Just recently, the former CM of Jammu & Kashmir made a controversial statement in relation to returning of Kashmiri Pandits in the state and here is the story of a Pandit couple who not only made a comeback in the valley but also decided to live in Muslim neighborhood to give the message of communal harmony.
Omkar Razdan (70) and Vijay Bazaz Razdan (65), son-in-law and daughter of very famous Kashmiri Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz, denied the package given by the Indian PM and built a three storey house in Humhama colony of Srinagar, which is a Muslim-majority locality.
In the words of Mr. Omkar Razdan, “It was a conscious decision not to live in a separate settlement or colony, as it goes against the idea of Kashmiriyat. Kashmir was an abode of communal harmony when the minorities were attacked in 1947 in other parts of India. Not a single Pandit was killed or displaced then.”
Mr. Omkar Razdan has written the book Trauma of Kashmir and Untold Realities and he says that his early life has been spent listening to the folklores on the harmony of Hindu-Muslim community. The house has been named as Noor Augur (Spring of light) in an attempt to live again the past.
He maintained, “We travel by public transport in Srinagar. We get a warm feeling. I leave my keys with my Muslim electrician when I travel to New Delhi.”
He shared his experience of 2014 floods, “It may be astonishing but I chanted Islamic verses as Muslims chanted ‘Har Har Mahadev’ in our joint effort to escape the floods.”
His wife also likes to hear the verses which are read in the mosque as she finds them very relaxing, she says, “It is so soothing. When we introduce ourselves as Pandits, we are offered free vegetables and grocery at times. This is not possible anywhere else.”
When asked about the political situation in the valley, Omkar says, “On the walls of the mosque, we see the words ‘Go India, Go back’ but the locals do not allow politics to interfere in our personal relations.”
He further adds, “Till date no expert has established that an entire community was behind Pandits’ migration. I believe some were used as compulsive tools.”
Omkar has 10 marlas of land in the valley which he refused to sell and he is also planning to set up a computer centre in his house for the people who belong to economically weaker sections. He tells, “One reason I stayed in the Muslim colony was my desire to relate with my youthful days.”
He visits temples of Ganpatyaar in the old city and Kheer Bhawani in Tulmul temples of north Kashmir regularly. He further stated, “I have requested my wife to conduct my last rites in Kashmir.”
