Author: Sunil Shakdher, President, Kashmiri
Samity
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: September 17, 2005
The emanations of the so-called "historic"
meeting between the Manmohan Singh government and the Hurriyat Conference
had no reference at all to the Kashmiri pandits. No other ethnic group, except
probably the Jews, have been as buffetted by history as the Kashmiri pandit.
Its saga of pain and misery began with the advent of Muslim rule in Kashmir
in the early 14th century.
Today, Kashmir is without any pandits. They
have been rendered refugees in their own country. A quick look at their recent
history reveals February 1986 as the starting point of their present misery.
A concerted campaign of loot, arson and vandalism was unleashed against them.
The presence of the Indian Army and paramilitary
forces did not prove a deterrent to the secessionists. Army units approached
by the pandits for protection were sent back on the plea that they had no
orders to intervene. The local administration, which had been fully Islamised
by then, deliberately turned a blind eye to the arson. In certain specific
cases, they rendered all assistance to the marauding gangs.
The principles of fundamental rights, democracy
and secularism enshrined in the Constitutions of India and J&K do not
apply to the pandits.The Central government merrily panders to fundamentalists
while ignoring the interests of patriotic Kashmirs, who include Hindus and
Muslims. A subtle move to Islamise Kashmir with the active assistance of the
state government and utter difference from the Centre is on.
Today, the pandits are wandering from place
to place in search of shelter. They are facing prospects of losing their ethnic
identity. While in exile they are unable to preserve their culture, traditions
and customs. A conspiracy to perpetuate their exile has been initiated so
that with the passage of time their existence as a distinct group is forgotten.
"Kashmiri- yat", a much maligned
expression, is being used through convoluted logic as a stepping stone for
separation of Kashmir from India. The pandits, who are the rightful inheritors
of the concept of Kashmiriyat do not figure anywhere in the discourse. This
is part of the campaign to remove all vestiges of the existence of the pandits
from Kashmir. Most of them had to leave by selling their property in distress.
Hindu religious places are in a state of total disrepair and many have been
trespassed upon.
A generation has grown up with no links to
their roots. They need urgent familiarisation with their culture and traditions.
A large number of them are not registered anywhere because of the arbitrary
closing of the process. The wards of such people are suffering because they
cannot avail of the reservations in various professional institutions without
migrant certificates.
The Hurriyat is a strange conglomerate being
given undue importance by the Indian State.They lack any representative character
and don't deserve this attention. The Jammu Hindus, Kashmiri pandits, Ladakhis,
Gujjars and Bakerwals are ignored.
The opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road
is being hailed as a great step to diffuse tension in the state. This is an
utter myth. There is nothing common between the people living in POK and Jammu
& Kashmir except their religion. The two are ethnically and culturally
different. Such a move will only strengthen the Islamic front and thus poses
a threat to India's integrity. Sufficient hints have been thrown to persuade
people from POK and Pakistan to come to Kashmir and lay claim to any property
they may have owned here.
Lately, noises have been raised that the Kashmiri
pandits should talk to the Hurriyat leadership. One such jamboree was held
in Srinagar when a few individual pandits were lured to a big tamasha in Srinagar
on August 19, 2005. No recognised organisation was called. The stand of the
pandits is quite clear. Save a few exceptions, there are no pandits living
in Kashmir at the moment. If at all, the real ones are rotting in camps in
Jammu and Delhi and other places.
The Hurriyat does not represent Kashmir or
Kashmiriyat. They represent the interests of pan-Islamism. They have, therefore,
found a common cause with the people living in POK, an area which they visited
recently. They do not tire of asking people to leave Kashmir but not even
once, including during their tour of POK, did they ask Pakistan to vacate
that area. By doing so they would have harmed the Islamic cause.
They struck great bonhomie with their co-religonists
in J&K, and even accepted their sham legislative assembly as genuine while
totally ignoring the Kashmiri pandits who should have been their natural partners
in Kashmiriyat. The Hurriyat receives instructions from across the border.
They are not free to take any decision on their own. In fact, the myth of
Kashmiriyat is being exploited to hoodwink national and international opinion.
It is a veneer to push forth their objective of separating Kashmir from Hindu
India.
Under the circumstances, what purpose will
it serve having a dialogue with the Hurriyat?
