IFFI to showcase plight f Kashmiri Pandits

New Delhi, Oct 27 (UNI) Why has the world remained a mute spectator to the plight of Kashmiri pandits? Film maker Ashoke Pandit, himself a victim, will be able to put this question to the world media when his work 'And the World Remained Silent'is screened at the International Film Festival of India beginning at Goa from November 23.

The film that finds a place in the non-feature film section of the India Panorama at the festival is a poignant tale of the destruction of Kashmiri pandits and their displacement from the Kashmir valley following rise of militancy there.

It will be the opening film in the non-feature section.

Pandit, who received the news with surprise, told UNI over phone from Mumbai that he was very much enthused that his work will be shown to the world media at the IFFI.

''The film is the result of a constant question that has been nagging me since 1990s when the Kashmiri Pandits began fleeing their homes. The question is why the world and the civil society remain a mute spectator to the unprecedented destruction of the life and the whole ethos and culture of a community for no fault of its own,'' he said.

''No community is more secular than the Kashmiri Pandits. They, who have lived with peace and honour with their Muslim citizens in the Valley for centuries, suddenly find that they are no more wanted in their homes, and still if they chose to stay their life and property are not safe.'' ''This a trauma which you have to undergo to realise,'' says Pandit, adding that his film tries to capture their plight, and their experience as uprooted community.

He said he has faced great challenges in shooting for the film in the valley.

''I was shooting when the Indian tricolour was being burnt at the Jama Masjid in Srinagar, I was shooting when militant strikes were taking place. It was a job full of hazards. I even received threat from militants. But I am happy that somehow, I have been able to complete my work,'' he said.

''What is happeing in Kashmir is not linked with the religion the militants belong to, I know, but we expect the people following that religion to unite and condemn and resist in one voice the injustice to the minority community there,'' he said.

He said his film was not against any community but simply against the '' the sheer apathy of politicians, media and the civil society as a whole to the injustice done to Kashmiri Pandits.'' 'And the World Remained Silent' is the second non-feature film made by Pandit. His first was 'Paani', about the Mumbai floods.

He has also made one feature film in Kashmiri titled 'Sheen'.

UNI NAZ PR BS1441