Created by Peter Ormond
Last edited October 5, 2021


Agnishekhar
Born
Kuldeep Sumbly

(1956-05-03) 3 May 1956 (age 70)
Occupation
  • Kashmiri Pandit activist
  • Writer
Years active1990–present
MovementPanun Kashmir
Spouse(s)Kshama Kaul
Writing career
Pen nameAgnishekhar
OccupationAuthor and Poet
Language
SubjectExodus of Kashmiri Hindus
Notable works
  • Kisi Bhi Samay (1992)
  • Mujhse Chheen Li Gayi Meri Nadi (1996)
  • Kaal Vriksh Ki Chhaya Mein (2002)
  • Jawahar Tunnel (2010)

Kuldeep Sumbly (born 3 May 1956), better known by his pen name Agnishekhar, [1] is a Kashmiri Pandit writer and political activist.[2] As a poet, he has contributed to the development of a Hindi poetry of exile from a distinctly Kashmiri perspective.[3] He is a founder of Panun Kashmir ("Our Kashmir"), a group that advocates for the cultural rights of Pandits and a homeland.[4] He views pre-Islamic culture as a source for contemporary Pandit identity.[5]

Agnishekhar is the author of Kisi Bhi Samay (At Any Moment), a collection of poetry published in 1992. The book is organized into two sections: the 49 poems of "Kram" ("Sequence"), and the ten poems of "Visthapit Kashmir" ("Displaced Kashmir") which differ from "Kram" in being labeled by place of composition (always Jammu) and a date ranging from mid-1990 to early 1991.[6] The poem "Mahavipada" ("Great Trouble"), from the "Displaced Kashmir" section, criticizes the camps into which displaced Pandits were settled.[7]

Agnishekhar also contributed to the screenplay for the "Bollywood-style" movie Sheen, which uses Pandit displacement as the context of a love story.[8]

See also

References

  1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Princeton University Press, 2012), p. 768.
  2. Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Territory of Desire: Representing the Valley of Kashmir (University of Minnesota Press, 2009), p. 160.
  3. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, p. 768.
  4. Kabir, Territory of Desire, p. 167.
  5. Kabir, Territory of Desire, p. 169.
  6. Kabir, Territory of Desire, p. 162.
  7. Kabir, Territory of Desire, p. 166–167.
  8. Kabir, Territory of Desire, p. 170.

External links