The Kashmir Pandit Surname Database and Website

“Is Hari Kunzru Kashmiri ? ”
That was the question that started it all. I gave it a thought and said ‘maybe – I think it is, but I am not sure’. It would be nice to collect this information and my organized self decided that I was going to write down all the kashmiri surnames that I remembered. At this point my career orientation prompted me do something better – how about a web site that would allow me and others to enter this information and subsequently make it available for all generations to come. We all have a sense of losing touch with things we assumed would never go away – especially culturally and I think it is a good practice to put down everything that is in our memory about Kashmir and our culture, on paper and preserve it for the future. This feeling prompted me to put this website together. It is available at http://kauls.net/surnames/ .
After I developed a database driven site that allowed people to enter, search and view information about kashmiri surnames, the next step was to let the community know and allow them to enter names that I did not remember. Enlisting the help of Mr. Sanjay Kaul and the various electronic lists we have at our disposal, I spread the word about the website to the community.
The response was overwhelming – many people instantly starting accessing the site and contributing. To make things interesting I added a feature that displayed the “Top 10 submitters” – people that had submitted the most surnames to this site. This really started getting people into a frenzy and the submissions turned from a trickle to an outpour. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The “Top 10” list is on the website for all to see. As of the time of writing this article, there are 480 kashmiri pandit surnames in the database, some of them are definitely Kashmir surnames, some are doubtful and many others are variations of a surname like Tickoo and Tiku (not to single Tikus out). This statement alone can prompt a frenzied dialog about the history behind the Tiku variations and that they actually are two surnames and not really a variation. This was exactly the idea behind creating a “comment” section against each surname, a place where people can write interesting facts, history, agreements, and disagreements about the surname.
Some interesting observations such as the following will give you an idea of these comments.
e.g. for the surname Magazine, Mr. Roop Kishen Magazine says:
The surname is basically Magazine and not Magzine. We are actually “DATATREYIA KAULS. ” My great grandfather Pandit Raj Kaul of ZAINDAR MOHALLA, Habakadal; Srinagar was in Maharaja of Kashmir's services, and in charge of Army Magazine stores. In appreciation of his good work he was conferred the title of "MAGAZINE" by the Maharaja. Since then Pandit Raj Kaul was known as Pandit Raj Kaul Magazine. Even his descendants inherited the same surname. His sons are also known as Pandit Gwash Kaul Magazine, Pandit Lachman Kaul Magazine and so on. However, his great grand sons (My self being one amongst them) write only Magazine as a surname, as I write my name Roop Kishen Magazine instead of Roop Kishen Kaul Magazine. This is 100% authentic statement of mine being Pandit Raj Kaul Magazine's living descendant.

These comments and more are available at the same web site. The addition of surnames has almost stopped at the site, not due to lack of interest, but purely because we are a small community with a limited number of surnames. This deduction is based on checking the amount of search activity on the site as people keep checking to verify if a surname is already on the site. Attempts at breaking into the Top 10 are still going on!

What next: My goal eventually is to have a family tree of all Kashmiris, so that we can know where we came from and how we are related (a favorite topic when you meet someone new – you must be xyz’s sister’s brother-in-law’s brother’s son).
I have personally started in this direction, by putting my family tree together and the size of the tree makes me realize the enormity of this effort. I have more than 500 people in my tree and I still haven’t added a lot of people. The lack of people’s real names (instead of Babi and Papaji) doesn’t help either!
I would like suggestions in this area and any ideas about how to accomplish this massive project.


Disclaimer : I would like to make it clear to everyone that I am not an expert at kashmiri surnames, their history, kashmiri history or anything. I have not had any formal education on topics related to Kashmir – my information is purely based on what I learnt while I lived in Srinagar. The website does not and should not come across as an authoritative source on kashmiri surnames, nor should historians rely on this information to make any deductions or corroborations of their theories. This information is from (what I assume) likeminded people who wrote most of the comments and surnames based on personal knowledge.
What I would appreciate, would be a healthy discussion on the same website about comments posted there and any help in validating the surnames on the website. This database may eventually serve as an authoritative source someday. I would also welcome suggestions and feedback – which can be sent to me through the same website or through email

- Ashwani Kaul, MA
http://kauls.net