Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits

 24,202 Pandit families migrated out of the Valley due to turmoil. It was an Exodus and not a Holocaust or a massacre. 

Centre sanctioned special package for return, rehabilitation of migrants

 The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday March 24 2010 said 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by militants since 1989 while 24,202 families were among the total 38,119 families which migrated out of the Valley due to turmoil.

Replying to a question from People's Democratic Party member Syed Basharat Bukhari, Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla told the Assembly in Jammu that “219 Pandits were killed in Kashmir from 1989 to 2004. From 2004, no killing of any person from the community [Kashmiri Pandits] took place till now,” Mr. Bhalla said.

A total number of 38,119 families comprising 1,42,042 Kashmiri migrants were registered with the Revenue and Relief Ministry till now.

The Minister said the government had also paid an ex gratia of Rs.1 lakh for each death. “Besides, an amount of Rs. 39,64,91,838 has been paid as compensation to the Pandits on account of damage to their properties since the eruption of militancy,” he said.

An amount of Rs.71.95 crore was spent in providing relief and other facilities to the Kashmiri migrants living in Jammu and other parts in 2007-08, Rs.70.33 crore in 2008-09 and Rs.68.59 crore from 2009 up to January, 2010.

Mr. Raman Bhalla said the government was committed to facilitating their return to Kashmir but regretted that no action could be taken on various plans and recommendations as the situation was not conducive for their return.

“With the improvement in the situation in the Valley, the government decided to construct 200 flats at an estimated cost of Rs.22.90 crore at Sheikhpora District Budgam in 2004. And 120 flats have so far been completed of which possession of 60 flats was taken over by the department and inspection of other 60 flats is going on. The construction of remaining 80 flats shall be completed during 2010. Besides, 18 flats have also been constructed through the Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board at Mattan District Anantnag,” he told the House.

A committee headed by Mr. M.Lal. Koul, the then Finance Commissioner, Planning and Development Department, was formed to prepare an action plan for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants to the Valley. In its report submitted to the government in 1997-98, the committee recommended a package of Rs.2,799.11 crore for the return of migrants.

Mr. Bhalla said a special package of Rs. 1,618.40 crore was sanctioned by the Government of India for the return and rehabilitation of the migrants. “Under this scheme, 3,000 supernumerary posts have been created, exclusively for the Kashmiri migrants, willing to return to the Valley. These posts have already been referred to the recruiting agencies and the process for the selection of these posts is on,” he said.

But, despite all these rehabilitation packages, not a single Kashmiri migrant has returned to the Valley because they are settled now within and outside valley, the Minister rued.

He said that 808 Pandit families consisting of 3,445 people were still living in the Valley in Peace. “These families have never migrated,” he said.

Whatever happened to kashmiri pandits was unfortunate and being a human we all condemn it in strong words. Since ages Muslims and pundits in J&K used to live in peace and communal harmony. "People of Kashmir gave a living example of secularism in 1947 when Muslims and Hindus in India and Pakistan were killing each other. Kashmir was much peaceful even at that time.

 People forget that Islam in Kashmir came with the Sufi saints who travelled all the way from middle east in harsh geographical conditions. They came as people who offered not just emancipation and spiritual sustenance, but they brought such artistic skills as wood carving, carpet weaving, beautiful embroidery, sowed saffron seeds, dry fruits etc.  It’s not just the natural beauty. Without meaning to sound sentimental about it, I do see it as a blessed place. There is something to be said about this beautiful valley, which sits at the trijunction of three great civilizational impulses—Islam to the west, Hinduism to the south, and Buddhism to the east.

Kashmiri society and culture have been shaped by all of these and as a result there is something distinct about Kashmiri Islam. Of course there were distinctions between Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims, but culturally there was a kind of commonality. And it’s only militant Hinduism, Hindutva, which has now made those porous and soft borders between these communities hard and harsh

 There was never any problem in J&K until 1989 so, we have to study in detail what actually happened at this time. J&K is a long standing dispute accepted by UN between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has a better version to claim J&K as an Integral part of their country and no one including UN accepts Indian version that J&K is an Integral part of India. J&K was also a Hindu dominated place and people kept on changing their religion and preferred brotherhood of Islam on for Hindu Caste system. Since 1947 J&K is a dispute and India has never shown Interest in solving it, but amended its constitution and added J&K as their Integral part which people of kashmir never accepted till today. When J&K was acceeded to India in 1947 with special conditions of Plebscite accepted by first Prime Minister of India, this was never honoured. Pakistan kept on shouting that J&k is a dispute and we are ready for a dialogue and it was always falling on deaf ears. When Pakistan did not get anything from all this between 1947-1989, Pakistan changed its policy towards India. Pakistan attacked Indian army in kashmir and supplied militants to kashmir. There were heavy gun battles between Indian army and the Pakistani militants every day and night. Pakistani militants were able to recruit thousands of locals from kashmir and participated with them in the fight against Indian army who were holding their land illegally with out any Plebscite with the people of kashmir or any kind of dialogue. The main reasons why Pakistani militants received good local support was that they knew that India is holding J&K illegally and on top of that 8 lakh Indian army are torturing us on daily basis which is not hidden from the world. Though there was no rift between local Muslims or Hindus, but the fact is Indian army was nice with local Hindus, but torturing Muslims. When Pakistani militants entered J&K in thousands with heavy weapons and locals joined them, here the problem started. Muslims were militant supporters and Hindus army supporters. Hindus started informing army about militant hideouts which were mostly houses of local Muslims. When militants came to know about the Hindu informers, they started killing them and the toll rose to 219 in a year. In the same year some 8000 innocent lives were lost from people who belong to Muslim community. It is important to mention here that there was no rift between common people and they were living same life as before. There were no riots, no killings between common people. Whatever was happening their, it was between ISI backed Militants and Indian Army. The state was at that time in the hands of RSS pracharak Governor Jagmohan who was appointed by BJP supported government at the centre. Jagmohan on his second day in office opened fire at a funeral of a local elderly man which resulted in loss of 60 innocent lives at famous Gaw Kadal bridge in Srinagar. This message was very clear to all muslims  that Jagmohan has to kill all Muslims no matter militants or civilians. The challenge Jagmohan faced was how to separate Muslims from Hindus so that he can continue with the massacre of Muslims. It was easy to open fire at a funeral and kill 60 Muslims as it was a Muslim funeral, chanting Quran verses and going towards a graveyard for burial. He wanted to continue with that. Jagmohan made an announcement on loudspeakers from army camps, posters that militants are here to kill all Hindus and I will take you to a safer place in Jammu camps so that it will be easy for him to repeat what Indira did in 1984. Most of the Hindus left their homes and went to Jammu camps in army vehicles and protection. If anyone is responsible for their Exodus, it is Jagmohan himself as he was ruling the state and was equipped with 8 lac army. There was no sense in giving a call for migration of Hindus to Jammu with huge army might. It is he who was unable to protect his Hindu informers from militants. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, "People are well aware of how the then Governor, Jagmohan, under an organised conspiracy, facilitated their migration." Still a good percentage of Hindus stayed back and remain unharmed because they were not informers, just common people and continued their life as a common man. The point to note is that there is a good percentage of Sikhs in kashmir and they always remain unharmed and lived life same as local Muslims. They were never harmed by militants because they always remained neutral, neither supported Indian army nor Pakistani militants. Army did try to communalise the environment and killed 8 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora district Baramulla wearing white color Pathani at night. Rumors spread that few Muslims in white pathani came at night and killed sikhs. After investigation it was revealed that they were Indian army men from a battalion from nearby camp and later were punished as per law. Governor Jagmohan was never caught for crimes against humanity.

As per Amnesty International report Indian army has killed 1.5 lac innocent local Muslims, hundreds of rapes and most highlighted by media is gangrapes in Konanposhpora area and the toll is still going up day by day. 

Many houses of Hindus were burned as well as their places of worship by militants foreign as well as local which is absolutely wrong and should not have happened. The fight was between militants and the army and houses and temples were belonging to common people who were not a part of it. After the Governor rule was over and elections were held, special colonies were built for migrated Hindus and monthly compensation was fixed to all the families. They also received good local support throughout India including reservations in colleges and Government jobs.

All this happened because of the enmity between the two neighboring countries as militants were receiving orders directly from Pakistan and was not a clash of religions. This incident was never repeated since the local government took charge.