Tuesday 25 June 2019

GIRJA TICKOO and RETURN OF KASHMIRI PANDITS


Unfortunate! Tragic! Inhuman!

These are the words which come to my mind while going through a You Tube video being circulated by a wannabe Kashmiri Pandit activist advocating Return of exiled Kashmir Pandits today. Why? My readers might ask.

25th June is the day written with Black letters in the gory and pathetic history of last 30 years. On this day the mutilated dead body of Girja Tickoo was found along a road side in one of the hamlets of valley. The badly mutilated body of Girja Tickoo as per post mortem report was gang raped and teared apart on a mechanical carpenter saw before it was thrown on the road to rot. What a shame that this gentleman posts a video on social media to showcase his Return and Rehabilitation plan for the same community which has not received justice for hundreds of brutally killed, maimed and raped brethren during those days. The murderers and rapists of our brethren are still roaming free, ruling the roost, and enjoying every morsel of their lives with no qualms or sense of guilt.  

What has changed? The armed terrorist killed get branded as Martyrs (Shaheed) by the government records even today and the fate and nomenclature of the brutalized KPs gets listed as MIGRANTS… How ironic!

The argument over Return and Rehabilitation ends with this last paragraph depicting the ground scenario, but since few quislings have now dared to touch the raw nerve of this brutalized displaced community, it is mandatory to tear through the video message with logic and reason for the community to understand that without a fool proof plan which guarantees life of dignity, security and Non refoulement as the cardinals of return , it is not only futile but will lead this exiled community in further peril.

RETURN AND REHABLITATION PLAN OF GOI, 2007

The video message talks about return of community as per R&R plan of 2007, which is a 13 year old plan and stands rejected by the community enmass. As per the governments own data only one family has returned to valley under this scheme. Needless to say this plan has been a miserable failure considering the cardinals of return have been grossly overlooked and not envisaged by it. As a natural response the community has rejected it outrightedly. Circulating consent forms for return under a plan which stands already rejected leads to confusion in community and exposes few ignorant people to devious designs.

Imagine, GOI has neither updated its previous plan of return nor made any official value additions, yet these quislings and desperate individuals have unilaterally decided to infringe upon the community resolve to stay away from valley till all the cardinals of return and rehabilitation are met by the government. Only these individuals can answer the desperation and hopelessness in their attitude.

NO REPRESENTATION BY COMMUNITY IN PAST DECADE

As per the video message the government of India claims that no community representation has been received laying a road map of return and rehabilitation other than the demand of Panun Kashmir. Though this claim by the undisclosed government representatives is far away from truth but it is pertinent to understand that the demand of a separate Geo Political dispensation stands registered as the only demand of the community. Instead of walking the talk and starting negotiations government has sidetracked this genuine demand and seems to be looking for manufactured representatives to break the resolve of the community. How ironical!

It is not hidden from the community that repeated representations have been made to the government of India about various issues impacting the exiled lot but the stoic silence of GOI over pertinent matters has acted as a damp squib. The community has been demanding IDP status as an interim mechanism and to do away with the humiliating nomenclature of MIGRANT. Repeated memorandums have been forwarded to PM Modi from scores of places in India and abroad. Just last year a detailed memorandum was forwarded to the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh in person on Martyrs Day 14 September by Global Diaspora of Kashmiri Pandits which seeks:

1.       Constitutional arrangements for the return and rehabilitation of all seven hundred thousand Displaced Kashmiri Pandits in a separate, single, concentrated Homeland carved out in the Valley of Kashmir.
2.       The Constitution of India along with all associated laws and provisions be allowed to flow freely in the newly created geo-political territory without the shackles of Article 370 or Article 35A.
3.       A high-power Tribunal with constitutional authorityto establish which causal factors were responsible for the Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits and bring the perpetrators to justice.
4.       An immediate appropriate authority, vested with powers flowing directly from the Centre, to urgently implement suitable measures for protecting the millennia-old social, cultural and religious legacy of Kashmiri Pandits, which otherwise is fast facing obliteration at the hands of a radicalised mindset.

It seems that deliberate attempts are being made by vested interests to side track the genuine aspiration and demand of the community through some manufactured activists. It is not only intriguging but baffling to know how gross misrepresentations are being created by government if the contents of the video are true. We need to know and understand that community has always stood its ground in last 30 years and repeatedly sought the implementation of a separate Geo Political dispensation. Margdarshan Resolution 1991 of Panun Kashmir and the recent memorandum by GKPD to the highest echelons of power in India has established that nothing has changed as far as the genuine aspiration of community is concerned. It has stayed same and naturally so because the ground situation in valley has not improvised.

PANUN KASHMIR AS AN PLAN IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Should we be concerned? Understand that the displacement of Kashmiri Pandit community is the worst and gory human displacement after the partition of this country. Unprecedented situations need unprecedented responses. When the ruling political party of the state acknowledges and places in its manifesto the removal of Article 370, should we say they are doing an unconstitutional exercise. Kashmiri Pandits are simply demanding a territory which sans this article and constitution of India be made applicable in letter and spirit something akin to the aspiration of ruling party in India. It seems so stupid to object this demand of community at one end and uphold the same demand in manifesto.
It is the right of displaced community to decide upon the return plan and its fruition the responsibility of Government.

LAND TO BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR RETURN

A misleading statement since there is no formal land accusation proposal for return and rehabilitation. The land being procured is meant to construct transit accommodation for PM Package Employees in valley who are currently serving as bonded laborers under draconian SRO 412. It is a misnomer to club the presence of PM Package Employees in valley with return and rehabliation of entire community. Government is on record claiming only one family has returned availing the benefits of R&R policy 2007, which direcly means the PM Package Employees currently serving in valley have not returned. Being an interim mechanism to address the rising unemployment in valley the then Congress regime created this package. Another validation to this lies in the status of those Employees who continue to be registered as ‘Migrants’ in government records and their Ration cards are still intact.

Thus it is gross treachery and betrayal of the community sentiment to claim that lands is being allocated and even if they allocate land does this mean that the ethnic cleaning and genocide perpetrated upon this hapless community should be shrouded with this land and flats. What a pity!

SCOPE OF REHABILITATION IN GOVERNOR RULE

The proposition placed by this video message that we can get through the return plan in Governors rule only and not when a popular government is in place in the state of Jammu and Kashmir nips all the argument in favor of return in bud. Imagine, how naïve and ingenuous can one be to treat the issue of this exile community with such immaturity and crudity. Such a cosmetic approach in dealing with the gruesome and brutal displacement speaks volumes about the sincerity and integrity of few minds. Internal displacement finds a higher listing in human travesty than refugees under United Nations. Principles related to Return and Resettlement are gradual and flowing and it can only be possible in accordance with the community sentiments and support of the government. Any mechanism which does not address the principle causes of displacement is purely cosmetic and sans any sanctity.



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