Omkar Dattatray
Today on 27th December 2023, we are observing the 34th martyrdom of Amar shaeed Pt.Prem Nath Bhat advocate and KP leader and a great human being. It was on the fateful day of 27th December 1989 at 3PM that the great soul Pt Prem Nath Bhat fell to the bullets of the assassins and was martyred because of his love and patriotism for the country .Pt Prem Nath Bhat was advocate by profession and he was a household name in whole Kashmir. The martyrdom of Prem Nath Bhat came as a rude shock to the nationalists and the Kashmiri Pandits .However the Kashmiri Pandits take great pride in the martyrdom of the great son of mother India .He left his mortal frame for the cause of the unity ,sovereignty and integration of Jammu and Kashmir .He was the active member of RSS and a true activist of the Nagbal Prabandak Committee and it was Bhat Shaib who played an instrumental role in the unity of the Kashmiri Pandits and he moulded the young men of the Kashmiri Pandits into firebrand patriots as he himself was a firebrand patriot and worked all through his life in propagating the philosophy of the Sangh .Pram Nath Bhat besides a towering advocate was a prolific writer and he wrote thousands of articles in local and national dailies and more so in the RSS mouthpiece the Organizer and in its Hindi edition PanchaJanya .His articles and write ups are filled with patriotism and nationalism .Bhat Sahib was a true Indian and he worked for furthering and strengthening the bonds of Indianess in the Valley .P.N.Bhat was a great votary and propounder of communal harmony and Hindu-Muslim unity.But the anti nationals did not spare this man of conviction ,great belief in nationalism and thus martyred him near his home in Anantnag on the cold day when the KP’s were busy in observing Yaksha Amavas .The terrorists and anti nationals liked the mass migration of the Kashmiri Pandits to happen and thus they resorted to wanton killing of the leaders of the Kashmiri Pandits and his brutal killing was a big shock to not only the Kashmiri Pandits but even to the nationalistic Muslims .It was after the assassination of this great son of mother India that the KP’s were forced to leave their homes and hearths and took refuge in Jammu and elsewhere in the country .Bhat sahib besides being an honest advocate was the darling of the Kashmiri Pandits .He was an organizer par excellence and he propagated the Sangh philosophy in the nook and corner of Kashmir .Pt Pram Nath Bhat was a great social activist and reformer and was always at the beck and call of the Kashmiri Pandits and came to the rescue of the community at the time of the need .He was a big a social reformer and helped the community of KP’s .During his eventful career he helped the people of Muslim community and was a great votary of Hindu-Muslim unity .Bhat Sahib was above all a humanitarian and helped the people irrespective of their religious faith and that is the reason that even the Muslims were grieved over his untimely death .He was a prolific writer and a good orator and for his qualities of head and heart he is remembered by both the KP’s and Muslims even today .His martyrdom was a great loss to the country but it strengthened the bonds of patriotism and the Patriots in general and the KP’s in particular are proud of his martyrdom .Throughout his life he worked for the welfare and wellbeing of the Kashmiri Pandits and he also helped the members of his community in distress and helped the needed people who were in need of financial help .He was the eyesore of the anti national and anti socials and so they did not spare him and got rid of him but his death was a big loss to the country and patriotism and Indianess .P.N.Bhat was a great nationalist ,able advocate ,big professional ,a philanthropist ,a great organizer and above all a humanitarian .Kashmiri Pandits observe 27th December every year as the Chetna Diwas under the aegis of Pt Prem Nath Bhat Memorial Trust and on this occasion KPs remember this great national hero and also other martyrs who laid down their life for the cause of the nation and the KP’s feel much proud about the contribution of this great nationalist for the cause of furthering patriotism and nationalism .On this solemn occasion ,’Sammaan Patra are also presented to the family members of those Kashmiri Pandit who laid down their life and were martyred by the militants and anti national elements .A galaxy of community leaders of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits and the nationalists from other communities and the activists and office bearers of the BJP grace the occasion ,besides the members of the KP’s .Every year a big nationalist presides over the function .The service ,contribution and struggle of P.N Bhat is recalled on the occasion and people remember his martyrdom and service to the nation .He was the doyen of nationalism in Kashmir .He used to the inspiration for all the nationalist forces .He worked all through his life with missionary zeal and spirit and he was the role model for thousands of the people including the youth of the KP community .Bhat Shaib was a great KP leaders who worked for the unity and betterment of the Pandit community .With untimely death is a great loss to the country and it is very difficult to fill the vacuum of his absence and his loss is an irreparable loss not only to the KP community only but to the whole country as well .He was working for the cause of society and nation building .He was a wonderful professional also and did his duties with humility and responsibility .He was also known for his strong pen and he wrote on the life and issues of the minority community of Kashmir and on the Kashmir situation .He had a special love and regard for the social cause .He would always come to the rescue of the KP community at the time of its need and he did a splendid and commendable job during the communal riots of 1986 and for his contribution and selfless work he will be remembered for generations .In brief Pt Prem Nath Bhat’s martyrdom and his simple living and high thinking will continue to inspire the young generation of KP community in particular and the nationalists in general .On the martyrdom day of the great leader let us resolve to work on the footsteps of Pt,Prem Nath Bhat who was the epitome of professional conduct ,nationalist ,writer ,organizer ,social worker and above all a humanist.
(The author is a columnist,social and KP activist).