29 Years Of Exile!

5 mins read

Asem Mohiuddin
As the brutal exodus of Kashmiri Pandits on January 19 this year entered into its 29th year, there seems no headway for their return in near future. However, the issue continues to dominate the political discourse of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of elections. All political parties attempt to lure the minority vote ahead of elections after promising sky.
However, on ground the human tragedy that had unfolded three decades back shows no end. It is estimated that as many as 3.5 lakh pandits fled the valley under the fear of gun in 1990’s which had also set the beginning of one of the bloodiest conflicts in Kashmir valley. So far one lakh lives have been consumed though official estimates are putting the number lower. The militants backed by the Pakistan with the moral and military support waged the war against establishment in Kashmir and challenged the Indian rule.
While the fight was political, however, the rebels also claimed to hoist the Islamic flag in the Muslim majority region and impose the Sharia law. The insurgency mixed with political ambitions and religious thoughts triggered a massive fear among the minority community that resulted into their complete departure to Jammu region and to mainland India.
Although most of them left in small groups ostensibly and leaving everything back, it took just one year of armed violence in valley to uproot Kashmir’s indigenous community.
While the killings had become the common feature in Kashmir with an outbreak of rebellion, many pandits have also got killed at the hands of militants.
Prior to this violent uprising the two communities were sharing core socio-cultural values and stood for each other in testing times. It is reported that when in 1947 tribal forces backed by Pakistan infiltrated into Kashmir, the Muslims and Pandits under a common slogan Khabardar hum Kashmiri hai tyaar (Alert! We Kashmiris are ready to fight) stood for each other, irrespective of their religious beliefs.
However, after they fled the valley, the majority of Pandits settled in makeshift camps in the outskirts of Jammu while some families explored the places across the India’s mainland. Presently, the state government has over 70000 migrant families registered who survive on grants and officials say that more 10000 families are not registered as they have settled abroad or in far away states of country.
This exodus is considered one of the biggest human tragedies and successive regimes have been struggling to resettle the community back in their homeland.
“The magnitude of tragedy can’t be imagined. When we fled the valley we settled into the forest area of Jammu region in makeshift camps. We had no washrooms, bedrooms and even drinking water facility,” recalls Shambu Nath.
Nath recalls, how his friend and a neighbour died after a snake bite in his tent.
“He was not the only person who died of snake bite. Lots of people died after the humanitarian crises rose to an alarming level. Some died of sun strokes in scorching heat of 40 degree Celsius. Many died due to snake bites and cholera and other water born diseases.
It took both state and union government more than 15 years to build the compartments and shift the population from the makeshift places.
“We survived for more than two decades on meagre government relief. The education of our children suffered. Our jobs had gone and the businesses settled back in valley were also shut. So our entire community was pushed to the extreme poverty by the exodus,” said Sunita Koul, who was just married when her family fled in 1990’s.
The room we were living in Jammu was of a size to our washroom back home in valley. So you can imagine what sort of life we had here.”
While the issue of mass migration by a particular community hogged headlines in media across the globe even after thirty years there seems no headway by the successive governments to ensure their return. The issue and the plight is politicized significantly by the political parties during election times, however, after that no one turns to listen them.
“This is a human tragedy and it is politicized by political parties. No one seems actually sincere to address our problem rather everyone comes to exploit our problems,” says Roshan Lal.
Lal says that they are all willing to settle back in valley provided there is a political will and the issue is taken on humanitarian grounds.
Surinder Amberdar, who is also an MLC from BJP seconds Lal and throws the ball into the court of majority community of valley.
“It is the majority populace of valley that has to decide about our future. If they want us back, let them call,”
Amberdar traces the relations between two communities into the mystic and spiritual thoughts of Nund Reshi (Sheikhul Alam (ra), a revered saint for both Muslims and Pandits and Lal Ded or Lal Reshi- a spiritual woman.
“Our brotherhood and unity is beyond the religious beliefs. We have been bind together by the rich socio-cultural philosophy of these saints. So if the majority feels our absence they shall take positive measures to bring us back to complete the Kashmiriyat,” he says.
Back home, the majority of the population is also demanding that the community shall be brought back to their respective homes and allowed to live the normal life.
Noted poet Zareef Ahamd Zareef who wrote many poems to express the grief over the departure of pandits from valley terms their exile as a great loss to Kashmiriyat.
“Our Dal Lake is without Lotus and looks ugly. The lotus that shall bloom again in the Dal Lake is now sowed into the deserts,” Zareef recites a poem in which he terms Kashmiri Muslims as Dal Lake and the lotus in it as Pandits.
Interestingly, there have been lots of times when the Muslim-Pandith brotherhood was exemplified. Two years ago when a Muslim man fell unconscious near Saket at metro station in New Delhi, it was Kashmiri Pandith who evacuated him to the hospital and attended until he recovered.
The gesture was widely appreciated across the communities. Similarly, in Kashmir the Muslims have performed the religious rituals for many dead pandits in absence of their families.
Sanjay Tikoo, who is heading Pandit Sangharsh committee working for the resettlement of community back in valley, however, has a different opinion over it.
“I appreciate the tolerance and brotherhood that is being demonstrated by the two communities. A Muslim performing the funeral rituals of Hindu after his/ her death shall only happen in exigencies and not a regular feature. We want our own people to have at these crucial times around.” He says.
“You can imagine, how Muslims would feel if we bury any person of their community and no Muslim is around,” he questions.
We need the coexistence of two communities, both celebrating their own festivals in presence of each other. We don’t need sympathy rather a dignified coexistence”.
Meanwhile, recently Government of India had mooted a multi crore proposal to set up separate settlements for the pandits who are willing to return in addition of economic packages. However, the proposal was grounded after Kashmiri separatists raised serious issues over the plans of New Delhi.
Separatists including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik said that India is planning to resettle Hindus in Kashmir in these colonies under the garb of resettlement programme for Kashmiri migrants. They termed the plot as “Jewish style settlements” in Palestine to change the demography of state and threatened to launch widespread agitation against any such move. Subsequently, the state government held the proposal.
Amberdar, however, says that the move was misrepresented as colonies to be built will not be exclusively for Hindus.
He said the new generation of Pandits is unwilling to resettle at their ancestral places.
“They have grown up in metro cities. How do you expect them to resettle in the villages of their ancestors? It is impossible though majority of them are willing to resettle in valley,” he said.
“It has been thirty years of exile for us and the world has changed a lot. So we have to lure them with certain advantages. It is misrepresented fact that GoI want separate areas exclusively for Hindus.”
Amberdar says Pandits are well aware of political misrepresentation and want to remain at a place where they can have political space.
“The tiny minority would be overlooked in case it is scattered. So we want to settle down at one place where politically we are not overlooked and ignored. But it doesn’t mean Muslims or other communities shall not settle there,” he concludes.

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