EXPLORING TRAUMATIC MEMORIES OF THE KASHMIRI PANDITS DURING THEIR GENOCIDE THROUGH SELECTED DOCUMENTARIES

Abstract

The 5,000-year-old Kashmiri Pandits are a community of Brahmin Hindus who were among the first people to live in the northern Indian Kashmir Valley. The 1990 Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits was the result of violent armed organisations that had been active in the region throughout the 1990s and demonstrated a connection between pro-Islamist and anti Hindu violence. Scholars have started writing about literature and movies based on the Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, but there are many classic documentaries based on the same that need to be explored. Forgetting the Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits is a great betrayal of them. While there are a lot of movies on terrorism in Kashmir, not many people are aware of the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. This topic appears to be highly controversial, which is why individuals are reluctant to discuss it. Therefore, this study will explore the traumatic memories faced by the Kashmiri Pandits during their Genocide through selected documentaries like Uprooted: Stories of Kashmiri Pandits in Exile, The Diary of a Kashmiri Pandit, And the world remained silent, Ghar ka Pata, 23 Winters. Raising awareness of the suffering during the genocide of the Kashmiri Pandits among Indians and the rest of the world is another key objective of this study.