[Kashmiri Pundit homes were looted and burnt down. Local newspapers had been carrying messages ordering exodus of Kashmiri Pundits for sometime already and the Mosques joined them by playing communal messages in their loud speakers over and over again. Using loudspeakers, almost all mosques openly warned Hindu men to flee form the valley leaving their women for Muslims.]
By The Youth team
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A protest rally by Kashmiri Pundits in Jammu. Photo: PTI. Read another
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Of the varied landscapes of India, one of the
most proclaimed places is the Kashmir valley. Its beauty has enchanted
thousands over many years and inspired countless poets. A good measure of
Indian movies in all languages has been set in the scenic valley. As everyone
knows, although the Muslim majority valley is famed for its beauty, it is also
known for the violence it has been witnessing over all these years. It seems while India is having its tryst with
destiny, all that Kashmir has had is tryst with violence, and over the past two
years, it has reached very high proportions.
Almost every day there are reports of
militant attacks, and the security forces themselves admit that a large number
of home-grown militants have sprung up. Where this insurgency leads Kashmir and
how it is going to be put down are to be seen. One thing is clear though, there
is general public discontent over a large issue and the political parties
claiming to represent Kashmiri people have simply lost the issue. But we will
leave the current unrest and rewind to another one that happened around 27
years ago.
On January 20, 1990, violence broke out again
in the Kashmir valley, this time targeted at the Kashmiri Pundit community.
There had been a festering unease between the majority Muslims and the minority
Hindus in the valley. The complete history of the relation between the Kashmiri
Hindus and Muslims is quite complex and well beyond the scope of this
article. It is generally agreed that full-blown
riots broke out against Hindus of the valley in 1984, 1985 and 1986, after
which the state Government under Chief Minister Ghulam Mohammad Shah was abruptly
dismissed. In 1987, the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) started its
violent operations. On January 19, 1990 Mr. Jag Mohan was appointed Governor of
J and K, which lead to Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah resigning immediately (due
to a former political feud existing between them).
Kashmiri Pundit homes were looted and burnt
down. Local newspapers had been carrying messages ordering exodus of Kashmiri
Pundits for sometime already and the Mosques joined them by playing communal
messages in their loud speakers over and over again. Using loudspeakers, almost
all mosques openly warned Hindu men to flee form the valley leaving their women
for Muslims.
Ultimately many Hindus were killed cold-blooded,
their women were raped and their children thrown away. There was no option but
to leave Kashmir if one was not Muslim. And there started the exodus of
Kashmiri Pundits. They became refugees in their own country. The large-scale
exodus of Kashmiri Pundits is well documented and many first hand accounts are
available. The issue is why are perpetrators of the riots not being brought to
justice and why are the Kashmiri Pundits still, after 27 years, living as
refugees.
The despicable conditions of the refugee
camps in Jammu, Delhi and other places is a known fact. The State and Central
Governments have taken note and introduced various packages for the return of
the Kashmiri Pundits to the Kashmir Valley. All good on paper but there seems
to be very little actual return of the Pundits.
Now there may be demand for an Islamic Nation
to be carved out of the valley, but if one reads the history they would say it
is unfair to even expect to impose Arabic laws in here. Kashmir was founded by
Rishi Kashyap around 3,200 years ago and his followers came to be known as
Kashmiri Pundits. Kashmir remained a secular state where Hindus, Buddhists,
Shaivists etc. lived together and not even a single riot was among religious
communities was reported. The secular land became religious only after Shah Mir’s
invasion in the 14th century after which he imposed Islamic laws in the valley.
Today there is no name of Rishi Kashyap and Pundits are out of their homeland.
Now it would be to early to expect a grand ‘Kashmiri Pundit home coming Mela’ but
the inflow of the Pundits back to their homeland is not even a trickle.
Improving the conditions of the refugee camps is definitely required but it is
not a final solution. Refugee camps provided shelter and food when required and
they simply cannot be made into permanent settlements. There have been efforts
to construct ‘Pundit Colonies’ or enclaves housing the Kashmiri Pundits permanently.
But many claim they resemble the Israeli Jewish settlements and therefore must
not be established.
This stalemate cannot continue for long. The
Kashmiri Pundits have been refugees too long and need to be rehabilitated in
their homeland. There is no exclusivity here when Kashmiri Pundits call the
Kashmir valley their homeland. Just as two siblings would call the same house
their home, so do the Kashmiri Pundits call the Kashmir valley their home? No
community can claim exclusive settlement rights over any part of India and the
same holds for Kashmir valley too. Some argue that ‘Article 370’ that prohibits
those living outside Jammu and Kashmir from settling freely inside that state
holds good for Kashmiri Pundits too. But the Kashmiri Pundits homeland is the Kashmir
Valley and just because they have been living outside the state due to violence
and insurgency, they do not lose their right to come back and settle in the
valley.
Such blockages to any form of resettlement is
not going to solve the refugee crisis in anyway. Further, no community or group
has exclusive rights over any part of India and this has to be recognized by
all stakeholders. Then there is the more complex question of rights over the
property left behind by the fleeing people and the compensation to damaged or
destroyed property. With 27 years gone, these questions will only complicate
the already sensitive issue. The State and Central Governments should first concentrate
on putting an end to the refugee status of the Kashmiri Pundits. Their right to
settle freely in any part of India must be respected and they should be given
all support to return to their homeland.
The single greatest hurdle for the return of
the Kashmiri Pundits is the violence they expect to face in the hands of
extremists organized by mosques. The people living in the valley should also
take a step to welcome the Kashmiri Pundits by trying to bridge the trust
deficit between the two communities. Even this basic step looks bleaker,
given the current atmosphere in the valley. But one can always hope for the
best. If the two communities start regarding each other as neighbours instead
of intruders or oppressors, the foundation for Pundit resettlement would have
already been laid. The Sate and Central Governments would then have to only
deal with logistical issues, which alone, given the famed efficiency of our
bureaucrats, will require quite a lot of heavy lifting by all concerned parties.
* This article appeared some two years ago and we found it of some significance to post here today also. The Blogger
* This article appeared some two years ago and we found it of some significance to post here today also. The Blogger
