Our share of blooms

Dear community members, 

Namaskar

The recent reshuffle in the Jammu & Kashmir cabinet may have been a routine development. However, the backdrop in which it came about does raise a few issues of importance. First, we Kashmiri Pandits, living in exile for the last 28 years, were very optimistic about a ministerial berth to one of our representatives so that our voice is present in the state government. But, like the past three years, we were ignored this time too.

Our representation is needed for building confidence in the KP community. We as important stakeholders and circumstantial absentees (terror victims) from our homes, have a host of issues where the government intervention is needed. From vacating illegal occupation of land (both residential and agricultural) to reconstruction and maintenance of our temples and shrines and other common places, minority status and other entitlements and routine individual and official matters KPs need someone in the government to approach and also fall back upon in need We'll be falling in our duty if we don't raise our voice and protest. At the same time let me extend congratulations and best wishes to the new ministers and specially to Shri Kavinder Gupta, our new Deputy Chief Minister, on my and KSD's behalf We look forward to working closely with the J&K government on immediate issues of migrants from Delhi NCR and also some long-pending demands such as addition and bifurcation for relief holders.

Secondly a bigger issue is of demographic changes in the Jammu district as alleged by several Jammu-based Hindu activists. And in some ways the cabinet reshuffle is seen as the fall out of the Kathua issue and therefore we would also like to express our views on the issue. Jammu has been a second home for KPs and we will remain ever grateful to people of Jammu for having given us refugee protection and accepted us. While cosmopolitanism is a hallmark of the emerging new age cities and a necessity of economy and work life, it comes naturally to places where diverse people work and live together However, network how come refugees from Myanmar traversed almost the whole breadth of India and took up base in Jammu is a matur of investigation and truth finding.

The aftermath of the Kathua rape and murder incident is the result of a conspiracy It is on the same pattern as was done for Kashmin Pandits in 1990 when lakhs of them were forced to flee the valley Now, for 29 years, they are suffering as an exiled community I want to warn the State Govemment that it should have an unbiased approach towards the residents of the Jammu region and not allow the incident create further bitterness.

J&K is a citadel of composite culture, diversity and social harmony And there is no harm for people from any region or religion to settle anywhere but as the activists have been claiming there is a systematic way of facilitating influx of a particular faith people into Jammu over years. As we ourselves are victims of the jihadi discourse and know how it forced us out of the Kashmir valley we can fully understand the anguish and apprehensions of our Hindu brothers and sisters in the Jammu region. We are fully with the people of Jammu and Kathua in seeking trun and withdrawal of enabling and lax rules of settlement for a particular community An empowered commission of inquiry can record and investigate the charges and will be a better middle ground to contain simmering unrest and pave the way for reversing the demographic change as is being felt by Hindu society at large. An important gateway city like Jammu shouldn't be allowed to boil.

I would also like to congratulate youths from our community who have qualified civil services examination this year Better late than never adage, in this respect, is welcome and hopefully this would become a trend for future years and we will once again become proud of our community's connection to top bureaucracy in coming years I would also like to express my best wishes to all KP students who have appeared in board exams and look forward to them succeeding with good scores and grades KSD will provide all assistance in admissions to professional education colleges wherever we have a network.

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Courtesy:-  Vijay Raina  and koshur Samachar May 2018