Kp s Ignored By New J & K Government– Needs Introspection

 

The newly constituted government in J & K probably wants another exodus of the forcibly displaced Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu too, when their first mass exodus occurred from Kashmir, in the year 1989-90, when the present ruling political party, viz, the national conference, was ruling the state of Jammu and Kashmir at that point of time. Reasons are obvious. In a bizarre action at least 12 temporary mini shops, located at Muthi, Jammu, which were  the primary source of livelihood and income for some destitute KP’s migrants of Kashmir, living as refugees in their own country, for the past 34 years, were got demolished by the present government authorities, ruthlessly and mercilessly. Th ese shops were not only a means of survival for them, but also a source of existence for the them as a displaced community from Kashmir, almost since last 30 years. Th ese demolitions were done against the canons of law recommended for such demolitions. No prior notice as required as per the rules and regulations prescribed for such demolitions, was given to these innocent shop holders, before such demolitions. It is a clear violation of the norms of justice and the fundamental rights of these innocent people. If watched and observed closely Omar Abdullah has not spelt his government’s policy clearly about the forcibly displaced KP’s due to the onslaught of militancy in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, except than an eye wash as a lip sympathy that it is in their election manifesto to rehabilitate KP’s back in Kashmir. He is heard of repeatedly crying for the restoration of the lost statehood to J & K on priority, when he is more  interested to have a mighty administrative power base as a chief minister, as he is heard to have said that two power centers is not good for the state administration. However, he did not condemn this onslaught on these tinny KP migrant shopkeepers, to show his and his governments sympathy with them and inter alia with the displaced KP’s as a whole. It shows that his new government headed by him is behind this ugly attempt of ensuring fresh second exodus of KP’s from Jammu. In fact, no one amongst the ruling clan condemned it. Dr. Farooq Abdullah the main guardian of the national conference failed miserably to acknowledge it in public and condemn it. It is circumstantially shrouded with a political mystery loaded with a vendetta against the displaced KP’s for asking for their settlement back in Kashmir with honor and dignity. It bears testimony to one of the  points of the political election manifesto of this political party which is now again ruling J &K, about the changing the names of the most sacred religious places of Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir, the Shankaracharya in to “Takht-e-Suleiman” and Hari Parbat, in to “Koh-e-Maran”. It speaks acrimonious. What can be expected by the displaced KP’s under the circumstances? If under the garb of Roshini act, thousands of acres of government land can be allotted to people of influence and political favors, particularly from Kashmir, why cannot these small patches of lands on which these demolished shops were constructed, be permanently allotted to these affected migrant shop owners to earn their bread and butter and live with dignity. “Th e whole nation, is well aware of the plight of the forcibly Kashmiri Pandits , who have been living in exile since their forced exodus and genocide of 1989-90, from Kashmir, Despite their prolonged displacement, both the central government and the Jammu and Kashmir state administration have failed to implement any effective rehabilitation policy for them. Th is inaction has resulted in continued suffering for these displaced KPs migrant families who continue to be in absolute dilemma for the same.Th e reasons are obvious. KP’s are not at all any vote bank entity for any political party because of their limited population status coupled with their being mostly scattered all over the country, in search of a respectable place   to live and earn their living with some dignity and honor, aft er their exodus from Kashmir. The second big reason is that unfortunately this miniscule community is an unorganized lot having no leadership module to lead it, particularly aft er the onslaught of militancy in Kashmir, which has left them shattered and broken. Th e other disadvantage which has miserably rendered this community as a helpless lot, is that personnel ego plays a dormant part when this miniscule community has never accepted any leadership of  any of its fellow KP brothers, even though enough of matured talent in this regard is available within this highly educated community. While writing this column, this author feels shy and sorry to accept it as a KP, but it is fact. Th is has annihilated our political existence, as no KP could come up as a tall political leader for us, nor have we allowed any KP individual or as a body, to lead us in this direction. Under the cover and guidance of a better matured leadership within our own community, it could have made our woes of distress due to our forced migration felt within the political fabric of India or even on a little platform of J & K geographical map, in the back ground scenario of  our being refugees living in our own country. This could have been utilized by our displaced community, to its political advantage, within the broader scenario of ‘ Hindutva”, prevailing within the country and a sensation of sympathy for KP’s could have been generated within the country, at least amongst some sections of society belonging to the Hindu cult. However it could not be done. No doubt KP’s have a traditional inheritance of extraordinary intellectualism and legacy of having very good  administrative capabilities, which has oft en been responsible for them to get connected to political bosses, yet, only as professional servants of bureaucratic servitude and never as political advisors or policy planners. It can be said that we as KP’s are better “BIRBALAS”, to remain satisfy ed with such a role, least ascertaining that this has led to our extinction as a community of original customary base of being aboriginal “Brahmins” of Kashmir. May be that our woes of now are to be singled out to the onslaught of militancy in Kashmir in the years 1989-90, resulting in our forced exodus and subjugation to worst type of genocide. Let us remind ourselves of the past civil acts of militancy on us, through sweet acts of pseudo secularism, when so many exoduses of KP’s did occur in the past, which were more acrimonious than the present one, as they could not be reported due to gross apathies of the then rulers of Jammu and Kashmir and that of the central governments, ruled mostly by the congress party of India or abetted by the congress party of India. Let us review as to what happened post 1947, when Sheikh Abdullah assumed the reins of governance of Jammu and Kashmir with the sordid support of Nehru. When Sheikh Abdullah got the reins of power of the state government aft er Maharaj’s rule, he would very boldly advise the highly qualified Kashmiri Pandit scholars and persons of that time to locate jobs for themselves outside Kashmir. He would oft en add more insult to the injury by saying that you Pandits have a scope beyond Kashmir up to Kanyakumari, but where will Kashmiri Muslim go, capitalizing “Kashmiriyat “ through “‘Islamiyat’, thus abetting the exodus of KP’s very meticulously, posing himself to be the most secular leader in the eyes of Gandhi andNehru.It is during that period mostly when the silent exodus of KP’s started for seeking jobs outside the state. Yet KP’s proved their worth and merit outside Kashmir, by getting jobs in higher and strategic places of administration both at the level of Government of India as also other state governments of this country. But it all happened at the cost of their forgetting their own home land due to Islamiyat applied through Kashmiriyat.Bakhshi Gulam Mohamad was no exception, when he initiated the process of nominating the Kashmiri Muslim students with low academic merits, to higher educational trainings outside Kashmir, in medical colleges, engineering colleges, agricultural colleges, poly techniques etc, with heft y education loan facilities. Kashmiri Pandit students of that time with highest academic merits, were refused such educational trainings and heft y loan facilities, thus depriving KPs students from having higher technical educations etc. So was the case with givng government jobs to the KP aspirants of that time. ho does not know, when G.M.Sadiq was Chief Minister who introduced 70/30 percent ratio in government jobs between the Muslims and the Kashmiri Pandit employees, which was unconstitutional and was fought very bravely by the KP government teachers of that time in the Supreme Court of India and got it annulled. Mir Qasim as Chief Minister was no diff erent in this regard and he too introduced discriminatory policies in various departments for providing promotional facilities to the Muslim employees over the KP’s.Subsequent governments of Abdullah’s and Muft i’s followed the footsteps of their predecessors in this regard for KP’s. KP’s cannot forget the desecration of their temples and religious places, whenever there was any problem of Israeli–Palestinian conflict, far away from the soil of Kashmir. During the Anantnag riots in February 1986, many temples, houses and other properties, belonging to KP’s were looted, burnt or damaged innantnag district. Th ese are so many such events to be quoted, but for the constraints of space in this article. Th e last nail in the coffin was the final assault of Islamic fundamentalism on KP’s in the year 1989-90, when   KP’s were killed and butchered by the terrorists, when the KP’s were fi nally driven out of Kashmir almost empty handed. With the abrogation of Article 370, nothing has changed for the KP’s. It is a misnomer for the KP’s. In fact their woes of sorts and grievous hurts on their bleeding wounds have become more torturous for them, when the present government at the centre led by BJP has been drum beating a lot about the rehabilitation of the KP’s back in Kashmir with dignity and honor since last ten years without any positive outcome thereof. In fact, with such a slogan of the BJP in power at the centre, the BJP has exploited and capitalized this for its vote bank politics across the country. It has added further acrimony to the majority Muslim population in Kashmir against the KP’s, calling KP’s as BJP’s pets, when it is not so. If Article 370 could be abrogated and Article 35A removed and when the luminous state of Jammu and Kashmir has been reduced to the status of a mere union territory and Ladakh separated from it, through legal acts of parliament, what stopped the political clan of the day to similarly create a union territory for the displaced KP’s, as a separate home land for KP’s to live as respectable citizens with honor and dignity and not as refugees in their own country, or as political victims under the Islamic dominance and fear of the gun, in the valley of Kashmir.In the recent discussions in the parliament of India, about the constitution of India, heated debates were held between the ruling party and the opposition parties about the plight of the some of the sections of the people of India. To the utter misfortune of KP’s not a single word was expressed about their woe full plight, either by the ruling BJP or the opposition parties. Th is is where we stand.Same is true about the new ruling national conference in J & K. No mention has so far been made about the plight of the KP’s by anyone including the chief minister Sh. Omar Abdullah about the rehabilitation of KP’s back in Kashmir. Th is is where we stand now, not aft er the 35 years of our exile only, but even aft er almost 75 years of the dynasty rule in Jammu and Kashmir, right from Sheiikh Abdullah till now, when his grandson is back to rule J & K. Th is situation almost led to the barbaric demolition of the small shops of some of our KP brothers who were using this facility as their source of small income for heir petty living aft er their forced eviction from Kashmir, under a well-planned Islamic module of fundamentalism. It makes one to conclude that KP’s second exodus is on the cards, from Jammu too, under the new regime of governance which is headed by NC and Congress the original enemies of KP’s.Let us introspect now at least. While observing functions both religious and cultural like the performing of “Hawans”, building of ashrams and the like, we may have to introspect about our existence in all respects and put our energies on the issues that warrant immediate attention. Yes, where there is will there is a way.We have a treasure of our younger generations, both males and females, who are very well qualified and are working not only in India but are working all across the globe for their jobs. All such younger generation class of our community, need now to unite as an emergent force and forum, to draft out a unified charter for attending to the immediate problems which the community is facing or bound to face in near future.What could not be done by us as elders, let the new front of our youth, be involved in it and made to co-ordinate its eff orts to ensure that the issues of the genocide and the ethnic cleansing of KP’s reaches to the United Nations, along with the tales and horror stories of violence unleashed upon us. Th is will expose the Pan Islamic fundamentalism trend, which has expanded now in Kashmir beyond repairs. Similarly, this will shake the sullen and unconcerned ruling political class of this country, as also other opposition political clan of this country, about their step motherly treatments to the displaced KP’s so for.Equally an uprising shall have to be made within the country about our plight, at all levels of governance and  administration including the Human Rights bodies which need to be shaken to listen to our woes and problems and fi nd plausible solutions thereof. In this regard a serious call has to go to our intelligent youth living across the country and abroad from various organizations and forums working presently as KP bodies, to take up this job seriously and revive the KP’s existence again. Let us unite and do it.

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are Er. P.L.Khushu views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy:  Er. P.L.Khushu Spade A Spade- 2025 JANUARY