The resettlement of Kashmiri Pandit migrants back to theirhomes in the Valley has emerged as arenewed mission of the Government. It is something that was in waiting for almost three decades. Butnothing concrete was happening, becausethe involvement of the masses was least, and whenever they made efforts torestore the pre-1990 Kashmir in which Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims lived in the neighbhourhood of eachother, those were jolted violently bythe perpetrators of violence. Luckily for now their violentcampaign has been contained.
But the government would do it better to make local Muslims partners in this mission for itsgreater success and promising future. That is a necessity. The contours of therehabilitation plan have been worked out to re-offer the space to the KashmiriPandits an inseparable part of the Kashmir polity and ethos. These should begiven a practical shape, an it appears that the work is in progress with allseriousness.
Governor Satya Pal Malik who is the Government of India’srepresentative in Kashmir is very clearon this issue. He knows that how the things are to be brought back on railsbecause of his political instincts. He has performed his task very well in allhis missions in the past- the holding of Panchayat, Municipal and Parliamentaryelections. The elections should not be viewed merely as an electoral exercise, rather it was having a deeper meaning, generating a sort ofconfidence in the democratic institutions and giving a meaning to the vote that the voters polled. It was a greatachievement of the Malikadministration.
Now in an interview with Hindustan Times, published in thenewspaper’s Sunday edition Governor Malik said in reply to the questions of thereporter that the settlement of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley was a”necessity”. The excerpts from his interview are quite striking and revealing.
What about this idea of Kashmiri Pandits coming back to thevalley and living in a gated community? Is it a solution?
All these people who claim to be major leaders there,haven’t we given them police and army? Aren’t we protecting them? We will haveto do the same for the Pandits. The best course would have been that those whohave taken away their homes, invite them back.
For this, Mehbooba and Omar, Farooq Sahab and Hurriyatshould make an effort to convince their society to do this and leave theirhomes. That’s not my job, that’s their job. I am just trying to provide them analternate accommodation so that they have a home, a school and security.
They come to the valley even now because they have grown upover here and they holiday here, can’t live without it. Their home can only bereturned by those that snatched it and the feeling of unity has to be providedby the genuine political leadership over here. Do any of these leaders say thisto them?
So you think till then separate township is required?
Separate township is not a matter of choice but out ofnecessity. We have to give them a nice place to stay, of their choice.
So have you chosen that?
Yes, those places are identified. We are working on thoseplaces.
Where are those places?
There are several that are there, In Pulwama and in otherplaces. We won’t just settle them anywhere, but in nice places of their choice.We will give it to them for free.
The government has mapped out certain plans for therehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. There is an unquenchable yearning among theelders of the community now spread over to different parts of the country,particularly in Jammu and itssurroundings, to return to the land of their forefathers. They enjoy thegoodwill and their memories about the land are profound. And, they can be abetter unifying force in the Valley with the local Muslims than any other class. The elders have shared experiences and memories to which they can relateto the sharing of the celebrations on Eid and Shivratri festivals. They were partners in the moments o happiness andsorrow of one another, and that kind of bond exists even today. There were condolences from thelocal Muslim community over the death of their neighbours, teachers and doctorsin other places of the country. And, Kashmiri Muslims make it a point to attendthe weddings of the children of their Kashmiri Pandit friends in Jammu or other parts of the country despite forbidding range of airfares. Thebonds are there. They just need to be dusted off.
But the whole job of getting them back to the Valley should not be merely a governmental affair.The involvement of the locals is must. It is the necessity. The Government canfacilitate transit accommodation for the Kashmiri Pandits before they can back to their original homes.That also poses a big challenge – manyof the migrants have sold their homes and orchards in the past 30 years, someof the houses still lie in an abandoned condition – dilapidated, half burnt andinhabitable. Some were occupied by the security forces, both as guardians ofthe property and paid the rent, thoughdelayed for years together, and also as the security measure to maintainoverall security in the vicinity.
Bigger challenge is that how to get Kashmiri Pandit youth back to the Valley for they have chosen their future outside the stateand country. These are certain facts that cannot be overlooked. The road ahead is not without challenges.