All Party Meet on Kashmir

An open letter to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao

Sir,

While welcoming the proposed All Party Meet on Kashmir, we the unfortunate migrants from the Valley, hope that this meet will not be another futile exercise so often resorted to by various fora to derive political mileage out of an unfortunate situation.

Going by the attitudes and positions which our prominent political parties including the Ruling Party have held on Kashmir, from time to time, we feel that most of the views spewing out from political platforms of these parties are smug, flawed and sickening, smelling of total or partial confusion, opportunism and even disinformation that is being spread by some prominent persons and groups with dubious intent and design, conforming to the propaganda of Pakistan.

Sir, in the first instance, the theory that terrorism in Kashmir is the result of economic neglect is totally fallacious and contrary to facts. Kashmir valley, the hub of current terrorist turmoil, is the most prosperous region of the country, where per capita income is far too higher than in any part of the country. It is here where peasant proprietorship is the rule rather than an exception, where education is free from primary to university level, where loans and financial assistance can be had for a song by anyone, sans worrying for ever about its repayment, where the Central assistance on per capita basis is the highest in the country and where the Central Govt. has always been very liberal to bestow grants and aid. The valley, which only a few decades back used to export labour to the plains in hordes, is now net importer of labour, especially from Bihar and other central States of the country. This saga of sudden change from rags to riches in a few decades. is a landmark unprecedented in the annals of Kashmir history and must be seen to be believed.

The second theory that the current situation in the valley is a result of political alienation of the masses is both true and false. It is true in so far as Govt. of India failed to cultivate genuine, forward looking, honest and secular elements from among the masses in Kashmir and in fact ignored them and instead relied upon political blackmailers, opportunists, cunning and crafty elements, who would swear by India during the day and hob-nob with secessionist elements in the nights, split personalities, who, what one has aptly said were communalists in Kashmir, nationalists in Jammu and radicals in Delhi. The political elite which Govt. of India cultivated in Kashmir, is also an economic elite, whose loyalty to India was sought to be reinforced with bribery, permissive and often corrupt political concessions. It is this leadership which allowed secessionist and fundamentalist elements to grow in the valley and even penetrate into the vital limbs of the administration of the state. No better congenial atmosphere could be created for Pakistan to organise, direct and carry on the present low cost war in Kashmir. It is this elite which has been dominating all political parties in Kashmir, especially the National Conference, and the Congress.

It is unfortunate that Govt. of India still continues to nurture and nourish this elite in the found hope of winning it over and thus ease the pressure on itself. This line has already proved disastrous and will continue to elude hopes to an early return of peace in Kashmir. This elite has largely found that continued terrorist violence in Kashmir is a new source of enrichment for the members of this class.

It is also sad that forces inimical to Kashmiri Hindu migrants who never want them to return to the valley, are sought to be appeased time and again. It is criminal to hide and minimise the plight of these migrants and criminal silence is being maintained by most of our political parties on this issue. Some even go to the limit of accusing us of having conspired with Mr. Jag Mohan, Ex-Governor of the State to abandon the valley. Harassed and haunted by the terrorists, the Kashmiri Hindu had to run for his life. The brutal, sadistic and indiscriminate killings of hundreds of them by Pak trained terrorists forced them to abandon their homes and hearths. Those who accuse Kashmiri Hindus are found in your party also.

We have no quarrel with Kashmiri Muslims who still retain the traditional ethos of tolerance and humanism despite the present chaos in the valley, but, who unfortunately got caught in the web of conspiracies, woven from across the border and aided and abetted by the powers that ruled the state, who set Kashmiris against Kashmiris, stoked fires of hatred, communalism and fundamentalism and sought to reduce the valley to an Islamic ghetto by driving out all the minorities, labelling them as agents of India.

Sir, Kashmir calls for an immediate attention and correct perception. We may be able to curb terrorism there in the forseeable future but we cannot establish permanent peace unless we remove the root cause of the problem. A new policy vis-a-vis the State is a must. The Governance there should make itself accountable to the people of the State and nation at large, curb fundamentalism and liquidate its institutions, be it schools, press or publications, purge the state administration of pro-secessionist elements and ruthlessly suppress them, promote self rule and democracy in all the three regions of the state and extend constitutional protection to all the minorities, including us.

To sum up, we propose to your Govt. to give consideration to the following measures:

1. An absolute and firm commitment on your part that Kashmir migrants shall be resettled back in their ancestral home in the forseeable future. This right should be extended to all those who have had to leave the valley in the past four decades as a result of discrimination practised against them by successive Govts. of the State.

2. A statement by your Govt. listing actual devastation suffered by the migrants of the valley. Currently, houses of Kashmiri Hindus are being burnt on a large scale in Kashmir. Besides, all houses vacated by the migrants have been either burgled, looted or destroyed in order to forestall their return to the valley.

3. Enhancement of cash relief and other assistance to the migrants who have been reduced from decent lower middle class status in the valley to penury in Delhi, Jammu and other places.

4. Extension of interest free loans to those members of our community whose sole occupation was Trade, Agriculture and Industry.

5. A white paper on the activities of various outfits like "Civil Liberties", and "Human Rights Associations" who have been spreading disinformation on the role of our army and para-

military forces in Kashmir.

6. Suppression of terrorism with an iron hand while treating the common masses with care and affection.

7. A temporary freeze on the allotment of funds that go from the Centre to the valley as at present most of these funds go to the coffers of terrorists and corrupt officials.

8. Closure or strict censorship of those newspapers from Kashmir which are actually the mouthpieces of terrorist outfits and their disinformation campaign.

9. Declaration of official line on Kashmir-this is important in view of the contradictory statements issued from time to time by different leaders of your Govt and party.

10. A firm national policy on the activities, role and strategic aims of Pakistan in Kashmir. Sir, we are sorry to point out that the migrants' viewpoint will go by default as their representatives have not been invited.

With regards,

Your sincerely,

ON TRISAL

Convenor Save Kashmiri Pandit Campaign Committee New Delhi

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Courtesy:- Vijay Kumar Sazawal and 1991 December Koshur Samachar