POONCH AND KASHMIRI PANDITS

                                        

 ( Poonch Palace, which houses several Government  Offices  at present  )     

POONCH  AND  KASHMIRI PANDITS 

My friend Rakesh Dhar informs me  this:-

"Poonch is located amidst green hills with the narrow Poonch River flowing through the town. It is a peaceful and calm place with a scenic backdrop of snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal range. Many people used to call the Poonch River 'Tohi'. The Poonch River is also mentioned in Kalhana's Rajatarangini and Nilamata Purana as Taushi. George Buhler has clarified in his writings that the ancient form of the word Tohi is Taushi.

I am from Kashmiri Mohalla, Poonch. Our locality was also known as Mohalla Kashmiri Panditan, Poonch. We have been living there since the Afghan rule in Kashmir. We are the progeny of fleeing Kashmiri Pandits or the victims of suppression during Afghan rule in Kashmir. Poonch was a separate Kingdom of Dogra rulers. In 1827, Raja Dhian Singh received Poonch and Mirpur as Jagir from Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He was the brother of Raja Ghulab Singh. Dhian Singh served as the Wazir (Prime Minister) of the Sikh Empire for over two decades, wielding immense power. The Dogra rulers ruled Poonch from that period. And Shiv Ratan Dev Singh was the last ruler till Poonch became a part of India. Before Dogras ,  the Muslim Rathore Kings ruled Poonch . However, it also remained a part of the Kashmir Kingdom before the Muslim rule in Kashmir. You must have read Lohara ( Loran Fort )  in Rajtarangini. Folklore of the area makes mention of Queen Dida of Kashmir. 

The Dogra rulers of  Poonch constructed Poonch Houses at various places like Jammu (2), Dehradun, Haridwar, Rawalpindi and Kud .

There used to be a regular bus service between Srinagar and Poonch via Uri and Haji Peer. Uri is about two hours motor drive from Poonch. In 1965, the people of Poonch heaved a sigh of relief after our army conquered Haji Peer Pass. The bus service was resumed for some months, but after the Tashkent talks, Haji Peer was given back to Pakistan, and everything stopped. Before 1947, Srinagar was connected with Poonch through many routes. A trek via Tangmarg took just 6 hours. Then you had the Mughal Road via Shopian. 

As far as I know, Kashmiris with surnames like Kar, Dhar, Misri, Raina and Zushi lived in Kashmiri Mohalla. The males from the Kashmiri Mohalla didn't speak the Kashmiri language, but they celebrated all the festivities like Kashmiri Pandits. They would soak walnuts in water on Shivratri day and perform Puja. Our ladies would wear Dejhur. We would relish the Roth prepared on Ganesh Chaturthi. Our elders would wear Janew and perform Tarpan for deceased ancestors. Except for language, we were Pucca Kashmiri Pandits. The road connectivity via Uri retained our links and cultural moorings with Kashmir. My elders tell me that we would visit Bhaderkali Mata Temple and the Sharda Shrine before 1947. Some priests from Kashmir had also settled in Poonch, which retained our ancient socio-cultural moorings. I remember two priests, Pandit Nityanand Ji and Pandit Amarnath Ji. Both were very popular amongst Kashmiri Pandits of Poonch. The Zutshi family of Poonch were landlords. Their ancestor was a respected official in the Darbaar of the Raja of Ponch. Kashmiris of Poonch got their children educated, and many families moved out of the town for green pastures. The Bakshi family of Kashmiri Pandits also owned sizable agricultural land in Thana Mandi, falling between Poonch and Rajouri. These Bakshis were possibly related to the Bakshis of Srinagar.The majority of Kashmiri Pandit ladies of Kashmiri Mohalla spoke fluent Kashmiri possibly because we never lost touch with Kashmir due to Baramulla Poonch motorable road.

Poonch had something unique. The trading community from Kashmir had also settled in the town. They many Khatri surnames like,Puri, Khanna, Chopra,  Suri and Kapoor that were a part of the mainstream Kashmiri Pandit culture. . They observed all the festivities of KPs, and their womenfolk wore Dejhuru.The womenfolk from this trading community spoke fluent Kashmiri .They would also perform Mekhla of children. They would prepare Roth on Ganesh Chaturthi apart from celebrating Shivratri like  Kashmiri Pandits. They were a trading community.I believe more than 50 families of this trading community from Kashmir have been living in Poonch since the 18th century or even earlier.I am not sure how old their presence is in Poonch. " 

( Avtar Mota )

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