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.
