The Kashmiri Pandits are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are Hindu Kashmiris native to the Kashmir Valley, and the only remaining Hindu Kashmiris after the large-scale of conversion of the Valley's population to Islam during the medieval times. Prompted by the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley, large numbers left in the exodus of the 1990s. Even so, small numbers remain.
Moti Lal Kemmu was an Indian contemporary playwright from Jammu and Kashmir. He was born in Srinagar into a Kashmiri Pandit family and attended Jammu and Kashmir University. His plays include Nagar Udas, Teen Asangati Aikanki (1968), Lal Drayas Lol Re (1972), Trunove (1970), Tshai (1973), Natak Truche (1980), Tota Tol Aina (1985).
Bansi Kaul was an Indian theatre director and the founder of Rang Vidushak, a theatre group in Bhopal. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 2014, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995. Some of his notable plays included Aala Afsar, Kahan Kabir, and Sidhi Dar Sidhi urf Tukke pe Tukka. He was a designer and associate show director for the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and also the art director for the 1986 and 1987 Khajuraho Festival.
Pran Krishan Sikand Ahluwalia, better known by his mononym, Pran, was an Indian actor, known as one of the greatest villains ever in the history of Indian cinema and a character actor in Hindi cinema from the 1940s to the 1990s. He has been one of the most highly successful and respected veteran actors in the history of Indian cinema. He was also one of the highest-paid actors of his time.
Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
Dhar is a surname commonly found among the Hindu Bengali Kayastha community in West Bengal, India. Dhar or Dar is also used by some Kashmiri clans and communities native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India, and common today among Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims.
Zinda Kaul (1884–1965) was an Indian poet, writer and teacher. He composed in Persian, Hindi, Urdu and Kashmiri. Kaul also translated works of Kashmiri into English, Persian and Hindi.
Amin Kamil (1924–2014) was a Kashmiri poet, literary critic, researcher and editor. He is also known for his short stories, a genre of which he was one of the pioneers in Kashmiri. He remains one of the most popular and influential masters of the Kashmiri language, leaving behind a legacy of literary brilliance.
Amitabh Mattoo is one of India's leading thinkers and writers on Modern and Contemporary History, Political science, International relations. He was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009. He is Dean of the School of International Studies, Chair & professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and honorary professor of international relations at the University of Melbourne. Until 19 June 2018, he served as Advisor to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with the status of a Cabinet Minister. Mattoo is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies and was recently elected unanimously as its Deputy Chair. He was the founding CEO of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne and served as chairman of the governing board of Miranda House, University of Delhi, the highest-ranked women's college in India, and served as Chair of Kirori Mal College earlier He has also been a member of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. In 2002, he was the youngest person to be appointed as vice chancellor of a public university in independent India. Mattoo's advice on policy matters has been sought across political parties and across governments, including by Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. Following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, he has offered a political roadmap for securing the future of Jammu and Kashmir. He has been a persistent advocate of multiculturalism and of reconciliation between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims.
Pran most often refers to prāṇa, the concept of a "life force" in Hindu philosophy.
Vijayendra Nath Kaul was the tenth Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) from 2002 to 2008. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2014.
Jawahar Lal Kaul is an Indian social worker and the founder of the All India Conference of the Blind, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the blind. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, which bestowed on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of Social Work.
Rajendra Tiku, is an Indian sculptor and art teacher known for his outdoor stone sculptures. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of art.
Sumit Kaul is an Indian actor and model known for playing Umar Riaz in the web series Tanaav.
K. N. Pandita, also known as Kashi Nath Pandita, is an Indian Kashmiri scholar in Persian and Central Asian Studies.
Shadi Lal Koul was an Indian actor, best known for his comedy roles. He was also famous for his dialogues such as "Begum salal tche kyazi goye malal," "gonaye wanye chakha bonaye," "Chaki pechni rass Yass poshi ta tass". He began his career in 1974, and has acted in more than Four hundred Kashmiri serials and Kashmiri plays. His skill and success earned him the informal title of being the "King of Comedy".
