Perceived Discrimination, Acculturative Stress and Social Isolation among the Displaced Kashmiri Pundits: A Qualitative Exploration

Background: Migration to other places can be both voluntary and involuntary. It can be as a result of natural and man-made disasters and even for recreation, trade and learning. But the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pundits in early 1990’s was catastrophic involuntary migration to Jammu, Delhi and other parts of India which led to a mass cultural transformation of the community and in particular to a significant amount of life stress and the acculturative stress. The sporadic return of young Kashmiri Pundits for jobs witnessed a different form of acculturative stress in Kashmir after their return. The present exploratory study represents this ethnocultural acculturation and accommodation of rehabilitated Kashmiri Pundit migrants living in transit colonies in Kashmir. Method: The nature of exploration warranted a qualitative method focus group discussion for in depth understanding of the context of the subject under exploration. Results: The results which emerged from the data reflected a pattern of psychological and ethnocultural concerns of the community. The community witnessed Perceived Discrimination, Social Isolation as well as Acculturative Stress. The results strikingly reflect an urgent intervention to address their genuine psychological concerns which emphasize upon offering interventions at the policy making level in addition to social engineering so that the wide gulf between the majority and minority communities can be addressed. These and other results along with appropriate suggestions have been discussed. Limitations: The current study focused on the limited aspects of the topic and on a very less selected respondents. Conclusions: Despite limitations, the study is a unique study of its kind which addresses an important area of concern in a unique cultural setting of Indian Administered Kashmir. The conclusions provide valuable insights into the ethno-cultural fabric. The conclusions point towards the Perceived Discrimination, Acculturative Stress and Social Isolation among a less researched ethnic group in Kashmir. The detailed conclusions in light of the topic have been discussed.