We, as Indians, have witnessed numerous incidents of death, despair and tragedy over the years. Some of those tales are etched so deeply in the hearts of the victims and generations to come, that the pain is still alive and some incidents take refuge somewhere in the corners of our memory fort. We don’t usually talk about those memories and even if we do, we don’t bother to find out the actual state of the occurrence and the consequences.
History has always exhibited that when religion triumphs over humanity, it is the ‘common people’ who pay a heavy price. One such memoir has been put together by author Rahul Pandita in his book -‘Our moon has blood clots -The Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.’
Not many people know the in details about the dreadful event that took place in 1990 when the Kashmiri Hindus, a minority group dwelling in Kashmir since independence, were forced to leave their homeland on the account of intolerable atrocities and threats from militant groups.
The author of this book, a 14-year-old then, was a victim of this along with his family, and he has presented a poignant series of injustices and adversities the community endured. He takes us through the time of their peaceful existence in Kashmir when there was a strong essence of harmony. He then talks about how on a fateful night, their world came to the verge of destruction with friends turning into foes and saviours turning into perpetrators.
Rahul, and many Hindu families like his, had to succumb to that situation and had to leave everything behind to survive, to live without terror but in misery. Why did this happen and that too for no fault of theirs? A peaceful community, that desired nothing from anybody was subjected to killings, rapes, robbery and finally exodus. Even after going through this devastation that had happened due to political-religious reasons, the author does not express any grudges against the Muslim community in his book.
Instead, he gives an account of how the government of India and Jammu and Kashmir failed to protect them. He describes his misery of being an outsider in his own country and establishing himself without any help whatsoever. He talks about the conditions that Kashmiri civilians face and expresses his unhappiness over it because he believes that those who bear the brunt of political and religious disputes do not wish to see others in the same situation.
In one part of the book, he describes how even Hindus of Jammu ill-treated Kashmiri Hindus for being refugees and took advantage of their situation. With heavy grief, he states, “Nobody wanted us”. This line brought me to tears while reading and it kind of resonates in my mind. Can there be a feeling worse than this? Perhaps Not.
And even after years now, no government has come forward to protect their interests and to help them restore what they have lost. I believe all that the political parties did was just use their unfortunate tale to create vote banks and communal divides and I don’t think they have any an intention of doing anything in the favour of Kashmiri Pandits even in future.
People in our country often jump on the bandwagon of the most popular argument and feign concern for victims of communal atrocities, however, in my opinion, they are not really interested in helping them out.
How can we impose our choices on them when we are not familiar with their experiences? But if somebody really wishes to understand the pain they have gone through one must read this book. The portrayal is strong enough to leave the readers with a heavy heart.
Not every wound heals with time, some remain forever in the form of clots, blood clots.