JAMMU/LUCKNOW: Bal Krishna Parimu was forced overnight to leave Srinagar along with his family as death stalked every corner of his once-idyllic hometown after the January 1990 outbreak of Kashmir insurgency. The Parimus stayed in Jammu for a while before migrating to Lucknow, where 400 displaced Kashmiri Pandit (KP) families have over the years taken refuge.

Twenty five years have passed since the family’s flight from the Valley. But the circumstances that forced them to leave their beloved land still haunt Parimu, who is now in his 50s.

“Even today when I recall that horrid night of January 1990, I get goose bumps. I was left with no option but leave Srinagar holding my wife’s hand, who was carrying our five-year-old son,’’ said Parimu.

Parimu said his neighborhood in old Srinagar’s Fateh Kadal area, where they had lived in harmony for centuries, turned into a terror den overnight.

He added notices were pasted outside KP houses telling them to leave or face death.

The plight of the Parimus mirrors that of an estimated three lakh KPs, who were forced to leave their homes in the Himalayas for an uncertain life in the hot and humid plains across India.

It is not as starker as it is in camps like Jagti near Jammu, where Kashmiri migrants mostly from rural areas took refuge while more urbanized KPs have managed to move on thanks to their better education.

Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated 4,218 flats for displaced Kashmiris in Jagti in March 2011.

But it has not mitigated their sufferings as the majority of migrants remain unable to return to their homes despite a near-total end to insurgency in the absence of “concrete steps” from the government.

Terming the displacement, as one of the biggest exodus, Archana Zutshi, vice-president of Kashmir Association, Lucknow, said, “January 19, 1990 is the day, which we don’t want to remember. Though thousands of Kashmiri Pandit families were earlier also forced to migrate, but the 1989-90 wave of militancy was the worst, leaving behind unbearable pain and agony with no hope of going back to the homeland.”

Anuradha Chak, another city-based Kashmiri pandit, feels that the Centre has not taken any substantial measures for their return to the Valley. “More than the physical harm, it was the mental trauma and agony, which still remains etched in our minds,” she added.

Jagti-residents say they face chronic day-to-day problems besides the larger issue of their resettlement.

“We face water scarcity and power cuts in summers. But we have gotten used to such harsh conditions now,’’ said Mohni Devi, a middle-aged Jagti resident.

Elders fear their culture and unique identity would vanish if they do not return to the Valley sooner. “Our culture is slowly fading,’’ rued Shadi Lal Pandita, a community leader.

Pandita said packages have been announced for their return, but no one knows where they have vanished.

He said even the Narendra Modi government, which has announced a Rs 500 crore package for the return and rehabilitation of the displaced community, has failed to live up to their expectations.

Pandita added they would return to their homes if they are offered initiatives like political representation.

All Party Migrants Coordination Committee chairman Vinod Pandit blamed successive governments for their plight.

“We are victims of neglect of both the state and the central governments and want a white paper on what they have done for the exiled community.’’

He said the government should discuss its blue print for the community’s return besides addressing their political, economical and political aspirations.

“If the government does not take the matter seriously, the day is not far when the KP community will become a topic for historic writers and research works. An entire generation has died hoping to return to their places of birth.”

Amid widespread despondency, many like former Uttar Pradesh police chief Tilak Kak urge the community to move on. “I do not believe in thinking of the past events. You should think in a forward direction, as otherwise you will stumble and fall.”

