After
years of helplessness, struggle, apathy, neglect, protests, petitions
and tears, finally the voice of the Kashmiri Pandits is being heard. It
is a result of a lifetime of prayers answered for a tiny community that
has been languishing in despair and hopelessness.
In his inaugural address to the joint session of Parliament, President Pranab Mukherjee said special attempts will be made to ensure that Kashmiri Pandits return to the land of their ancestors with full dignity, security and assured livelihood. This was the first time since the shameful exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 that their return and rehabilitation was mentioned by the highest offices of power in the country. Ever since, there is a re-rekindling of hope in the community, which has been pining for a home for more than two decades now. Strife and struggle aren’t new to the Hindus of Kashmir, who over centuries of suppression have been reduced to a micro-minority in their own land. The 1990 exodus is their seventh known exodus.They have been subjected to ethic cleansing while the whole country watched silently. They were seen as ‘agents’ of the government of India, symbols of Hindu India that needed to be wiped out.
Over the years, what has pained the community more than the loss of their homeland is complete apathy by the governments in power. Any time the Kashmir issue was discussed, separatists, terrorists and secessionists were invited, but the Pandits had no voice, and if any of them spoke, it was ignored.
So far, there is no consensus even on the reasons that lead to the exodus.The liberal narrative, which has taken its cue from the Jihadi narrative emanating from the valley, still believes the Pandits left on their own volition and there was no threat to their lives, their women and their property. That the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan, coaxed and coached the Pandits to leave is still the dominant narrative. The Pandits have actually been mauled and butchered in their own homeland. There all have unbearably painful stories of murders, rapes, and torture to tell.
"I was 20 years old when terrorists of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) killed my father in broad daylight... The memories of the incident and the sight of the bullet-ridden body of my father still sends chills down my spine," says Ashutosh Taploo, son of Tika Lal, who was the first person from the community to have been killed by terrorists.
"I was only ten when terrorists blew off our house in Ashmuji village of Kulgam district and shot at my father and grandfather from a point-blank range. It would be impossible for me and my family to return to our native place and live amongst the people who had facilitated the killing of my father and grandfather," says 35-year-old Sandeep Kaul.
No Pandit will ever feel safe in the Kashmir valley unless those who killed them, raped them, maimed them, and burnt their homes are made to face court of law. What happened in 1990 was a crime against humanity. Those who perpetrated the violence are roaming free on the roads of Kashmir. No one has been punished, no convictions have been made, no cases have ever been registered or pursued against the murderers. Justice must be brought against those who were actively involved in killings. No Pandit will feel safe in his own home while the murderers roam freely in the valley.
Now, after years of hardship, finally, when there is talk of return to the valley, all the community asks for is a composite township where the people who had to migrate, can live under a safe and secure environment. Such a township is much needed as Kashmir Valley continues to remain in the grip of terrorism. Apart from providing the much-needed security to the community the township would help preserve their culture and tradition. The separatist groups of the Valley have been protesting against such a township. It is viewed as a conspiracy by many so that the Pandits do not return to their homeland.
We as a nation have failed our Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters earlier, but this time, we have to stand by them, to ensure that they are protected and get their right to live in dignity and peace without fearing for their lives, like the rest of the minorities in our country.
In his inaugural address to the joint session of Parliament, President Pranab Mukherjee said special attempts will be made to ensure that Kashmiri Pandits return to the land of their ancestors with full dignity, security and assured livelihood. This was the first time since the shameful exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 that their return and rehabilitation was mentioned by the highest offices of power in the country. Ever since, there is a re-rekindling of hope in the community, which has been pining for a home for more than two decades now. Strife and struggle aren’t new to the Hindus of Kashmir, who over centuries of suppression have been reduced to a micro-minority in their own land. The 1990 exodus is their seventh known exodus.They have been subjected to ethic cleansing while the whole country watched silently. They were seen as ‘agents’ of the government of India, symbols of Hindu India that needed to be wiped out.
Over the years, what has pained the community more than the loss of their homeland is complete apathy by the governments in power. Any time the Kashmir issue was discussed, separatists, terrorists and secessionists were invited, but the Pandits had no voice, and if any of them spoke, it was ignored.
So far, there is no consensus even on the reasons that lead to the exodus.The liberal narrative, which has taken its cue from the Jihadi narrative emanating from the valley, still believes the Pandits left on their own volition and there was no threat to their lives, their women and their property. That the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan, coaxed and coached the Pandits to leave is still the dominant narrative. The Pandits have actually been mauled and butchered in their own homeland. There all have unbearably painful stories of murders, rapes, and torture to tell.
"I was 20 years old when terrorists of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) killed my father in broad daylight... The memories of the incident and the sight of the bullet-ridden body of my father still sends chills down my spine," says Ashutosh Taploo, son of Tika Lal, who was the first person from the community to have been killed by terrorists.
"I was only ten when terrorists blew off our house in Ashmuji village of Kulgam district and shot at my father and grandfather from a point-blank range. It would be impossible for me and my family to return to our native place and live amongst the people who had facilitated the killing of my father and grandfather," says 35-year-old Sandeep Kaul.
No Pandit will ever feel safe in the Kashmir valley unless those who killed them, raped them, maimed them, and burnt their homes are made to face court of law. What happened in 1990 was a crime against humanity. Those who perpetrated the violence are roaming free on the roads of Kashmir. No one has been punished, no convictions have been made, no cases have ever been registered or pursued against the murderers. Justice must be brought against those who were actively involved in killings. No Pandit will feel safe in his own home while the murderers roam freely in the valley.
Now, after years of hardship, finally, when there is talk of return to the valley, all the community asks for is a composite township where the people who had to migrate, can live under a safe and secure environment. Such a township is much needed as Kashmir Valley continues to remain in the grip of terrorism. Apart from providing the much-needed security to the community the township would help preserve their culture and tradition. The separatist groups of the Valley have been protesting against such a township. It is viewed as a conspiracy by many so that the Pandits do not return to their homeland.
We as a nation have failed our Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters earlier, but this time, we have to stand by them, to ensure that they are protected and get their right to live in dignity and peace without fearing for their lives, like the rest of the minorities in our country.
Thaks to ShankhNaad
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