Yoginder Khandari on the plight of Non-Migrant Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus living in Kashmir Valley
NB: Forwarded to me by Sanjay Tickoo, President of Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), Srinagar. Sanjay has fought bravely for justice for many years, but refused to entertain fear or bitterness. More of us need to listen to him. DS
To a Kashmiri
Pandit (KP) who refused to migrate out of the Valley atthe onset of the bloody
insurgency in the 1990s, the paradox is apparent whenever union ministers
reiterate their commitment to safe and honourable return of KPs to the Valley. Non-Migrant
KP has seen it all; his lot remains ignored. Adversity has taught him to sift
sincerity from the political bluster. When Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma exhorts
Delhi to vote for BJP to avoid the fate that befell KPs in Kashmir, non-migrant
KP doesn't miss exploitation of his tribe in the electoral rhetoric. Having gone
through the rough and tumble of hate and appeasement, the Valley-based KP finds
himself to be the butt of pathetic neglect and ridicule by his own.
Post-migration, a plethora of KP
outfits mushroomed. While some among them genuinely worked for the welfare of
the community during the humungous humanitarian crisis; most were proxies of
political outfits. Unfortunately, these zealous cadres turned antagonistic to
those who chose to stay back. Vocal activists not only abused the left-over
members; they even labelled them 'traitors' who had 'abandoned their religious
faith'. Nothing is farther from the truth.
A majority of
this 'leadership' were those who had long back severed connections with the
Valley and established themselves well either in the mainland or abroad. Amaturishly,
they were overwhelmed not by reason but by hate- a leadership deficit.
Abandoning the welfare of the community as a whole they dabbled in politics, failing
miserably on both the counts. Today, the non-migrant stands disillusioned, an
outcast.
Dwindling
Numbers.
In the early 1990s, almost entire KP
community fled to the safety of plains, leaving behind a minuscule number. With
political executive in the state ( now a UT) abdicating its responsibility and New
Delhi lost in the woods, the exodus of KPs continued unabated. While in 1992,
their number in the Valley had reduced to just 32,000 souls, 1998 recorded a
sharp fall to 19,865. As per a survey conducted by Valley-based KPs in August
2019, their numbers have shrunk to 808 households adding up to just 3445 souls, scattered over 242 places. For security reasons, most
families have abandoned their homes to relocate in respective district
headquarters. Seventy-two families have shifted to Srinagar.
Reasons for
their dwindling numbers are evident. Besides economic strangulation by
successive governments, vote bank
politics by all including the BJP and venom spewed by their own on electronic
media have rendered their stay in the Valley untenable. Rather than relapsing
into fits of intemperate displays in TV frames, one wishes these ‘spokespersons' did something concrete on the
ground. There is a lot they can do. It is time they followed an age-old adage-to
regain what is lost; it is essential to retain one foot on the ground. Outshouting others on air has never won a
'war'.
Closing
Ranks for Survival.
Living in a fragile security paradigm
and an intensely polarised neighbourhood, non-migrant KPs displayed immense
grit and maturity to close their ranks to voice their grievances. In the early
1990s, they organised themselves into "Hindu Forum' headed by likes of Late
Shri H. N. Wanchoo, Late Dr T. N. Gangoo, Late Dr B. M. Bhan and others. 'Hindu
Welfare Society, Kashmir', an NGO, replaced the Forum. Given severe
constraints, both these organisations performed their roles admirably. In 2005,
'Kashmiri Pandit SangarshSamity' (KPSS) was set up as the political voice of
KPs in the Valley. Dr Vijay Sazawal (USA), Late Shri Shiban Duda and Late Shri
M. K. Kaw lent unstinted support to KPSS and voiced their grievances in New
Delhi's power corridors. Presently, Sanjay Tickoo and a determined group of
youngsters head the struggle in the Valley
Besides bread and shelter issues, KPSS agitated
other significant Community concerns, like usurpation of KP religious assets by the
terrorist-landmafia- bureaucrat- politician nexus, inefficaciousness of 'The Jammu & Kashmir Migrant Immovable
Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997'
and many more. In 2009, KPSS had the gumption to stage a photo-exhibition, in
the heart of Srinagar, highlighting the wanton destruction and desecration of
temples by Islamists. The visitors included separatists of all hues. It is to
the credit of KPSS that long-forgotten religious festivities, like Janam
Ashtami Procession, Dusshera etc., were
revived in the Valley. Much that the exiles may denigrate the non-migrant for
not migrating; the truth is whatever revival of KP/Hindu religious traditions
has taken place in the Valley is because of daring KPSS.
Neglect
and Discrimination:
Non-migrants KPs have devised a
novel way to express their despair. All their petitions commence with a prayer 'If you can't save us, then it is
better to execute us under any Euthanasia Law rather than slaughtering us
(Non-Migrant Kashmiri Pandits/Kashmiri Hindus living in Kashmir) for some
hideous political revenge.'
Two different Parliamentary Standing Committees
on Home Affairs in their reports, in 2009 and 2014, explicitly observed 'pathetic'
conditions in which non-migrant KPs are staying in the Valley. Both committees recommended
'special budgetary (and other) provisions for KPs left behind in the Valley for
fulfilling genuine needs of housing, employment and improving their living
conditions'. Politicians and bureaucrats have consigned these reports to
archives.
In India,
politics is a coveted profession. Across the political spectrum, numbers count.
True, even migrant-KPs don't constitute a votebank but retaining sections of them
in sub-human conditions and degradation adds to the electoral fortunes of some
parties. Dumping a handful of KPs in the Valley is of no political consequence to
anyone. Hence, they continue to live abandoned. Irrespective
of ideology, all parties when in power siphoned off the funds meant for
Kashmiri migrants to build their cadres in the Valley.
Sanjay Tickoo
acknowledges 'New Delhi is quick to recognise and act on our concerns. But it
is the state political functionaries who obstruct benefits from reaching us'. Neglect
of non-migrants KPs is writ all over their plight. Quoting
an EarlyTimes expose, Sanjay Tickoo says: "Political parties have swindled Rs.2,340
Cr. from funds meant to provide financial assistance to Kashmiri Migrants, to
build their cadres in the Valley. Now that they have been caught with their
hands in the till none has reacted to this expose."
A large number of
non-migrant Muslims and Sikhs are registered as migrants and are enjoying Government
doles. Even during PDP-BJP Government, thousands of political foot soldiers in the
Valley have registered for cash relief under this category. All these 'political
migrants' stay in the comforts of their homes in the Valley under exclusive
security cover.
Despite
numerous representations, the Government is callously indifferent to the pleas
for cash relief by needy non-migrant KPs who have relocated to safer places
within the Valley. When thousands of 'political workers' of other communities receive
cash relief under false pretexts, denying same to a few needy non-migrant KPs
smacks of discrimination; communally and
politically expedient.
Shelter
Denied. Besides
cash relief, thousands of 'political workers' have been allotted government
accommodation in the Valley. In comparison, all those non-migrant KPs who have
relocated in distress to district headquarters live in rented accommodation, a
luxury they can't afford. Several appeals and petitions to the Government for
allotting accommodation to the small number of non-migrant KPs find no favour.
Isn't it a travesty of justice and fair play?
Employment
Denied.
Conceding to their genuine demand, in 2013 the Centre extended benefits under
Manmohan Singh led UPA Government's 'PM Employment Package' to non-migrant KPs also.
Some KP ‘leaders’ tried to prevent this
benefit from reaching these needy people by miring the issue in a legal dispute.
After a protracted legal battle, KPSS' claim was upheld by the Hon'ble High Court
in 2016. It is bewildering that ever since the court ruling, their file has
gone into a 'bureaucratic orbit', a term
coined by George Fernandes for politico-bureaucratic inertia. Exasperated, KPSS following-up the case was
curtly told by the concerned officer that there were instructions to bury the
file deep.
In the backdrop
of politico-bureaucratic neglect, these are but a few travails that non-migrant
KPs undergo in the Valley. Unless the 'left-over' KP is taken care of,
rebuilding Bharat in Kashmir would remain a hollow slogan. New Delhi would be
well advised to address the genuine grievances of these aboriginals for they
are the foundation of Kashmir BJP wishes to build.
The ruling party must ensure
that it does not sacrifice their right to a dignified life at the altar of its
political greed. KP TV 'warriors' too need to tone down their belligerent
rhetoric. Instead, they must work for the betterment of the community and the nation
at large. Don't abandon the non-migrant KP as
a pariah. Otherwise, he will pack up and leave. That would be the
finalmigration of KPs from the Valley.
see also
Samar Halarnkar demands justice for the victims of Pathribal
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M) MLA, J&K: ‘Serious dialogue need of the hour’
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M) MLA, J&K: ‘Serious dialogue need of the hour’
