A Long Dream of Home: The persecution, exile and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits

Description

Twenty-five years ago, in the winter of 1990, about four hundred thousand Pandits of Kashmir were forced to leave Kashmir, their homeland, to save their lives when militancy erupted there. Even today, they continue to live as `internally displaced migrants' in their own country. While most Kashmiri Pandits have now carved a niche for themselves in different parts of India, several thousands are still languishing in migrant camps in and around Jammu. The stories of their struggles and plight have remained untold for years. The authors of the memoirs in this anthology belong to four generations. Those who were born and brought up in Kashmir, and fled while they were in their forties and fifties; those who lingered on in their homes in Kashmir despite the threat to their lives; those who got displaced in their teens; and those who were born in migrant camps in exile. These narratives explore several aspects of the history, cultural identity and existence of the Kashmiri Pandits.These are untold narratives about the persecution of Pandits in Kashmir during the advent of militancy in 1989, the killings and kidnappings, loss of homeland, uprootedness, camp-life, struggle, survival, alienation and an ardent yearning to return to their land. These are stories about the re-discovery of their past, their ancestry, culture, and roots and moorings.

Siddhartha Gigoo left Kashmir in 1990 due to militancy and political turmoil. He studied English Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He is the author of two books of fiction, The Garden of Solitude (2011) and A Fistful of Earth and Other Stories (2015), which was longlisted for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award 2015. His short story The Umbrella Man won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2015 for Asia. He has also written and directed two short films, The Last Day (2012) and Goodbye, Mayfly (2015), which were selected for several international film festivals. Two books of his poems, Fall and Other Poems and Reflections-written as a student-were published by Writer's Workshop, Kolkata. His writings have appeared in several literary journals. He lives in New Delhi. Varad Sharma was born in Anantnag, Kashmir and grew up in Jammu. His family was forced to leave Kashmir in 1990 due to terrorism. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Pune. He writes on society, politics, books and films. His writings have appeared in several newspapers and websites including The Hindu, Mid Day, DNA, The Pioneer, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Newslaundry, The News Minute, Daily O, Niti Central and Rediff.

There is no pain more poignant than the tragedy of exile, and its most powerful expression lies surely in the literature of memory. A Long Dream of Home is a moving history of a collective nightmare. -- MJ Akbar