The Greater Kashmiri: An Identity in Crisis
“…sirf ek sawal uthata hai sirf ek! Hum hain, ya hum nahin? Hum hain to kahan hai? Aur nahi hain to kahan gaye? Hum hain to to kisliye aur kahan gaye to kab? Hum thay bhi ke hum thay hi nahi?”
While the lead character of the 2014 film ‘Haider’, a young Kashmiri, delivers a monologue standing at one of the most popular public squares of Anantnag, he does strike a chord while addressing ‘the great Kashmiri identity crisis’. It is question well asked which seeks an answer –– Who is Kashmiri today? A simple and straightforward definition of ‘Kashmiri’ would be ––– the one who lives in Kashmir. If one finds this definition satisfactory, horses remain tied in the stable; otherwise Indian media houses, cultural theorists and political think-tanks have spent more than three decades trying to end on the same page of the question –– ‘Who is Kashmiri?’
“He is a Kashmiri who falls under the article 370 of Indian constitution”
The area which falls under article 377 comprises of three divisions –– Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, comprising of ethnic Dogras, Kashmiris, Ladakhis, Paharis, Gujjars and Bakarwals. Kashmiris largely remain in the six districts of the Kashmir division and the district headquarter of Jammu. However, the inclusion of Dogras, Ladakhis and other group in the description makes the argument fall short and seem invalid, hence opening the door to a preciser specification ––
“He is a Kashmiri who speaks the Kashmiri language”
Kashmiri is locally known as ‘Koshur’ and is largely spoken by the people living in the Kashmir belt. However, even this argument falls short of logic. As many Kashmiris who have been residing in other parts of India have given up speaking Kashmiri while the Kashmiris living in the valley have begun preferring Urdu over the mother-tongue. On the other hand, several linguist and cultural enthusiasts have been known to have studying Kashmiri literature, hence making this argument seem invalid.
“He is a Kashmiri who lives in Kashmir”
This argument seems appropriate while remaining vague at the same time. Kashmiris have had maintained a history of migrating time and again from the valley. As a result, recent history has witnessed the classification of Kashmiris under two broad categories. The rise of insurgency in Kashmir in the late 1980’s led a large number of Kashmiris to migrate from the valley and settle in other parts of India. The migrants who were largely Hindus came to be termed as ‘Kashmiri Pandits’, while the larger population which remained in the valley were tagged ‘Kashmiri Muslims’. Most of the Pandits can be found residing in Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, while the Muslims largely live in the Kashmir belt while a few live in other parts of India. However, the Pandits are still divided into two subcategories –– Banmasi, who had initially migrated from the valley during the rule of Muslim kings, and Malmasi, who stayed back in valley despite all odds. The ones who migrated during the 1990 exodus largely constitute of the Malmasis, while the Banmasis have migrated for more than a hundred years ago. And somewhere between the Kashmir dispute, the Banmasi remains largely forgotten.
Many of the Banmasi Kashmiri families who are scattered all over north India do not have evidences to trace their roots in the valley. While the Banmasi Brahmans do bear common Kashmiri surnames as Raina, Bhat, Sharma, Tickoo, and Dhar, they have blended in the other cultures well, almost making it their own in the process. Many of the Banmasi Kashmiris have forgotten Koshur and speak Hindi, Punjabi, Dogri and Pahari with great fluency. The Banmasi can be called ‘The Greater Kashmiri’ who has been marginalised in the whole Kashmir dispute, and remains the only one from getting a piece of the pie.
