[Reality] Islamic terrorism and Kashmiri Hindu

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You must have heard about Kashmiri Hindus on TV channels, read about us in newspapers and maybe even made friends with one of us in your college or workplace. You probably empathize with us. But

How much do you know about kashmiri hindus? 

If recounting what we went through does not send shivers down your spine or impel you to safeguard yourself from the menace of Abrahamic religious intolerance, well… you just don’t know enough. 

Forced conversion by Islamic terrorist groups

If we go by written history, Kashmiri Hindus are the aborigines of Kashmir, the native pagans who survived centuries of cruel oppression just to keep the flag of Indian civilization fluttering in the valley against all odds. From the 14th-century to the present times, the Hindus of Kashmir have been at the literal bleeding edge of this clash of civilizations. As a result, over the course of a few centuries, most Kashmiris have been converted out of the Hindu fold by force, intimidation and brutal violence that characterized the better part of Muslim rule in Kashmir. 

Some people ask:

why all Kashmiri Hindus belong to just the Brahmin caste? 

Well that’s because all other castes were converted to Islam by the swords of tyrants who ruled the valley. Tyrants like Sikander Butshikan, Ali Shah, Shamsuddin Iraqi and others not only carried out terrible hindu genocides but also destroyed the centres of Kashmiri spiritual and intellectual life – the great temples like the Sun Temple at Martand and countless other shrines. 

Kashmiri hindu women's situation

Kashmiri hindu women are beautiful. There was a time in the valley under Afghan(Islamic) rule when their striking looks became such a burden on their families that their noses had to be cut-off and their heads shaved to protect the Hindu girls from the lustful eyes of ruling barbarians. 

Kashmir was finally free of any significant Hindu presence and influence

All this created pressure on the dwindling Hindu community to flee from the valley, not once or twice but seven times since Islam came to Kashmir, with 1990 being the final blow when Kashmir was finally free of any significant Hindu presence and influence. This final blow took the valley to the brink of severing its last ties with the Indian civilization. 

Local Kashmiri Muslim Support to Islamic terrorist groups

But there was a qualitative difference between this and the earlier exoduses, that is the involvement of common muslim citizens in the act of terrorising the non-believers. Indeed, while the Islamic terrorist outfits were funded and propped up by Pakistan, it was the local Kashmiri muslims who enthusiastically filled their ranks and provided crucial logistical and moral support to the mujahideen(terrorist group). As a result, it was common in the late eighties and early nineties for Hindu men to find their Muslim neighbours and friends-for-decades turning hostile overnight… to the extent of shooting them dead or raping their women. 

Nilakantha Raina

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Take, for example, the killing of Nilakantha Raina, a teacher who was killed by his own muslim students in cold blood while his neighbours assisted the killers in quickly escaping from the crime scene. The murder was meticulously planned and skilfully executed. It was a demonstration of superlative teamwork by his muslim students and neighbours, who had probably been taught the virtues of collaboration by the veteran teacher himself. 

Girija Kumari Tiku

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Girija Kumari Tiku was a laboratory assistant at a government high school. She had already left the valley along with other Hindus in early 1990 and was living in a refugee settlement in the Jammu province. She went back to the valley for a few days to collect her dues from the school, never to return. On her way to the school, she was kidnapped by Muslims, gangraped and sodomized, before being cut into two pieces on a saw mill. She was survived by a four-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter. 

Professor K.L. Ganjoo

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Professor K.L. Ganjoo and his wife, Mrs. Prana Ganjoo, were kidnapped by Muslims along with their nephew. After showering bullets on the professor, his dead body was quickly disposed off into the turbulent waters of the Jhelum. Like in the movies, his nephew was given a choice to jump into the river or watch his aunt’s modesty getting outraged, of which he took the first choice and survived. Mrs. Ganjoo? She was gangraped, her breasts chopped off before she was killed by Muslims. 

Misleading narrative about kashmir

Just as the dust of Hindu eviction from the valley was settling, it dawned upon the terrorist leadership of the valley and their apologists in the media all over the world that the public perception of the secessionist movement was getting damaged. 

So, a narrative began to be promoted that the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan, had conspired to get the Hindus evicted so that the Indian security forces may freely oppress the Muslim population. 

Kashmir is a religious and civilizational conflict not political

The religious terrorism of Kashmiris underwent a cosmetic surgery and began to be called a political struggle. Always remember, Kashmir is a religious and civilizational conflict. It has no political dimension, except on the surface. 

Now, there are lakhs of gruesome cases of Islamic  terror and betrayal to narrate but I chose Nilkantha Raina, Girja Tikoo and the Ganjoo couple to drive home an important point. All of them were killed after the Hindu community had already left. 

Jagmohan

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Jagmohan was no longer the governor, he had been recalled by the Home Minister, Mufti Syed, in May 1990. These atrocities were thus a signal from the majority community to the exiled Hindus never to even think of returning to their homeland. Their houses had been occupied, their places were being renamed. Kashmir was no longer theirs. 

Stockholm syndrome

It’s been nearly three decades now. Kashmiri Hindu is a dying identity. The trauma of several centuries and the terror we have witnessed under the watch of the democratic Indian State has snatched away a sense of belonging and meaning from us. We remain unacknowledged victims of terror often blamed for being victims of islamic terror. Some of us suffer from the Stockholm syndrome. We have been used by political parties across the spectrum for petty electoral benefits and mocked by ignorant fellow Indians for not resisting the armed terrorists. Yet, we are the proud inheritors of a glorious culture that has been systematically destroyed over several centuries. Ultimately, we are a reminder of what may happen to YOU if you continue to live in denial. So, 

What do Kashmiri Hindus want from fellow Indians?

1. Learn from our experience and give up the illusion that the government, the judiciary, their holy book - the Constitution or one of those Human Rights cottage industry NGOs will come to your rescue in adverse circumstances. Your family’s safety is, first and foremost, your business.
2. Don’t fall for terrorist propaganda and understand that giving up Kashmir is not an option for India.
3. Kashmir is as much yours as it is ours. Now that the articles 35A and 370 have been made inoperative, it is important that the step is taken to its logical conclusion, which is to alter the demographic composition of the state to neutralize the extremist mindset that has taken hold of the people of the valley.
4. Most importantly, help Kashmiri Hindus politically. Don’t forget that only the legal status of the state has changed. The conditions that led to the eviction of Kashmiri Hindus remain.
5. Don’t expect Kashmiri Hindus to go back to the same conditions to get slaughtered. Build pressure on the government to come out with a roadmap for resettlement of Hindus, not just Kashmiri Hindus, in the valley. 

Kashmir is the crown of the Indic and Saraswasti civilization. It is a kshetram that has blessed us with spiritual, intellectual and cultural marvels. It is the fountainhead of Bharat’s creative genius. Reclaim Kashmir to reclaim your own self.