( Kashmir Rechords Exclusive)

February 23, 1990 is the day that most of the Kashmiri Pandits would not forget! On this day, over 34 years ago, the community performed the last  Maha Shivratri Puja before moving en-masse from their birth land.

Even as a good number   of Kashmiri Pandit families had already migrated to safer areas, the fact is that soon after performing Shivratri Puja that ended on February 26, 1990 the frightened community left everything to save their lives. Between the period from March 1 to March 7, 1990, over 15,000 Kashmiri families had landed   in Jammu.

The decision to take extreme step of leaving Kashmir for good, was due to the fact that a day prior to Maha Shivratri of 1990, Kashmiri militants had publically `ordered’ Kashmiri Pandits to leave Kashmir. At the same time, they had asked Kashmiri Muslims who were putting up  outside Kashmir, to return to the valley before March 1, 1990.  The Pakistan supported Kashmir terrorists were in fact planning to strike in a big way besides had issued a call for “civil disobedience’’ from March I, 1990.

Militants had selected and distributed their areas of operation and specific targets mong themselves.  Terrorists had also asked people in the valley to keep stock of the essential commodities in abundance for the month of March, 1990  in order to launch the `final onslaught’. It was in the backdrop of this threat that 99 percent Kashmiri Pandits had moved out of Kashmir before March 1, 1990.

Maha Shivratri of 1986, 1989

The records available with Kashmir Rechords suggest that soon after the Anantnag Riots of 1986, it had become extremely difficult for Kashmiri Pandits to even celebrate Shivratri in Kashmir. On the day of Maha Shivratri on March 9, 1986, some fundamentalist organisations of Anantnag town had once again targeted Kashmiri Pandit houses. An attempt was also made to set on fire a temple at village Lakshibad.   

  Similarly, a year prior to the mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits, the community could not celebrate Maha Shivratri in 1989.  On March 6, 1989, Curfew had to be clamped in entire Kashmir as locals had protested against the publication of Salman Rushdie’s “ Satanic Verses’’. Taking the advantage of  the deteriorating law and order situation, some urchins had targeted Kashmiri Pandit Mohallas and localities in order to vent their anger against Rushdie.

Post Migration Maha Shivratri

Following their exodus, Kashmiri Pandit community could not properly perform Shivratri Puja in the initial years of their migration.   A day prior to Maha Shivratri on February 13, 1991,  heavy hailstorm and rains had lashed Jammu, as a result of which, 5000 Kashmiri Pandit  migrant families putting up in  various camps, got dislocated and thus couldn’t perform `Vatuk Puja’.

   Similarly on March 2, 1992 and February  19, 1993, `Sharika Peeth Sanstha’’  Subash Nagar Jammu and Dharmarth Trust had arranged  Samohik Shivratri Puja for Kashmiri Pandits  as  they were living  in rented accommodation or tents where it was not possible for them  to perform traditional centuries old “Vatuk’’ Puja.