Rajat Mitra

Psychologist Rajat Mitra is a leading expert in healing grief, addressing historical injustice, and promoting collective resilience worldwide.

With years of experience in the field, Mitra has helped countless individuals and communities overcome trauma and move toward a brighter future. His work has been recognized globally for its impact and contribution to the mental health field.

As featured in:

The Infidel Next Door

The Infidel Next Door is a saga of the undying spirit of a man while facing loss and betrayal in the name of religious persecution. It is set in the period before the seventh and last exodus of Hindus from Kashmir in 1989.

When Aditya, a Hindu priest, is asked to go back to a temple in Kashmir where his ancestor was killed for refusing to convert to Islam, he decides he must go. Though the attacks – both on his family and on the temple – occurred three centuries ago, the wounds are yet to heal.

When he arrives, he discovers a mosque has been built next door where Anwar, the imam’s son, is becoming a fanatic to escape memories of humiliation.

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An unforgettable read. I learnt more about India from reading this book than from attending an international seminar devoted to trauma and reconciliation in India. Years ago, when I was visiting a refugee camp, the local scholars who accompanied me told me the history of what had happened to people now living at this miserable place and how they had become victims of their old neighbors with a different ethnic background. Then I met an elderly man who was a well-known poet. I learned that since his arrival there he had written a poem each day and shared it with his fellow refugees. When some of his poems were translated for me I realized that they taught me more about his people and the impact of an ethnic conflict than had all the intellectual explanations provided for me. In the above conference, scholars and speakers from a range of disciplines spoke of trauma and religious violence in India and especially on Kashmir. Rajat Mitra’s book, like the poems I heard years ago, enlightened me and I understood why a divide exists between Hindus and Muslims in India. This book tells us as to why healing and forgiveness can take place in the midst of mass violence. I recommend this book, not only for those working on societal trauma and peace, but for anyone who wants to understand the conflict between bad and good aspects of human nature.” — Vamık D. Volkan, M. D., Nobel prize nominee , Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Virginia and the author of ‘Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace

Kindle Edition

Ek Kafir Mera Padosi (Hindi Edition)

Kashmir is the most radicalized region on earth. But behind it is a story of how its inhabitants resisted religious conversion.

Told through the eyes of a psychologist, this inspiring story revolves around Aditya, a Hindu priest, Anwar, who wants to create an Islamic Kashmir, and Zeba torn between her love and her religion.

The Infidel Next Door is a story of every individual searching for an identity after a loss, the conflict between religions in the present world, and how forgiveness transcends hate.

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यह पुस्तक रजत मित्र द्वारा लिखित ‘ Infidel Next Door ‘ का हिंदी अनुवाद है। एक ब्राह्मण पुजारी की कहानी जो इस्लामिक आतताइयों के द्वारा कश्मीर में नष्ट किये गए अपने पूर्वजों के मंदिर को फिर से जीवंत करने का प्रयास करता है। और इस दौरान उसके साथ जो घटित होता है उसकी कहानी। कश्मीर भारत के अतीत के साथ साथ भविष्य का भी एक जीवंत उदहारण है। इस्लाम के धरती पर आने के बाद से अभी तक हिन्दुओं को जिन जिन यातनाओं से गुजरना पड़ा है, कश्मीर के हिन्दुओं ने उसे वर्तमान में झेला है। कैसे हिन्दू लड़कियों एवं महिलाओं का बलात्कार होने के बाद भी पुलिस उनका रिपोर्ट नहीं लिखती थी। किसी भी दोषियों को सजा नहीं मिल पाती थी। कैसे उनको अपने पुरखों की जमीन , अपना घर , अपना व्यवसाय छोड़ कर भागने को विवश किया गया। कश्मीर की समस्या का निदान हम भौगोलिक एवं राजनैतिक रूप से करना चाहते हैं। लेकिन हम भूल जाते हैं कि कश्मीर कि समस्या का मूल धर्म है। रजत मित्र ने अपनी पुस्तक में उन समस्याओं के हर पहलू को जनमानस के पटल तक पहुंचाने का प्रयास किया है। एक ऐसी पुस्तक जो न केवल समस्याओं को दर्शाती है, बल्कि उनके समाधान का रास्ता भी सुझाती है। एक बेहतरीन एवं सभी हिन्दूओं द्वारा अवश्य पढ़ने वाली पुस्तक।
Vineet Kumar Singh