The last supper

The spring season, which starts from is a harbinger for the happy and good days in the valley. The life, which comes to a near grinding halt during the long winter months, confines the people to the four walls of their houses. With the onset of the spring life becomes active. The icy cold nights and short days with the Sun hiding behind the thick clouds for days together gives way to shorter nights and longer bright days. The thick carpet on the mountains and the ground starts melting filling the dried streams and rivulets with fresh water. Birds, which become silent during winter, sing melodious notes and are joined by the birds which have left the valley before the onset of the winter. The barren trees and the dried grass begin to turn green with the blooming of the different flowers adding colours to the environment. The days are neither chilly nor hot. The fragrance of air wafting through and nature at its best leaves nothing to desire. This is the time when one wishes to be in the valley. One has to see it to believe it.

The handful of Kashmiri Pandit families, which had continued to stay put in the far flung village of NADIMARG, Shopian, braving terrorist threats and guns for more than a decade, must have hoped that the coming spring and summer seasons will bring happiness and possibly more of their kith and kin will return to the valley to join them. After a tiring working day on March, 23, 2003, they had DINNER and went to bed on a note of optimism. But that was not to be. The "DINNER" turned out to be the proverbial "LAST SUPPER" because they did not see the light of the next day. At midnight, there was knock on their doors and terrorists wearing uniforms ordered the men, women and children to stand in the lawns of Police Station whose handful personnel had been overpowered. They started firing indiscriminately, mowing down 24 people instantly which included 11 women and 2 children. This inhuman massacre came a day after the Hizbul Mujahideen leader Abdul Majid Dar had been gunned down in his home at It is believed that the NADIMARG Massacre might have been in retaliation.

The brutal everybody. The massacre Centre shocked and State Governments blamed Pakistan for this barbaric inhuman massacre and the opposition and the survivors blamed the security and the intelligence agencies for the lapse. The Hizbul Mujahideen, as a face-saver, accused the Indian security agencies for stage managing the incident in order to defame them. Nobody accepted their version, except their masters across the border

Mufti's policy of providing "HEALING TOUCH", received a serious jolt. Some of the Kashmir watchers blamed his policy of going too soft and with great hurry. It may be recalled Mufti rode to the success in the Assembly elections of that time giving assurance to the terrorist outfits that coming to power his Government will go soft on them and will do their best to rehabilitate them. The spate of incidents that took took place after his assuming power have justified their apprehensions. They have alleged that the counter insurgency agencies have been told to lower vigilance. This has led to the demoralization of the security agencies dealing with terrorism. The unilateral release of terrorists including the hard core ones emboldened their masters across the border and helped them regroup again and make their presence felt in the state.

The then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed himself admitted that his plan of sending the Kashmiri Pandits back to the valley hit a roadblock. Nobody is going to buy this. Mufti has been in the politics for the last 4 decades including a brief stint as Central Home Minister, and definitely, is not a green horn. He should have known from the past experience that whenever such statements are issued the terrorists increase their violence resulting in brutal carnage. It appears that the Chief Minister was carried away by the Assembly elections and in the euphoria lost ground realities.

It was said by the terrorists that the Kashmiri Pandit community had left their homes and hearths at the behest of some persons/ parties so that security agencies could deal with the majority community in a ruthless manner. The Print and the Electronic media across the border had played in such a manner that the majority community believed in their "lies". Nobody leaves his/her home and hearth of centuries at the behest of some persons/ parties unless they think their honour and safety is at stake. The exodus was not limited to the Kashmiri Pandits but with the passage of the time even a large number of majority community families followed the suit to save their honour and lives.

wan' rou There is need for a thorough inquiry to find out the inadequacies and lapses on the part of the security system. The inquiry should fix the responsibility on the individuals/ agencies and bring them to book. This will meet the ends of justice. In the meantime the security should be beefed up where such small clusters of families stay.

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Courtesy:  V.K. Wattal   and  Koshur Samachar 2022, April