Kashmiri Pandit teacher left Valley in body, but never in spirit

SRINAGAR: Beloved teacher. Exiled soul. Hirdey Nath Koul, erstwhile main of Islamia High School successful Srinagar, is gone. He died Sept 10 successful Hyderabad astatine the property of 93. He was erstwhile of Bana Mohalla adjacent the Jhelum, but carried Kashmir with him until the end.Tributes poured in, led by Hurriyat Conference president Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who wrote a elaborate obituary. “His publication successful nurturing generations of students astatine Islamia School with a keen consciousness of committedness to them volition ever beryllium remembered and respected,” Mirwaiz said. He recalled the bequest of Kashmiri Pandit teachers successful Anjuman Nusratul Islam schools, “who adjacent marked attendance for Muslim boys for day prayers to Jama Masjid — a testament to our enslaved and shared values”.Koul’s household said helium was a nonmigratory of Bana Mohalla, underscoring his “deep emotion and affectional attachment” to Srinagar.Born successful aged Srinagar, Koul graduated from Gandhi Memorial College, earned a BEd astatine University of Kashmir, and joined Islamia School successful the 1960s connected the proposal of the elder Mirwaiz. The instauration founded by the Mirwaiz household successful 1866 would go his lifelong home. He ne'er married, alternatively devoting himself to students and mathematics.

The 1990s exodus of Kashmiri Pandits fractured his life. His nephew Kartik Koul, a retired SBI wide manager, said the household fled aft the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed by JKLF militants. “We archetypal settled successful Miran Sahib of Jammu, past moved to a migrant camp, past tented accommodation, and aboriginal to Pune, Kanpur and Hyderabad — wherever my occupation took me. Bada boba was ever with us. For 17 years we stayed successful Jammu,” Kartik said.“The migration broke his heart. Though helium lived with us, his psyche ever remained successful Kashmir,” helium said.His past privation was to reclaim his books, supra each a handwritten Quran talented to him by the Saudi ambassador during a convocation successful the 1980s. Kartik returned to their aged location successful 2013. It was gone. “When I told him, it pained him adjacent more,” helium said.Koul ne'er sought his last six months’ wage from Islamia School, nor fto the household bash so. “He asked america not to constitute immoderate letter,” Kartik said.Students retrieve him for his range. “I don’t retrieve overmuch of him but that helium besides taught Islamic subjects similar Dinyat to america occasionally,” 1 recalled.