Kashmiri Pandit Reformation and the
Global Diaspora
What are the challenges facing Kashmiri
Hindus at present ?
Dr. Girdhari Lal Bhan, Dobcross,
U.K.
In my living room, the pride and joy is a
photograph that is 95 years old. Taken at the yajnopavit ceremony of my
father and his brother, it shows how differently our elders dressed at that
time. Doubtless, their customs and rituals were somewhat different to
those in practice now. Even our language has been steadily transformed
through the years. Thus it seems that a culture never remains the same.
Like other things, it evolves over the passage of time. Instead of
evolving thus, unfortunately, these days our culture is facing a threat to its
very survival. This threat emanates from several sources:
Having been forced to leave our homeland, we are now exposed to the cultures
and languages that are different to out own.
1) Technological revolution has tremendously increased the pace of change of
almost everything in the world. Media-print, wireless, television, cinema,
and the intemet, are now the main teaching source for the minds of our growing
children. In this scenario, our succeeding generations will be less and
less aware of, and rooted in, their culture.
2) At present there is a desire to modernise, which for most people means to
westernise. This is tragic. [It is also ironic-while we are busy lapping
up the Western culture, people in the West are increasingly appreciative of the
goodness of the Hindu values, and they express their regret that these are being
abandoned.]
3) For people living outside Kashmir, especially those living abroad,
preservation of culture is even more difficult - their children are under
tremendous pressure to adopt the culture of the host community.
In order to protect our culture, we should address its components, including
religious belief, customs, rituals, language, etc.
a] Religion and Rituals:
- It is time to rediscover the wealth of knowledge our ancestors bequeathed
us. We must all
become learned in our shastras, and perform the sacred rituals with devotion.
- Our children ask questions. They are likely to reject customs and
rituals unless given proper and satisfactory answers. Hence we musk know
the theory and reasoning behind the ritual and their possible relevance to the
present and to the future.
- There has been a steady decline in the institution of the goar [Guruji or
Purohit). This is very unfortunate and damaging to our community in the
long run. This learned person can, and should, use the religious functions
to explain to us, especially our children, the significance of the rituals.
We must releam to respect this person. Each community should arrange to
pay a regular monthly salary to its 'goar' if this institution is to survive.
b] Customs:
- We should know what these symbolise and what they stand for. Having
done so, their sanctity should be restored.
- At the same tixne, bad social practices must be given up.
- We must be self-critical-criticism is healthy and leads to improvement.
However, unfair criticism of our customs, based on ignorance, gives wrong
signals to our children.
- The resources that are currently wasted at weddings and feasts and in
providing dowry, should be diverted to provide for charity welfare of orphans,
widows, and the destitute, and to support the education of our youth. The
best investment in the rebuilding of our community and for the restoration of
our culture is the investment in the proper education of our youth. This
education should include instruction in Hindu dharma, its ethics and values, and
on how to be a good citizen.
c] Language:
- Language is the strongest component of a culture. Everyone is agreed
that Kashmiri language must be perpetuated, and that we should teach our
children their mother tongue.
- Unfortunately, our language has been corrupted over the years through the
heavy introduction of words from Persian, Arabic and English. We should
commission our academics to restore the original Kashmiri words where
appropriate.
- Secondly, language also evolves with time. Our language needs many
new words if it is to keep up with the developments in various fields.
These need to be coined by our academics.
- We need to adopt again the Shaardhaa script, which was abandoned long time
ago for historical and political reasons.
d] The Family:
- The traditional joint family system has served us well so far, and there is
no system that can replace it.
- It may need some modifications to meet the challenges thrown at it by
industrialisation.
- We must never forget that the emphasis on the individual rather than the
family is against Hindu dharma. Besides, the family structure provides a
built-in social security for various members, especially the elderly.
e] The Community:
- It is vitally necessary to continue to interact, if we are to preserve our
culture. We must maintain close contact with one another.
- The communities everywhere should celebrate important festivals like
Nav-ryeh, and holy days like Shivratri and Janam Ashtmi.
- Conducting a Hawan / Yajna at least once a year would also help to bring
members of the community closer to each other.
- Particularly in countries outside Bharat, it is necessary to develop
special residential areas for the retired and the elderly.
2. Time to Act:
Many challenges face us. Most important among these are the crusade for
our lost homeland and the protection of our culture. For the latter, it is
not enough to be proud of, and remain nostalgic for, the glorious past.
The erosion of our culture has to be halted and we have to work to restore the
values that have been lost. As the result of the hardships faced by us in
the last millennium, we are able to survive under circumstances lethal to
others. This physical survival is necessary, but the survival of the
culture, in my opinion, is crucial. Kashmiri Hindus have long been
regarded as an intelligent community and there is no dearth of intellectual
resource within us. Couple it with vision, a sense of urgency,
Organisation and discipline, and we can achieve greater results in a short time.
Communicating with each other in Kashmiri language, written in the Shaaradha
script could be a start ! The challenges facing us in Britain are the same as
those facing Kashmiri Hindus in Bengal, Jammu, or anywhere else, and these have
to be met. We must not let our future generations down. If we did,
we would have committed the sin of not paying our debt to our ancestors (pitr-rin).
I welcome, dear Reader, any comments you may have.
Girdhari Lal Bhan
Camden,
Dobcross,
OL35NP
U.K.
| 
Previous
Article
