The Vivek Agnihotri-directed film The Kashmir Files has received tremendous appreciation for its strong story. It is set against the backdrop of Kashmiri Pandits escaping the region. It is a blot on Kashmir’s history that the Kashmiri Pandits obtained a sense of security but were forced to flee the Valley. People all over the world were affected by the film. They’re curious as to how this fire has remained buried for 32 years. Sometimes, instead of establishing connections, it is pain that brings us closer to each other.
Anupam Kher, you’re a talented actor, producer, Kashmiri Pandit and a victim, aren’t you?
How the Kashmiri Pandits gained a sense of security and had to leave the Valley is a stain on our Kashmiri culture. Since 1990, I have seen various platforms to publicly inform the public about the genocide and the expulsion of Kashmir pandits. But to prove brutality and bring it to the world, an honest film like the Kashmir Files is needed.
This kind of effect is not unique but also impossible. “Yeh movement toh aur kabhi ho hi nahihin sakta (it will never happen again).” When Steven Spielberg compiled Schindler’s List, the shock the audience felt was nothing but an unknown historical event. People learnt about the Holocaust among Jews from history books and many great films such as Schindler’s List. But what is the Kashmir Pandit genocide called? It fell silent. After watching the film, 95% of viewers said, ‘Aisa hua tha mujhe toh pata hi nahi.’
Why do you think this violence against the whole community is unknown to humanity?
Because it was suppressed by the government machinery, journalists, the media. It was hidden from everyone because Kashmiri Pandits are not a part of the vote bank.
Perhaps, I would relate any crises or incidents to my collegemates who hail from the Kashmir region. They were from Jammu and Srinagar and their parents were serving the army and military engineering services. We studied in Pune and Western Maharashtra. Most people might not know that the Saraswat brahmins were a part of Kashmiri Pandits and were a strong lineup of highly educated and well-respected people.
In 1989-90 in Kashmir, Islamic militants attacked and expelled Kashmiri Hindu Pandits from the Valley with the slogan “Raliv Galiv ya Khaliv” (“convert (to Islam) leave or die”). Pushkar teacher Nath Pandit feared for the safety of his son Karan, who was accused by militants of being an Indian spy. Pushkar asked his friend Brahma Dutt, an official, for Karan’s protection. Brahma travelled with Pushkar to Kashmir and saw the situation and the violence against the Kashmir Pandits. The problem was answered by Prime Minister J&K who suspended Brahma.
Kaul was a Hindu poet who maintained good relations with Muslims. Kaul took several Pandits to his house, but a group of militants arrived to hide Kaul and his son to provide protection. The rest of the Pandits left the area but were later shocked to see the bodies of Kaul and his son hanging in the trees. Pandit refugees from the Kashmir Valley settled in Jammu and lived on meagre rations and precarious conditions. Brahma had been the appointed advisor to the new J&K governor. At his request, the interior minister visited the camps in Jammu, where Pushkar demanded the removal of Article 370 and of Kashmir pandits. Brahma managed to get Sharda to work in Nadimarg, Kashmir, and the family moved there.
One day, a group of militants led by Bitta disguised themselves in the Indian army and arrived in Nadimarg. They surrounded the Pandits who lived there. She resisted Shard when the militants captured her eldest son Shiva. Farooq was upset that he had been stripped naked and saw that his body had been halved. He lined up Shiva and the remaining Pandits and shot them in a mass grave. Pushkar was rescued to spread the word about the incident.
The film takes a look at why this mantra may actually be deeply flawed, and shares that while we’re called to forgive and reconcile with one another, we are not always called to “forget” about situations and traumas we’ve experienced.
Other carnage memories in Kashmir are Handwara 1990, Sopore 1993 and Bijbehara 1993, in addition to the Pandit massacres of Wandhama 1998 and Nadimarg 2003. Our history moulds us, guides us and influences every action we make. “That is either something we learn from or something we repeat.” Yes, dwelling on our sorrows for an extended period is unhealthy. And it’s extremely difficult to drive through life with a shattered windshield or look through our rearview mirror. And driving through life with a cracked windshield or glancing in the rear-view mirror is incredibly challenging.
The film Kashmir Files is a “powerful story” that depicts the “suffering, agony, struggle and the plight of Kashmiri Pandits” in the 1990s.