Kashmiri Pandits, like me, have endured many hardships that still haunt our essence. The carnage we endured and the adversity we suffered were silently witnessed by the entire world.
However, what happened is history; the future is still there to delve into. How long could we cling to the same old story of our exodus from the valley? There is always the second side of a coin and a second stint in life.
When the bad ends, the good has to commence. It cannot rain ad infinitum; the Sun has to shine one day.
After the migration, most Kashmiri Pandits flourished despite the looming shadow of adversity. But thankfully, heartrending times are over and done with.
When memories are stirred, emotions and sentiments are evoked. We must continue to live with our pleasant reminiscences while simultaneously showing the world that, even as we face hardships at every stage of life, we have reached the pinnacle of our lives and careers.
A majority of the Kashmiri Pandit community have professional qualifications and are currently excelling in their careers. Literally, every second student in the KP community is an engineer now. The Kashmiri community has now been glutted with MBA’s and Engineers, which wouldn’t have been possible without the generous assistance and backing of the government of Maharashtra.
There are so many doctors and business administrators in our community, raising the standard of education beyond expectations. People who barely crossed the Jawahar tunnel are now voyaging in different parts of the world. People who could barely speak Hindi now converse fluently in English. The technology and modernism they are witnessing would be like a flight of imagination, which would normally have started and ended with them.
Students and younger generations have benefited immensely. They are still eligible for numerous educational quotas that offer a wide range of opportunities. Employees of the J&K Government are still getting remuneration from the State, without even picking up a single nail. People have engaged themselves in part-time and even full-time work, which comes as an additional stipend.
Kashmiris are among the best-settled and most affluent people outside the nation, residing in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, and the Gulf region. Living outside the valley has changed them tremendously. The old, typical Kashmiri accent has evaporated, and their grasp of English and Hindi has sharpened, putting them on par with others in both national and international markets. We are no longer the underprivileged ones, but regrettably, still, expect sympathy from others.
Our uprooting has left an incurable scar in our hearts, but we must acknowledge that ordinary Kashmir Muslims have equally suffered in the Valley, if not more. Keeping religion aside, the biggest victims of the India-Pakistan feud are the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The region has neither prospered economically nor politically, and what should have been the most prosperous region in South Asia is engulfed in flames.
If the Afghan Taliban can negotiate with the US after being bombed for 17 years, if North and South Korea can discuss peace, if Japan and Russia, the US and Cuba, and the European nations can live in harmony after two World Wars, then why not the Kashmiri Community, who are not really at odds against each other?
We cannot expect good times to last forever, but neither can overcast days last too long. The initiative has to come from within the community. The scattered Kashmiri community (both Pandits and Muslims) must reunite again for the progress and development of our land, our Kashmir!
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