Source: www.hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 8, 2010: Twenty years after they fled the Valley after being targeted by militants, Kashmiri Pandits are not only coping with the loss of home, but also fighting to preserve their identity. The 100,000 strong community in Delhi and NCR has been creating little Kashmirs in the city to preserve its memories of home — and its ethnic identity.
In Delhi, the community has built replicas of two ancient shrines in Kashmir: Kheer Bhawani in IP Extension, East Delhi, and Hari Parbat in Faridabad. “By creating replicas of the shrines, the community wants to preserve the memories of Kashmir, its religious traditions and rituals,” says Prof C.L. Sapru, a prominent Kashmiri author, who migrated to Delhi in 1990. These temples not just serve as the symbols of the community’s identity in exile, but also give it a sense of belonging.
The Kashmiri language, the community believes, has been the biggest casualty of their life in exile. “The slow death of our language poses the biggest threat to our identity as a community. We need to keep our language and other symbols of our cultural alive so that our children do not feel rootless,” says A.N. Kaul, the editor of Naad, a community magazine.
The Kashmir Education, Culture and Science Society (KECSS) in Pamposh Enclave also promotes Kashmiri arts, culture and education. The society boasts of a library with about 10,000 books on Kashmir. “We regularly organise lectures and seminars on how to preserve our language and culture,” says Prof B.B Dhar, President, KECSS.