'And The World Remained Silent'?Documentary about Kashmiri Hindus

[Guest guest]

K.Balakrishnan Nair

>Parameswarji

>Wednesday, March 27, 2002 6:25 PM

>'And The World Remained Silent'?

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>'And The World Remained Silent'?

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>Ashok Pandit: "The so-called secular voices in our industry like

>Shabana Azmi and Saeed Mirza choose issues that suit them!"

>

There's a kind of restless questioning anxiety surrounding the young

>Kashmiri Pandit who has made a thought-provoking documentary on Kashmiri

>migrants. Entitled 'And The World Remained Silent,' Ashok Pandit's film is

>a searing indictment on human apathy to the suffering and trauma of other

>people. Even as Pandit speaks about the callous indifference of the world

>to the sufferings of the homeless Kashmiris, his attitude brims over with

>grief and indignation. Known

>on television for his laugh-a-minute sitcom 'Filmi Chakkar,' Pandit's

>poised to unleash his ideas in a feature film. But before that there's much

>to be done, and said.

>

>What prompted you to make the thought-provoking documentary 'And The World

>Remained Silent'?

>

>"The humiliation and suffering of my community, just because we're truly

>secular and believe in Indian democracy. Though we were just three percent

>of the population in Kashmir, we were willing to co-exist peacefully with

>the ninety-seven percent of the Muslim population in the Valley. But we

>were reduced to being refugees in our own country. That humiliation was too

>much for me to take. I've been watching the so-called secular elements in

>our film fraternity who stand and

>scream about issues related to other communities. They refuse to react to

>the pitiable plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. The so-called secular voices

>in our industry like Shabana Azmi and Saeed Mirza choose issues that suit

>them. But they remain silent when it comes to persecution of Hindus."

>

>But aren't you going to the other extreme?

>

>"I am not! I've always spoken about issues that concern both communities.

>As part of IPTA, I've been vocal on Muslim issues. But where are the

>supporters when it comes to a Hindu issue?"

>

>But haven't other Kashmiri Pandits in the industry, like Anupam Kher and

>Sanjay Suri, supported you?

>

>"To an extent Anupam has been there when we've needed him. Sanjay Suri's

>father was killed by militants. But what's he done to help his people? We

>have to come out on the streets and make ourselves heard if anything is to

>be done for thousands of our people who are homeless. I'm basically the

>lone voice from within the industry, or for that matter from any part of

>India, crying against the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. I fail to understand

>why the Indian government is turning a

>blind eye to our crisis. Kashmiri Pandits are a remarkably literate people.

>And yet, our lives are

>plunged into darkness. There's a three-and-a-half km long tunnel connecting

>Jammu to Srinagar called the Jawahar Tunnel. We thought there are people,

>organizations and nations waiting to support us at the end of that tunnel.

>But there was no one there. The light at the end is a mirage. Kashmiri

>Pandits have remained in the dark for thirteen years."

>

>Have you personally gone through the trauma of militancy?

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>"Of course. In 1988-89 my wife and I, and my in-laws were in Kashmir when

>terrorism was at its peak. This was the time when our so-called

>representatives and spokespersons were busy letting us down. People from

>our community were being kidnapped and killed. My wife's family lived next

>door to a family of terrorists. They lived together for years without the

>truth being revealed. My friends and I had formed a 40-50-member group to

>protect Kashmiri Pandits.

>January 19, 1990, changed my life. After what happened to us on that day,

>my whole approach to violence changed. I became aggressive. I wanted to

>retaliate, hit back. I wanted blood for all the blood of my brothers."

>

>When did you decide to do television?

>

>"You'll laugh. But when I began doing the sitcom 'Filmi Chakkar,' the

>exodus of my people from Kashmir was at its peak. Can you imagine, I had to

>make people laugh while I was crying from inside. Sanjay Chhel, who wrote

>the serial, contributed immensely . He knew the workings of the film

>industry. And though it was a spoof on the film industry, people from

>showbiz loved it the most. I remember David Dhawan used to call me and

>complain, "Yaar abhi tak tune meri khichai nahin ki apne serial mein?"

>After 'Filmi Chakkar' I made a more serious sop 'Tere Mere Sapne.' It

>touched on the Kashmir problem. Kya karoon? Uske alawa main kuch soch hi

>nahin paata. All the Kashmiri painters and writers are only creating works

>on this theme. No Kashmiri can get away from the shadow of homelessness.

>Even dogs bark on the streets when their food is snatched away. But we

>aren't making one squeak about our refugee status in our own country. I

>think we've distorted the original principles represented by Gandhiji's

>three monkeys by shutting our eyes, ears and mouth to injustice."

>

>Whom do you blame for the crisis in the Valley?

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>"It's ironical. But I don't blame the ISI, Pakistan or Musharraf for the

>tragedy. I hold my own government, parliamentarians and people responsible.

>For the last thirteen years I've knocked on every door possible for help.

>Everywhere the leaders have failed our community. What are they doing to

>solve the problem in Kashmir? Forget a solution, the crisis is deepening by

>the day. I've experienced the tremors of terrorism. I'm a hundred percent

>sure of one thing. Terrorism is

>no longer confined to one state or community of people. It's now knocking

>on every Indian's door in the country. Even then we aren't waking up to the

>imminent danger."

>

>As a filmmaker, what are you doing to carry your message to the masses?

>

>"I realize my documentary doesn't have the reach that I require. I've

>completed my script co-written by Mahesh Bhatt, Raman Kumar and me for my

>feature film 'Meri Zameen.' It's about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from

>the Valley. I've recorded the songs as well. Now I'm looking for a

>producer. Naseeruddin Shah will play one of the pivotal characters. He was

>very excited by the script and felt only he could play the role that I want

>him for. I've also spoken to Urmila

>Matondkar and she's charged about the film. Then I'll probably cast Sanjay

>Suri who knows what the characters in my script have gone through. I feel

>it from the core of my heart. The day 'Meri Zameen' is made I'll definitely

>go places. The emotions in the script don't come from reading a book or the

>newspaper headlines. I've lived through the trauma of the homeless. The

>character of Naseeruddin Shah's wife moves around with a bunch of 50 keys

>in the refugee camp. When her husband asks what she's doing with so many

>keys when they are homeless, she points to each and every key in the bunch

>and says, "This is the key to the front room in the house that we lived.

>This is key to our Pooja room. Whenever I touch these keys I return to my

>home." These aren't emotional moments from a drama. They're feelings I've

>seen first hand."

>

>What did you feel about Vinod Chopra's film on Kashmir militancy?

>

>"'Mission Kashmir' was a third-rate pretentious piece of cinema. As a

>Kashmiri, the catch-line for the film's publicity-'Two Brave Men Battle

>each Other As Paradise Burns'-was an insult to our entire community. In my

>whole lifetime I'd never call a militant a brave man. A man who wears a

>mask and kills innocent people cannot be brave. Vinod Chopra tried to

>change the definition of bravery. You can't reduce a historical reality to

>a masala product. Kashmir is a real issue. We Kashmiris were rendered

>homeless the day India was divided into two countries. What a shame that we

>continue to be homeless 55 years after independence. I fear Kashmiri

>Pandits have begun to feel a sense of rootlessness, which is a step towards

>extinction."

>

>

>Who Am I? A Refugee.

>What Do I Want? My Homeland.

>Where Is That? PANUN KASHMIR.

>Panun Kashmir is our GOAL and We WILL NOT Settle for anything less.

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