Wither Panun Kashmir; Long live Homeland
For the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community year 2017 ended on a sad note. Homeland Day, observed by Panun Kashmir in last week of every December in exile, was given a go-by by those professing to claim copyright to its concept. Whether under duress or due to fatigue, intensity to pursue the demand for Homeland had been on the wane ever since present dispensation took-over the reins. Nothing can symbolise this drift better than the format of ‘Kashmir Shaiv Drishti’ festival ‘celebrated’ in Abhinav Theatre, Jammu, on December 29 &30, 2017. This festival was an antithesis to what Panun Kashmir stood for all these years in exile. Much that the organisation may deny, the format appeared to have a stamp of approval from RSS as it was in conformity with latter’s efforts to win over Kashmiri Muslims - Mullas included- to a compromised version of Kashmir Shaivism under the banner ‘Mystic Philosophies of Kashmir – Reconciliation of Theory & Practice’. Omnipre...