9/20th January the HOLOCAUST Day of Kashmir

Ajay Bharti

The night intervening 19/20th January 1990 will be remembered as the blackest night of Kashmir. It was darkest, deadliest and perhaps the longest night for every Kashmiri Hindu. It was the night when even pretence of order, brotherhood, harmony and coexistence became meaningless.  Much touted ‘Kashmiryat’ was deliberately allowed to flow down the dirty lanes of everypart of Kashmir valley. Majority Muslim community of Kashmir without any distinction of age, ideology and sex, was on roads. They were convinced about victory and were in fact sounding as if they were participating in the victory rally itself. ‘Azadi’ theoretically projected to mean secession from India was believed to be round the corner and every member of Kashmiri Muslim majority was out to have a firsthand experience of having seen it. Even the saner elements lost control of their senses and refused to understand or realize what it meant for the original inhabitants, the Hindu minority of Kashmir. They seemed to enjoy the frightened faces of minority. More daring among these scoundrels were dreaming of ‘Male Ganeemat’ ( bounty they loot) from the harassed Hindus.

No Hindu can forget that nightmare. Sea of people on every side raising every conceivable provocative slogans, not only against India- the perceived occupier of “Kashmir’ but, also against the fellow Kashmiris who only had a different religious allegiance. Most horrendous were the slogans that in fact sounded like orders asking the minority community to leave Kashmir without their womenfolk. That dreadful night gave an idea of what ‘Nizam-e-Mustafa’ would be like.

Fearing the worst-death as well as dishonor of women folk- every Hindu family in every part of valley huddled together. In villages where there were only few families, they assembled in one house they thought will delay their end. Scared community tried to call anybody and everybody it thought had some say somewhere in administration to report the threatening atmosphere and to see if anything could be done. Alas every authority seemed to be looking the other side.  Shocked Hindu community was left to itself in that chilly cold of biting winter. But cold was of no consequence compared to the danger of waiting beasts, which till then seemed to be neighbours, friends, classmates, students and or colleagues. Now they were together in just one form brute monsters. Every member of minority community in his own way was thinking about the possible manner in which he or she will confront the last moment, determined to deny  attacking swine dreamed sense of pleasure. 

To further worsen the apprehensions of the frightened Hindu minority, the so called sober elements of Muslim majority who till then seemed to maintain a visible distance from the disruptionists were seen joining the maddening crowds. This in a way was signal for the Hindu minority that the damage had been done beyond repair. 

Whisper campaigns, followed by pasting of “hit Lists”; and loud-speakers fitted on Mosques spitting venom and asking Hindus to leave within twenty-four hours in a way put the final seal on fate of the minority community.

Hindu families huddled together were praying and preparing their daughters to end their life before falling into the hands of hooligans. The youngmen were thinking of fighting till end irrespective of the consequences.

That darkest night finally came to an end. But, the scars which were left on the souls of the community can never go. That night has become an inseparable part of the collective memory of the community and is recognized as the final reason for the mass displacement. Administration on that night and on the days and nights that followed or preceded that night was nowhere visible. It was clear that terrorists of JKLF had taken over the valley. They were dictating terms. Minority community had nowhere to go and the only way out that was available to them was to leave the place of their origin. Remaining members of majority were not silent spectators, but active participants in executing the diktats of terrorist leadership. Hordes of people on street-corners passing provocative comments on approaching Hindu was a common scene.

 Recalling his own experience of that frightful night, Sh. Shiban Krishan Tikoo a prominent Pandit writes, “Time now was 11pm. Now onwards it semed the time too froze. I started receiving desperate calls, now from Bansi Parimo, a little tater from Rageshwari ,both from Sanat Nagar, and then from Wanabal and Rawalpora. End seemed a few minutes away and help was coming from nowhere. I called up who’s who of JK Police, some did not pick up the phone and others sheepishly expressed their inability and helplessness to provide any relief. I called Mohan Chiragi in Delhi and got all the nos: of those who mattered. One of them was the then Home Secretary, one Shiromani Sharma, He was sort of disturbed by my call and was shockingly surprised to hear that the situation was that bad. He confessed that nobody had informed him about this looming tragedy. He promised help. I did not stop there. I traced Mufti Mohd Syed in Mumbai,where he was addressing a public meeting, and got in touch with him. It took me a lifetime to reach him, it was just past midnight and he advised me not to panic, help was on way. I repeatedly called some of my Muslim friends and soon discovered that it was a futile exercise. In the meantime, our immediate neighbors with whom we shared a common wall, stealthily walked into our ground floor sitting room to feel little more at ease .My calls to army did not mature and the blood thirsty, hostile crowd seemed to be knocking at our doors. Death was imminent. Something had to be done and done very quickly. My brother and myself chalked out a plan. Plan to die heroically”.

Ever since, the community is observing 19th and 20th January as Holocaust day. Functions, protests , Dharnas and remembrance meetings are observed across the globe to remind the civilized society the horrific experience the displaced Hindus of Kashmir had to undergo.