1995 06 Aftermath of Chrar-e-Sharif-- Kashmiri Hindus Take Up the Challenge

K.S. Reporter

The unpardonable apathy demonstrated by the Government of India most of the political parties and the bureaucratic set-up in the country to the fundamentalist response in Kashmir to destruction at Charar-e-Sharif seems to have awakened the Hindus forced out of the Valley six- years back to the reality of their being of no consequence in the country's policy, or non-policy, about Jammu and Kashmir As has been mentioned elsewhere in this issue, no political party in Parliament, the BJP, raised as much as ant eye-lid about the burning of a thousand houses and more than fifty temples in the Valley and Doda District in the aftermath of the Chrar-e- Sharif tragedy. Nobody, not even the Government, including the Kashmir Affairs Secretary and the Home Secretary, seemed to know what was happening there, not to speak of giving a thought to the despicable handiwork of fundamentalists who were going about torching Hindus' houses and dismantling their places of worship, while the entire country was beating its breast and promising the moon to these very fanatics to heal their self-inflicted wounds.

As a result of this shocked awakening, the entire community came out as one man to condemn not only the of Charar-e-Sharif but also those who were out destroying its properties back home, and the Government of India for closing its eyes to this phenomenon which has been recurring for the past six years. The Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi, was the first to react at a Press Conference organised by it and addressed by its President, Shri N.N. Kaul, on May 19, 1995. It strongly condemned the double-standards adopted by the Centre in so far as it was more than willing to compensate one community while completely ignoring the losses suffered by another. The Samiti threatened 'direct action', including 'self-immolation' in case the Government failed again to compensate them for burnt houses and temples. The Press release issued on the occasion said:

The Kashmiri Samiti Delhi strongly condemns the apathetic attitude of the Govt. towards Kashmiri Hindus especially during the last five years of exile. The recent developments in Kashmir following the burning of Charar- e-Sharief by the militants is a matter of grave concern for us as more than FIFTY TEMPLES have been desecrated and destroyed in the Valley in addition to the torching of the untenanted properties of Kashmiri Hindus. During the last five years about TWENTY THOUSAND HOUSES OF KASHMIRI HINDUS have been gutted and the remaining ones are illegally occupied. It is a conspiracy to eliminate the last traces of the secular character of Kashmir and by doing so the way is being paved for Nizam-i-Mustafa and secession of Kashmir from India.

The Govt. has expressed all sympathies for the affected people at Chrar and has already started the process of reconstruction of the town and rehabilitation of its people. The State Government has announced ex-gratia relief upto rupees one lac per family, over and above the huge sums sanctioned by the Central Government to compensate the losses.

The stony silence maintained by the Govt. of India on the issue of destruction of temples and other properties of Kashmiri Hindus is highly intriguing, unconstitutional and undemocratic.

We have always been treated as Second Class Citizens in all fields of the state and in the present circumstances, it is clear that there is a grading of the places of workshop as well and religious sentiments of only a particular community are respected while Kashmiri Hindus are ignored and ill treated.

We demand that the Govt. of India come out with details of the damages, take measures for immediate rehabilitation and compensate for all the losses suffered by Kashmiri Hindus during these years failing which we will have to resort to direct action including self- immolation for which the entire responsibility will lie on the Govt. of India.

The President and other office-bearers present at the Press Conference announced the Samiti's decision to boycott the proposed elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and also its plan of action till all the KPs' demands are met. This included gherao of the Home Secretary. submission of memoranda to the Government, meetings with the President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission.

The General Secretary, KSD, Shri Sunil Shakdher, said that the Union Minister in the PM's office, Shri Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi, gave incomplete information to Parliament by saying that about 17,000 migrant families were registered in Delhi where's the fact was that as many as 23,890 KP migrant families stood registered here. Similarly, he asserted, the government was misleading Parliament and the nation by saying that only two temples had been destroyed in Kashmir after the Charar-e-Sharif tragedy whereas the number was over fifty.

Demonstration

The office-bearers and activists of the Samiti held a demonstration outside the residence of the Home Secretary, Govt. of India, on May 25 morning, to invite his attention to the happenings in Kashmir designed to extinguish all vestiges of the community's 5000-year old history in the Valley. The Home Secretary promised them a hearing on May 28, 1995. The Press Note released on the day demanded, among other things, that Kashmiri Hindus should be consulted on any political arrangement envisaged for Kashmir by the Centre. The Press Note also demanded that the Government recognise the genesis of the trouble in Kashmir, act according to the needs springing out of this genesis and not try to buy support of terrorists and secessionists by promises of 'more autonomy' and the like while tackling the problem. S/Shri C.L. Gadoo of J&K Sangam and R.P. Raina of Panun Kashmir also joined the demonstration. The Press Note, read as under:

The Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi wants the Government of India to recognise that:

Kashmiri Pandits have been devastated as a community in the present onslaught of Pakistan to annex J&K State, -the Kashmiri Pandits as an identified minority, a secular force, all out for India, their annihilation has first priority in the terrorist scheme to grab Jammu & Kashmir State; to build loyalty of the Muslim masses in Kashmir, Islamisation of the valley and promises of Nizami-Mustafa were their tools, and to kill and murder Kashmiri Pandits was its natural corollary. the second step of Pakistan for preparing effective ground for Kashmir's accession to itself was to destroy secular and nationalist Muslims, and others of such thinking, to break their morale; since Kashmir and Kashmiris have an identity of their own, far different from the Pakistan' aggressive. nature, the centres of Kashmiri humanistic identity represented by Durgahs, temples and abodes of saints were singled out for destruction by sinister designs hatched by Pakistan's L.S.I. that coordinates and leads the conspiracy to annex Jammu & Kashmir State. The recent destruction in Charar-i-Sharief was in line with this Pakistani design; the destruction of over fifty temples, burning of Kashmiri Pandit properties, illegally occupying houses belonging to them, after the burning of Chrar- 1-Sharief was in line with Islamisation technique for the Nizam-i-Mustafa objective; it also helped secessionist forces to mobilise support to undo the advances made by security forces; unless the initiative of terrorists is broken and the guns are silenced, it is not possible for Kashmiri Pandit Refugees to return to the Valley;

Likewise it is fool-hardy to advise any section of refugee employees to resume any type of duty in the Valley or terrorist infested Doda Division of J&K State, more so when Kashmiri (Muslim) employees in the Valley have refused to work and are on strike.

Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi taking these ground realities into consideration demands that:- Kashmiri Pandit Organisations should be consulted on any political for Kashmir envisaged by the Government of India;

Kashmiri Pandits being the worst sufferers, their rehabilitation and their participation in all tiers of emerging arrangements in the political plane be discussed with them, as pre-condition before any policy formulation; a minority commission be set-up to identify problems of the minorities of Kashmir, their rights, protection and guarantees for safety of their properties, culture and religious institutions; preparation for conducting elections in the haphazard way being talked about now should be stopped. All issues in this connection should be discussed with the Representative Kashmiri Organisations in a frank and free manner before elections are organised; fulfilment of promises made by the administration to mitigate sufferings of the refugees in a given time-frame in consultation with their Representative Organisations; no compromise be made with secessionists and terrorists on the quantum of state power to buy their support, which is just a mirage that the Government seems to be running after; no effort should be made to buy loyalty by promising huge sums of money for re-construction of towns destroyed by terrorism as it is counter-productive and gives wrong signals;

the reconstruction of destroyed properties, temples, Dargahs should be taken up in consultation with the peoples representatives under a systematic plan treating equally the sufferings of all the sufferers irrespective of any consideration of creed, caste, or else.

Memorandum

A delegation of Samiti office-bearers had a meeting with the Union Home Secretary and all senior officers of the Deptt. of J&K Affairs in PMO on May 28, 1995, with a memorandum, containing detailed demands of the exiled community, suffering for the past six years, to enable them to lead a somewhat tolerable life till the time they are able to return to their homes in Kashmir, even the remnants of what were their dwellings in the erstwhile peaceful Kashmir. The Memorandum is reproduced hereunder:

For the last six years the Kashmiri Pandits have been forced to spend their lives in inhuman conditions in camps, in dilapidated tents or in RENTED RAT HOUSES/HOVELS and this condition is now no longer acceptable to us.

As such we demand recognition of our rights as human beings at par with our status;

Provision of apartments (two room sets) for each family;

- Provision of Community Centres in camps and in areas of our refugee concentration with educational/ facilities, family and health care, recreation opportunities, and arrangement for training of our youth for jobs available in the employment market,

Operation of public distribution system in the camps and in surroundings of Kashmiri Pandits and places of residence and free distribution of basic items like rice, flour, sugar etc. to registered/eligible refugees.

The Kashmiri Pandits are an educated class and have a passion for retaining their educational background. This trait is getting derailed by the refugee-hood forced on us. We therefore demand that-

(a) Our boys/girls should have ample opportunities with all financial support to pursue their studies and all educational institutions in Jammu should be affiliated with the Jammu Board and the Jammu University and the examinations should be regulated on the Jammu pattern. Our children have already lost years of their toil by uncertainty of Srinagar University operations, not to speak of discrimination faced by our children.

(b) Our boys/girls in Engineering Colleges and Medical Colleges in Jammu/Srinagar be permitted and helped to get admitted in professional Colleges outside J&K State as desired by them urgently.

(c) Boys and girls of refugee Kashmiris should be freed from the restriction of domicile criteria to help them find admissions in professional institutions at par with local students everywhere in the country. The refugees are not in a position to pay high fees as expected for non-domiciled students. Their fees should be fixed at par with local students.

In our six years of refugee-hood our boys and girls have lost years of their studies, have been upset often due to their parents dislocation, financial, social, emotional and otherwise and as such we demand:

(a) Age relaxation for jobs and examinations; and

(b) Setting up of career/job counselling centres after 12 years of schooling.

It is urgent that the situation and conditions in camps are studied from all angles and the performance of the Transit Camp in Kashmir Bhawan is reviewed. If the continuance of the Transit Camp is essential, its location should be finalised.

Dispossessed refugees have lost their properties and assets and extra sources of income from their assets and as such they require financial support. It is, therefore, demanded that-

(a) The family support of the refugees incapable to fend for themselves should be raised to Rs. 2500/- per month;

(b) Free Medical treatment to all the Displaced people in all hospitals.

(c) Income Tax deduction from employees should not be made, and

(d) Income tax due from other classes of working refugees should not be collected.

The salaries of the refugee employees should be at par with other employees without discrimination and their HR.A. and other allowances and facilities should be released forthwith.

The properties, business establishments and other assets of the refugees have either been burnt, destroyed, looted or occupied. We demand-

(a) Quick action for the suffering people;

(b) Ready settlement of their insurance claims;

(c) Compensation with a human touch, and

(d) Easy provision for reinsurance of existing policies.

There are pending cases of registration pertaining to refugees which require quick action in an agreed time frame.

The refugees have assets and properties in the Valley and ordinarily businessmen can mortgage their properties for raising funds for their business; it is demanded that;

(a) Arrangements be worked out in consultation with the concerned refugees for loans from Financial Institutions and banks for their use.

(b) To help our small business entrepreneurs, the N.D.M.C/D.D.A/M.C.D. be directed to allot business premises/shops on nominal rates at places where it may be easy to operate. To help the refugee Teh-Bazaari holders to be effective, arrangements be worked out to provide them with electricity and water connections as well.

The problems of agricultural displaced persons and orchard owners which constitute 40% of the total refugees need utmost consideration. This class of refugees is unable to adjust to local conditions. It is, therefore, very important that something should be done for them so that they get some relief. They are in a totally miserable condition.

Finalisation of pension cases of Kashmir University employees retired right from 1990 onwards needs immediate consideration.

In order to provide a permanent frame of communication and to pursue problems relating to provision of services to the refugee population the Nodal Cell which was in operation earlier and had achieved quite a record of lubrication of relationship should be reactivated with immediate effect.

AKSPC Condemns Vandalism at Charar-e-Sharif

The All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (Camp: Room No. 11, Geeta Bhawan, Parade Ground, Jammu) has condemned the vandalism and barbarity of Pak-sponsored terrorists in blowing up the centuries-old Ziarat of Nunda Rishi/Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, a shining symbol of Kashmiriyat and Sufi traditions of Kashmir, at Charar- e-Sharif.

A Press release issued by Shri H.L. Jad, Senior Vice-President and official spokesman of in Delhi (53-A, Pkt. A-3, Kalkaji Extension, New Delhi-110019), says that the organisation has also taken note of subsequent events leading to burning of places of worship and untenanted houses of Hindus in the Valley. "This belies the hollow statements of Hurriyat leaders that they are interested in resettlement in the Valley of Hindus who were forced to leave in compelling circumstances in 1990", the press note added.

The ASKPC has also condemned the brutal killing of eight people of one family by armed mercenaries in Doda district. It has also demanded compensation of at least one and a half lakh rupees for each house thus destroyed from the PM's national relief fund apart from another one lakh from State funds in the same manner as has been adopted in the case of victims of arson in Charar- e-Sharif. "If the government fails to do so, its patriotism and nationalism shall be presumed to be of double standards, and a continuing policy of appeasement" according to the statement.

Desecration Condemned

The Jammu Kashmir Ladakh Cultural Forum (Regd) has condemned "in the strongest possible terms' ' the desecration and burning of the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Nooruddin Noorani at Charar-e- Sharif in Kashmir.

According to a statement issued by the Forum's General Secretary, Shri A.K. Fotedar (Y-234, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi-110023) it is of the view that "arson at Charar-e-Sharif is motivated to strike at the roots of composite culture of Kashmir of which the Sufi saint was the brightest symbol".

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Courtesy:- K S Team Reporter and June 1995 Kosher Samachar