Omkar Dattatray
The Kashmiri Pandits, even when they are uprooted and are in exile have the distinction of being the brand ambassadors of peace and goodwill. Even in trying circumstances they are playing their role of being the brand ambassadors and are famous for their role of enhancing the goodwill and furthering the reconciliation. They prefer, being the ambassadors of peace, living with even those who have hounded them out from the place of their birth which is still more attractive for them in spite of being devastated by terrorists. Kashmiri Pandits abhor violence and crime and always prefer peace, dialogue and reconciliation. They are very peace loving and believe in the golden principle of live and let live and therefore they have got a respectable position in the country even when they are living a life of refugees in their own democratic and liberal country. They are well educated and they have the power of pen. The Prime Minister Package employees are an inseparable part and parcel of the Kashmiri Pandits and they have preferred to live and work in Kashmir even though it was troublesome. Thus they have contributed to the economy and productivity of the Jammu and Kashmir. The presence of Kashmiri Pandits was the shining example of the coexistence and communal harmony but it stands shattered in the secular democracy of the country. But in spite of all these negatives the Kashmiri Pandits are the embodiment of peace, goodwill and reconciliation and they have the distinction of performing these roles in the unfavorable conditions in Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmiri Pandits represent the urge of being amicable and affectionate even in the most trying circumstances. Peace and goodwill is the raison d’etre which are the characteristics of the Kashmiri Pandits. The Kashmiri Pandits are well educated and literacy is almost 99 per cent in this community and they are no businessmen and once were the land owners but they stand stripped of their land holdings by the then state government of Sheikh Abdullah and then also by the Chief Minister Mir Qasim in sixties and seventies respectively. Thus today they have been made landless community while the fact is that they were running their households on the small land holdings but under the guise and garb of the socialistic pattern of the society they were totally stripped of their meager land holdings and thus in a way they were forced to make hardly their both ends meet. But their education made it possible for them to live a respectable and dignified life. The Kashmiri Pandits contributed towards the education of the Muslim community in the good olden days and in the recent past they contributed to the education of their Muslim counterparts and thus they deserve due respect and veneration but because of the terrorism these finer qualities are nonexistent. Actually the word brand ambassador is associated with the corporate business and refers to those company executives who promote the business of the company. A company chooses brand ambassador to be the ‘face’ of the brand. Essentially the brand ambassadors are the taste makers of their community. The brand ambassadors play an important role in marketing campaigns that seek to attract new customers. In marketing brand ambassadors may be actually paid handsome salary and perks. A brand ambassador is an advocate of a particular company’s products and services. In marketing the brand ambassadors may be a paid position and job title. The brand ambassadors have become increasingly trusted source of information as the age of the costumer has gained currency. The brand ambassadors have also gained currency in the world away from business in society and community. The Kashmiri Pandits are the brand ambassadors of peace and goodwill because it is they who further peace, tranquility and interaction between the different communities. Thus the Kashmiri Pandits have assumed the greater role of being the brand ambassadors of peace, reconciliation, goodwill and productive interaction between the communities. Therefore, as the brand ambassadors of peace the Kashmiri Pandits perform their enviable role of maintaining peace, goodwill and interaction between the two communities of the Kashmiri Pandits and the Kashmiri Muslims and hence their role needs no exaggeration and display because it is evident in the personalities of the Kashmiri Pandits as being the brand ambassadors of peace. Therefore to aim at the peace, goodwill and reconciliation and ensure as well as encourage the dialogue between the estranged communities are the roles of these brand ambassadors of peace. The Kashmiri Pandits are the small government employees as the community was and is banking upon the government jobs for their sustenance and survival. However in the changed atmosphere and due to their unfortunate exodus the community youth have turned towards the private sector and they are employed in the private sector. But wherever they are they perform the job of being the brand ambassadors of peace as they are for the furtherance of peace, tranquility and development. Kashmiri Pandits give the message of peace, goodwill and reconciliation wherever they are and perform the role of being the brand ambassadors of peace and reconciliation and they further the objective and mission of peace and therefore their role in the inter community dialogue and reconciliation and interaction between the communities cannot be denied. Thus the peace loving Kashmiri Pandits are performing the role of being the brand ambassadors of peace because they are selling and furthering peace and tranquility in the society. The Kashmiri Pandits are not the business ambassadors but are definitely the messenger of peace and goodwill and they strive for the peace and reconciliation in the society where there is the spectacle of violence and where there is no peace in sight. As the brand ambassadors of peace Kashmiri Pandits are striving for the peace and tranquility in the society torn into violence and their role as the brand ambassadors of peace should be recognized and accepted by the people. The Kashmiri Pandit community is essentially peace loving and they abhor violence in all its forms and manifestations. Thus the Kashmiri Pandits perform the role of being the peace keepers and they market not the goods and services but market the invisible goods in the form of furthering peace, goodwill and reconciliation and inter faith dialogue and thus they are the brand ambassadors of peace. There is no controversy about the Kashmiri Pandits being brand ambassadors and performing the role this role for the good of the people of both the communities of the Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims. The Kashmiri Pandits perform the role of being brand ambassadors of peace and goodwill to the best of their capacity and thus they revolutionize the society by performing role of the brand ambassadors and thus having great significance and role for the society torn by the fundamentalism and terrorism. The Kashmiri Pandits perform their role of being the brand ambassadors in the modern India and their role cannot be denied and overlooked by the people. Thus the Kashmiri Pandits need to be encouraged to perform their role of being brand ambassadors to build the bridges of friendship and brotherhood in the terrorist infested Jammu and Kashmir. One thing about Kashmiri Pandits is praiseworthy that is in spite of having been hounded out of the home 32 years ago by the armed terrorists and this being a very painful experience they still prefer peace, friendship, goodwill and reconciliation with the Kashmiri Muslims. Thus the Kashmiri Pandits are through and through ambassadors of peace and there is no exaggeration about it.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist).
