India
The subtext of Manoj Kumar Pandita’s works is to spread communal harmony and reconciliation
Updated : Aug 14, 2017, 07:53 AM IST
In the valley of death, a Kashmiri Pandit cop embodies hope!
Superintendent of Police, Manoj Kumar Pandita aka Manoj Sheeri has embarked on a mission to spread the message of communal amity and build reconciliation between two estranged communities — Pandits and Muslims — through his writings in Urdu and Kashmiri.
After Khushbuay Kashmir (Fragrance of Kashmir), a compilation of short stories in Urdu, Manoj Sheeri is all set to release his collection of Urdu dramas ‘Bikharay Bichaday’ (Scattered Separation) in Kashmir.
The 51-year-old, who has been witness to killings of his relatives and neighbours during the painful migration, has chosen Urdu to communicate with the people to build an atmosphere of reconciliation and spread communal amity.
“When I released Khushbuay Kashmir, it was liked by everyone. There was an overwhelming response to the book. It delved deep into the human relationship and highlighted our happiness, sadness, pain and trauma. There were rave reviews of the book,” Manoj Pandita, who writes by his penname Manoj Sheeri, told DNA.
Sheeri is a small village in Baramulla district where Manoj was born to a family of farmers and orchardists. After completing his degree from Government Degree College Baramulla, Manoj went to Jammu to pursue his masters in journalism.
Soon after, he joined an English newspaper in Jammu before he cracked Indian Information Services in 1994. Luck however had other things in store for him as he cracked Kashmir Administrative Service exam in 2001 and was allotted police cadre.