A Kashmiri Pandit is a name used to refer to a section of Hindus who originate from Kashmir.

The Kashmiri Pandits are the original inhabitants of the Valley of Kashmir. They have a rich culture and peaceful traditions that they have managed to maintain over five thousand years of recorded history. Kashmir is known amongst the Kashmiri Pandits and other Saraswats (who fled Kashmir during periods of Islamic persecution) as Sharadapeeth or the Abode of the Goddess of Learning and Fine Arts. During their five thousand years of history, they have made great contributions to world civilization in such diverse fields as religion, philosophy, Sanskrit literature, medicine, history, music and aesthetics. Kashmir's greatest historian, Kalhan, writes about his native land : "It is a country where the sun shines mildly, being the place created by Rishi Kashyap, for his glory - big and lofty houses, learning, saffron, icy cool water and grapes rare in Heaven are plentiful here - Kailash is the best place in the three worlds (Tri-lok), Himalayas the best place in Kailash, and Kashmir the best place in Himalayas".

Kashmir, the land of rishis and saints, was however, ill-prepared for the Islamic onslaught that it has had to suffer over the last 500 years. During the Islamic period of rule, the Kashmiri Pandit population dwindled steadily and there were numerous times when the persecution was so severe that a large number of them had to flee to the hot plains of India. This process has been recently repeated (from 1990 onwards), but on a much vaster scale. The Kashmiri Pandits have been driven from their homeland after a campaign of intimidation and harassment was launched against them by the military-wing of the Islamic secessionists. Kashmiri Pandits were forced from their hearths and homes at the point of gun. The objective of this ethnic cleansing was to create a minority free Kashmir valley where the goal of Islamization could be easily forced on the ordinary people.It is, indeed, a very sad fact that the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits has literally gone unnoticed by the World community.

See also

• Pandit

External link

http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/atrocities/index.html