CHAPTER FIVE

From the Field: Exploring Cultural Change

I

In the previOus chapter, we discussed the method used during the

course of this work, the area of research and the field of study which

· constituted the universe of for the purpose of this work. In this

chapter, we will focus on the following aspects of cultural change

among the Kashmiri Pandits in the camps of Delhi:

• Occupation

• Political orientation

• Education

• Marriage

• Religion , mainly festivals

• Cuisine

• Language

• Dress

The older generation is obviously more aware about the 'original'

culture and consequently the changes that have taken place. This

implies that there is a notion of what cultural was in the past and

what is experienced as culture today is different from this notion. In

culture studies any discussion on cultural change presumes a state

that was prior to the present period. The older generation among the

Kashmiri Pandits could also explain why certain customs were

followed, what certain rituals meant. In depth interviews were

conducted on each of the aspects enumerated above and an attempt

has been made here to present the Kashmiri Pandit culture as it was

and the changes that have occurred both in Kasl}mir and in the camp

but our focus will primarily be on the cultural changes that we can

see in the camps.

Let us define acculturation so that we can locate the cultural

processes that have taken place on forced migration. "Acculturation

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refers to the process by which an individual or group acquires the

cultural characteristics of another through direct contact and

interaction. It can also be defined as the process of acquiring the item

or items of culture of a society not one's own." (Singh, 1998: 12)

In order to understand the pre-migrant culture of the Kashmiri

Pandits it is imperative to refer to one of the c~assical works on

Kashmir by T.N.Madan, a social anthropologist, 'Family and Kinship:

study of the Pandits in rural Kashmir'(1989). Madan, a Kashmiri

Pandit himself has written perhaps the most comprehensive work on ·

the culture of the Kashmiri Pandits. He did his field work in

Kashmir, in the village of Utrassu-Umanagri , during 1957-58. The

main focus of his work was the family and kinship structure among

the Pandits of rural Kashmir. When Madan conducted his study the

· Kashmiri culture was already in the midst of a change due' to the

forces of westernization and m<;:>dernization, we shall see the examples

of this in the appropriate sections of this chapter. He also had the

advantage of speaking in Kashmiri which definitely added to the

quality of his field work as he could capture the nuances.

Thus, the two mam obvious differences in Madan's work and this

thesis are that the formers work was done in Kashmir and also the

time difference. The situation. for the Kashmiri Pandits has changed a

lot with their forced migration which probably they had never

foreseen. Madan's comment that is of immense importance for us is

that "Brahmans have essentially the same culture and social

organisation all over rural Kashmir." (Madan, 1989: 11). He writes

about the Kashmiri Pandits:

The Saraswat brahmans of Kashmir who constitute the

great majority of their native Hindus, prefer a somewhat

different interpretation of their caste name. Several of my

informants linked to that of Saraswati , the Brahmanical

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goddess of learning and claimed that ~he Kashmiri Brahmins

are distinct from the Saraswat Brahmans elsewhere. . . the

Brahmans of Kashmir were in past times renowned for their

learning and scholastic achievements and are known as KPs

all over the country. As is well known the Sanskrit word

Pandit means a learned man they refer to ·themselves as

bhatta , which is the prakrit form of the Sanskrit bhartri

meaning doctor, the designation of great scholars. Besides

the Pandits there are two other Hlndu minority groups in

Kashmir - buher (bohra) and the purib (purbi). They have

been almost assimilated into Pandit culture although

intefiilarriage and inter-dining are as yet the exception

rather than the rule. (Ibid: 13)

II

In this section we shall look at the field and its various aspects in

greater detail.

CAMP ORGANISATION

The following section describes the living conditions in the camp, the

manner in which the Pandits shifted into these camps and the

process of settling down into the camps. A description of the physical

features of the camp has already been given in the previous chapter.

Information regarding the camp and the camp residents was given by

the senior most male member of the camp, he has been in the camp

form the very beginning of the migration and is considered as the

leader of the camp and in a way their spokesperson. We can see

informal hierarchy at work here which later becomes more formalised,

what is interesting is that the camp residents consider him an

authority on the ancient shastras and scriptures of ,the Hindus which

lend to considerable legitimacy to his leadership. He later disclosed

that he was the camp commander and hence was in a position to give

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information about the occupation and education of the residents,

which helped in deducing the class to which they belonged before and

after the migration, age of marriage, size and structure of the family.

All this helped in giving an overall picture of the residents of the

camp.

The initial number of families in the camp was 4 7 and now there are

about 22 families. Those who have moved out have taken houses/

apartments on rent while the r~cher families have purchased their

own houses. Most of the residents of this camp came to Delhi in

January 1990. It was in the month of April that the community hall or

baraat ghar was allotted to them. Monsoon set in, by the months of

July-August and the ceiling of the camp collapsed. The residents had

to then sleep in the verandah and many stayed awake at night as

there was no place to sleep. There were eight rooms downstairs, two

rooms upstairs and three halls. The rooms had two families each.

There were six families in two of the halls and eight in the third. In

the halls, the' families used bed-sheets to create separate spaces for

each family. The then chief minister of Delhi Mr. Khurana on seeing

this asked the NDMC(New Delhi Municipal Corporation) to built walls

within a week. The bed sheets were replaced by half walls which

divided the community hall into semi- apartment spaces g1vmg

providing the barest minimum privacy to the families and the huge

hall was divided into small rooms. This arrangement however did not

provide any privacy to the family members within the family, as the

people had no privacy while sleeping. And this period saw a drop in

the birth rates and rise in the divorces among the Kashmiri Pandits.

Following which new rooms were built and the kitchens we~e built

much later. Each camp has its own District Collector (Earlier all the

camps had only one District Collector that was at Tis Hazari). Later on

each of the nine camps were allotted their own District Collector from

whom they could collect ration and money and also address their

problems.

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It was decided that the camp should have a representative. The first

camp commandment was a certain Mr. Arun Kaul. The elders would

choose the camp commandment. Kaul quit as the camp

representative when he got a job. Mr. Triloknath became the camp

commandment. AccOJ;ding to him, today the camp commandment

does not have the same importance as before. This was because the

people are not as helpless as before. The residents were earlier

unemployed, which was now no longer the case, and the government

is helping them, in whatever limited fashion it can. Thus, the

dependence of the residents on the camp commandment has

decreased. Now the duties revolve around

• ration - on the type and quality of cereal supplied by the

government

• registration of the people in the camp

• Building maintenance - cleanliness, electrical fittings etc.

When the Pandits had just arrived in the camp, they had hardly any

possessions. Many organizations had come asking what they needed

and some had come with some old clothes. The Pandits had to wear

second hand clothes, as many did not more than more than one pair

of clothes. They did not even have bedsheets, which meant that they

had to sleep on stone pavements or on cement flooring. One of the

respondents remarked that in the summer months it was actually

pleasant to sleep directly on the floor. Later on, the government gave

them a mattress and a bed-sheet which was not adequate as the

entire family could not sleep on one mattress. The government also

granted a stove along with kerosene and two utensils.

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P) had come with

milk powder, vegetables and bread for the children. They also got

some blankets and extra mattresses. A monthly allowance was paid to

them in the beginning it was Rs. 500 j- every month, this amount has

175

now been increased to Rs. 3400/-.( when I went to the camp first it

was Rs 2400/- by the end of the year it was increased to Rs3400/).

The ~atch was that the increased amount would be given to those who

would take up the flats built by the Government at Dwarka.( see

conclusion).

For the past five years the Delhi government is bearing the cost of the

expenditure on the Pandits. The government allotted some space to

the Pandits to open shops. As they did not have money for capital,

they collaborated ~ith those who could raise the necessary capital. . '

However, they were cheated in the process. 'It is important to note

that the Kashmiri migrants receive financial help and , material

assistance from the government of Delhi and they complain of total

apathy from the government of their home state, who they feel wants

to break off all connection with the Hindus.

The Pandits had to buy items, which they had never-used in Kashmir.

Let us look at some examples. One such item was a necessity- the

refrigerator. In Kashmir bec,ause ofcthe climatic conditions, there was

no necessity of a refrigerator. However, the Delhi scorching summer

months makes the refrigerator essential. Another habit they had to do

away with was the method of washing clothes. In Kashmir, the women

used to carry the dirty clothes to the streams and wash it there. In

Delhi, both inside and outside the camp, this was not possible. Some

of the well off families had purchased washing machines. After -coming

to Delhi, here we refer to the camp; the Pandits had to buy steel

almirahs. In their homes in Kashmir, they used to have built in '

wooden almirahs. On coming to the camp, the Pandits had to get used

to the idea of a movable almirahs.

The conversations with the Kashmiri Pandits were based on the semi­

structured questionnaire mentioned in the fourth chapter, which

allowed for a free and unrestricted flow of information. The Pandits in

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the camp commented that so far the people who had come to their

camps mostly talked about what had transpired in Kashmir, the

reasons behind the migration and the steps being taken by the

government and the Pandits to improve the situation. The Pandits

especially -the older ones were quite eager to talk about the topics on

which information was sought as they felt no one .had ever bothered to

find out about these things which were of vital importance to the

survival of their cultural identity. There was a certain amount of.

disillusionment on their part too as many people had come and

spoken to them but nobody made an effort to change the situation

and students like me just got the required information and never

came back.

Nevertheless, they were eager to talk about their culture, as they

believed it to be different and superior to the culture in which they

found themselves now. The older generation was nostalgic about their

life in Kashmir, and at the mention of their native land tears would

well up in their eyes. They were nostalgic not so much about their lost

prosperity as they were about thei~ land form whose womb they were

violently torn apart, the smells of the nature, and the sights of the

seasons and the loss of friends and families still fresh in their

memories as if they had happened yesterday, and not a decade and a

half ago. The fading memories of the older generation still remain

sharp where Kashmir is concemed.

' In the following pages the vanous aspects of study will discussed

individually. This will be based on what Madan had to say about the

Kashmiri way of life about forty years ago and what the respondents

, have to say today. It was not possible to include every conversation

held on every topic; as a result the ones quoted are those of outmost

relevance and importance. Effort will be made to distinguish between

the changes brought about by due to the natural course of time and

those by forced migration. This is essential as we are concerned with

177

the effect of forced migration on culture and clubbing together the

changes bought about over a period of time by different causes will

defeat the purpose of the research.

The discussion shall begin with the changes in occupational pattern

of the Pandits after their migration to Delhi. This is because the prime

concern of any individual is to find employment in order to. sustain

himself and hisjher family. Let us now begin with the maih section of

not only the chapter but of the thesis itself.

OCCUPATION

Occupation is one of outmost concern to any person as everything

else- educ?.tion, cultural pursuits; marriage is directly or indirectly

linked t() it. It is essential to first establish the employment options

which were available to the Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir and then

move on to the changes that have occurred after the migration to

Delhi.

In Kashmir, agriculture is the backbone of the state's economy.

Kashmir is essentially rural and eighty percent of the population

depends on agriculture for their living. While rice is the staple food of

Kashmir; wheat, rice maize, barley is the staple food of the people in

the Jammu region. The Kashmiris also grew almonds, apples, pear,

walnuts, cherry and saffron and exported out of the state and

country. Naturally the Pandits could not pursue this occupation on

their migration and it also meant that they had to leave behind their

main asset- their land.

Madan writes about the occupation of the Pandits in Kashmir:

The hall mark of an aristocratic Pandit family is that

none of its living male members or ancestors bas ever

engaged in manual labour. However there are many who

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cultivate their own land become tenants to other Pandits

or migrate to the city of Srinagar as cooks and domestic

servants. In Srinagar the contempt for manual labour is

more general and this for three reasons: firstly,

appointment to government servants has been as it were,

the prerogative of the Pandits so much so that it has been

accepted as their traditional occupation for census

purposes. Secondly, menial and domestic service is

provided to city dwelling Pandits by rural Pandits who,

driven by economic need, do not mind engaging in

manuallabou'r away from their homes. Thirdly, there is

of course, no cultivation of land in the city except by

vegetable gardeners who are invariably Muslims. City

dwelling Pandits regard themselves as superior to their

rural brethren with whom manual labour is associated.

Salaried jobs are the main source of income for urban

Pandits. (1989: 21)

Forced migration meant that the Pandits lost their means of

employment- some temporarily; some permanently. It is interesting to

see what occupations/jobs the Pandits took up after coming to the

camp. The professionally qualified class - doctors, engineers etc found

it easier top get a job. The_ agriculturists were the real sufferers, as

they could not find a job, which suited them. It is interesting to see

whether desperation led to the Pandits taking up jobs that they other

wise would not have and how this would have fitted in with the

ritualistic notions of purity and pollution which the Kashmiri Pandits

so dearly hold.

The camp commander spoke at length on this issue as he knew the

details of the work the people in the camp were doing and also their

background in Kashmir. This comparison was necessary to determine

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the change in the occupational status and loss of income, if any,

among the Pandits.

The respondent was very emphatic about the type of jobs the Pandits

could not take up, however desperate he j she was.

No Kashmiri Hindu will have anything to do with

. occupations connected with meat/ fish business, <?leaning,

and leather. These are Mussalman occupations. Kitne bhi

neech ho yea nahin karenge.( even the lowest of Hindu will

not do this).

Most of the Hindus were into agriculture or government

service. The main occupation of the Brahmin is to study,

teach or do servke; very few venture into business. The

main issue was that the Pandits used to own most of the

land while· the Muslims had, almost no land. Sheikh

Abdullah bought in the Land Ceiling Act whereby anybody

owning more than a hundred kinal of land had to give it

away. This land went to the Muslims who were landless. As

the level of education increased among the Muslims, they

realized the economic differences between the Pandits and

the Muslims.

Similar views were expressed by another respondent: \ .

The government has not helped at all. Earlier it gave us five

hundred rupees. We registered because we thought

something would be done about our property, but nothing

was done. It has been occupied or burnt. They (Muslims)

are using our land and living off it. The locals are helping

the militants. We have managed so far. Now we have

accumulated many things in these sixteen years. We had to

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buy a television set for the children as they do not eat

without watching cartoons. The government is asking us to

buy flats at Dwarka. If we had the money, we would have

done so sixteen years ago when it was cheaper.

There are almost no factories in Kashmir and so private enterprises

are very few in number. It .is because of this that the people coveted

government jobs. A few Pandits did own pashmina factories. One of

the respondent said, "My sister-in-law used to own a pashmina

factory and it was a lucrative business. Thanks to the laws of Sheikh

Abdullah, the Muslims took over the factory. My sister-in- law had to

go back to agriculture." Many were not even graduates, but used to

work for the Jammu and Kashmir government. (See the table:

Appendix). Enquiries about the kind of government jobs non­

. graduates would get, revealed that these people would get 'babu jobs'

i.e. clerical posts.

In the camp, absence of employment opportunities was a big problem.

There were young and middle aged people who found themselves

sitting idle in the camp and with no hope of employment. Delhi is over

populated and competition for jobs is fierce. Into this environment,

came in Kashmiri Pandits, many of whom were not ql;lalified enough.

In Kashmir even a matric (class ten) pass could find a job as a clerk

and Bachelor of Arts .was considered a high qualification. In Delhi,

these qualifications were highly inadequate. Many took up jobs for

eight hundred rupees to gain some work experience. Some men were

cheated too; they were paid fifteen hundred rupees for a job for which

others got ten thousand rupees (as per the respondents). In some

camps, doctors took up jobs for which they were a paltry sum of five

hundred rupees.

A few lucky ones employed in the government service in Jammu and

Kashmir got a transfer to Jammu or Delhi and continued with their

181

old jobs. Since the private enterprise scenario in Delhi offered jobs,

more easily many - both men and women took up employment in the

private sector. None of them in high posts, they were mostly in clerical

or supervision kind of jobs. The number of such people was about

seven or eight in the camp. The ladies took up such jobs as they could

not do manual labour. As time went by the salary increased to about

ten thousand rupees. As the financial condition of the people

improved they left the camp.

Those in the camp at present, on an average, have a salary of about

three thousand rupees a month. One particular respondent used to

work as a medical representative in Kashmir but has been /

unemployed ever since he migrated to Delhi. He said that the Pandits

had requested the home minister and the Prime Minister for

employment but there was no help. The government said that all the

unemployed Pandits could not be accommodated in the government

services. As a result, the Pandits had to do everything on their own.

Many sold their properties and used the money for education. He (the

medical representative) further said:

I was a badshaah in my village, albeit without a crown. Now

I have become a beggar. I had land, income and low

expenditure. I had t~o three storied house and a two storied

cowshed. Each house had about twelve rooms. I had

invested a lot of money in the land but all that has gone

waste. I have seen everything- comfort and hardship. I have

stayed hurigry for three days when I first came to Delhi, as I

did not have a single penny. All my money is tied up in the

post office. I was coming back from the fields when

somebody told me that trouble had broken out. I locked up

my house; left my cows in the care of my neighbours. I do

not know what happened after that. The cows must have

been given to the butchers. Our property is not being looked

182

after nor can we get it sold so that we can get on with our

lives. I has walnut trees, the annual income from each tree is

about Rs 5000/- toRs 6000/'-. They take about 10 years to

bear fruit but can last for about 200 years. They do not

require much maintenance. Eighteen walnut trees have been

cut by a Muslim who used to work in my field. This has

caused loss of about Rs.60, 000/-. He must have sold it, as

the wood is very strong and can be used to make good

furniture. I then to the District Collector but no action was

taken. I then approached the Additional Commissioner who

took action. One has to take permission to cut the walnut

trees. Now the case is going on in the court. Those who are

now in possession of the land are, earning around six

thousand per month. Sometimes they send u~ an account of

the income and expenditure. It has also happened that some

have shown false papers of sale of land. The Pandits wrote

complaint letters regarding such cases to the Prime Minister

but to no avail.

The above-mentioned respondent had come to the camp with his

parents. However, his father could adjust as he had traveled

extensively, but his mother found it very difficult to adjust. Both died

in the camp. His, sister and her husband had also come to the camp.

The brother-in law was a tailor who had learnt his skill in Lahore.

However, he expired barely after six months after coming to the camp.

My brother-in law could not bear the shock of leaving his

home and living in the camp. Since we had to stay in the

hall and he had two young daughters he would stay awake

the whole night guarding them. He would make sure that

they were covered properly. One day he had gone out and

met with an accident. He had died by the time we reached

the hospital. We were told that he was dazed and was

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unmindful on the road. About six or seven people have died

of shock.

Another respondent said that:

We were zamindars (landowners) and we had so much that

there was no need for us to work for generations. It was

just that we wanted to work. My husband was in

government service., The Hindu - Muslim crisis has been

going on since 194 7. This was mainly because the Muslims

do not see themselves as Indians. The Kashmiri Pandits

found it difficult to get jobs, especially jobs with the State

government. We had a hotel in Srinagar, but it was burnt

down, When we came to the camp, I got a job in a private

firm. However, I found it difficult to adjust to the nine to

five .routine. Meanwhile the government had started giving

rations. There was a sewing centre and I used to sew for

people inside and outside the camp. I thought that when

the young people in the camp are not getting a job how I

can think about myself. My husband got his job transferred

to Jammu for sometime. Now he is working for an M.L.A.

(Member of the Legislative Assembly).My son could not

continue his studies. He could not reconcile to this life and

discontinued studies after class XII. We tried to get him

some jobs but nothing interests him. Now he does odd jobs.

He is married now and his wife works in a private firm. My

daughter has started an organization in Jammu. We

Kashmiris want our daughters and daughters-in- law to

work, we do not want them to sit at home. I am ready to

look after my grandchildren while they work.

It was clear that tho~e from an agricultural background found it

difficult to get jobs and hence took up low paying jobs. They took up

184

jobs in hotels, in shops and in factories. At one level, it was not only

the question of money but some activity to keep them occupied so

that their minds would not descend into the chaos of hopelessness.

Depression was a natural consequence of unemployment. The

comfortable life in the Valley seemed a distant dream, and with no

end in sight to the present ordeal, the Pandits tried to make the best

of the situation. The positive point being that for those who had

adequate qualifications could settle down - even though it took about

three years. The reduced income has definitely led to changed

lifestyles. This has had its effects on the education of the children and

living standards. They are forced to live in the cramped quarters in

the camp, as they cannot afford to rent a house outside. They have

the necessities like a television, refrigerator and some even a washing

machine, it has taken the Pandits about ten years of ceaseless

struggle to reach !his stage.

As one respondent pointed out that:

In the beginning we were concerned only with our

immediate survival in a new place and so men and

women alike were taking up any job that they could.

We were not bothered about our· culture. In fact,

celebrations were kept to the , minimum and the

marriages had become a very brief affair. Then as time

went by and our situation improved we realized that

our children do not know anything about our culture.

It is then we made a concerted effort to revive our

customs so that our future generations do not remain

ignorant about our culture.

From the above quote it becomes clear that had the Pandits not been

able to gain some kind of financial sec~rity then they would have lost

their customs and rituals, which would have been given up due to the

185

. demands they would make financially. The loss of livelihood IS not

~asy to deal with. For a farmer his entire routine is disrupted. Like a

respondent, who is unemployed now, put it:

In Kashmir whether it is snowing or not we have to

get up early and go to the fields , see that the workers

are doing their work , look after the cattle. Then make

plans about harvesting, selling and keeping some for

household use. By the time we come back it is evening

and by eight we go off to sleep. But now we can get up

late and then sit here (in the camp) whole day and talk

to people like you who sometimes come here. I watch

television the whole day because of which my Hindi ' has improved. (Laughs) I miss my fields, fresh air and

the life I had. Farmers cannot adjust to office work, it

is difficult for them.

The Kashmiris from the rural areas wa:nt to go back to agriculture in

case they can go back to Kashmir. They have not been able to adjust

to the concept of a nine-to-five job. A private sector job does not hold

the same charm as a government job. Given a choice the Pandits

would go back to their old way of life.

Thus we can conclude that occupational pattern has undergone

tremendous change. The Pandits belonging to the agricultural class

have been the worst sufferers. Due to forced migration they have lost

their livelihood and from a life of ease and comfort are trying to make \

ends meet. Previous studies on forced migration (refer to chapter two)

show that loss of livelihood is the most serious issue facing the

migrants. Loss of livelihood in case of men leads to changing roles in

the family. The women were seen to have taking up economic

responsibility. This led to marital discord, depression and many other

related problems. In the case of the Pandits there were cases of

186

women taking up work but the men still were the mam earmng

members. There was discontent am:ong the migrants due to iack of

employment opportunities. They also found it difficult to adjust to the

loss of status and space in their new surroundings. The first casualty

of forced migration in this case as in most cases was employment.

Today the situation has improved but is nowhere near to what it was

in Kashmir. For the professionally qualified- doctors, engineers etc the_

change has not been that drastic as after an initial phase of struggle

they settled· in . The Kashmiri Pandits belonging to the rural areas·

have been the main sufferers.

The next section deals with the aspect synonymous with the term -

Pandit;. it defines who. the Pandits are. Articles, literature on the

Pandits and by the Pandits some of which have been referred to in

this thesis shows the pride the Pandits have in their ancestry,

knowledge and achievements.

EDUCATION

Education is of pnme importance. to the Pandits. If we recall a

previous conversation, a respondent said clearly, "The main work of a

Pandit is to study and teach (padhna and padhana)." The children in

Kashmir were not taught instruments, singing, dancing or fine arts.

They were only required to study, even if they were to take up

agriculture. Agricultural courses were fairly common in Kashmir and

taken up by some. There was one such person in the camp who was

qualified in such a course. Thus, finding out the levels of education in

the camp now and before the migration occurred was important to

further analyse the situation .

. Madan writes:

Not only is literacy more widespread in Srinagar then in

villages but college education and technical training

also have been confined , to urban Pandits. In· the

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villages female literacy is almost absent whereas in the

city many women students attend schools and colleges

and even go out of Kashmir for higher education. The

city women have greatly improved their position and

there are fewer restrictions of social intercourse on

women in Srinagar than in our villages. ( 1989: 22)

He also writes that the Pandits emphasis on education started

after they came back during the rule of Zain-ul-Abidin (refer

to chapter three on history of Kashmir).

It was during the rule of Zain-Ul-Abidin's that Pandit

society evolved an internal differentiation which has by

now rigidly set into two fold division after the king had

restored confidence among the Brahmans they felt the

need for equipping themselves for the new opportunities

that might be offered to them and for any emergency

that might be offered to them and for any emergency

that might arise in future. Accordingly they turned

increasingly to the study of Persian, the court language

and sought work as officials, translators and clerks in

the government.

When asked about the level education among the Kashmir Pandits )

and educational system in the villages, one respondent said:

In Kashmir, especially in the villages, the teachers used to

be Muslims. They would teach the Islamic religious texts to

both Muslims and Hindus. They would not teach Hindi,

instead the emphasis was on Persian and Arabic. There

were some practical courses on agriculture. The Hindu

parents were not happy with this and would tell their

children not to be a part of these teachings. The children

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from Kashmir faced problems m Delhi as there was no

Arabic or Urdu.

A respondent whose daughter used to study in Srinagar said that:

The cities were different as they had better schools and

colleges, many of which were run by missionaries. The city

children had thus a better standard of education. The

children from the village found it difficult to compete with

the city children. The latter would score about 99% in

exams and were very competitive. The villagers did not

want to send their children to cities as they were­

apprehensive about the city life and the, influence it would

have on the children. They wanted to educate the children,

but the colleges were in cities and there was no

conveyance. Some stayed with relatives, some stayed in

rented rooms. They had to cook and study. They could not

eat outside, as the Muslims owned most of the hotels. We

had taught them not to eat things touched by others

(Muslims).

In the camp, the people have three main concerns - food, shelter and

education of children. The schools were given orders that the Pandits

were to be given admission immediately irrespective of the time. This

was in regard to the Central Schools- Kendriya Vidyalaya. The families

were exempted from paying fees for about three years. The admissions

were stopped after three years and the Pandits had to again fight for

such admissions to be continued. Apart from this another problem

stated by a respondent was, "We find it difficult to teach our children

even though we have studied the same things. We did not have the

system of tuitions in Kashmir."

189

The respondents said that the minimum level of education of a person

in Kashmir was graduation- B.A/B.Sc and that nobody was less then

a graduate. But closer scrutiny of the particulars of the people in the

camp revealed that very few were graduates. In fact, the children who

had grown up in the camp were graduates while many men arid

women who had studied in Kashmir had studied up to class ten or

twelve. One reason given for the lack of education was the distance of

the educational institutes from the village and secondly the outbreak

of militancy which made it difficult for students - especially girls to

travel. Thus, a certain amount of nostalgia and pride had coloured

their vision about their past, making it seem better than it was.

A respondent explained:

There was 95% reservation for the Muslims and the

remaining 5% was for us. The Governor of Jammu and

Kashmir, Jag Mohan, said that he would give jobs only

according to merit. It was at that time that many Kashmiri

Pandits had benefited as they fared much better in the

competitive examinations. We never demanded anything,

never agitated against the reservation. We were happy with

what we had. The Muslims were not happy. They were not

good at studies and used to waste their time. Only the elite

used to study.

The girls in Kashmir faced different kinds of problems, in addition to

what already existed. A lady respondent who was a graduate and the

most educated woman of in her age group (50-60) in the camp

explained:

Most people liked to keep the girls at home. My daughter

used to like to play badminton and was good at it. She

used to play in the college. The teachers called me and

asked me to tell her to stop playing, as her partners were

190

boys. She participated in tournaments after coming here.

The girls could not many things in Kashmiri because of the

Muslims. Here the children have lot of freedom they join

dance, swimming and judo classes. Parents encourage

them as much they can, depending on their financial

resources.

The decisions regarding education were taken by the elders

in the family. I wanted to study science but there were only

boys in the class. My father's elder brother went and

cancelled my admission saying how I will sit with boys. The

principal said that she is a bold girl she can manage; we

will send her to study medicine. Still he did not listen.

Things started changing before migration after my

generation. Girls from a village would move out in groups

as it was thought safer. Here again people have started

living individualistic lives. Nobody tells anything as they

fear competition. The fear of the society ~topped us from

doing many things~ in that respect cities are better.

When asked whether they felt that the level of education had gone

down among the Pandits. One of the respondents said that:

The level of education has definitely gone down. The main

point is that the interest in education is no longer there.

There is something in the water, food, environment here

(Delhi) that reduces interest in studying. In Kashmir when

a child would wake up in the morning and go with his

father to wash his face he would recite the . mantras and

chants. Here children do not want to bathe so leaming is a

distant dream.

191

Everybody wants the best for their children but it depends

on karma. The Kashmiri Pandits who had settled in Delhi

earlier, (before the phase of forced migration), their children

are doing much better whether it is government services or

private jobs. They recommend their own relatives for jobs.

Now a days training (computer, medical) has 1 become

common. Some people give ten thousand rupees and send

their children for training. We do not have money to send

our children for the training. The plum jobs go to the

Pandits who migrated during the partition period and they

stay mostly in Pamposh region in Delhi. Nobody thinks

about us. You are seeing our condition, the Pandits outside

the camp have helped us. The children have suffered a lot

in the camps, the environment here has spoilt them.

Our children search for jobs in the newspapers and apply

for them. They take up even low paid jobs so that they can

see the world and gain some work experience. In the camp,

many engineers took up five hundred rupees jobs as they

were not getting better jobs. Many feel that if they keep a

Pandit he will perform better than others. This is the

reason why many ministers do not want a Kashmiri Pandit

to contest elections, as they fear that he will become the

prime mip.ister.

In fact the above respondent's nephews were· sent to Jammu to

continue their studies after a year as they were not doing well m

Delhi. The parents thought that Jammu being nearer to Kashmir

would have a better influence on the young minds than Delhi.

In the camp, many continued their education privately. Some took up

jobs as shopkeeper's assistants for a salary of five hundred rupees, in

spite of being graduates. Though the Pandits complained about the

192

declining level of education in their community in the camps, it is

clear that the children were getting more holistic education than they

would have in the villages of Kashmir. They were learning sports, fine

arts and other things, which they were not encouraged to in Kashmir.

Life is less restricted for the student here. But this is one area which

could have changed with time. Now we don't know what would have

happened, may be the educational system would have improved I

anyways with time. As of now, we can sa~ely say that the children,' .

especially girls, in the camp were receiving better education than they

would have in the villages.

If we look at what Madan had written about education in Kashmir

then we can say that girls have benefited from the migration, as there

was severe gender based discrimination in Kashmir. Madan writes:

When children reach the age of five or six, their formal

instructions begins. Whereas the girls stay at home and

acquire various domestic skills by assisting older

women of ihe household at their chores, boys are sent

to school involves expenditure on books, school

uniforms etc. Many informants suggested that since

nubile young girls did not move around much or freely

in the villages it was not necessary for them to have

many changes of clothes as it was their brothers who

attended school and occasionally went to town. In brief,

Pandits admit of discrimination against girls and always

try to justify it but do not agree that they love their

daughters le'ss than their sons.

On their part the girls generally behave as if they are

hardly aware of discrimination against themselves,

training then from early childhood teaches them not

193

only to accept it as normal and proper but also be

solicitous of the welfare of their brothers. ( 1989:69)

\

In the camp the girls and boys went to schools. The parents said that

the girls now wanted to learn dancing, painting etc as it was the norm

in the schools.

One parent said:

In Kashmir we used to go to school only for studying

but here (Delhi) there are so many extra curricular

activities and our children insist on learning dancing or

painting. Since their class mates learn we also want our

children to be as good as them. We have to spend extra

money but what can we do? If they don't learn they will

lag behind. My daughter wants to be a doctor when she

grows up,( the child was in class five). I hope I have the

money for her higher education. It is necessary that she

becomes something in life.

We can wonder, had the same family stayed in rural Kashmir whether

they would have thought in the same manner. The daughter would

not have got the opportunity to pursue artistic or creative pursuits.

Probably her education would have been hampered by the distance of

educational institutes from her home. She might also have been at

home helping her mother look after her brother.

The problem was with higher education. The parents could not afford

the more expensive courses and the children were veering towards

short courses, which would give immediate employment. There were

few in the camp who had what was can be termed as 'good education

or high posts.' From that perspective the education level had gone

down as the number of years spent on education had reduced. There

have been only three engineers from the camp and no doctors. A

194

quick look at the table with the details on the people in the camp in

the appendix 4 shows that most children in the camp are graduates

and some took up hotel management and two took up computers as it

could give them clerical jobs. The migrants who came in 1990 could

not afford the specialised courses.

Today the people in the camp talk of educating their children and

many hope that they will be able to sell their property in Kashmir and

use the money for their children's education. The emphasis is on, a

social mobility for the future generations. In Kashmir societal

pressure, norms and the distance from educational institutes

discouraged girls from pursuing higher education. In Delhi, the only

problem is the monetary one, now the -Pandits have the best

educational institutes and distance is not a factor, but money is. They

want the best for the children but lack resources. Nevertheless the

situation is better than before. The children who had come 16 years '

ago had problems with admission and mon~y; today the parents are

planning for the future so that the children can pursue higher

studies.

Let us now move on to the political orientations of the Pandits before

and after migration. The Pandits have been associated with the

congress more so because Nehru was Pandit and many feel that they

have the potential to carry on his legacy. Today things have changed

due to forced migration; the following section will dwell on this issue.

POLITICAL ORIENTATION

Knowledge about the political affiliation of the Pandits was important

to help in determining their attitude towards the Muslims. The oft

repeated 'Kashmiriyat' has lead to the common assumption of close

relations between the Hindus and Muslims in the Valley; that a

shared historical and cultural heritage meant shared lives and spaces.

195

The study revealed that this was not the case. The relations between

the two communities were barely cordial. The calm was just surface

level. There was simmering anger, frustration on both sides because

of economic disparity.

The Pandits owned most of the land and plum jobs. The Muslims were

agricultural workers in their field and not very educated. The- class­

divides in terms of landholdings and the historically created power

structures lead to a society simmering with discontent. There must

have been exploitation at the hands of the Pandit landowners that

aggravated the situation. Madan writes "No Pandit would take food

cooked by Muslims at least not openly. In Srinagar many young

Pandits who attend college or work in offices often eat and drink at

Muslim restaurants and make no secret of it." ( Madan, 1989 : 22)

However, the Pandits were vocal about how they were generous with

their grain and money. One such (ex) landowner said:

We used to give grains (to the Muslims) as we used to have

a lot of surplus. We never differentiated between our

children and theirs. They were not very interested in

studying but we used to urge them to send their children to

school. We have financed the education of many Muslim

children. Look, what we got in return. These children got

educated, instigated others against us. Many took up arms,

joined the terrorists and turned us out of out homes.

Another respondent on the question of communal identities said:

We used to vote for the National Conference in Kashmir. It

used to work well. Nobody thought in terms of Muslims,

Sikh or Hindus. Until 1984, this kind of thinking was there

196

but after that news about militant activities started coming

in and the atmosphere changed.

Yet another lady respondent elaborated:

We were Congress supporters. We were at the receiving end

of many abuses from the people (Muslims) there. The

Congress did not help us after migration. We got a lot of

help from the B.J.P, so we developed an inclination towards

them. They did not give us monetary help but at least they

helped us organize. the camp. Some of their ministers came

regularly to the camp, where as the Congress hardly paid

any attention to us. Sheila Kaul came, gave us five hundred

each and left. Rajiv' Gandhi is from our khandaan but he

too did not help us. Sonia Gandhi rushes to the Muslims at

the first instance. Now nobody comes at all. We had

supported them as Hindus.

We have no leanings towards Bajrang Dal or the RSS. We

were busy with our own problems. We wanted that our

children should get employment in the govemment sector.

We wanted accommodation too. Since I was running

around meeting the politicians, they (B.J.P) used to call me

for meetings. My husband did not let me continue.

At this point, the husband intervened and explained:

She is too honest to be a politician; she does not have the

temperament. There was a 'Kashmir Bachao' meeting

organized by the B.J.P. and Khurana was making a speech

about saving Kashmir. My wife told him when you cannot

save us how will you save Kashmir. The politician was

197

offended. Then I told her you should not be a part of all

this, you are not suited for this.

The wife then continued:

I just took the mike and told Khurana- we (Pandits) have

been here for a month and we have nothing. You have not )

been able to save two hundred people, how will you save

Kashmir. I was very angry. I never met them after this

incident.

I asked her whether there was any resentment towards the

Muslims earlier. She replied quite candidly:

Why do we hate the Muslims? That is because the very

thing (cow) that we worshipped, called mother was cut and

eaten by them. They are heartless and are totally against

us. They do not want us to live in Kashmir .They do not eat

with us as they consider us dirty. The Muslims here do not

think like that, in fact they take food from us. We consider

the Muslims dirty as they do not use soap or mitti for

washing hands.

One respondent vehemently stated:

The Hindus are not united, this is true across the country.

We are such ~kammenas'. Our gods are the same but we do

not support each other. The Muslims on the other hand,

have one god Allah. You just have to say Allah 0 Akbar and

the whole community will stand up together. The Hindus

have not leamt their lesson even now, we are still the

same. The Muslims (in Kashmir) know where we are (in the

refugees' camps). If anybody says anything, I will tell them

198

every child being born in Kashmir is a terrorist. They

(Muslims) have. terrorism in their blood.

If we go back to Madan's work for a while we see that he too writes on

the lack of unity of among the Pandits:

Correlated with the class division is the absence of a

strongly developed sense of solidarity among the

Pandits. They themselves complain about this,

bewailing the absence of leaders who would win the

confidence and respect all of them. Economic

interdependence among the Pandits is not great. Their

religion is of the personal type, with only a weakly

developed collective aspect; there are no collective

rituals among them requiring the participation of all or

most of them. Two yearly feasts, one in honour of the

patron goddess of the village and the other in

commemoration of its founder, are the only occasiOns

when a great number (but not all) of the Pandits of the

village come together. Various institutions like

marriages and funeral feasts associated with Pandits

kinship are to employ Nadel's terms 'parallel' rather

than 'associative' ; they focus on the divisions that exist

between kin and non-kin in the village.

An instance of lack of solidarity among the Kashmiri

Pandits may be seen in their attitude to the recent

attitude to the recent political and economic changes in

the State. These changes have had, among other

consequences, the effect of endangering the economic

solvency of the Pandits. All households that owned more

than 23 acres have lost the land exceeding the limit to

their tenants; the tenant's share in agricultural produce

199

has been raised, benefiting the Muslims more than the

Pandits, because not many Pandits have been tenants;

and government jobs have been thrown ope:n to the

Muslims on a favoured treatment basis. In the face of

the rising economic and political power of the Muslims,

they are divided into two opinion groups; those who

want to cooperate with the Muslims and those who

want to seek protection from the government as a

religious minority. They are an unorganized leaderless

group, proud about their past, confused about their

present and uncertain . about their future. (Madan,

1989: 37-38)

Continuing from the previous conversation, warming up to the topic

the respondent further elaborated:

During an India-Pakistan match, if India won then they

would throw stones at us. In case then Pakistan won then

too they would throw stones us, taunting us. They used to

shout slogans in front of our houses. Individual relations

were good. After all nobody calls the blind, blind on his

face. I remember when Mohammad Dar of the congress

won the elections from our village with the help of Kashmiri

Pandits, the Muslim villagers took out a rally against us.

The very next day, they visited our homes as friends. What

can one do? You cannot ill treat a guest.

These fights, migration is nothing new. In 1951, there were

only eleven Kashmiri Pandits in the village. Those who "

stayed were converted, many killed and some fled to the

villages. Nobody has come to us. The President of the

country rushed to Gujarat (after the riots) but not to us.

Nobody is increasing our relief (amount of money given the I

200

people m the camp); nobody is asking us what we want.

Our death would have been better. The slogan the Muslim

chanted was, "We want a Kashmir without the (Pandit)

men, with the (Pandit) women. Meaning they would marry

the women who would be converted and thus the future

generations would be Muslims.

One respondent said:

Now we have a Muslim president and yet the Muslims still

talk about being the minority. The Hindu rajas were the

original rulers. The Dogra king- Mahahraja Pratap Singh

also supported the Hindus. It was after 194 7, after Hari

Singh came to power that everything changed. It is because

of him that this has happened. Ghar ka badaa hi murkh ho

jai to sab kharab ho jaata hai. (when the elder of the house

acts foolishly then everything goes wrong). When we came

we hardly had any money or clothes. I had to sleep with my

young daughter in people's verandah. Once she had high

fever and she was sleeping on the stone flooring. After that,

she had a permanent back problem. Nobody came to help

us. We left Kashmir in about January /February and had

to spend days in stations, temples and verandahs. No

political party helped us. It was only in April that we got a

camp. We met councilors, ministers but to no avail.

Meanwhile food had become a problem. We started eating

at langars(food given to the poor at gurudwaras). We were

ashamed and used to hide our face but what could we do?

It was then we were told that registrations were taking

place and rations vyere being distributed. A rally by the

B.J.P at Pant Marg(road) helped in getting the camp.

When asked whether in the initial years of living in the camp there

was any desire to join organizations like the RSS, one respondent

201

replied, "Initially many young men wanted to join the Shiv Sena. As

they got jobs, they forgot about all this. The next obvious question

was why the Shiv Sena. The reply was "because they make a direct

attack on the Muslims. We did not even know about the RSS." When

asked, after coming to Delhi they must have read about the RSS in

the newspapers. He replied, "Even then we could not grasp what it

was about exactly. Why should we go to someone we do not know

about. They did not come to talk to us so why should we go to them.

Unlog apne jegah pe the aur hum apne jegah pe." (They were in their

world and we were in ours).

He further added:

In Kashmir the Jan Sangh, an earlier version of the Shiv

Sena was very popular. There were several branches of

the Jan Sangh in Kashmir. Many young men used to

join it and get up in the morning and go for the

meetings. ·Many times, they would be takeri to the jail

and beaten up. The Jan Sangh, then became the Shiv

Sena, they worshipped the Trishul. The Muslims were

scared of the Jan Sanghi and would remark, "ye saala

Jan Sanghi hai, isko mara. (He is a Jan Sanghi, beat

him up)." This was the trend in the late nineteen fifties,

by the time militancy broke out the Jan Sanghis had

become too old to tackle the militants.

There were repeated references to Hindustan when asked to give their

opinion on whether Kashmir was a part of India or not. The

respondent answered that:

Since India was governing Kashmir we knew that it was

, a part of Hindustan. We were under the misconception

that we (Hindus and Muslims) were together. We never

202

thought that the mussalmans would go against us. The

then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Mr. 'Jagmohan

told us in a meeting, "If you can keep a television at

home why not a gun. A young man in the crowd replied,

"Who will give us the license? Will the officers here or

you give the license? Police will start haunting our

houses; Muslim officers will not even listen to us.

Nobody will sell his or her gun to us. A retired army

officer who had a gun had to hand it over to a militant.

Jagmohan did not have any answer to this. (This

particular incident was repeated a number of times by

the respondent and each time a fresh sentence was

added).

With an increase in the level of education, the Muslim

youth became aware of the economic disparity between

the Muslims and the Pandits. They were incited against

doing any work for the Pandits. They were asked to do

jehad against the Kashmiri Pandits. They were told 'you

are ghulams (slaves), if you stop working for them they

(Pandits) will be forced to leave the land. The 'Land to

the Tillers' law also came in, which stated that hundred

kinal of land as the ceiling. In many cases, the excess

land was converted to cash and given away. Those who

did not comply with the law were imprisoned.

By 1986, things came out in the open, militancy spread like wild fire.

Temples were burnt; houses of Kashmiri Pandits were razed to the

ground and many Pandits were brutally murdered. We have discussed

this in detail in the chapter dealing with the history of Kashmir.

Though it is interesting to note that a few Kashmir Muslims in

Kashmir who reported that there were only one or two killings after

which the Pandits fled. Articles appeared in newspapers in Kashmir

203

which said that the Kashmiri Pandits were defaming the Kashmir

Muslims by blaming them for acts they have not committed. That it

was a matter of shame that a matter which could have been dealt at

home (state) has been taken to outsiders. These articles further asked

the Pandits to come back to their homes in Kashmir. On mentioning

these articles and the call for the Pandits to go back to Kashmir, one

respondent replied that this was bound to happen as Kashmir is now

getting international attention.

One respondent tried to explain the situation m Kashmir m the

following manner :

It was a war of the mussalman. What is jehad? It is to fight

for one's right, through peaceful protest and violence. It

does not mean 'snatch from others'. When militancy

started, we could not talk to anybody. We did not know

when we would we attacked. There are hardly any Hindus

now; militants are staying in their homes deserted by the

Pandits. Those who had young girls (daughters and

daughters in law) in their family were the first ones to

leave. Those who are there, 'unka dharam brasht ho gaya

hai'. (they have lost their religion) I just had a bag when I

left my home and came to Kashmir. Nobody could even get

the bank papers. I once told a Kashmiri Muslim "I don't

know whish militant outfits you belong to, who you are

getting help from. Every time there is talk of asking Pandits

to come back there is a bomb blast somewhere or killings.

You are getting money from the Government of India and

that of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).You use the money to

spread vile things about the government and the Kashmir

Pandit."

204

When we came here, we were unemployed. The B.J.P

(Bharatiya Janata Party) govemment, which was in power,

gave the order that we should allowed to put up shops on

the footpath in certain areas. There was a change in

government and the Congress came to power. They then

cancelled the order.

As a consequence of all this red tapism the Pandits say, "We do not

believe in politics and have lost faith in politicians. All the political

parties rob the citizens. They do not think about the poor. Nobody

raises the question about the Kashmiri Pandits in the parliament.

Nobody says that the Kashmiris are sitting like beggars at your

doorstep." They feel that the media does not report the matter

accurately and so nobody knows· the truth about what is happening in

Kashmir. To top it the government is holding talks with the militants

who are killing people.

While talking about the celebration of Shiva-Ratri one respondent was -

telling about the use of steel pots instead of mud pots. She said that

this change had started in Kashmir itself. The reason she said was:

In 194 7, the Muslims started boycotting us. The potters did

not give us the mud pots, the washer men did not give our

clothes especially on the day of our festival. The ariti-Hindu

sentiments had started. We never thought that things

would come to this. Even after all the quarrels we would

still talk to each other, invite each other for weddings. We

never thought that we would have to leave our homes, so

much hatred would be there in their hearts for us.

In 1986, there was a programme to eliminate us but it got

leaked and things were bought under contn;>l. We did not

want to come but the situation was such that we had to

205

come. Pandits were being killed in daylight, some were

kidnapped and bodies never found. The ladies were unsafe

as they were being targeted. We could not even trust ,our

neighbours as they had joined hands with the militants.

We did not want to come and things were unbearable here­

no shelter, food or clothes. Added to this was the heat ; our

skin broke out in rashes while in Jammu people were

dying.

There has been a definite change m the political affiliation of the

Pandits. They resent the 'callous' attitude of the Congress towards

their problems of unemployment and housing. The bitterness towards

the Muslims translated into support to the Bharatiya Jananta Party.

They wanted to support a party, which will not only help them but will

also speak against the Muslims. The initial years of unemployment

also aggravated the situation. The youth with a lot of idle time spent

its energy in venting its anger against the Muslims and joined the

Shiv Sena. They did not know about the RSS and hence did not join

it. This initial zeal fizzled out and as the men got jobs, the political

activities took a back seat.

Today, the Pandits express disillusionment with politics and

politicians. Politicians don't visit them anymore and there has been a

marginal improvement in their lifestyle from the initial days in the

camp. They did not express any desire to join politics to better their

lot, though there was this pretentious idea that every Kashmiri Pandit

is a potential Prime Minister. As one respondent put it, "the

politicians do not want to bring in Kashmiris (Pandits )into politics

because they know that he will be so good that he will really rise up

and will become the prime minister one day . This kind of jealousy

has led to the Pandits become ignored and are not allowed entry into

political parties". The Pandits on coming to Delhi were expecting

immediate; help from the Congress whom they had supported in

206

Kashmir, but with no help forthcoming their loyalties turned to

parties willing to ~elp them. The B.J .P with its anti - Muslim tirade

and pro-Pandit stance won over the Pandits to its side.

It is clear from the above conversations that the relations between the

two religious communities- Hindus and Muslims were far from what

had been projected by media, newspapers and articles. There was an

underlying hostility mostly based on economic issues. This is not to

say that all Muslims were poor, a large number espe'cially in the cities

were well to do. During my brief stay in Kashmir I spoke to a number

of Muslims in Srinagar belonging to the elite class. On asking them

about Kashmiri Pandits they admitted that very few were there in

Kashmir but the fault was laid squarely at the feet of the Pandits. Like

one of the young men remarked, "There were one or two killings and

the Pandits fled and created a ruckus. There were no such targeted

killings as reported in the media." The Pandits are hardly mentioned

and it almost seems as they never existed. It could be that so many

years have passed and those m Kashmir have their own set of

problems to deal with.

The Pandits faced disappointments due the inaction by government at

Kashmir and in Delhi. The Kashmiri Pandits do not constitute a

sizeable vote bank and their status as IDPs has gone unrecognized.

The Pandit perhaps on their part expected too much too soon -

instant government job, accommodation, education, subsidies etc.

some of these have been fulfilled but some have remained just

dreams. No doubt the Congress has lost out its loyal voters due to

negligence on their part and sixteen years of ordeal is a long period.

Though the Pandits regard the Gandhi family as part of their group

and estimate themselves highly with regards to political potential

there are no immediate plans of joining politics. They have not

transferred their unstinting loyalty to the B.J .P as the bitter

experiences have taught them that politicians are not trustworthy and

207

they will do something which is beneficial to them politically. In spite

of the negative memories about Muslims there has been no mass

movement towards the extreme right. Instead there is probably a

political apathy.

We shall now move on to what we can call the core of the culture of

the Pandits- aspects of marriage, festivals, cuisine, language and

dress. Q_ur discussion on culture in the second chapter talks about ,

transmission of culture from generation to. generation, socialization

being one of many means of transmitting culture, elements of culture.

Here we will be dealing with these aspects and more- has the Pandit

culture survived, role played by the family in preservation of culture, \

actual transmission of culture to the present generation. Bernadi

writes, "Identification and partnership of a culture allow for the

identification of members of any collectivity, group, family, people and

nation and make it possible to distinguish among each. of them."

(1977: 80). We will begin with first with marriage and try to trace the

changes that have come about due to a change in environment and

other conditions.

MARRIAGE

One of the main focuses of the thesis is the change in the marriage

rituals among the Kashmiri Pandits. In any culture of a community,

marriage occupies the central position. The marriage rituals vary not

only from region to region -in India but sometimes also along the lines

of caste and religion. Marriage rituals and customs often reveal the

gender bias and discrimination in a particular c9mmunity. Marriage

becomes the focal point at which all gendered discrimination

manifests itself.

208

Madan writes :

Although giving of a daughter in marriage is regarded

as a highly meritorious act, yet the absence of

daughters is not bewailed if a couple has sons. Unlike

sons who are the support of their parents in old age,

daughters are regarded as a heavy responsibility. They

are regarded as a burden as a huge amount of money

is needed to marry daughters into good families. There

. is an oft quoted Kashmir saying to the effect that a

daughter's birth makes even a philosophical man

gloomy, whereas a son's birth IS like sunrise in the

abode of gods.(1989:90).

The above quote shows clearly that in spite of claims by the

respondents that the Pandits don't differentiate between girls arid

boys, there was a clear gender bias among the Pandits in Kashmir.

Madan's work focused on Family and Kinship, on marriage, gende;r

relations and family structure. He further writes on the same issue:

Young boys are treated better by their elders than

young girls. This is particularly true of a first son.

Whether it is in the distribution of food and clothes or

in the verbal expression of love, sons receive greater

attention then daughters. The pandits affirm that the

daughters should be disciplined early and not spoilt as

they have to be married into other households.

(1989:65).

Whereas the girls stay at home and acquire vanous

domestic skills by assisting older women of the

household at their chores , boys are sent to school

involves expenditure on books, school uniforms etc. the

Pandits say that the sons are a solace in old age.

209

' According to Pandit etiquette a father should not fondle

his child in his own father's presence, though he may

do so in presence of his mother. ( 1989:69)

The older they grpw the more exclusively they associate

with members of their sex only and are thus steeped in

feminine ,ethos when quite young. The Pandits expect a

nubile girl to be on reserved terms with even such close

kinsmen as her elder brothers, father, paternal uncles

and cousins. ( 1989:86)

The Pandits regard children as one of the main

purposes of marriage and when a daughter in law has

delivered her first child they say of her that she has

proved her worth and found her real self. ( 1989:70)

The Pandit's view on the institution of marriage IS revealed by the

following quotes of Madan :

. The destiny of the Pandit woman is motherhood and

wifehood is the only culturally approved means to it.

She begins her adult and socially significant phase of

her life only with her marriage which also marks her

initiation into the full ritual status of a Brahman

woman. For a Pandit, marriage to a Muslim, is

permanently polluting and therefore' out of question,

unless he is willing to leave his household, sever all ties

of kinship and renounce his religion. A Pandit IS

expected and desires to marry in his own subcaste of

karkun or gor. Since there are no Hindus in Kashmir

who are non-Pandits the possibility of establishing

affinal ties with non-Brahmins is remote. (1989:95)

210 \

The respondents were asked about their marriage rituals, whether it

was different now in any manner, from what it had been in Kashmir.

Another interesting question is whether marriages took place in the

camps when the people did not separate rooms like they have today.

The respondents said that in the initial years there were no marriages

in the camp when the Pandits were living in the community hall. Then

after about two years the parents were keen that the marriageable

girls should get married as the young girls were living in proximity

with men in the camp.

As one respondent succinctly put it:

Many marriages in the camp have taken place. Initially

many marria'ges took place in the camp as they wanted to

see their children settled.· This has been due to the

proximity- you come to know people, their background etc,

now children decide for themselves. They may decide to

marry outside the community but the older· generation is

not happy about it. In our camp there has been one such

case and she is not happy in her marriage.( the bias

against love marriages is clear here)

The same respondent pointed out that:

One important condition for the marriage to take place is

that the horoscope of the bride and groom should match in

astrological terms - there should be a compatibility of thirty

guns (characteristics). It is also seen whether the girl is a

manglik (influence of Mars is strong) or not - she should be

less manglik than the boy or there are chances that she will

become a widow. The sub-caste is also important. A priest

Pandit cannot marry a businessman Pandit or an

agricultural one. On the question of gotra from the girl's

side they should be seven generations removed and from

211

the boy's side they should be four generations removed.

The gotra of the bride and groom should not be the same.

The field is therefore very narrow and marriage was a

problem.

Now things have changed smce names and professions

have changed, it is difficult to identify the particular sub­

caste 'of the person. It is even more difficult to know about

those who have been here from before. So now Kaul, Bhatt,

Razdan, Raina and Shastri all are the same. The age of

marriage has gone up, my mother and mother-in -law got

married at the age of nine and eleven respectively, my

elder sister at fourteen. My daughter got married at twenty­

eight.

Another respondent added to this conversation by saying :

The ideal age of marriage for girls is about twenty-five to

twenty-seven. It is a 'paap' (sin) to have an unmarried girl

of marriageable age at home. There should be an age gap of

about three to four years between the girl and the groom.

The mairi considerations in a groom are; he should enjoy

good health, his family background, place 0f origin,

profession. There is no system of dowry among the Pandits.

The period of engagement is not very long. The marriage

date is fixed according to an auspicious date and time. The

engagement ceremony is generally very simple with the

would-be-bride accepting a ring and a saree from the

groom's parents. The girl's parents first go to the groom's

place with some gift items. The groom's family would come

in the evening. A token amount of money is exchanged.

Now a days the engagement period is longer than before.

212

The engagement ceremony has also become more elaborate

due to the influence ·of the culture in Delhi. The token

amount is also much larger and is increasing day by day.

There has been an increase in the age of marriage from the time

Madan did his work in his fieldwork is evident. He writes, "through

observation, imitation of adult behaviour and from finding their

actions approved or disapproved the c~ildren learn to distinguish

between right and wrong and are thus conditioned to the norms of

Pandit culture. A girl may be married when she is 14 or 15 and her

parents- in-law will expect her to do all household work".

(1989:86).Another significant change has been that the engagement

ceremony is not as simple as it used to be Kashmir. When asked

whether the engagement ceremony takes place in the temple the reply

was:

Engagement ceremonies were not held in the temple in

Kashmir as most people would make arrangements in the

house itself. Now, the trend of temple engagements have

started again, due to lack of space. It is difficult to make

living arrangements for a large number of people in the

camp. The logic behind a temple engagement in the earlier

days was that nobody would break a word given before

God. Shamiana (tent) is set up in the temple premises and

food arrangements are made there.

However, about fifteen years before migration dowry had made its

presence felt. Many Kashmiri Pandit men had taken up jobs outside

the ·state. They had become acquainted with the dowry system and

started demanding it at home. The media- television programmes and

films had also contributed to this rise. There were no harassment

cases in case dowry was not given. This was in clear contrast to what

Madan had recorded in his work:

213

They try to ensure that the households into which t~eir

daughters are married should at least have as the

Pandits put it , hakh bata ( greens and rice , the staples

of the pandit diet i.e , they should not be so poor as to

be in need of the basic necessities of life ... but there is

general agreement that too much disparity between the

girl· giving and the girl receiving households is not

desirable not only may a much richer household expect

heavy presentations from its daughter-in-law but its

members may also ill treat her and taunt her for her

lowly origins .The parents of a son are not so limited in

their ambitions. The richer a daughter's parents and

higher the social status, the more her parents- in-law

stand to gain by their alliance. ( 1989:86)

Birth rites, ritual initiation involve considerable

expenditure. Even more money is spent on marriages;

the marriage of a daughter may necessitate the

borrowing of money by her natal household. When

children reach the age of five or six, their formal

instructions begins. (ibid: 83)

Either the Pandits did not want to acknowledge that the problem of

dowry existed even back in Kashmir or it had reduced by the eighties.

like mentioned 'earlier the Pandits had created a past which was

almost perfect. The problems faced in their daily, which I am sure

were many had been forgotten or conveniently pushed to the back of

their minds. They were more than happy to put the blame on the

new culture (in Delhi) for the new problem of dowry among the

Pandits. Madan had also recorded that the choice of groom had been

undergoing a change due to the turbulent times in the Valley by the

214

eighties, "A significant change has now taken place in this regard as a

consequence of recent political and economic changes in the valley.

Educated and active earners are now preferred to the barely literate

and indolent sons of rich landed families." (1989: 100) I

Let us now move on to the actual marriage rituals and the changes

that have come about. Certain changes took place in Kashmir and

some as a consequence of forced migration. One respondent

elucidated on the marriage rituals:

Before the wedding, the entire house is cleaned. This is

called gharmavan. In Kashmir a special broomstick was

used which is no longer used. This was mainly to show

others how clean we are. Decorations were made on the

door. This decoration is called the krool. (The respondent

could not remember the exact term for quite some time and

laughingly said, "It's been sixteen years so I am forgetting.")

These decorations are made on the doors of the relatives to ·

show that there is a wedding in the family. There is a pooja

one day before the wedding in which the groom is told what

a marriage is all about. Today the groom does not wear

dhoti, instead wears a pajama. "aabto modem zamaana aa

gaya hai. Hamari baat kaun suntan hai". (These are modern

times who will listen to us anymore.) Pashmina and Pheran

have Jost their significance. (Items of textile and dressings

which mark out a Kashmiri from others) However, there is

a special cap,· which is made for the girl which remains

compulsory even today. This we buy from Jammu or ask

somebody to get from Kashmir.

The 'wanavanun' (song ceremony) is very different from what it was in

Kashmir. It has a very distinct Punjabi touch now. In Kashmir women

would sing in their own language (Kashmiri), use the instruments

215

native to Kashmir, smg the Vedas. The songs would explain what

marriage is and how it should be conducted. The elderly ladies used

to know it by rote. This song ceremony which is called sangeet in

other parts of north India is known as 'wanavanun' in Kashmir. A

respondent elaborated on this important ceremony:

The elderly ladies would sing 'vachchan' during the entry of

the baraat. This involved taking the name of the three prior

generations according to the Vedas and state the

relationship. One lady would sing and then the others

would follow her. Now this has become difficult. Earlier the

ladies would be from the same village and would know I

everything about the families. Now we do not know.

Therefore, we have started using cassettes. The ladies us~d

to read the Vedas and Shastras. The Kashmiri Pandit

community is a very sensitive and serious one.

At one point of time, the marnage ceremony had become

very simple. Then we thought that we would lose all the

traditions and how will our children know about them. So,

we started to follow the customs again. Then the Brahmins

and the ladies came together and prepared the cassettes.

Even during Shiva-Ratri, as the priest could not come to

our homes, the people use the cassettes. At least we can

hear the chants from the Brahmins mouth. Our children

listen to the cassettes and learn from them. However, they

are more interested in watching television, when they are in

the mood they are keen to learn. Another slight change is

that when the marriage ·is decided we give sugar crystals

(mishri), almonds, now we have to send sweets. In Kashmir,

sweets never played an important role, as we did not eat

much of sweets. After coming here our children have

started demanding it. (more on this in the cuisine section)

216

Now loud speakers are used during the sangeet (song ceremony).

Children want to dance and Hindi songs are sung. Earlier money was

not a part of this ceremony, now people take out money in Punjabi

style. We could see this acculturation - due to coming into contact

with the Punjabi culture in Delhi. People dance in front of the baraat ,

and DJ has become compulsory. None of this was a part of the

Kashmiri wedding, though these changes could have come about even

in the valley due to the exposure to media. Though now it has to be

recorded as a result of forced migration.

Continuing with the marriage rituals the respondent said;

A day before the wedding the bride's hair , is oiled and

braided with ribbons. The father's sister comes and opens

one braid first then other relatives follow. She then washes •

the bride's feet and puts henna on the bride's hand. Money

is given to the aunt for this. Henna or mehendi is applied in

decorative patterns on feet and hands. The bathing

ceremony took place next day in the morning. The bride

and groom in their respective homes would be bathed in

curd. The bride would not use a comb, instead a stick is

used to make a parting. A head covering made of starched

poplin cloth of about two and half meters is put on the

bride's head.

In Kashmir, the bathing ceremony would take place in the

corridor, called 'k:uvoot', built in our house. This space was '

also used for bathing the dead bodies before cremation.

The family guru would preside over such events. In case of

death the guru would read the text with two or three

Brahmins. During the bathing ritual of the marriage

217

ceremony, the guru would instruct on what IS done and

how.

Today we do not have a kul-guru. We have to beg the priest

to come and do the rituals. He may or may not be from our

community. We pay for his services. For the weddings we

have to get a priest from our community other wise he will

not know the rituals. In case of pooja. we know most of

things so we do many things ourselves or guide the priest.

Our religious texts are written in a language called Sharada

while here it is read in Hindi-Sanskrit. These texts have

everything written in them, all the rituals are there.

Therefore, we read them and do as directed or tell the

priest about it.

The loss of the priest has been a maJor change in the life of the

Pandits. During the conversations regarding the religious ceremonies

the Pandits would bring this up as to how difficult it was for them to

preserve their religious culture in the absence of their family priest to

guide them. The importance of the family priest can be gauged from

the following lines by Madan:

The relationship of a priest with his yajaman is

hereditary. Its permanency is unaffected by any

arrangement that may be made for its suspension for

reasons of convenience. If a priest dies without leaving a

son or any closely related agnate behind him the right to

serve his clientele may be inherited by his daughter's

son. On every occasion he provides his services to a

client household the priest receives a dakshina in cash

or kind, or both. The amount of fee varies with the

economic status of each household and the importance

of each occasion. In rural areas such fees are nominal

218

but a priest receives from all land owning households a

certain quantity of paddy at harvest ti~e. He also gets

all the money which the boys of his client households

receive from their kith and kin on the occasion of their

initiation. The priests are thus economically dependent

on their yajaman.( 1989: 20)

The Pandits still prefer marnages within their community. Prof

S.L.Pandit writes that this preference for Pandit bride and grooms has

helped preserved the Pandit culture among the migrants. He writes, "

in their exclusiveness , they were very rigid in marrying their boys and

girls within the resident Kashmiri Brahmins , though some of them

had no' hesitation in marrying their children into any· well placed

family still living in the valley.... In their social and sacred rituals,

they uniformly observe,d the routine that covered the life of the

Brahmin in Kashmir ... "( 2001:28)

After coming to the camps demands of dowry are no longer made. As

such in a marriage, the bride's parents give gold, utensils (some silver

and brass utensils are essential), and clothes. All the items are first

worshipped in a ceremony called saterat. Every parent, actually the

uncle, has to give the 'deejor', which is tied to a thread, this is the

most visible symbol of a married Kashmiri woman it can be compared

to the mangalasutra( thali) used in the southern India and the sindoor

used in the northern parts of India . The thread is replaced by a gold

chain, called 'athoor', by the mother-in- law when the bride goes to

the groom's house. Everything that is given to the girl is first blessed

through a pooja. The deejor has a special pooja. There was no concept

of mangalsutra, but now people have started tying the mangalsutra

during the marriage rituals. The bride wears a red sari. Earlier a

special pheran was made for the wedding but this custom was

dropped long before the migration. Each relative puts a garland of

money and flowers around the groom. This used to be home made but

219

now is purchased at shops. The groom was expected to carry a sword

earlier but now a knife suffices. This actually shows traces of the

kshatriya influence even though all the Pandits claim Brahmana

status.

The jaimala is an important part of the marriage rituals. It takes place

before the bride and groom move towards the havan( the sacred fire lit

for the rituals). The bride and groom exchange garlands and are given

some sweets to be eaten. They then move on for the main rituals.

They have to cross a rangoli made rice powder. The kangri( fire lit in a

clay oven) is-given to the groom as shagun(auspicious item). The bride

is given a Shiva-Parvati or Radha-Krishna photograph, which she

takes with her. The bride and groom then see each their face in ghee,

separately. The bride and the groom are technically supposed to see

each other for the first time in a mirror and this is a part of the

rituals. Of course, today this is a mere formality. The posh pooja -

ritual involving showering of flowers on the bride and groom is one of

the most important rituals. One respondent replied that earlier the

marriage would take about eight hours of which the posh pooja it self

would be of two hours. Today everything is done but has been cut

short.

The in-laws are given a utensil, of brass in Kashmir and now of steel,

filled with sugar and money. They amount of money depends on the

status of the bride's family. Glass and gold bangles are given to the

bride. Today the bride'~ prefer the bangles the Punjabis wear after

marriage called the chuda .. This is a clear indication of acculturation.

The glass bangles are hardly used now. As one respondent put it, "We

had beautiful customs. The guruji used to explain everything- the

meaning of the rituals, what is marriage, what the chants say. Now

everything has been spoiled. People do not take marriage seriously

and divorce has become so common." (But hastens to add that this is

not so among Kashmiri Pandits).

220

After the wedding rituals, the bride and groom walk out on money,

which has been spread out. The guruji takes this money. The bride

and groom then eat in the neighbours house and then leave for the

groom's place. Certain games have been added to the wedding

ceremonies - like hiding the shoe of the groom, searching for the

ring/ coin in milk etc. These are essentially Punjabi customs which

have been acquired as consequence of acculturation.

One respondent explained:

The rituals have remained the same, some have been

added looking at the people around us. The main thing that

has changed is the time that is· devoted to marriage and

even festivals. Earlier people used to come in before a week

of marriage. We Used to make arrangements in the temples

for people to stay. Our temple premises were huge. We

could arrange mattresses and blankets, arrange a cook

who would cook for the guests.· Arrangements would be

made even for the groom's traveling party ·lbaraat). We had . I

a lot of space in our houses too. Now, there is no space in

the camp and we cannot ask people to come much in

advance. Today the wedding is over in a day. It is not a

question of money, just that people do not want to take the

trouble anymore. They just book a community hall for a

day and finish everything.

When asked about the availability of jewellery of their kind in Delhi.

One respondent said that initially none of the shopkeepers knew what

a deejoor was. Therefore, they took a sample and showed it to him.

However, now almost all the jewelers know about the Kashmiri

designs and make them. When I enquired whether any Pandit had

opened a jewellery shop. The respondents said that so far they have

221

not heard of any such shop m Delhi, though there are a few m

Jammu.

The respondents said that many changes had come over due to the

climate. The bride used to be covered in a pashmina shawl but the

heat in Delhi prevents its use. This is a clear example of cultural '

change due to change in environment. When asked whether they use

it in the winter weddings. The respondents said the same things:

Firstly, there is nobody to make that particular shawl here. Secondly,

it will too expensive. Thirdly, the new generation prefers the bright

north-Indian style 'chunnis'. Those who can afford it use the

pashmina and the red chunni. The last was never done in Kashmir.

Earlier, part of the wedding arrangements involved making a special

oven for cooking food for the guests. It would be ,huge and about four

to five dishes could be cooked at the same time. This was done even

in cities. After shifting to the camps this became difficult as the oven

making process was time taking. Marriage would take ,place in

community halls rented out for a day qr two. They would: not even

know where to get the stones and mud. The other problem was that

the community halls did not allow such constructions in the

premises.

I wanted to know about the code of conduct govermng the

relationship between the daughter -in -law and the parents- in-law.

The mam characteristics looked for in a girl are that

she should be good looking, educated and well

mannered. She should not fight and should stay

harmoniously with the elders in the family. She should

be calm, serene and know how to stay with her head

down.

222

'.;'

The daughter-in-law is like a daughter. In fact, before

marriage she visits the house of the groom so that she

can see the house where she will be staying and in

case she feels that there is something lacking she can

get it during the marriage. In case there is any

discussion then it is done face to face. There is no

concept of ghunghat, there is an unwritten rule,

certain code of decency' aankhon ki sharam'. However,

in the camp things have changed whatever little

sharam was there is no longer there, it is decreasing

day by day. The daughters in law do not respect their

father or mother in law. They answer back and fight.

This is mainly due to the lack of space. When we had

come all of us - father and mother-in-law, brother-in­

law, daughter had to stay in the same room. It was a

very difficult time for us. We cannot follow many

customs due to · monetary concerns. So we · come

together as brothers. izzat, maan to rakhna padhta hai.

(Have to keep ones honour and prestige).

It is interesting to note that while a girl was not expected to see her to

be groom· before her marriage she was allowed to visit her future

home. A slight ambiguity suggests it~elf in the cultural pattern here

but this gives us a clue as to which area of ones life greater cultural

value was attached. The physical attraction between spouses was '

relegated to the background while the concept of conjugal bliss was

viewed through the prism of family. The role for a daughter was

expected to revolve around the entire family rather than the merely

husband. This is a cultural idea that can be stated to be truly pan­

Indian and it is an idea that has come under increasing strain due to

the forces of modernization and urbanization.

223

Two women spoken to were from Delhi itself but had married

Kashmiri Pandits. One of then said that:

I was ignorant of the customs and language of the

Kashmiri Pandits but had picked it up. The marriage

had taken place in Punjabi style. On reaching Kashmir

my mother-in-law got my ear pierced so that I could

wear the deejor, the sign of a married Kashmir Pandit

woman.· I learnt all the work also - looking after the

cows, agricultural work, cleaning the house. People

used to comment that I have surpassed all of them

where work was concerned. I used to get up by four in

the morning and used to sleep by nine. We used to sleep

on mat, which is not available here, and put the

mattresses on them.

As mentioned in the beginning of the chapter itself there is a clear

disparity in what the respondents had to say about the way they bring

up their children and the reality (as recorded by Madan). The Pandits

are no different from any other community in India in expecting the

women to be docile, hardworking and not very career orientated. At

least in the rural areas education of the women was not of primary

concern.

Certain changes in marriage customs had already started taking place

in Kashmir before the process of migration began. This was mainly

regarding the wedding attire of both bride and groom, meeting of the

boy and girl, bypassing the matchmaker in finding bride/groom.

Forced migration and the subsequent shift to the camp bought in

more changes. These major changes were due to lack of space,

difference in the weather and last but not the least, the loss of the

guruji (priest). The Pandits have maintained the ritualistic aspect of

the marriage and have devised methods like using pre-recorded

224

cassettes with chants, mantras, etc, to preserve their cultur~ for the

future generations.

Acculturation has been another factor which has bought changes; it

has added cultural traits of the majority population in Delhi to those

of Kashmiri Pandits. The younger generation has been prone to

changes -, so the changes in the music played, food being served and

many such issues are mainly because of the children. The

respondents themselves acknowledged that the children determine a

lot of things and are insistent that the Punjabi customs they have

seen or come to know about should be included, several examples

have been given earlier - wearing chuda, hiding the shoes of the

groom, including north Indian sweets in the menu. The younger

generation goes out to work or study and interacts with the local

population which acquaints the different customs and they take in

what attracts them. If we recollect here the studies mentioned in the

second chapter we can see that this is the pattern in all refugee/IDP

camps.

The respondents felt that the media too was responsible for the

changes. This of course introduces the idea that the changes could

have then come about even without the forced migration. But the

Pandits might not have had the access to various channels like they

have in Delhi. But we can see that while changes in every culture are

a part of every society the stress and strain placed on the culture due

to forced migration cannot be ignored. In fact all the changes we have

recorded have to be seen in the light of the forced· migration, if we

have to gam a holistic understanding of what this culture is

·undergoing.

225

SOME CUSTOMS/NORMS

In this section we will deal with certain aspects ot the Pandits way of

living which were found to be different from other cultures. These

things cropped up during conversations or due to observation of life in

the camp. There was no prior intention to investigate these issues. It

seemed interesting and important so was recorded and. added on in

this chapter. During the conversations in the camp, it came out that

certain customs and norms were an integral part of the Kashmiri

Pandit culture.

KITCHEN:

In Kashmir, those who did not have large utensils were considered I .

poor. Water was carried from the stream in utensils. There was a

small space outside which was used for washing utensils. No used

utensil is ever bought into the kitchen. Because of this, they did not

even have a wash basin in the kitchen. Even during snowfall, the '

women would wash everything outside. Even when taking water out of

a pitcher the glass should not touch the utensil. However, the

Muslims were hot so strict about this, they would wash inside or near

the stream. Most of the people in the villages did not have taps in the

houses, the tap is generally found in the city kitchens. Nobody enters

the kitchen wearing shoes. (This of course is a pan Indian

phenomenon) They used mostly brass utensils. but now use

glassware. The Pandits do not keep utensils on the carpet,a cloth was

spread on· which plates and other utensils to be used are kept. This

was observed even in the camp.

As described in the previous chapter (chapter four), each family in the

camp had a small room with an attached kitchen though the latter

was a recent addition. The kitchen was so small that two people in' it

would be a crowd. There was a big sink made by the government who

obviously did not know about the habits of the Pandits. In the camp,

226

/

there was no separate space for washing utensils. Still the residents

would not take the used utensils into the kitchen. They would collect

it and wash it outside. The Pandits said they will follow this custorri

even in the flats in Dwarka(Delhi). (These flats were constructed 'by

the government for the Pandits, which we have referred to in the

earlier se'ctions). In fact, they have built a separate space, outside the

flats, with a tap, where they wash their utensils.

. A respondent elaborated on this:

In Kashmir, everybody had his or her own plate. The

women would eat in the plate, which was used by the

husband (a practice followed in many parts of the country).

Brass plates were used rather than the steel plates which

are used now:. The Pandits would not eat outside in the

hotels. We taught this to our children too. Now, of course,

since many stay outside their homes they have to eat

outside in hotels, in the hostel mess. They even eat with

Muslims, which was unheard of. There are some people

who look out for a clean stove, utensil to cook something. I

have stopped eating from my husband's plate as he eats

outside how.

All our shastras are very scientific. It tells us to wash our

hands before eating, to walk barefoot - today science is

telling us all this. I read in Markandeya puran that brass in

never clean even after being washed. It is because of this

that the plates used to be separate. We used to serve food

to the elders first, and then the rest of the family used to

eat. The children may eat with the elders, as they are not

able to remain hungry for long. It was a sign of respect.

Even now, this custom is followed. Very few families have

227

kept separate plates, as when we came we hardly had any

utensils so it was difficult to maintain this custom.

BATHROOMS:

The Pg.ndits from run:il Kashmir were also not used to the concept of a

bathroom inside the house. Most men used to bathe in the stream~

Women would do the same while some used to have a secluded '

portion outside the house for this portion. The women would get up

very early to bathe, for the sake of privacy. One respondent was

dearly distressed by the construction of the flats in Dwarka . He said

"In the allotted flats in Dwarka the bathroom and the kitchen are

situated next to each other. How can we use it? How could they make

it like this?"

Another custom peculiar to Kashmir probably was the use of

mud/ soil to wash hands and faces. My respondents said that:

Nobody used to use soap in Kashmir. The soil of Kash~ir

was better thap soap and it contained moisturizers which

used to keep our skin in good condition. When I came here,

I would set out early morning to get mud, from deeply dug

trenches. One day, a person asked me what I was doing. I

told him and he advised me not to do so as the soil here is

polluted. In Jammu, the problem is worse as the soil there

is poisonous due to the presence of snakes and scorpions.

Many were inflicted with infe~tions due to the mud. Snakes

and scorpions stung many as they took out soil. Even after

sixteen years, I feel my hands are not clean. Our children

who have not used the soil do not understand my problem

and are comfortable using soap.

The older generation in the camp referred to this habit of theirs while

the younger generation did not ~ention it at all. IH all probability they

228

did not follow these customs and associated it with the older

generation. The elders even after sixteen years of migration had not

got accustomed to the change in their lives and tried to adhere to as

many customs they could - however small. According to them their

grandchildren are anyways ignorant about many things, at least they

should be aware of the important festivals and certain particular

habits so that they do not lose touch with the Pandit way of life.

We can see that things which seem insignificant to many could be

important to the people concerned. One can scarcely imagine that

someone would problems even adjusting to using soaps especially as

a cultural phenomenon. They said that on going back they would

revert back to using soil even if their children use soaps.

RELIGION

Religion today is probably is one of the most discussed topics in the

world. Stereotyping on basis of religion, terrorism, riots all are related

to religion. For the Pandits the problem of forced migration is at one

level based on the question of religious identities. They take a great

deal of pride m their religious heritage and consider themselves

superior even to other Brahmin communities. Chaman Lal Gadoo

writes:

It is a known fact that both the Shaivagams and

Vaishnavagams have originated from Kashmir. The rich

Shiva Shaktha and Tantra tradition of Kashmir is still ·in

vogue in the form of religious practices and rituals

performed by the Kashmiri Brahmins. Although

Kashmiri scholars have given a rich monastic Trika

philosophy called Kashmiri Shaiva Darshan , in respect

of religious practices and rituals Kashmiri Pandits have

always followed the Vedic prescriptions. ( 2001;34)

229

The Pandits are a very religious community ahd their festivals are

different from rest of the country. They have a few festivals, which are

common, but they celebrate it differently. The Pandits worship all the

Hindu gods but the one of supreme importance was Lord Shiva and

hence Shiva Ratri is the main festival. The Pandits also worship the

mother goddess in various forms. Thus, Navratras is _also an

important festival for them:

In Kashmir, annual pilgrimages to Sher Bhavani temple at Tulmula

and Shankrarcharya were made. There used to be a Sher Bhavani

mela during ' ashaad ka shukla paksh ahtami' (the eight day during

bright half of the moon in the month of monsoon) and 'jeth ki shukla

paksh ashtami'(the eight day during bright half of the moon in the

month of jeth). The Pandits have not visited these places after they

have migrated from Kashmir.

When told that that in som6 camps the Sikhs migrants from Kashmir

also referred to themselves as Pandits, the respondents replied that

they are referred to as sardars, but they were definitely not Pandits.

The Pandits and sardars could eat in each other's houses. The

respondent elaborated:

No Kashmiri Pandit would set out of the house without

washing his hands. This was especially after tying the

shoelaces. It may so happen that one may touch a

glass or some food item with 'impure' hands. If we do

so then we have to bathe. Therefore, it is essential that

we wash out hands with ~mitti' (soil). If our hands our

clean then it does not matter. However, the sardars do.

not believe in this concept. The sardars do not

celebrate Janmashtami but they may visit the Pandit

homes during the celebrations.

230

In the following section some of the main festivals among the pandits

will be discussed. A lot of material is available on how the festivals

should be celebrated but this study tries to find out how the festivals

were and are actually celebrated. Sometimes when asked about

certain festivals and whether they still do follow them, they would '

smile and say that whatever t~ose things used to happen a long time

back. As mentioned in the second chapter no culture can remain

static; changes are bound to take place with time. This has happened

with the Pandit culture, let us see what changes that have occurred

and why. Festivals are an integral part of any religion and thus a

discussion on it will show the changes that have come about in the

religious life of the Pandits.

Festivals:

On referring to Bernadi's view on environment and culture we can see

that that there is a close connection between the two- "the rituals,

beliefs are centered on the environment a group lives in- the worship

of trees, sky etc."(1977:81). We find this very true in the case of the

Pandits. The, free flowing streams, forests played an important role in

the festivals of the Pandits and now they have adapted to life without

them.

Festivals bring the people together during the. course of celebrations.

Some festivals may be celebrated by a family at home while some are

celebrated on a larger scale- for example the Durga puja of Bengalis.

Madan writes that the Pandits do not have any festival which is

celebrated on a group basis. During discussions the Pandits

mentioned that they used to celebrate many things together but now

they do not due to space and monetary constraints. So let us take

each festival and review the changes that have come about in the

course of time and the reason behind the change. The indented

portion is the respondent's information on celebrations as it used to

231

take place in rural Kas,hmir. We can see this as pre-migration and

post-migration practices.

Shiva Ratri: The main festival of the Pandits

In Kashmir:

In Kashmir, we would get mud pots in which we would give

food to the gods. This was then put in the streams. It was

Kashmir itself that people stated using steel pots instead of

mud pots. Today many people buy new steel pots every

Shiva Ratri, but we do not. In Kashmir, the potter would ·

give us mud pots and we would give him grain in exchange.

The next day of Shiva-Ratri the Muslims would come for

food. We would give them a lot of grain. At that time the

value of money was more, grain was in excess and was

often burnt. Then the value of money increased and people

started selling the excess grains.

In the camp:

We fast for the whole day and then worship m the

evenmg. We take brass or mud vessels and fill it with

walnuts' and sugar. It signifies a wedding of Lord Shiva

with Parvati. We even have 'baraatis'. The pooja starts

with ganesh pooja, kalash pooja and is then followed by

the actual shiv parvati pooja. The Prasad is rice, which

is then eaten. We still follow the rituals as we used to in

Kashmir. Dry fruits, dry coconut are kept in water for

two or three days and then consumed on the first day of

Shiva Ratri. The Prasad instead of being put in the

stream is now given to the birds.

Shiv Ratri is one such festival which is celebrated in the same manner

as before, other than the role of the stream which the Pandit have

now changed due to changed circumstances.

232

Raksha Bandhan

In Kashmir:

We would fast the whole day and do a Satya Narayan

katha. We did not tie a rakhi (thread that is tied around

the brother's wrist in North India).

In the camp: ·

The procedure 1s more or less the same as it was in

Kashmir with the only difference being that now a days

tying the rakhi has become a fashion as our children.

see the people in Delhi dqing it.

The most notable difference has been the ritual of tying Rakhi( thread

tied symbolizing protection of the brother from mishaps) after coming

to the camp. This change has come about due to the insistence of

children who observed others around them doing it.

Janmashtani (birthday of Lord Krishna)

In Kashmir:

We worship lord Krishna on that day. We keep a

photograph or an idol in a cradle and worship it. It is done

in every house. We have a day long fast accompanied by

Satya Narayan katha. We then go to the temple in the

evening; come back and eat puri (deep fried wheat dough)

and tea. We do not know for how long the people fast here.

There was no yatra like the one held in Delhi. Yatras had

started but much later. The Muslims would throw stones

so that the yatra would not be completed. It was because of

this that the pooja was restricted to the home and temple.

There has been no change in the way the Pandits celebrate

Janmashthami .

233

Nav Reh ( New Year)

There was no difference in the celebration of the Kashmiri New Year in

Kashmir and in camp. The respondent told that,

On this day we take a plate of rice, put some money on

it, photograph of a god, walnut and cover it. We then see

it first thing in the morning. This is still observed.

A respondent elaborated on the difference m Kashmir and in the

camp:

We have a festival every month. It is the shukla paksh

ashtami, full moon day. We fast on that day. Though we

celebrate all the festivals, we do not have the same zeal.

Earlier we used to wait the whole night for our guruji. Now

since we no longer have a guru we either do it ourselves or

hire a person. He has to go to many houses and so he does

everything in a hurry.

The last sentence reiterates the importance of the priest in the lives of

the Pandit. The loss of the regular priest has affected the ritualistic

content of many celebrations.

Gada Bhata

In Kashmir:

The term 'Gada Bhata' means rice and fish. It is celebrated

on any Tuesday or Saturday of dark fortnight of the lunar

month of Pausha. Fish is cooked and relatives' and friends

are invited home. A plateful of fish and rice is arranged and

it is placed at a clean place m a room on the top floor,

called Kaeni. This is meant for the deity of the house

referred to as the Ghar deveta. The plate is covered

properly with an up turned basket and nearby is a glass of

234

water. After placing the plate at the fixed place for the

deity, a feast of rice and fish is held along with near and

dear ones.

The respondents told more the or less the same thing about the

festival. They said that this festival is for the ghar devta (god of the

house). On this day fish and rice is served to the god. The fish is

cleaned but the waste is not thrown., There was a fixed place in the

house in Kashmir; it could be the terrace or any such place. The god

is supposed to come and have the food offering. Each house has its

own god.

One respondent felt that it no longer made sense to foilow this festival

as the camp is not technically a 'home' and the god of the house

cannot reside here. She said she would resume this festival once she .r

has a home of her home. The other respondents said that they still

observe the festival though there is no fixed place Ior keeping the

offering. Since the families were joint families this festival was

observed collectively as each family can have only one 'grih devta'. ,

With the breaking up of the joint family each family observes this

festival in their respective camp rooms. It was one of the community

based festivals , but space and monetary constraints have changed all

that.

Pun Deun

In Kashmir:

This is a traditional celebration, which almost all Kashmiri families

celebrate in the month of Bhadron (August/ September) by preparing

very delicious Roths (wheat pancakes). In the south this is celebrated

a Ganesh Puja. The celebration gives great enjoyment in the form of a

get together for the family, and especially among children. The house

kitchen, utensils everything was cleaned. The pancakes were made in

235

a special brass wok. For making the pancakes the ingredients used

were- white flour, brown sugar, ghee(butter), salt, vegetable oil,

yogurt, khaskash seeds, cardamom. For the pooja- flowers, walnut,

rice fruits, nariwan (colored string), green grass(Dramun). The senior

lady of the house used to perform this celebration.' An unmarried girl

used to spin some cotton thread on the charkha. 'This was put in the

ear during the celebrations. About 1 kg of wheat flour with some

brown sugar was kept in a separate pla~e as a offering to god.

Separately, about 250 grams of wheat flour per person in the family is

weighed and used for cooking. The pancakes were then fried for the

god and the family members. A container of water was then decorated

flower garland, coloured string and silver foil. The pancake offerings to

the god were were then placed on the container along with some

walnuts and fruits. This is called the Naveed (Prasad in Hindi). The

lady would then read the story·behind the celebration of the festival,

taking out the cotton thread and holding some rice and barley in her

palm. She would tie the coloured string on everybody's hand and give

them rice and barley. The pancakes would be distributed among

neighbours and relatives.

In the camp:

As one of the respondents described this festival in detail, it· was a

little different from what has been described in the available literature

on this topic. In every state, we find that that there may be certain

regional variation in celebrating a festival. Therefore, let us see his

description of the festival:

Five to eight households used to get together and celebrate.

First, the flour (ground rice powder) had to be prepared.

The rice had to be cleaned and dried on a clean cloth. The

Muslims, who used to know everything about the festivals,

used to grind the rice. They used to clean the chakki

(traditional grinding machine) and then grind the rice. The

236

rice powder was stored in a 'pure utensil', which was earlier

made of mud. Now brass or stainless steel is used. Those

who don't have utensils may use a new piece of cloth.

Dough was prepared mixing the rice flour, sugar and milk

Chappatis were made out of it on mud 'tawa'(pan).

One cup of atta (wheat flour) was put in the name of eve:ry

family member. About 1 kilogram of flour, sugar, ghee,

cardamom, khus khus, silver foil are used. The kitchen and

utensils are cleaned and then only the puris are made. A

Maa Bhavani kalash is prepared (Kalash is the Hindi word

for a brass or steel water container). It is decorated with

rangoli, flowers and a special grass (particular to Kashmir).

Ladies fast on this day and unmarried girls spin cotton.

The cotton is put in the ear. Today getting spun cotton is

difficult. We ask around from those who have daughters or

those who have it to give us some. It is difficult to get it as

few people have a charkha. The flour should not fall on the

floor and nobody should step on it. To prevent this flour

that falls on the floor is put in the river or under the tree.

In the camp: '

The f~stival is celebrated, but the process is no longer that

elaborate. Some make the rice powder at home while some

go to the nearby grinding shop. Many use wheat flour too.

Each family does its own pooja. The mud 'tawa' is a thing

of the past. The dough is now deep-fried in oil, much like

the 'puri'. The rice plate for the god is placed under the

peepal tree. The Pandits have to do without the grass 'Ari'

as it is found only in Kashmir.

In Kashmir the rivers, the trees play a vital role in the festivals. f\dded

to this is the established role of the local people in the celebrations. It

237

1s these aspects which are no longer a part of the festivals of the

Pandits in Delhi.

Monjhaher Taeher

In Kashmir:

Monjaher in Kashmiri means the lunar month of margha Shirsha.

Taeher means yellow rice cooked with mustard. On the first day

following the end of Marghashirsha, that is beginning of the Pausha

month such nee 1s specially cooked and offered to, the house and

village deity.

In the camp:

· One of the respondents talked about this festival and explained how

they celebrated it in his village.

This festival is celebrated for the village god. The village

god looks after the welfare of the village and villagers.

Not even the god of death can enter ~ithout his

. permission. It was celebrated during the shukla paksh

on Tuesday and Saturday. Rice was kept for the god in a

plate. The plate was placed on a type of grass called Ari

under an auspicious tree namely the 'chinar' .

......

The essence of the festival is no longer the same. The celebration has

lost its significance in the wake of forced migration, as the concept of

the god of village has no meaning now; the chinar too is a thing of the

past in Delhi. The Pandits still follow the festival out of habit.

Khyachi Mavas

In Kashmir:

This is also known as the Yaksha Amavasya. The last day

of the dark fortnight of the Paush,dedicated to the 'Yaksha',

which again refers to some forest dwelling tribe that lived

238

there before the rishis. On this day, a special dish of

moong(lentil) mixed with rice is prepared in the evening. It

is served to the 'Y akshya' on an improvised plate made of

dry grass. The plate is placed on top of the compound wall.

The kitchen mortal is placed on a grass ring worshipped as

a symbol of the cosmos and decorated with

sindoor(vermiHion), sandal, raw rice and flowers. These

festivals were apparently h~ld to satisfy the demands of the

aborigines and tribesmen.

In the camp:

The Pandits clean the utensils and the oven on this day. They then

cook 'khichdi' (cook rice and lentil together). For this purpose either

moong or urad dal(types of lentil) is used. It is kept in a particular

place as an offering to god. In the camp, they do not have a fixed place

as they used to have in Kashmir. One respondent said that when he

shifts to his flat at Dwarka he will assign a particular place to keep

the offering. This clearly shows that the Pandits want to follow their

customs.

Nav-Ratri

In Kashmir:

This festival is celebrated all ove~ India though in different ways. In

Kashmir, the Pandits used to clean every utensil in the kitchen and

fast on three days- ashtami(eight), navami(ninth) and

ekadasi(eleventh). They ate before sunset. The fast on ekadasi was

more rigorous as they did not consume anything other than tea and

milk. The Pandits used to get a ball of salt, which they used daily.

During the Nav-ratri they used to keep a portion separately to be used

specially on the festival days. No sugar was used; jaggery was

consumed intead of sugar.

239

In the camp:

In the camp, the fasting pattern remains the same. Everything is

cleaned before the· festival. The Pandits have substituted the ball of

salt with rock salt, which the north- Indians have during the fasts.

Sugar is consumed as eatingjaggery is a matter of 'shame'. (sharam ki

baat). This is probably because jaggery usage is more among the poor

in this part of the country.

' .· Kahnaether

In Kashmir:

It is known as Jatakaram Samskar. It is akin to baptism-a

ritualistic propitiation of deities and acceptance of a new

born child into the family fold and gotra. Prior to, the third

day there is a ceremony called the trui, · in which fried

sesame seeds garnished with sugar candy and walnuts are

distributed among friends and relatives. On the tenth day

is the Shran-sonder which combines the ceremonial

medicinal bath with the Vedic ritual of pumsuam. Without

the Shran-sonder, the Kahnaether cannot be held. The

importance of the Kahnaether is that without it no other

religious activity can take place in the house. On this day a

havan is performed and the child is given a name.

In the camp:

This takes place 'on the eleventh day of childbirth. It is longer for the

boy than the girl. This is because the girl has a. longer pooja during

the marriage. Until this is done, everybody is impure in the house.

Thus this is very important for the family. A pooja is held and Prasad

(offering to the god) is sent to everybody's home. The celebrations are

done in the same manner as before.

240

Deepawali

In Kashmir:

Deepawali or Diwali is probably the most important festival m the

northern region. In Kashmir it was not so. It was a very simple affair.

The Pandits used to light a few diyas, make sweet puris, and light a

few crackers.

In the camp:

After coming to Delhi, they have inculcated the North-Indian way of

celebrating this festival. Earlier there was no custom of sending gift

items to the girl's home on this day. Now, it has become an expected

behaviour- clothes and sweets have to be sent the daughter and her

in-laws. The children expect more fanfare- more crackers and sweets.

Visiting friends with the same has also become the norm. this is

" probably one of the festhmls which has witnessed major changes in

the celebration pattern due to acculturation.

Holi:

Holi was hardly celebrated in Kashmir by the Pandits. They said that

they would play Holi with the Muslims. Now Holi has also been added

to the list of' festivals. The children insist on playing it as they see

their friends celebrating it with a lot of gusto. (Another example of

acculturation).

One respondent summed. it up well:

We celebrate most festivals, but do not devote as much

time as before. With more money, people's hearts have

become smaller. In the camp we do not invite the people

over, just send the Prasad to their homes. We show our

children the rituals so that they learn and do it when we

241

are no longer around. Instead of putting the offering under

the walnut trees we now put it in the temples. The yellow

rice is meant for apsaras, but which apsara will come here.

Instead of separate places, all the families in the camp put

in the same place. Even today, as per the custom, in the

event of somebody's death we put out the food for a year.

We have a shradh after fifteen days then three months then

six rrionths and then after one year. During teen ashtami

we light diyas for out pitr during morning and evening.

It was seen that the festivals which had involved the family now had

now become individualistic- gada bhata , pun duen , while the

festivals which required that each family should have its own space

like- khyachi mavas, monjahaer taeher has become more collective as

they do not have . their own space under the chinar tree or in the

terrace.

The above section clearly shows that effort has been m:ade by the

Pandit to preserve their culture as far as festivals are concerned. They

have adapted to the new surroundings and are doing their best to

familiarize the children with their customs. Though further research

on the next generation of Kashmiri Pandits will show as to how far the

parents have been successful· in transmitting- their culture. The

children have played a major role in the present changes and how

these children will be able to resist further influence is yet to be seen.

FAMILY

The families in rural Kashmir were joint families. The families would

consist of the parents, siblings (brothers), unmarried sisters and the

families of the brothers. They had a common kitchen and were close

knit. The parents were in charge of the finances unless decided other

wise by them. The elders took the major decisions.

242

A lady respondent gave the example of her home:

My father and his elder brother used to stay together. We

were so close that I never knew the difference between my

own sisters and my cousins. My uncle, we refer to him as

- the elder father, ·fixed my wedding. My father did not even

know where my in-laws. house was. He used to send things

and do everything. In fact, I had taken up science but he

came and put my name in humanities. This was because

there were boys in my class and I was the only girl.

We used to have a joint family consisting of my in laws and

brother in law. My father and brother in law had left

Kashmir earlier and were staying somewhere . .Then my

daughter and I came and searched for them. We stayed

together at the camp but registered as separate families so

that we could get the benefits- ration and relief. Now my

brother in law has shifted to Jammu and my father in law

has expired. I stay with my son and daughter in law. My

daughter is in the same camp and she has a room upstairs.

Another respondent talking about the situation in the camp said :

Whenever there is a function, we celebrate it together, go

for functions together, give one gift as family. Some may

give it separately depends on the family. We even cook

together in case of functions. We are not able to things

alone. We cannot follow many customs due to monetary

concerns. So we come together as brothers. "Izzat, maan to

rakhna padhta hai." (have to keep ones honour and

prestige).

243

Division of labour; The Allocation of Roles

When I asked whether, the men helped in any household work. The

answer was an emphatic no. "The men do not get up even to fetch a

glass of water, they ask us to get it. Only if nobody is at home then

the men may do some nominal work. The work of the men is

restricted mainly to the fields. It was observed that in the camps too

the women were constantly on their feet catering to demands of

'kahva' (Kashmiri tea) and snacks. The men loved to sit and discuss

various issues while the women cleaned, washed and looked after the

children.

The only exceptions to this rule were men who had stayed outside.

The difference being that they knew how to cook, but this did not

mean that they would help at horrie. Many men worked in the city and

would come to the village once or twice a month. They stayed in

rented rooms in the city. Since the Pandits did not eat in hotels and '

were particular about purity-pollution they had to cook their own

meals. This is still applicable to the older generation who do not go

out.

Forced migration meant that the families could not even live together.

The camps were too small to accommodate the entire families. Those

who had come with their parents stayed in one room, while the

brothers moved into. another room. They registered separately to get

the ration benefits. Each family would get ration for four people

irrespective of the actual size; therefore, it made more sense to divide

the family into two or three depending on original size. This also

meant that they would get separate camp rooms. Some families were

broken up as people took up job elsewhere. Many shifted to Jammu­

camps or rented apartments.

Those who stay in the same camp exchange food and walk into each

other's room without knocking or ringing the bell. One room is treated

244

'like an extension of the other. One of my respondents had a brother

in the opposite room. His nephews would keep dropping in and eat or

watch television. In such cases, while going to weddings or celebrating

certain festivals they would function as one uriit. As they shift to

Dwarka flats even the families would break up again as they won't be

staying nearby. The Kashmiri Pandit families would undergo a further

break up auring the resettlement process.

Thus we see the forced migration has totally broken down the family

structure. Madan too had recorded the joint family structure in detail.

That is no longer in existence due to the haphazard way of migration -

families did not move together. Many did not land up in the same

camp - brothers and sisters got separated and by the time they found

each other they had settled down in their respective camps. Some

took the trouble of changing their camps ·to be with their family

members~ Nevertheless, the kitchens, which Madan refers to as the

chulah, which denoted a family has today got divided. The joint family

was therefore one of the first casualties of forced migration for the

Pandits. The situation is not going to improve even when they move

out of the camps as the families cannot chose the flats at Dwarka, so

they could be, far away from each other. This will mean that even the

present level of interaction will come to a halt.

CUISINE

The cuisine of the Kashmiri Pandit was a reflection of the geographical

and physical space they liv~d in. Chaman Lal Gadoo tracing the

history of the Bandit cuisine writes:

To trace the gaud saraswat Brahmin ancestry, from

Kashmir to goa, one must begin must begin with the

story of the famous seer, Saraswata. When there was a

famine in Northern. India, he continued to recite the

245

Vedic texts by consummg the fish that Goddess

Saraswati had given to him. The Brahmins of later

generations who accepted fish as part of their diet were

often known to have refered to this story to justify their

full fledged status as Brahmins despite their consuming

fish. (200 1: 35)

The Pandit cuisine has undergone the least amount of change as

almost everything is available in Delhi.

One of the respondents said that:

We used to buy nanvahi roti - a type of tandoori roti

available only in Kashmir. We try and get it from there if

somebody goes there. It was eaten for breakfast especially

in cities. In the villages, we used to have makki ki roti or

chawal ki roti. After coming here we have started having

chappati/ parantha . We still cook in our old style. We do

not use garam masala(assortment of various sp1ces

commonly used in Delhi);· dalchini( cinnamon), saunf

(aniseed )powder. Our consumption of meat has decreased

with the advent of Islam. (This could be as an attempt to

distinguish themselves from the Muslims)

The rice grown in Kashmir was quite different from what the Pandits

get in the camp. One of the respondent who was not a native of

Kashmir said that in her initial days as a bride she was asked

whether she can cook rice. She said yes but found that she could not

do so, this was because the Kashmiri rice is thicker , sweeter and

small. The water was drained out from the rice and cooked again.

In Kashmir weddings the menu consists of dum aloo( a potato dish),

two or more varieties of paneer(cottage cheese). The rich Kashmiris

may cook ten varieties of paneer and meat. "In Kashmir we used have

246

meat -sheep meat, here we eat goat meat. The weather was such that

those who did not eat meat used to fall ill often. Many women would

not consume meat." When asked whether they would cut it at home.

The respondent said, "Hare Ram! (oh!lord) Who will cut it at home?

Even the mussalman do not cut it at home. The Muslims may cut

chicken at home in case of emergency."

The Pandits did not eat in the house of the Muslims. While one

respondent said that, the Muslims would not eat in their homes

another said that they would. Food was exchanged only with the rich

and elite Muslims. The food would not qe cooked; instead raw meat

and other such items would be exchanged

The Kashmiri Pandits palat~ has become more varied due to forced

migration. This was mainly as the children would eat something with

their friends and would insist on it being cooked at home. As one

respondent put it:

In Kashmir we used to have 'moong dal'( ·a variety of lentil)

and rajma. However, here we have everything. We did not

even know what is masoor dal( lentil) . We used to have

moong dal on special occasions, like on ashtami. There are

several varities of lentil,· which we had not eaten before.

Even though we get cabbage, palak (spinach), Radish here

the taste is not the same. In Kashmir, the radish used to be

small and round. We do not many varities of saag( leafy

greens) like we used in Kashmir. Since the Muslims

boycotted us, we also boycotted them and stopped taking

meat from them. Once a month in Shukla paksh we do not

have onion, garlic, egg or meat.

The Pandits do not use much of spices and they have maintained this

habit here too. They use mostly oil, water, turmeric and green chilli.

247

They use mustard oil. In Kashmir, they use to buy litres and stock it

but here they buy in smaller quantities. The Pandits from the rural

areas found it difficult to reconcile to the fact that they had to buy

everything from the market. In Kashmir, they used to buy just spices

and salt: Vegetables and rice was grown in the fields.

During the fieldwork l was regularly giVen Kahva( Kashmiri tea) to

drink. When told that the same at the trade fair in Delhi was brewed

in a silver utensil they replied that , "We make Kahva here, though

not in the traditional utensil. Kahva in Kashmir would be brewed in

special brass utensils."

None of the residents had it as they did not carry it from their homes

and was. probably the last thing on their mindS. The Pandits still

make the Kahva as best they can· on the electric stoves. Their meals at ·

home and weddings are much the same. One major addition has been

the inclusion of sweets in the cuisine, which was not a part of their

diet earlier but has been added as their children love it.

LANGUAGE

No discussion on culture can be complete without a mention of

language. Language defines a group and at the same time separates it

from others. Today language is not much of a barrier due to various

means of communication and English having become a global

language of sorts. Nevertheless, language is an important component

of culture.

Before starting a discussion on the Kashmiri language it is imperative

to go into the history of the Kashmiri language. Gadoo (2001: 34)

writes, "The Kashmiri language belongs to the Indo-Aryan family of c.

languages. It has its origin in Vedic, Sanskrit itself. During the

Muslim period in Kashmir, Persian and Urdu words and phrases have

also been assimilated in the language." The written script is Sharada

and not Kashmiri and the religious scripts are written in Sharada.

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A.N .Kaul writes that "mother tongue gives a sense of identity and it is

sad to notice that the parents do not speak to the children in

Kashmiri, instead have switched over to Hindi or English".(200 1: 135)

. But he says, that this phenomenon took place when they were in

Kashmir itself as they wanted the children to speak good English for

getting admission in public schools. The situation now has become

worse with no exposure to Kashmiri at home or outside.

Mother tongue is the strongest link which helps us and

our progeny down the line to communicate intimately

with each other and also to establish instant rapport

with our kinsmen wherever we happen to meet them, in

different parts of India or in foreign lands. It gives us a

sense of belonging to our land of birth, Kashmir and to

our common social and cultural heritage.

The direct fall out of this apathy and willful neglect of

our mother tongue has been the gradual alienation of

most of our children from the mainstream of the

Kashmiri ethos. They not only lack in the basic

grounding of their mother tongue , spoken as well as

written, but they are also drifting away by and by from

all other facets associated with this language- the

music, the literature , the art , t1ie essential rituals and

even so far as their culinary tastes are concerned. It is

indeed painful to find children avoiding get together

because they find the surroundings uncomfortable

owing to their unfamiliarity with their mother tongue.

(Kaul, 2001:136)

The children in the camp spoke very little Kashmiri. The parents, that

is, the older generation spoke in Kashmiri. Most of the residents in

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the camp spoke Hindi, though with a Kashmiri accent. The children

spoke with an accent like the people in Delhi do. The parents of the

respondents did not speak any Hindi at all. Any conversation was

conducted with the h~lp of a translator.

One respondent said that:

My children do not speak fluent Kashmiri. They

understand when we speak to them and know a few -

sentences. They do not have the time to learn and if they

learn, they may have problems in school. They will face

problems in case we go back to Kashmir. They will not

understand the teachers who speak in Kashmiri. -.The

studies are tougher there, as there is lot of emphasis on

grammar. The childr~n who used to come here were

considered good since they has good grasp over grammar.

Even the teachers would be in awe of the Kashmiri Pandit

students.

The Pandits , said that they spoke Kashmiri differently from the

Muslims. They said that their manner of speaking denoted a lot of

respect to the person being spoken to. Most of them did not

understand or speak Hindi. The residents were not very fluent and

had a distinct accent while speaking. One respondent said that when

they first came they did not know Hindi at all. Many picked up-from

the television programmes they used to watch, especially the religious

programmes.

The children on the other hand could be mistaken for Punjabis due to

the manner of speaking. One parent lamented that the children were

leaming abuses form their playgroup. We can say that apart from the

family, language has also been a major casualty due to forced

migration. The present generation cannot read the sharada script, it

250

means that they cannot read the Holy Scriptures and this would in

turn affect the religious activity and participation of the future

generations. Thus language has been another victim of forced

migration and it is doubtful that the future generations will be '

proficient in their own mother tongue.

DRESS

The Kashmiris have always been identified by their dresses. Almost

everyone has a fi,xed image of the Kashmirs - men in long pherans,

women in silver ornaments and colourful pherans.

Previous research on Kashmir shows that:

Formerly both Hindu and Muslim ladies of the middle class

used to live in purdah. Now the Hindu ladies in Kashmir

proper have completely dropped the use ofpurdah. Some of

their sisters in Jammu, however, still use it. Kashmiri

Muslims ladies of the middle class mostly still live in

purdah, so that lead cloistered lives.

The Kashmiri Panditain(Kashmiri Pandit lady ) wears the

gaudy pheran, the ample Kashmiri gown, hemmed with a

border and hanging in awkward folds. She has, as an off

shoot of hindu reform movements taken to the Indian type

of dress in, order to align herself with the progressive

women of her country. The picturesque pheran is not going

out of use with the Muslim women.

The head dress that the Muslim wear is peculiar. The

kasaba, as it is called, is a turban-like red head dress, held

tight with pins to which is fastened a bonnet of cotton print

or embroidered cloth that covers the pendant tresses. It is

worn by the Muslim women after marriage. Such of the

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Panditain, who still wear the picturesque pheran, continue

the head-dress, taranaga that goes with it. Unlike, the

kasaba, it is white and only a few pins are }lsed to keep it

in place. The pendant bonnet used over it falls to the heels.

Unmarried girls wear skull caps which are sometimes

worked with lace. Peasant girls and women have their hair

spread over the forehead and sides in a large number of

skillfully woven plaits, which are tied. into a knot and

covered by a coarse tassel on the b~ck. Large silver or

metal earrings and necklaces besmear their skim near the

ears. Silver bracelets and glassy bangles make a jingling

sound when she scours the utensils near the riverside or

carries water from there. Home made grass shoes are much

in use. She wears leather shoes, if she can afford them.

(Dhar, 1999: 75)

The Kashmiri women had stopped wearing the pheran long before the

migration. They used to wear sari even at weddings. Even the men

used to wear the pheran epecially in the rural areas. As they joined

the government services, they started western clothes to work. The·

women wore the pheran in winter to ward off the cold. The women still -

wear the 'Deejoor', the sign of a married Kashmiri Pandit woman. It

used to be attached to a longer gold chain. Now they do not wear gold

in fear of theft. As one respondent put it "In Kashmir, if a girl was

alone in the middle of the night Muslim boys would accompany her.

Nobody would look at others money. This is no longer so and has

ended with the migration of the previous generation."

To quote one lady respondent:

We had stopped wearing the pheran long before the

migration. We had started wearing sarees and salwar­

kammez. It was during the rule of Aurangzeb that a rule

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was made that the Hindu ladies were not to wear anything

underneath the pheran. Then the educated ladies started

wearing sarees, they did not wear salwars which the

muslims wore. There is no harm in learning good things.

Women still wear the head covering/ cloth during th~

weddings. The ladies used to tie something called a talras­

the rich would tie a gold one while the poor would wear one

of thread.

Another respondent added:

The older generation of ladies used to cover their head with

cloth. There were two head coverings- one small and one

big. One was tied after marriage and. one shows that the

girl is ready for marriage. This was not to be taken out even

in the presence of the husband. In case she is without it,

nobody would enter the room. On coming to the camp, they

wore it for some time but then the climate did not allow

them to wear it. (The elderly ladies (age group of 60-70) did

not wear any head dress).

In fact, Madan had recorded way back in 1964 that the pheran was no

longer the preferred dress of the Pandit women. "Symbolising the

gradual emancipation of Pandit womanhood in Srinagar is the almost '

complete change over to the sari from the traditional costume of

pandit women which is still much used in the villages. The sari has

reached the villages also."( 1989: 22)

The Kashmiri women in the camp did not dress in the traditional and

if they had not been wearing the deejor it would have been difficult to

distinguish them from the women of North- India. The dress has not

been a victim of forced migration, the change in the attire had started

253

way back about thirty years. Gradually the. sari replaced the pheran

even for weddings.

Thus we see that the Pandit lifestyle has undergone a vast change due

to forced migration. There has been some element of change in every

aspect - occupation, family, education, dress, cuisine and language.

The only difference being the degree of change in each of these

aspects of the Pandit life. There has been a constant effort through

out this chapter to capture the changes in many ways- through

comparison with Madan's work, existing literature on forced migration

and cultural changes. The reasons for this were:

• To give a picture of life in Kashmir before migration

• Record some of the changes occurring with the passage of time

and exposure to modernization and urbanization

• The respondents tendency to create a picture of a near perfect

community would have to faulty conclusions, Madan's work

helped eliminate misconceptions

• Preservation and changes in culture were better understood and

certain generalizations could be made based on the findings of

this study and ones done previously on similar lines

The concluding chapter which follows will quickly summarize the

changes that have come about, the significance of the changes and

the future of the Kashmiri Pandit community. It will logically tie up all

the previous chapters and give an insight into the how the Pandits

have tackled the situation so far.

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