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| Kashmiri Pandits bemoan their plight | | | During the last 25 years people, politicians
and intellectuals have been voicing resent
ment and dismay over the miserable plight of over 3.50 lakh Kashmir Pandits who were forced to flee from the valley in 1990 following the rise of Pakistan sponsored insurgency. Not many talked about the plight of those Pandits who had decided to stay put in the valley despite several odds. And those living in camps, in one or two-room tenements in the plains of Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Delhi and in other states would envy those Pandits who had not fled from the valley because the former believed that if those who stayed put in the valley were spared of the rigours of harsh summer months. And several thousand displaced people have been nursing one ambition of returning to Kashmir so that they could live in a temperate zone. And during the last several years their dream of returning to Kashmir has not materialized so far despite efforts by the successive state and central Governments for their rehabilitation in Kashmir. However, what seems to have forced the displaced people to have a second thought over their plan to accept the Government's rehabilitation policy is the report that those pandits who had not left the valley in 1990 were thinking of leaving Kashmir because of various factors, mainly related to their economic deprivation. Majority of those Pandits who had decided to spent their rest of life in the valley have started feeling the pinch of financial stringency. Most of them have no jobs and they have started believing that there was no future for their wards in the valley.
Hindus who had not migrated after the eruption of separatist insurgency in 1989-90 plan to leave their homes now due to economic and social pressures. Isolated and ostracised, only 651 families comprising around 2,500 persons are left in the Valley who endured one of the most violent periods in recent history of Jammu and Kashmir
About 3.5 lakh Hindus had left the Valley after militant organisations started a selective killing campaign in 1989, but thousands of families stayed back in the hope that the situation would improve. However, they feel discriminated against as non-migrant Pandits have been kept out of every relief and rehabilitation package announced by successive governments for people living in Jammu and other parts of the country. It is estimated that there were 19,000 Hindus in Kashmir in 1998, but following the Sangrampura (Budgam) and Wandhama (Srinagar) massacres, the population was reduced to 10,000 in 2002.
However, in 2003, there was another exodus after militants killed 23 members of the minority community in Nadimarg (Pulwama). Since then, the exodus continues.
It is not militancy but unemployment which is driving Pandit families out of Kashmir now. Other Pandit families in the valley feel there is neither any future for their children because of limited seats in the professional colleges and on account of meagre job avenues. Of late these non-migrants have realized that those who had migrated enjoyed better living with their children well place in life, most of them having completed various engineering courses and drawing lucrative salaries.
What seems to have forced displaced people to develop cold feet towards the Government's return and rehabilitation policy is that in Kashmir, once they are back, they would not be able to have as much freedom of speech and movement as they have had during the last 25 years in the plains.
Another factor that has left the displaced people disinterested in the Government's return and rehabilitation policy is the way militants, operating in the valley, continue to call the shots and the separatists engaged in issuing repeated calls to people to observe shut downs on even minor issues. And a section of displaced people, particularly those who had migrated from the rural areas, who are keen to return to Kashmir and spare themselves from the painful living in scorching heat and humid weather want that the overall security scenario should improve so that Kashmir is able to taste the fruits of peace, total peace. Yes, the central and the state Governments could provide some arrangements for those Pandits who wish to return to the valley by way of building some tenements but Pandits want specific assurance about jobs to their children. In fact the Pandits continue to feel bewildered over their fate and future.
One generation is dead another generation is on the verge of extinction and the choice is to be made by the third and fourth generation of the displaced people. But since majority of youths belonging to the third and fourth generation are well settled in the plains they may not opt for return to the valley. Yes, if the Government reports are relied on there are about over 24,00 families that have shown interest in returning to the valley. And if the Government is able to involve members of the majority community in the valley in the return and rehabilitation policy and incidents of violence witnesses marked decline more Pandits may accept Government's policy on return and rehabilitation. |
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