The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s is in the spotlight following the release of The
Kashmir Files.
Sociology of Protests:
TN Madan calls ‘kashmiriyat’ as a pluralistic culture of tolerance and acceptance of
the religious and cultural differences and not syncretism. Kashmiriyat (or Kashmiri way
of life) refers to Kashmiri Hindu and Kashmiri Muslim bonding as is manifested in their
cultural practices, which got affected after the displacement and resettlement of KPs
outside.
According to Rattan Lal Hangloo (2012), the concept of Kashmiryat refers to
communal harmony, multiculturalism and the tolerance that the majority community
displays towards the minority community. It has also been defined as an ideological
foundation of ethnic nationalism or a marker of Kashmiri identity that cuts across
religious divide.
Osella and Gardner writes that -Shift to a new host community involves issues such
as change in identity, meanings and perceptions of 'ourselves and others’ by us. The
fact that the Kashmiri Hindus view themselves as separate from the Kashmiri Muslims
after displacement is evident from the fact that ‘Panun Kashmir’, a collective movement
of the displaced Kashmiri Hindus, has demanded a separate homeland for the Kashmiri
Hindus.
Charu Sawhney argues that there has been a decrease in intercommunity participation
in festivals and life-cycle ceremonies as was the case in Kashmir, symbolizing a
weakening of the concept of Kashmiriyat.
However I. Khan (2009) responded at the All India Sociological Conference in
Kashmir to the claim by T.N Madan that the exodus and the rise of militancy in
Kashmir were followed by ‘The Unmaking of Composite Culture’. He considers that
the concern of a section of the Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims with the
negative impact of militancy on the Kashmiri composite culture shows their
preoccupation with an attempt to preserve Kashmiriyat.
He believes that rites of cremation still performed by Kashmiri Muslims for the
deceased Pandits in Kashmir should dismiss a misconception that Kashmiriyat in its
true essence is dead.
According to Sawhney and Mehrotra, in the new socio-economic context of the host
territory, the kashmiripandits face a lack/availability of Bourdieu's economic capital
(material resources), social capital (social networks) and cultural capital (skills
especially in the case of younger generation) which are prime determinants for the
changes in the way of life after displacement.
Tönnies’ concept of gemeinschaft (community) was characterized by a high degree of
personal closeness and emotional bonding. The KPs lived in a gemeinschaft
community in Kashmir whether residing in Kashmir villages or Srinagar city as
opposed to gesellschaft (society) characteristic of the experiences of anonymity in the
urban host territories of Jammu and Noida. Hence, some perceive it as a threat to their
culture.
However, Riyaz Punjabi believes that the displaced Kashmiri Hindus have their
‘beliefs and social structures embedded in their consciousness’ which are connected
with their homeland and cannot be erased. Therefore, Displaced KPs reterritorialize in
the new locations. Reterritorialization means to lose one’s territory, and then
construct a new community within a new area.
