Kashmiri Pandits celebrate Dusshera in Sringaar

Srinagar, October 22: Hundreds of chanting Hindus burnt a huge effigy of a demon king to mark one of their biggest festivals for the first time in Kashmir since Muslim militants launched a revolt 18 years ago. The celebrations late on Sunday came at the end of the nine-day Dusshera festival, which celebrates god-king Ram's victory over the mythological demon-king Ravana, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.

Although the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley is home to about 10,000 Hindus, they had stopped celebrating Dusshera in the open due to fear of Islamist militants who targeted the community after the anti-India insurgency erupted in 1989.

But with militant violence falling to an all-time low this year, more than 400 Hindus, also known as Kashmiri Pandits, marched through the streets of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, and burned Ravana's effigy in a highly guarded cricket stadium.

"Kashmiri Pandits living in the valley have been totally ignored by the world community," said a statement from the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, an organisation representing Hindus in the valley.
"We decided to start the age-old traditions and religious functions to mark our presence," it said.
More than 250,000 Pandits fled Kashmir after the insurgency broke out in 1989, in what officials say was the biggest migration since the subcontinent was divided into mainly Hindu India and Islamic Pakistan in 1947.
Many of them live in filthy refugee camps or in poor residential areas in northern Indian cities, still struggling to rebuild their lives.

Courtesy:Kashmirlive.com
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