Kashmiri Brahmin

Kashmiri Brahmin

Kashmir was founded by Rishi kashyap.
Thereafter It has been inhabited by kashmiri pandits for thousands of years and had seen hindu cultures and civilizations flourished. Rishi Kashyap,  was a historical figure and was one of the Saptarishis (seven great sages).
The history of Kashmir is interwined with the histories of various empires and kingdoms, including the Mauryan Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Gupta Empire, and later the Sultanate of Kashmir, the Mughal Empire, and the Sikh Empire, among others. The region has also witnessed conflicts and territorial disputes between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947.
Recently a film on “Kashmir Files” was made which describe heart-wrenching tale of kashmiri pandit families that captures the pain, who suffered and struggled 1990, due islamic terrorism, sponsored by Pakistan. But this kashmiri brahmin genocide process is not recent phenomenon. It has started since Mughal era, Pakistan has just continued with the mughal agenda of killing Kashmiri Brahmins, after its unethical creation on the dead bodies of hindus, consequent to looting ancestral lands & properties of hindus.
Unfortunately many of the muslim nations had been supporting this inhuman agenda.

From 1947 to 1948, Pakistan army carried out notorious combing operations with the help of it’s Muslim Army  & tribes. Pashtun tribesmen and Tanoli from Pakistan invaded Kashmir, with the help of the army. 
They carried out many cold blooded massacres of kashmiri pandits in Kashmir. However Indian Army headed by General Thimaya intervened and discouraged these misadventures. Consequent to 1948 war, India emerged victorious as it had successfully defended the majority of the contested territory. India had gained control of about two-thirds of the  Kashmir, the Jammu province and Ladakh. Had the then government permitted Indian army to continue operations for another 48 hours entire region of Kashmir, would have become part of India but the then short sighted leadership headed by Nehru, declared ceasefire, without consulting General Thimaya. Nehru took the case to United Nations, which was another stupid decision of the then government of India. UN comprised 56 muslim member nation & obviously hindu interest would have been of least priority to UN, whose most of these nations were created after genocide of natives.
Kashmir had always been hindu land of sun worship with shrines such as Martand Sun Temple, kushan era as well as succession of Hindu dynasties till 1346. Ranaditya,  built the first sun temple located in Tullamulla village, 24 km from Srinagar in Ganderbal district. Wanvun singing is an integral part of Kashmiri Pandit religious ceremonies.
The Kashmiri Pandits  are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region located within the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kashmiri Pandits are Hindu Kashmiris native to the Kashmir Valley, and the only remaining Hindu Kashmiris after the large-scale of conversion of the Valley’s population to Islam during the medieval times.
 Prompted by the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley, since 1947, large numbers left in the exodus of the 1990s hindu genocide.
Harmukh is traditionally revered by Kashmiri Pandits and in 2009 there was an attempt by them to revive pilgrimages to the site. The Mata Kheerbhawani temple shrine in Srinagar, considered one of the holiest Hindu shrines.
However during 14th century, many Kashmiri Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam by Sultan Sikander Butshikan And this phenomenon of forcible conversion continued in Mughal era. However the converted hindus retained their surnames & the purpose was to always get connected with their sanatna dharma roots & their hindu brothers and sisters.
The ancestors of the converts were very wise & covertly retained their identities as natives. 
The outcome of the genocides & shift in population, was that the Kashmir Valley became a predominantly Muslim region.
It was during the 14th century that the Kashmiri Pandits had split into their three subcastes: Guru/Bachabat (priests), Jotish (astrologers), and Karkun. The majority of Kashmiri Brahmins are Karkuns, and this is likely due to the conversion of the majority of Kashmiris to Islam, which led to a decrease in demand for Hindu priests, which led most Kashmiri Brahmins to seek employment. However the brahmin community, carried their identity i.e cast, in the form of surname, so that their coming generations become aware that they were  once followers of Sanatana Dharma.
(The ancestors of the brahmin converts were very wise)
During 1948, muslim tribes attacked hindu villages and killed many kashmiri pandits, & exodus of pandits from the valley started thereafter. Recently consequent to  eruption of militancy sponsored by Pakistan & 1990 genocide, large numbers of kashmiri pandits left the valley.
During Mughal era, Guru Tegh Bahadar was once approached by a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits, who petitioned for help, against religious persecution of Kashmiri pandits by the Mughal Empire.
After getting frustrated by the inhuman cruelties committed by Iftihar Khan, Kashmiri Pandits decided to approach great nationalist, Shri Guru Teg Bahadur, at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab for help, about 500 Pandits,  met Guru Teg Bahadur. Giani Gurja Singh has given an account of the appeal of Pandits to the Guru. The delegation from Kashmir, under the leadership of Pandit Kripa Ram, narrated their condition to acquaint Guru Teg Bahadur of the situation in Kashmir.
Guru Tegh Bahadur fought against forced conversion and other religious impositions before he was beheaded on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb, on assuming power in Delhi, took his sword out of the shield for converting entire India into a Darul Islam. For fulfilling his cruel desire one Subedar of Kashmir, Iftihar Khan, played a “bloody Holi” with the Pandits for increasing the pace of religious conversion. When after Shahjahan fundamentalist Aurangzeb occupied the throne of Delhi he tore to shreds the well debated and so called secular policies of his predecessor Mughal rulers. He, while rejecting all the double-edged policies of the Mughal emperors, took his sword out of the shield to implement God’s dictate for converting India into an Islamic state. The entire country was shocked and shuddered because of his atrocities. First of all he made Hindu scholars and the Pandit community was his target. He believed that this very community of Hindus would teach people their religion and nationalism. It is because of their preaching and teaching that the entire population of India had not become Muslims despite continuous pressure for many years. He thought that it was necessary to eliminate the Brahmin community that keeps on struggling against conversion. Aurangzeb empowered his dreadful Subedars for Islamisation of Kashmir.
During his 49-years rule Aurangzeb deputed 14 Subedars to Kashmir for achieving his goal of Islamisation. And among those Subedars Iftihar Khan proved the most loyal, who between 1671-75 perpetrated cruelties on the Hindus of Kashmir and forced them to adopt Islam.
Through allurement and atrocities he had converted many Hindus to Islam. Many Hindus have been polluted after their sacred thread and vermillion were removed. This way a big misfortune had gripped the Hindus in India. It gives immense pain. There was no parallel to his cruelty. He used to remove 1.25 maunds of sacred thread daily.
The cruel ruler Aurangzeb, had forcibly abducted many daughters of hindus and offered them to cruel people.
Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on the orders of Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, in Delhi. Sikh holy premises Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of Guru Tegh Bahadur. His martyrdom is remembered as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur every year on 24 November.
The years 1946–1948 saw the rise of All-India Muslim League and Muslim nationalism, demanding a separate state for India’s Muslims. The demand took a violent turn on the Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) and inter-communal violence between Hindus and Muslims started.
Many kashmiri pandits were killed consequent to the 1946 direct action call by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, during  1946-48
With the independence of the two dominions, consequent to unethical partition, the British Paramountcy over the princely states came to an end. The rulers of the states were advised to join one of the two dominions i.e India or Pakistan, by executing an Instrument of Accession. Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, along with his prime minister Ram Chandra Kak, decided to accede to india.
In November 1947, shortly after the state’s accession to India, the Hindu leaders launched the Jammu Praja Parishad with the objective of achieving the “full integration” of Jammu and Kashmir with India, opposing the “communist-dominated anti-Dogra government of Sheikh Abdullah.”They began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s during the eruption of militancy, following persecution and threats by radical Islamists and militants. The events of 19 January 1990 were particularly vicious. On that day, mosques issued declarations that the Kashmiri Pandits were Kafirs and that the males had to leave Kashmir, convert to Islam or be killed. Those who chose to the first of these were told to leave their women behind. The Kashmiri Muslims were instructed to identify Pandit homes so they could be systematically targeted for conversion or killing.
(The same doctorine was used by the Islamists during 1947-48 genocide in POK region)
According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during the 1990s. Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have still been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu & Delhi.
The exiled community had hoped to return after the situation improved. (especially after revoking of discriminatory provisions given in article 370 of constitution of India) They have not done so because the situation in the Valley still remains unstable for hindus and still they fear a risk to their lives.