SRINAGAR, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, April 10, 2005: In this new season of reunions and homecomings, Kashmir today took a significant step forward towards yet another reconciliation. For the first time, a group of Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims, including a senior separatist leader, gathered in an old Durga temple to celebrate Navratra (Hindu New Year) and talk about hopes, aspirations and a common future. And like the historic reopening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, they wished to rebuild the bridge to cross the Line of Mistrust that has divided the two communities for the last 15 years. “This is a real celebration. We have come together after 15 years,” said Sarlati Koul with her eyes moist. Koul had travelled 65 kms from her home in Mattan, Anantnag, to join the Navratra celebrations at Zeethsa Devi mandir near Pari Mahal in Srinagar city. “We hope this festival marks a beginning of a better future for all Kashmiris. We want to live in harmony with our Muslim neighbors as we have done for generations,” she sighed. The congregation was organized by Hindu Welfare Society — a group representing the 7,000 Kashmiri Pandits who did not migrate from Kashmir after the emergence of militancy. And today while 600 Kashmiri Pandits prayed for a return of peace and religious harmony, Valley’s famous Muslim singer Rashid Hafiz joined them with his Kashmiri folk melodies.
A Kashmiri Pandit student, Vinod Kumar (24), who had come all the way from Shopian couldn’t hide his emotions. “I am really delighted to see such an assembly,” he said. “This festival has provided us a chance to talk to our Muslim brethren. Only such meetings can evaporate the clouds of mistrust between us.”
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