently (1990), hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the Kashmir valley because of being targeted by Islamic terrorists.⁶ As per the statement of US Congressman Joe Wilson, beginning in 1989, mosques in Kashmir decared jihad and blared warnings from loudspeakers to the Hindus that they were infidels and had to leave Kashmir. He further says that "From 1989-1990, Islamists began a terror campaign to drive Hindus from Kashmir."⁷

1 Plight of Kashmiri Pandits Today
2 Kashmiri Pandit Culture
- 2.1 Religion
- 2.2 Kashmiri Pandit family names
3 Prominent Kashmiri Pandits
4 Forced migration from the Valley
5 Kashmiri Pandits in the Civil Services
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Plight of Kashmiri Pandits Today

Thousands of displaced Kashmiri Pandits live in refugee camps even today. Their status has been described as "Refugees in their own country". Indian government statistics show that there were 55,476 registered Kashmiri Pandit families living in Jammu, 34,088 in Delhi, and 19,338 in other states receiving government support. Government-managed camps housed 5,778 families in Delhi and Jammu. The government provided monthly cash relief of $70 (Rs 3,000) and basic dry rations to the 14,869 families in Jammu. In Delhi, authorities provided $75 (Rs 3,200) to 4,100 families.⁸

[edit] Kashmiri Pandit Culture

Kashmiri Pandits have made significant contributions to Indian thought and science. Charaka, Aryabhatta, Kalidasa, Abhinavagupta, Kalhana have been stalwarts in the fields of medicine, astronomy, literature, philosophy and history respectively. The Sanskrit language owes it origins to Kashmir^{[citation needed]} and most of its great scholars and poets (i.e. Bilhana, Mahimbhatta, Ksemraja, Vasugupta, Anandvardhana, Ksemendra) were Kashmiris. Women pandits were normally called as panditani.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Kashmir Shaivism

A Kashmiri panditani, photograph by Fred Bremner, circa ~1900

Kashmir's association with Hinduism is very old. The very name Kashmir is said to be derived from Kashyapa, one of the seven Saptarishis in Hindu mythology. Kashmiri Pandits are devout Shaivites. Kashmir is home to some of the holiest shrines in Hinduism like Amarnath, Kheer bhawani, Shrine of Sharda (in Pakistan-administered Kashmir), Shankaracharya Mandir, Hari Parbat, Zeethyar etc. A lot of these shrines were destroyed during and after the mass exodus of the pandits.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Kashmiri Pandit family names

The most common family names among Kashmiri Pandits include: Channa ,Handoo, Aga, Atal, Bandhu, Bhan, Bagati, Bhat/Bhatt(Butt), Budki(Burki), Chowdhary,Chakoo (Chaku), Dhar(Dar), Dass(Das), Dassi, Dulloo, Ganju(Ganjoo), Kaw, Gurtu, Hak, Haksar, Hangal, Hangoo, Hoon, Jaju, Jalali, Jotshi, Kachru(Kachroo), Kak, Kar, Kappu, Katju, Kaul(Koul), Kaw, Kemmu, Khar, Kasid, Kher, Khosa, Kitchlu(Kitchlew), Kunzru, Langoo, Malla, Mantoo, Mattoo, Muthoo, Misri, Natu, Nehru, Ogra, Pandit, Pandita, Parimoo, Qasba, Raina, Rayu, Razdan, Reu, Sadhu, Sahib, Sapru, Shah, Shivpuri, Shrunglu, Shunglu, Tufchi, Tangnu, Thusoo, Tikku /Tikoo, Wakhlu, Wanchoo/Wanchu, Wantoo/Wantu, Warikoo, Wattal, Wattoo, Yaksh, Zalpuri, Zaroo and Zutshi. Some Kashmiri Pandits use last names which are actually titles conferred upon them by kings.

[edit] Prominent Kashmiri Pandits

Main article: List of Kashmiri Pandits

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

S.N Channa Very Prominent Kashmiri Pandit.
S.N Channa was established and well known entrepreneur in early 90’s. His business was established in various parts of Kashmir.

[edit] Forced migration from the Valley

Kashmiri Pandits have suffered crimes amounting to ethnic cleansing from the Kashmir Valley, coinciding with the onset of the Islamic separatist movement in 1990. Some sources state that more than four to five thousand Kashmiri Pandits were killed and about four hundred thousand were made homeless by militant Muslims in the initial violence. US Rep Frank Pallone had referred to the Kashmiri Pandit movement as ethnic cleansing during his speech to the House of Representatives⁶.

[edit] Kashmiri Pandits in the Civil Services

The years after Indian Independence saw a large number of Kashmiri Pandits clearing the Civil Services Exam. At a point the percentage of the number of Kashmiri Pandits in the IAS (Indian Administrative Services) was said to be more than 25%.^{[citation needed]}. The reason for this was attributed to the strong emphasis that the community has always placed on education.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

1. http://www.kashmir-information.com/chronology.html
2. Kalhaṇa, Râjatarañgiṇî, Eng. trans. M.A. Stein. 2 vols. London, 1900.
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 preeminantly, 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. Spread of Islam in Kashmir,
Kashmir Pandits: Problem Prospects And Future by Dr. Ajay Chungroo,
Gairoo Kaa Akeyla Shiv Dr. Rajiv Kumar
6. http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj06_pallone/pr_aug24_india_letter.html
7. Statement by US Congressman Joe Wilson 8. Kashmiri Pandits still in camps after 15 years 9. Muhammad Qãsim : Tãrîkh-i-Firishta

[edit] External links

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