(Durga Mahishasura-mardini, Kashmir, 10th Century CE. Stolen from a temple in Tengpora, Pulwama, 1990/91 and was on display at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart. Returned to India by Germany, 2015.)
CIVILISATIONAL THEFTS IN KASHMIR: THE
PLUNDER OF A PEOPLE'S CULTURAL INHERITANCE
The mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989–90 marked the
beginning of a tragedy that extended far beyond the forced abandonment of
homes, properties and livelihoods. In the years that followed, another, less
acknowledged dimension of this catastrophe unfolded: the looting, destruction
and dispersal of the community's cultural inheritance. What disappeared was not
merely private property or material wealth, but an extraordinary repository of
memory, artistic achievement, religious tradition and scholarship accumulated
over centuries and preserved in homes, temples, libraries and cultural
institutions.
As thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families fled the Valley,
leaving behind possessions they could not carry, their deserted homes became
vulnerable to looting. Paintings, sculptures, idols from puja rooms, rare
manuscripts, Sharda-script texts, religious literature, family photographs and
personal albums disappeared. Private libraries, painstakingly assembled over
generations, were emptied, and rare books passed into unknown hands and
commercial networks. Objects that had once embodied family histories and
cultural traditions were reduced to commodities, severed from the people and
places that had given them meaning.
The experiences of Kashmiri artists, scholars, musicians and
cultural personalities reveal the extent of this devastation. Their losses were
not simply personal tragedies; they represented the disappearance of valuable
records of Kashmir's artistic and intellectual history.
THE PLUNDER OF ARTISTIC COLLECTIONS AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES
The fate of several prominent Kashmiri artists illustrates the
magnitude of the cultural losses. Artists P. N. Kachru, Mohan Raina and Triloke
Kaul lost valuable books on art from their personal libraries. More than 300
paintings belonging to Mohan Raina and over 150 paintings belonging to Triloke
Kaul were reportedly stolen. Their artistic spaces also suffered: Mohan Raina's
house and Triloke Kaul's studio were set on fire.
Paintings by celebrated artist Som Nath Butt, which had been
displayed in offices and college premises, also disappeared. Their loss
deprived the wider community of works that had formed part of Kashmir's shared
artistic inheritance.
Other artists and collectors suffered similar losses. Gokul
Dembi, another Kashmiri artist, had a comparable experience, while well-known
physician Kundan Lal Chaudhary lost prized paintings collected by his family
over many years. These works represented not only artistic patronage and
individual taste but also the continuity of an indigenous cultural tradition.
Veteran music composer T. K. Jalali lost virtually his entire
collection after his house in Rawalpora, Srinagar, was looted. His rooms had
once been adorned with paintings gifted by fellow musicians and well-known
artists. Recalling the extent of the loss, he said:
"Apart from numerous paintings gifted to me by my several
colleagues and well-known artists, I lost the complete collection of my musical
instruments and my personal library consisting of rare treatises and out-of-print books on music."
The disappearance of his musical instruments and specialised
library represented the destruction of resources accumulated over a lifetime of
creative work.
Umakant Kachru, son of veteran artist P. N. Kachru, recalled the
devastation suffered by his family at their ancestral home in Rainawari,
Srinagar:
"My father lost everything, including the entire stock of
his precious paintings, books, magazines that had his write-ups, besides other
belongings. We couldn't retrieve even a needle from our Rainawari, Srinagar
house. My parents had left Kashmir in December 1989 and never returned."
His testimony captures the loss of an artist's entire creative
and intellectual world, including paintings and publications that documented
his contribution to society.
Triloke Kaul's own account, recorded in an interview with Sudesh
Raina and reproduced in the book Art in Kashmir and Mohan Raina: The
Creative Genius, conveys the helplessness of an artist deprived of his
life's work:
"My paintings, as you know, were stolen by a person whom
you too know. I am left with these four paintings (pointing towards the
paintings). Terrorism in the valley has deprived me of my lifetime collection,
and I can't do anything about it."
Another forgotten casualty was Maheshwar Nath Dhar (1908–1992),
an artist from Chandpora, Srinagar. His granddaughter, Sunita Handoo, has
recalled his remarkable contribution to art. Dhar had served as an art teacher
in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and painted images of goddesses displayed at Kheer
Bhawani, Hari Parbat and several other temples. According to his granddaughter,
he produced thousands of paintings, which were looted during the turmoil of the
1990s. She has also lamented that his contribution remained largely
unrecognised.
Prof R L Hangloo former VC of Hyderabad University and also a former VC of Allahabad University, had this to say :
" I lost 3000 books. They were plundered by some miscreants in Kashmir. Among these books, there were some precious manuscripts and some rare books by European authors. After removing the books and other items, our family's ancestral house at Hangalgund was set on fire. It was painful for me to locate two of my precious books in the Sunday Market of Srinagar city.
Dr Upendar Nath Raina, son of well-known broadcaster, translator and Hindi poet Mohan Nirash, had this to say:
"We lost hundreds of rare books, artefacts and some paintings gifted to my father. It was a simple loot or plunder. It pains me even to talk about this subject. "
Agnishekhar, a noted Hindi poet, author and community leader, had this to say:
" I had the richest collection of books, more than 2800. My wife brought two trunks of books after her marriage to our house that she had collected. I lost the entire correspondence that I had exchanged with Amrit Lal Nagar, Harivansh Rai Bachan, Amrita Pritam, Ageya, Krishna Sobti, Prof Namavar Singh and many more doyens of Hindi literature. I lost some rare manuscripts, miniature paintings, Puja room idols, and some artefacts, and some rarest-of-the-rare letters of appreciation by His Highness Maharaja Hari Singh to my father, appreciating his monumental service during the Pakistani Tribal Raid of 1947 for serving refugees in the capacity of Founder President of the Kashmiri Pandit Refugee Committee formed by Kashyap Bandhu. In addition, we had some correspondence exchanged with Yuvraj Karan Singh. Moreover, the King of Nepal had sent a personal letter to my father, Janki Nath Sumbly, appreciating his role in helping victims of the 1947 Tribal Raid. We also lost some precious correspondence exchanged with Nagarjun, the doyen of Hindi poetry. He would stay at my wife's parental home in Karan Nagar, Srinagar and treated her as his daughter."
There are too many similar stories. These are all stories of thefts which are followed by mysterious fires.T he loss of these collections represents a significant gap in
the documentation of Kashmir's artistic history. The disappearance of
paintings, writings and specialised libraries deprived families and future
generations of original material through which the creative achievements of
these artists could have been studied and preserved.
Private libraries in Kashmiri Pandit homes were equally
vulnerable. They contained books on literature, history, philosophy, religion,
music and art, alongside rare manuscripts and texts in the Sharda script. Many
represented the intellectual pursuits of entire families and formed an
important part of the community's scholarly inheritance.
FROM DESERTED HOMES TO OPEN MARKETS: THE COMMERCIALISATION OF
STOLEN HERITAGE
The fate of the missing possessions becomes even more disturbing
when one considers accounts of their subsequent appearance in markets. Books,
manuscripts, paintings, temple artefacts and household fittings were reportedly
traded in Kashmir and elsewhere, suggesting that the consequences of the
original looting extended far beyond the abandoned homes.
This author personally witnessed this commercialisation in a
Sunday market, where a copy of V. S. Naipaul's An Area of Darkness lay
for sale on a cot. The book bore the signature of Bansi Lal Dhar. Its
appearance in such circumstances was deeply disturbing. A volume that had once
belonged to a family's private library had become an object of casual commerce,
detached from its original owner and history.
The notorious Sunday Market in Iqbal Park, Hazuri Bagh(Srinagar), traded in goods looted from deserted Pandit houses. In this market, one could
buy brass Samovars, bronze Khasus, bronze Thalis, gas cylinders, books, mattresses,
pillows, old photo albums, manuscripts, and miniature paintings. This author
saw this market personally in 2008. In
2001, this author witnessed manuscripts and miniature paintings believed to
have been looted from Kashmiri Pandit homes being offered for sale in a market
opposite Amritsar Railway Station. These included illustrated Sharda manuscripts
and miniature paintings of considerable historical and artistic significance.
Similar material was sold in the Sunday Market of Chawri Bazaar,
New Delhi. The appearance of such objects in distant markets raises serious
questions about the channels through which cultural property removed from
Kashmir was transported and sold. Sharda manuscripts and Kashmiri miniature
paintings are not ordinary commercial goods. Their significance lies in their
artistic qualities, historical provenance and association with the intellectual
and cultural traditions of Kashmir.
Further questions arise from accounts concerning a private
museum reportedly established in a house in the Brian locality of Nishat,
Srinagar. The museum is said to contain numerous Sharda manuscripts and
miniature paintings allegedly taken from deserted Kashmiri Pandit homes. Prof.
T. N. Ganju has informed the author that he visited this museum.
These claims require independent verification. A systematic
inventory and provenance investigation would be necessary to establish how the
objects entered the collection, who their original owners were and whether any
had been removed without consent. The preservation of cultural objects in a
private museum cannot, by itself, establish legitimate ownership.
The trade reportedly extended beyond manuscripts, paintings and
antiquities. Salman Rushdie's account of the so-called Bangladeshi markets in
Srinagar draws attention to the buying and selling of goods taken from temples
and homes. Babademb was also associated in accounts of the period with the
trade in doors and windows dismantled from Kashmiri Pandit houses.
The reported sale of architectural components illustrates the
extent to which even the physical fabric of ancestral homes was dismantled.
Doors and windows that had sheltered generations were reduced to marketable
objects. The destruction of a household's material inheritance thus extended
beyond its contents to the very structures that had preserved family life and
memory. Kashmiri Pandit leader H. N. Jattu once described this sordid business
in particularly disturbing terms. His words deserve to be reproduced in their
entirety:
“Most of us are privy to
the trapping of many innocents in these cruel and criminal sales by the greedy
brokers who tied them with petty advance amounts till they found a buyer. It
was cruel. It was pathetic. It was unjust. It was sheer deceit. Mysterious
fires, removal of doors/ windows, removal of sanitary fittings and many other
methods were employed by these criminals masquerading as property brokers to
convince innocent owners that there was no buyer for the house they left
behind, given its prevailing conditions. Babademb area in Srinagar city became
a Kabaadi hub for the sale of the old wooden frames, old doors, old windows,
old wooden furniture and other wooden junk removed from the deserted houses of
Kashmiri Pandits. Some carpentry shops opened in this area for remodelling
these plundered wooden frames, doors, windows, furniture and other items for
sale to prospective buyers. Some of these greedy brokers and shady buyers are
currently active on social media, giving loud sermons on moral values, peace,
humanism, and justice. They also speak about Baichaara (brotherhood) and
Kashmiriyat.
SALMAN RUSHDIE'S ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS AND THE LOOTING OF PANDIT
PROPERTY
The plight of Kashmiri Pandits and the destruction of their
homes and cultural inheritance also found expression in Salman Rushdie's novel Shalimar
the Clown (2005). Rushdie addresses the intimidation preceding the exodus,
the destruction of homes and temples, the flight of Pandits and their
subsequent abandonment in refugee camps. One of the frequently quoted passages
from the novel reads:
"Hindu community houses, temples, private homes, and whole
neighbourhoods were being destroyed … Kill one, scare ten, the Muslim mobs
chanted, and ten were, indeed, scared … Three hundred and fifty thousand
Pandits, almost the entire Pandit population of Kashmir, fled from their homes
and headed south to the refugee camps where they would rot, like bitter fallen
apple, like the unloved, undead dead they had become."
Rushdie also refers directly to the commercialisation of
property taken from deserted Pandit homes and temples:
"In the so-called Bangladeshi markets in Iqbal Park-Hazuri
Bagh area of Srinagar the things looted from temples and homes were being
openly bought and sold …"
These passages are significant because they place the looting
within the wider history of displacement. Rushdie's account is not confined to
the flight of the community; it also draws attention to the destruction of its
homes and religious spaces and the subsequent circulation of their possessions
in local markets. His observations complement the eyewitness accounts of
manuscripts and miniature paintings offered for sale in Amritsar and Delhi, as
well as reports concerning the trade in doors and windows at Babademb.
Together, these accounts suggest that the commercial dispersal of Pandit
property was an important, though insufficiently documented, dimension of the
tragedy.
Literary accounts, however valuable, cannot substitute for
documentary investigation. Prof. Mohan Lal Koul's Kashmir: Wail of a Valley
also discusses the plunder of Pandit property and the disappearance of books
and manuscripts. Such references, considered alongside personal testimonies and
eyewitness observations, reinforce the need for a systematic investigation into
the fate of missing cultural collections.
THE PLUNDER OF TEMPLES AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANTIQUITIES
The looting of private homes destroyed the cultural inheritance
preserved within families. The theft and desecration of temples, however,
struck at the visible and material foundations of Kashmir's religious and
archaeological history.
Kashmir's temples, stone sculptures, inscriptions, sacred images
and architectural remains bear testimony to centuries of religious thought,
artistic achievement and cultural exchange. Many have survived successive
political upheavals, yet numerous shrines and archaeological sites reportedly suffered
destruction, desecration, theft or neglect during the period of militancy.
In the Greater Kashmir newspaper, Khalid Bashir Ahmad series, “Tale of a Mammoth Loss,” reported this :
“Illegal trafficking of priceless objects has slowly depleted heritage reserves of Kashmir. The long turmoil and the resultant law and order failure in Kashmir beginning in 1989 is especially believed to be a period when art smugglers robbed Kashmir of its priceless articles, ‘which now adorn homes of private collectors and museums in western countries."
One particularly significant case was the theft of the
tenth-century idol of Goddess Mahishasuramardini from a temple at Tengpora
village in Pulwama district. Depicting Goddess Durga slaying the demon
Mahishasura, the sculpture is an important example of Kashmir's sculptural
heritage.
The idol was stolen during the night of 10–11 January 1991. It
subsequently entered the international art market and was acquired by the
Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, which purchased it from an art gallery in
New York in 2000. Following efforts by the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI), the sculpture was repatriated to India in 2015. On 5 October 2015,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel formally handed it over to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in New Delhi. In March 2016, it was returned to Jammu and Kashmir
for preservation and display at the Shri Pratap Singh Museum, Srinagar. New Jersey-based Kashmiri Pandit Rakesh Kaul and noted art historian Paratipaditya Pal played a crucial role in its recovery.
This recovery demonstrates how an antiquity stolen from a Kashmiri
temple could pass through international commercial channels before being
identified and repatriated. It is important to clarify that the idol was
recovered from Germany, not the United States, although the German museum had
purchased it through an art gallery in New York.
Another significant recovery was reported in December 2021.
According to a Hindustan Times report dated 1 December 2021, police in
Budgam district recovered a seventh-century black-stone idol of Goddess Durga
from the Khag area. Believed to be approximately 1,300 years old, the sculpture
depicts the goddess seated on a lion throne. Its left arm was missing from the
shoulder, while its right hand held a lotus. The report noted its artistic
association with the Gandhara School. The recovered sculpture was handed over
to Mushtaq Ahmad Beigh, Deputy Director, Department of Archives, Archaeology
and Museums.
The recovery offered further evidence of the vulnerability of
Kashmir's archaeological heritage and the possibility of tracing objects that
had disappeared.
The wider damage is also discussed by S. Dheer in Koshur
Qalam, published by the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
Referring to the plunder of artefacts from deserted houses and temples during
the period of militancy, he writes on page 97:
"Unfortunately, most of the illustrated manuscripts, stone
sculptures and inscriptions were destroyed, smuggled or lifted during the
recent militancy period (1989-2015) in the valley. Even the famous inscription
of Martand Temple, the human-size statue of Vishnu at Panzmula, Larkipora,
Bumzu, Lokripora, and Lookbhawan, etc., were destroyed or lifted."
This observation highlights the historical significance of the
losses. Illustrated manuscripts preserve literature, philosophy, ritual traditions
and languages; inscriptions provide evidence of historical events, donations
and genealogies; and sculptures embody the artistic and religious imagination
of their period. Their destruction or disappearance deprives future generations
of primary sources through which Kashmir's past can be reconstructed.
The Tribune newspaper dated June 22, 2016,
writes this:-
“Since the eruption of insurgency in 1989-90, ‘Cultural Vandalism’ has robbed the state,
especially Kashmir, of several priceless articles which now adorn homes of
private collectors and museums in western countries. Senior officials from
the Archaeology Department also admitted that since the eruption of insurgency,
Kashmir had turned into a goldmine for art smugglers who exploited the turmoil
to further their agenda. It is suspected that several high-ranking government
officials and over-ground workers of militants aggressively scavenged temples and
historical sites to remove priceless idols and other items. These were then
sold to national and international collectors.
Despite a relative change in the security situation
in the past decade, there is still no coordination between the state
Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Survey of India, which adds to the
despair. “We will never be able to know the extent of damage
which the art smugglers inflicted on Kashmir. The 1990s were an open field for
smugglers as law and order collapsed. We were robbed of our past. Even
government departments failed to save the heritage sites, temples and other
historical sites due to militant threats,” said a senior official from the
Archaeology Department. According to estimates, antiques, revered idols, rare
manuscripts and ancient jewellery were smuggled in a well-planned manner and
sold to art collectors in India and abroad. “The loot is still going on, and several people are still shifting artefacts outside the state. Many of the
temples we visited in Kashmir have been stripped of their idols and other
historic items. The government is ignoring this,” said Vinod Pandit, chairman,
All Party Migrant Coordination Committee.”
“In many cases of loot of antiquities, FIRs were not possible as people had to leave their homes during the militancy to save their lives. Most relics from our shrines have been smuggled out.”........ R.L. Bhat, author of "Hindu Shrines of Kashmir" (2014), quoted in Indian Express.
Indian Express write-up, " Investigation with ICIJ and Finance Uncovered ", informs this :
“The Metropolitan Museum New York's formidable Asia collection with at least 94 artefacts of J&K origin : 81 sculptures, five paintings, five pages of a manuscript, two Kashmir carpet antiquities and one page of calligraphy , none of which have details in their provenance, or background documents, of when they were moved out and by whom.”
Dr Dillip Kumar Rana, Assistant Director, National Mission for Manuscripts,s told PTI this :
“Thousands of rare manuscripts have been lost in the years of terrorism in J&K. Most of the manuscripts have been lost in huge fires caused by terrorists and religious hardliners in ancient buildings like the Charar-e-Sharif and other art and cultural centres located in Srinagar."
Dr Rana had no information about thefts, fires and burglaries in Kashmiri Pandit homes.
.
THE DESECRATION AND DESTRUCTION OF ANCIENT SHRINES
Dr R. L. Bhat, in his 2014 book Hindu Shrines of Kashmir,
lists more than a hundred ancient temples and Hindu shrines that, according to
his account, suffered plunder, desecration or destruction after 1990. A
selection of the examples he records illustrates the geographical spread and
nature of the reported damage:
- Ancient
Ganeshbal Temple, Kashmir: The temple
was reportedly destroyed during the militancy of 1990, and its ancient
idols were removed.
- Ancient Temple
of Goddess Ragneya, Logripora: The ancient
stone idol of the goddess was reportedly stolen.
- Ancient Shiva
Temple, Bonu, Devsar, Kulgam: The temple
was reportedly destroyed, while the Shiva Linga and other idols were
broken.
- Ancient
Bhairava Temple, Maisuma, Gawa Kadal, Srinagar:
The Shiva Linga and other idols were reportedly broken and thrown into the
river.
- Shiva Temple,
Drabiyaar, Srinagar: The Shiva Linga and other idols
were reportedly broken and thrown into the river.
- Raghunath
Temple, Fateh Kadal, Srinagar: Built by
Maharaja Gulab Singh, the temple was reportedly destroyed and its idols
stolen or removed. According to the account, the premises were
subsequently converted into a garbage-dumping spot.
- Ramji Temple,
Khankahi Sokhta, Srinagar: The temple
was reportedly desecrated and its idols stolen.
- Ancient Vichar
Naag Temple, Srinagar: Ancient sculptures and idols from
the shrine were reportedly removed.
- Ancient Shiva
Shrine, Thajvor: The shrine reportedly suffered
destruction, and its idols were removed.
These examples represent only a small selection from Dr Bhat's
larger catalogue. They describe damage to religious structures, sacred images
and archaeological remains across different parts of Kashmir.
In 2008, this author visited the famous Raghunath Temple, lately renovated and with new idols installed, in Habba Kadal locality and found that all idols from the temple were missing. Some insane person was sleeping inside the sanctum sanctorum, and the inner walls of the temple had been defaced with graffiti, while the entire Mohalla was dumping garbage in its compound. The temple was also set on fire. This author took some pictures of this devastation. The nearby Rupa Devi Sharda Research Institute and the girls' school were also set on fire. Some rare manuscripts donated by various families were stolen before the fire. A hand-copied manuscript of Kshemendra' s work was also lost.
The removal of an idol from an ancient shrine is not merely the
disappearance of a sculpture. It disrupts the historical and devotional
relationship between a community and its sacred landscape. Similarly, the
destruction of a temple erases architectural evidence of the artistic,
religious and social life of an earlier period. Such losses are simultaneously
religious, historical and cultural.
A CIVILISATION STRIPPED OF ITS MATERIAL MEMORY
The cultural devastation associated with the displacement of
Kashmiri Pandits must be understood in its full dimensions. It encompassed
private libraries, artistic collections, manuscripts, miniature paintings,
musical instruments, temple idols, stone sculptures, inscriptions,
architectural elements and sacred structures. It affected homes, artists'
studios, religious institutions, public collections and archaeological sites.
The accounts presented in this chapter suggest that the process
extended beyond the initial looting. Cultural objects were reportedly
transported to markets outside Kashmir, offered for sale and incorporated into
private collections. The reported presence of Sharda manuscripts and miniature
paintings in a private collection in Nishat raises additional questions about
their acquisition and ownership. The full extent of this dispersal, however,
remains to be established through systematic investigation.
The consequences were particularly severe because many of the
objects were irreplaceable. A painting can be reproduced, but the original
preserves the artist's hand, historical context and creative journey. A
manuscript can be transcribed, but its original script, illustrations,
annotations and physical history are integral to its identity. An ancient
temple sculpture belongs not only to the history of art but also to the sacred
space and devotional tradition in which it originated. Even a family photograph
may constitute the last surviving visual record of generations who once
inhabited an ancestral home.
The forced displacement of Kashmiri Pandits severed their
physical relationship with ancestral places. The subsequent disappearance of
their cultural possessions deepened that rupture. Families lost not only their
homes and livelihoods but also the material records of their memories, beliefs,
intellectual pursuits and artistic achievements.
The recovery of the Mahishasuramardini idol demonstrates that
stolen antiquities can sometimes be traced through international investigations
and repatriation efforts. Yet, the recovery of one sculpture also draws
attention to the many other objects that may remain dispersed across private
collections, galleries and museums in India and abroad.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive programme to address
these losses. Its priorities should include:
- Documentation
of missing property: Displaced families should be
encouraged to prepare inventories of stolen paintings, manuscripts, books,
photographs, religious objects and other cultural possessions.
- Investigation
of missing antiquities: The
disappearance of temple sculptures, inscriptions and archaeological
objects should be documented through a systematic survey.
- Provenance
research: Museums, galleries and private
collectors should be encouraged to examine the origins and ownership
histories of Kashmiri manuscripts, paintings and antiquities in their
collections.
- Recovery and
repatriation: Objects established to have been
stolen should be returned to their rightful owners, families or
appropriate public institutions.
- Protection of
surviving heritage: The present condition of damaged
temples, shrines and archaeological sites should be assessed, with
appropriate measures for conservation and restoration.
- Preservation
of oral testimony: The experiences of artists,
musicians, scholars, descendants and displaced families should be
systematically recorded and archived before further evidence is lost.
Particular attention should be given to collections containing
Sharda manuscripts and miniature paintings reportedly removed from Kashmiri
Pandit homes. Independent documentation and provenance investigations are
necessary to establish their origins and legitimate ownership. The objective
should be not merely to preserve these objects wherever they happen to be, but
to acknowledge their histories and restore them to their rightful custodians
wherever possible.
The testimonies of artists and their descendants are equally
important. The accounts of Mohan Raina, Triloke Kaul, T. K. Jalali, Umakant
Kachru and Sunita Handoo preserve experiences that might otherwise disappear
from the historical record. They should form part of a broader documentary
archive of the cultural losses suffered by displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
Civilisations are impoverished not only when their people are
driven from ancestral homes or their temples demolished, but also when their books
disappear, their artistic collections are stolen, their sacred objects removed
and their historical records scattered. The plunder of Kashmiri Pandit cultural
property must therefore be recognised as an important dimension of the history
of displacement.
The story of the exodus must include not only the history of
those who were forced to leave, but also the history of what they left behind:
what was looted, what was destroyed, what was sold and what was carried away.
The dispossession of a people was accompanied by the dispersal of much of their
material cultural inheritance. This dimension of the tragedy deserves
recognition, rigorous documentation and sustained historical investigation.
No market can establish legitimate ownership of stolen heritage
merely through a commercial transaction. Nor should the passage of time absolve
those responsible for the unlawful removal or concealment of cultural property.
Objects whose origins and ownership can be established must be traced and
restored to their rightful custodians.
Kashmir's cultural history cannot be fully reconstructed without
confronting this loss. The missing collections must be traced, stolen
antiquities identified, damaged shrines documented and surviving heritage
protected. Above all, the testimonies of those who experienced these losses
must be preserved.
For what was taken from Kashmiri Pandit homes and temples was
not simply property. It was a part of Kashmir's civilisational memory.
( Avtar Mota)
