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| Modi and internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus | | Presidential address on return issue evokes a mixed response | |
Neha
JAMMU, June 11: It was in early 1990 that the miniscule minority of Kashmiri Hindus quit their land of Vitasta (Jhelum). The community migrated out of Kashmir to save its culture, religion, dignity and honour, as also to escape persecution and physical liquidation at the hands of Pakistan-sponsored, abetted, aided and indoctrinated zealots. They would have stayed put in Kashmir had the Union Government not raised its hands or had it resolved to defeat and neutralize the onslaught that was calculated to detach Kashmir from New Delhi and merge it with theocratic, dictatorial, feudalistic, intolerant and regressive Pakistan, an irresponsible non-state. The migration of the minority community from Kashmir was undoubtedly an ignominious defeat of the "secular" Indian State and it also significantly indicated that the Kashmiri Hindus were religiously committed to India. After all, they left behind their properties, palatial houses, business establishments, orchards and agricultural land. According to official data, 24,202 families migrated and a total number of 38,119 families are registered with the Jammu & Kashmir Government. Nearly four Lakh Kashmiri Hindus migrated. What happened between January 1990 and June 9, 2014 is history and it's too ell-known.
It was perhaps for the first time in more than 25 years of their forced exodus that the Union Government brought this issue to the centre-stage. The case in point is the June 9 Presidential Address to the joint-session of Parliament that, inter-alia, said: "Special efforts will be made to ensure that Kashmiri Pandits return to the land of their ancestors with full dignity, security and assured livelihood". The words "dignity, security and assured livelihood" explain everything in unambiguous terms and, hence, no need to elucidate their significance.
All this is not to suggest that the earlier dispensations at the Centre didn't make any effort to induce and motivate the Kashmiri Hindu refugees to go back to their original home. They did announce a few attractive packages, but with no result. The reasons were obvious and one of the reasons was the existence of the environment that had left the minority community with no option but to quit Kashmir in 1990. Believe it or not, but it is a fact that not a single Kashmiri Hindu family returned to the Valley in the real sense of the term during all these years of their exodus.
It was expected that President Pranab Mukherjee's address would evoke a mixed response in Jammu & Kashmir and it did happen. The leadership of the community concerned welcomed the move of the Narendra Modi's government but with a rider that it must first analyze the causes responsible for the migration in 1990 and then undertake steps to rehabilitate them in their own "motherland". Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the working president of the National Conference (NC), said that he would support the Union Government's move as ChiefMinister. His father and party president Farooq Abdullah, who suffered the first-ever defeat in his long political career in the just-held Lok Sabha elections, in an interview to an Urdu news channel didn't speak the language of his son. He said the situation in the Valley is far from normal and that anything could happen in Kashmir anytime. Things could take ugly turn in Kashmir duing the next few days, he said. In other words, he indirectly opposed the official move on the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus. People's Democratic Party (PDP) president and Member Lok Sabha Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the Centre's resolve to ensure dignified return of Kashmiri Hindus and also said that Kashmiris have suffered immensely during the more than 20 years of turmoil and a solution to the problems must be inclusive and holistic. "Cosmetic approach on the Kashmir issue has neither worked in the past nor will it be of any consequence in the future, she also said, and added that the Government of India shall have to take all the stakeholders on board within and outside the state to work out a lasting solution to the problem". As for separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, to mention only a few, less sad the better. Suffice to say that they would welcome the return of the persecuted Hindus to the Valley subject to the condition that they would join the ongoing secessionist movement in Kashmir. This has been their stand since 1990 and they will never dilute it. This is the whole situation in the terrorist and separatist-infested Kashmir Valley. The intention of the Narendra Modi Government, which is very strong and stable and which has begun its inning very well, is pious, rational and national. Kashmir is the homeland of the Kashmiri Hindus since ages and it is their natural right to live there and lead a dignified life like part and parcel of the Indian society. They are the original inhabitants of Kashmir. It would be an affront to the self-respect of the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus if someone may says so that we recognize their right to live in the Valley.
As said, the intention of the Narendra Modi Government is pious, rational and national and it must be appreciated by one and all. But the question to be asked is: Will it, unlike the earlier regimes succeed in persuading and motivating the displaced Kashmiri Hindus to return to Kashmir? The answer can be yes for the simple reason that Narendra Modi always means what he says and commits. He simply has to take care of the Kashmiri leadership, both the so-called mainstream and separatist. In other words, he has to tackle Kashmiri leaders like Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Once it happens, he would be able to give effect to what he thinks about the minority community of Kashmiri Hindus. There are reasons to believe that he would tackle the Kashmiri leadership sooner than later. In fact, he has already started treading this path and this can be seen from the fact that he has told Home Secretary Anil Goswami about his plan to usher in a changed policy on Kashmir would not be totally Valley-centric, as was the case earlier. It can also be seen from a report that said: "The idea is to ensure that we (Government of India) treat Jammu & Kashmir as one entity, and not single out Kashmir. There has to be a cohesive policy linking the three regions Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh". The said report is based on the statement made by a senior Home Ministry official on June 9. All in all, it can be said that the internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus have been finally recognized as an important factor in the state's political situation and it augurs well for the long-term national interest.
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