Kamal Ghorui
Stand-up comedian Samay Raina has once again spoken about the deep scars left by the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, this time offering a more personal and detailed account of how it impacted his family across generations.
‘Kashmiri Pandits don’t have a sense of belonging’
Speaking on the Dostcast, Raina didn’t hold back as he described the emotional cost of displacement.“It really affects you—you lose your entire childhood, your entire identity. All Kashmiri Pandits had to leave. Kashmiri Pandits don’t have a place that gives them a sense of belonging,” he said.He went on to underline how the trauma continues to shape the present. “People of my generation feel scared to even go back to Kashmir, to be honest. Our parents have a bittersweet relationship with it. When my mother went back after many years, she became very emotional, but when she saw that nothing was left, she cried. It became a painful memory for her.”
‘My grandfather was on the list to be killed’
Recalling the fear that gripped his family, Raina revealed how his maternal grandfather was directly under threat.“My grandfather was on the list to be killed because he was a very prominent doctor in the village. Back then, letters would be circulated saying who would be killed the next day,” he said.He added, “My mother fainted when that letter came saying my grandfather would be killed. My grandmother fainted too.”He also spoke about those who chose to stay back. “A lot of Kashmiri Pandits said they would stay, and they were killed in very brutal ways,” he said.
‘It was the Kashmiri Muslims who helped him’
Amid the violence, Raina highlighted how his family managed to escape.“My aunt was the brave one—she quietly went to the clinic where my grandfather worked. Luckily, he had so much goodwill that the Kashmiri Muslims there helped him and the family escape. They said nothing would happen to him because he had done so much for people,” he shared.“It was the Kashmiri Muslims who helped my grandfather get out of that situation,” he added.
‘We thought we would return in two weeks’
Describing the night his family left, Raina said, “We packed our belongings overnight—my grandparents, my mother, my aunt, the entire family left thinking we would return in two weeks. It’s been 25 years.”
