Author: B L Kak
Publication: Daily Excelsior
Date: May 16, 2005
URL: http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/web1/05may16/news.htm#5
The President, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam,
has, once again, demonstrated his eagerness for justice to the aggrieved
or affected sections of society across the country. And latest instance,
in this regard, is the passage of a couple of documents concerning the
displaced community of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) to the Ministry of Home Affairs
from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It is official: Dr Kalam, while
attending to a raft of letters and communications and memoranda from various
groups and individuals every day, is keen that socio-economic issues his
attention is drawn to do not go unnoticed and unattended. No wonder, after
going through a couple of documents concerning the aggrieved Kashmiri Pandit
migrants, Dr Kalam instructed his staff to pass the documents on to the
Minister for Home Affairs, Shivraj Patil.
While one document was authored
by two noted film personalities, Anupam Kher and Ashok Pandit, on the eve
of their meeting with the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday (May
13), second document was sent to Dr Kalam by the president of the Kashmiri
Samiti Delhi, Sunil Shakdher. Both documents highlighted, among other things,
the agonizing hardships an overwhelming majority of the KP migrants "continue
to face for no fault of theirs."
It has been officially confirmed
that the President had desired the Home Minister to take note of the contents
of the documents. However, officials who handled the two documents, declined
to elaborate on it, saying: "We are not mandated to discuss President's
views in public."
It is not for the first time that
the President took cognizance of the documents pertaining to the KPs. Earlier,
too Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had ensured that the concerned authorities in Home
Ministry and Cabinet Secretariat also took note of the KPs' demands or
grievances. In fact, PM Nair, Secretary to the President, has already confirmed
this. Two instances can be cited in this regard.
First, in his letter of January
24, 2005 addressed to the president of Kashmiri Samiti Delhi, Sunil Shakdher.
PM Nair made it known that the former's communication regarding the Central
Register (of Kashmiri Pandits) had been forwarded to the Union Home Secretary
and the Cabinet Secretary. Second, four days later, on January 28, Nair
again wrote to Shakdher informing him that his letter addressed to the
President on the census of Kashmiri migrants had been forwarded to the
Home Secretary.
That the KSD leadership was not
prepared to appreciate what it termed as the "agonizing suspense" even
after the Union Home Ministry's Department of J&K Affairs took up the
issue with the Jammu and Kashmir Government, was borne out by the call
from the KSD for the intervention of the President and the Prime Minister.
A four-page letter, signed by the KSD president, was submitted to the Rashtrapati
Bhavan, inviting the President's attention on the deteriorating situation
in the Kashmir valley as a result of the renewed terrorist violence, particularly
in the vicinity of Srinagar, and the "deliberate" exclusion of KPs from
the panchayat polls in Kashmir.
The letter charged the PDP-led coalition
Government in J&K with trying to perpetuate KPs' exodus and said: "Subtle
moves are afoot to keep Kashmiri Pandits out of Kashmir, their original
home for the last more than five thousand years". The KSD chief's communication
to the President and the Prime Minister, while referring to the Centre's
move to resume the stalled dialogue with the Hurriyat leaders of Kashmir,
took strong exception to the Government's indifferent attitude towards
their demand" for involving them in talks meant to end the political crisis
in Kashmir.
