Kashmiri Pandits - A Forgotten Minority by Priyadarshini Ghosh

If the state of J & K is the crown of India, a
land of unreal beauty, a landscape painted
by God in an almost unusually mellow mood,
it also is "the most dangerous spot in South
Asia", as the Governor of J & K, Mr. Girish
Chandra Saxena calls it. Since the signing of
the Instrument of Accession in 1947, the
state of J & K has been ab initio, as Humra
Quraishi calls it in her book 'KASHMIR :
THE UNTOLD STORY'," A ping-pong
game between India & Pakistan." One of the
most significant spill-over effects of the
conflict that started in the name of 'Azaadi'
for the Kashmiri populace is the issue of
coerced displacement of, a large of people
being forced to flee their home & hearth.
Particularly affected have been the Kashmiri
Hindus or the Kashmiri Pandits as they are
commonly known, who also happen to be the
original habitants of the valley. It is
important to note here that the Kashmiri
populace is actually divided into three
sections-the Kashmiri Muslims, the Kashmiri
Pandits or the Kashmiri Hindus & the
Kashmiri Sikhs.

There has always been a debate about the
causes of the mass exodus of the Kashmiri
Pandits during the height of the militancy in
the valley in 1989-90.Was it natural or was it
in some way engineered? The protracted
tangle between the militants & the security
forces over the last few decades in J & K has
ensured that 'KASHMIRIYAT' has
remained a façade & the movement for
'Azaadi' was given a religious overtone. A
soft tolerant Sufism was giving place to a
more rigid version of Islam, in Kashmir & the
Kashmiri Pandits & the Kashmiri Muslims
were living just like partners in dead
marriages do. By 1989, the 'Tanzeems' or
the militant conglomerates were out in the
open for every one to see. What followed
next was a sharp escalation in the call for
'Hartals' & gunning down of political leaders
in the broad daylight. State forces were used
against Islamic fundamentalists & this had a
spill-over effect on the non-muslims in the
area. Journalistic accounts reveal how the
Islamisation of the valley took place &
corrupt & inefficient authorities were unable
to control the situation. The Govt. also failed
to provide safety nets to the Hindus. The
atmosphere was punctuated by fear
psychosis. The kidnap of the ex Chief Minister
of J & K Mr. Mufti Md. Sayeed, Rubaiya
Sayeed on Dec'1989 & the release of five
dreaded militants subsequently, saw the
escalation of round the clock demonstrations
in Srinagar, meant to threaten the minority
community, especially the Pandits. Threats
were issued to the pandits to leave Kashmir
within 48 hours. To stem the tide of the
insurgency-related violence, security forces
swung into action and a pitched battle
between them and the militants resulted in
the murder and maiming of the pandits by
the militants. They followed a deliberate
policy of 'Killing one and terrorizing
thousands.' A campaign against the minority
was launched that accussed them of being
opposed to Azaadi and being agents of the
Govt.Selective assassination threats through
insinuation, through posters,hitlists being
exhibited, raised the spectre of fear and
terror, which led to a spree of the killings of
the intellectuals of the community. Many of
the victims being killed were thrown into the
streets to terrorize everyone. Those who
dared to attend the funerals were identified
for reprisals. All these combined together to
emerge as a pivotle cause for the mass
exodus of the pandits.The significant feature
of this outward flow of the pandits was that
'Once out always out.'

Lets just zoom through the stats, that will
give us some flavour of the magnitude of the
problem. idp.project.com says that as many
as 3, 50,000 Kashmiri pandits have been
displaced since 1990.They peg the figure of
officially registered displaced families at
55,000 appx.Some 250,000 displaced
families are living in or near Jammu, while an
estimated 1, 00,000 pandits are elsewhere in
India, primarily in New Delhi. Communalism
Combat, Jan, 2005, put that figure at 5,274
families living in various camps in Jammu.

While rummaging through the various books
and sites that helped me get an overview of
the situation, I came across an interesting
piece of information that I would like to share
with all. In the People's Union for Civil Liberty
report released in April, 1990, several
activist bodies had clearly blamed the
establishment for the tragic turn of events.
To quote from the report: "Regarding the
exodus of Hindus from the valley, the
Committee members are of the strong belief
that Muslims want them to come back. The
migration of the non-muslims from the valley
started after some vested interests
propagated that they would be provided with
free plots there." Apparently the Govt.
wanted to paint the movement for Azaadi in
a bad light and therefore took advantage of
the situation, the spiraling violence, to
organize the movement of the pandits of the
valley. According to the sceptics,it was only
a threat perception that led the pandits to
leave the valley and it was Jagmohan,the
then Governor of Kashmir who engineered
the exodus.

Whatever the cause for their flight, an
average Kashmiri today, whether a pandit or
a muslim is insecure and is equated as a
militant. I myself have been witness to
situations where mothers have dissuaded
their children from even talking to a
Kashmiri.Its strange that it is this alienation
that has never made us take the pains to
understand the tales of these people's flight.
We can only shiver to spine to think of the
prospect of spending an entire childhood in
relief camps with limited ration, below par
basic amenities, unhygenic conditions and a
doomed future looming large.

The Govt. thought of inviting film stars for
the PM's dinner hoisted in the honour of
president Musharraf, when he visited India,
but nobody from the Kashmiri pandit
community was invited.Infact, the Govt.
should realize that when it comes to talking
to the Kashmiris, the APHC (All Parties
Hurriyat Conference) is not the sole
representative of the Kashmiri populace,
there are other stake holders too. The All
India Kashmiri Samaj,an apex organization of
the Kashmiri pandits in India and abroad
wrote an letter to the Pakistan President,
stating how the peace process of uniting the
divided people has been set in motion, but it
is surprising that the fate of the Kashmiri
pandits,the worst victims of genocide has
never caught his attention, adding that a
secular Kashmir was important for having
communal amity in the sub continent.
Recently, Panun Kashmir Movement, a
faction seeking a separate homeland for the
Kashmiri pandits, has started a "Sankalp
Yatra" aimed at drawing attention to the
issue of displacement.(Source: The
Hindu,Dec 5,2007)

A major issue in the settlement of the
Kashmir tangle will involve the return and
rehabilitation of those displaced.But all
attempts at a possible plan for rehab is foiled
by millitant attacks on the communities that
still live in J&K.The recent case in point being
the massacre of 24 Kashmiri pandits in
Nadimarg in Pulwama district in 2004.The
killings were a major setback to the erstwhile
CM Mufti Md.Sayeed's plans to establish a
safe haven for the members of the Kashmiri
pandit community. The state Govt has drawn
up plans to settle the pandits around the holy
spring shrine at Tullamullah in Srinagar and
Mattan in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.
So, what could be a positive suggestion to
this long festering problem of the
rehabilitation of the pandits.Again, going
through a no. of books, I have concocted a
small basket of remedial measures that
could be a possible suggestion. A three
pronged approach can be undertaken to
resolve the problem-

#Long term approach - To ensure return
of the displaced Kashmiri pandits to Kashmir.


#Medium term approach - To ensure
that those Kashmiri pandits still living in the
valley are not compelled to leave.


#Immediate term approach - To ensure
that the displaced now living in various
camps and in other make shift arrangements
are able to live in humane conditions.
Steps to achieve the same:

---Set up a high power committee
comprising representatives of the National
Minority Commission, National Human Rights
Commission and Kashmiri pandits to
determine the time, condition and pace of
return of the displaced.
---Conducting a country wide census of the
displaced Kashmiri pandit population by the
National Minority Commission to asses the
magnitude of displacement.

---Conducting a comprehensive health
survey of the displaced population living in
the camps.

---Repairing and rebuilding Hindu shrines in
the valley.

---Setting up a custodian of properties to
take charge of abandoned shrines and
properties of the displaced Kashmiri pandits.

---Creating a cultural centre for the
protection of valuable books, manuscripts,
sculptures, architecture.


But, as always, its easier said than done. All
such politically correct speeches, panel
discussions can be sweeteners to our ear,
but the reality is harsh. The refugees and the
internally displaced grow out of insensitivity
of human beings towards each other and
consequent clash of interests-political,
ideological and social. Given the trauma
under which the Kashmiri pandits fled from
the valley, it is very unlikely that they would
eventually return, even if normalcy ever
returns.But these small measures can go a
long way in healing their long festering
wounds.