Farooq asks Kashmiri Pandits to Return

After emerging as the single largest party to stake claim on government formation in alliance with the Indian National Congress (INC), the National Conference (NC) has been sending signals to address various segments in Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India. It started with Omar Abdullah’s asserting that his government will work for development of Jammu and Kashmir relegating the restoration of the special status and 370 to background for the time being. Till a government favourable to its political position takes the reins of power in New Delhi. He also clarified that he wants a strong and healthy relationship with the central government and showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Not only that, the National Conference Chief, Dr. Farooq Abdullah has tried to reach out to both the regions of Jammu and Kashmir and tried to project that the NC-Congress Government will work for the equitable development of the regions. And address the discrimination. He underlined that no doubt that his party didn’t get an appreciable number of seats from Jammu but that does not matter. Development of all regions of the Union Territory will remain the priority of the new government. Now he has reached out to the internally displaced and religiously cleansed Kashmiri Pandit community that was forced to leave Kashmir in 1990 their homes and homeland due to religious terrorism. It led to a fierce ethno-religious conflict, creating socio-political and religious fault lines in Kashmir. The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits not only led to the disruption of the social fabric but brought a bad name to the Kashmir known for its peace loving society. Targeted killings of the Kashmiri Pandits in 1989-1990 created a fear psychosis leaving the community with no option but to leave their homes and hearths. Their miseries didn’t end there but they went through a prolonged life of alienation and discrimination, relegating them to the margins of socio-political and cultural life. With proportionate representation in policy making and governance the community has been witnessing marginalisation. Nearly four generations have now witnessed the pain and agony of exile, having spent 35 years rebuilding their lives from scratch in camps, rented accommodations facing survival issues. Though the community has shown immense resilience by creating space for themselves in various fields due to their faith in educating children, no concrete policy has been put on table so far to devise a comprehensive mechanism for their return and rehabilitation. Dr. Farooq Abdullah can well understand this agony as he was at the helm of affairs in 1990 when the religious cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandits took place. He is well versed with the law and order issue that prevailed at that time and the conditions that led to their expulsion from Kashmir. His statement to ask Kashmiri Pandits to return to Kashmir is indeed a welcome and timely move. Urging the Kashmiri Pandit community to return he has said, “I hope that our brothers and sisters who have left from here come back home. Now the time has come, they should return to their homes.” He has underlined that the Kashmiri Pandits should return and take care of their homes. The National Conference (NC) Government will make all arrangements and initiatives for their return. This statement should be welcomed by one and all. But only sentiments won’t work as a lot of water has flown down the Jhelum(Vitasta) in these 35 years. The ground reality is that most of the Kashmiri Pandits have sold their homes and lands in distress sale and various temples are in dilapidated condition. Not only that, the localities in both urban and rural areas where Kashmiri Pandits lived no more exist. In such a condition to ask the community to take care of their homes does not seem practical. Besides there are already questions being asked about the employment package for the Kashmiri Pandit youth as these are positions devoid of career advancement. The employees have even been on agitation for linking employment with return. There is a need to create a foothold for the community where they can assert their social, political, religious, cultural and educational rights and feel empowered. The new Jammu and Kashmir Government must engage with the Kashmiri Pandit groups that have the pulse of the community. It must take them into confidence and work to reverse Kashmiri Pandit Genocide. At least it must talk to the organisations of Kashmiri Pandits that have not changed their political stand and have been consistent in their demands for the welfare of the community.