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Author: Pioneer
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: July 20, 2016
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/pandits-leaving-valley.html
Give them a chance to live in their homeland
The latest news of Kashmiri Pandits leaving the Valley for Jammu is once again a matter of serious concern not only for the State of Jammu & Kashmir but also for the entire nation. Fleeing of nearly 600 Pandits since July 9 working for the State and Union Governments is reflecting the same old attitude of the majority communities towards the minorities particularly in the Valley. Long lost their ancestral properties, today Pandits have been entirely dislodged of their fundamental claim to exercise political rights. It's a grim situation and the Union Government must make sure that Pandits can have their equal rights to say in the Valley. It is near about a case of ethnic cleansing for the Kashmiri Pandits. In the meantime, pointing towards the current rounds of protests, directly sponsored by Pakistan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement calling the neighbour's acts na-pak (not pious) is timely. Indeed, his terming of the demand for plebiscite as an ‘outdated one' was a stern reminder to Pakistan for not meddling in our internal affairs and misguiding the people of the State in future.
The security agencies working in and around the State must note with utter caution that even within minutes of killing the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, the situation deteriorated and the Pandit families felt insecure. Since 2010, about 1,673 employees came to work under Prime Minister's package for Kashmiri Pandit migrants and were accordingly posted in Kashmir for various stints. It is unfortunate that these employees and their families were made a target from the beginning, thinking this can be a fresh attempt to bring in the Kashmiri Pandits once again to the valley. Government officials confirm that such an exodus of Kashmiri Pandits were witnessed way back in 1996-97 when the Assembly election took place after eight years, making way for the return of the National Conference Government in the State. The reasons behind treating the Pandits are both prosaic and profound, showing deep down the wounds prevailed in the Valley. What kind of future the Islamists are harbouring today? Will they realise that they will not get their azadi? Are they not obstructing the development of their own brethrens just by fighting for an imagined land? Instead of fomenting violence against the Kashmiri Pandits, the fundamentalists must urge their masterminds in Pakistan at least to allow people to have the basic minimum rights for a civilised living in that country. The separatists have given a call for extending the protests for three more days, but at the same time their expectation from the Government to reach out to them for an institutional dialogue is seemed entirely ridiculous. The separatist leaders of all shades must understand that only at a peaceful juncture, a political dialogue can take place and then it can be truly meaningful. Dragging ordinary Kashmiris to the fight of the radicals and attempting to challenge the Indian state, with or without the help of Pakistan will bring nothing to the State, except unrest. De-cultured after living in exile for 26 years and having been to multi-cultural milieus, the new generation of Kashmiri Pandits, have little to relate to. But creating an atmosphere like the one that is in place in the last few days, the desertion of the Pandits will farther alienate them beyond a point of no return.
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