The people of Kashmir are striving for the right to self-determination. And as a matter of principle, they must give this right to other people of the state who do not want to live with them. The Pandit community left the valley in 1990. It was unfortunate but happens to be a harsh reality of present day Kashmir. The Pandits have accepted this. The leaders and the general public must accept it as well.



The government of India has announced packages for their return. Thousands of Pandit boys were employed and posted in the Valley to facilitate return of the community. Air tight compartments were also constructed in every district. Adequate security was also provided. But, the ‘pundits’ refused to live in the compartments. In fact, they refused to live in the Valley. This was made clear to a visiting parliamentary delegation two years ago.

A recent statement from a Pandit organisation said that the KPs do not want to come back in what they called radicalized Kashmir.

Interaction with the KPs especially with the youth reflects their reluctance to return to the Valley. Yes, they want to come but only as tourists. A meeting with Pandit youth sponsored by Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR) held at Jammu witnessed exchange of heated arguments between the participants. A youth Pandit leader said: “If you want us back, you have to give up the on-going movement.” He got a befitting reply from a youth leader from Kashmir. “For us, you are not that important. The movement shall not be given up at any cost.”

An elderly Pandit who interacted with the group from Kashmir said: “We do not want to return. We have achieved ‘Azadi’. We get jobs in various states. Our students get admission in technical institutions. There may be some persons like me who want to visit the Valley for purely nostalgic reasons. But as far as the youth are concerned, they have not seen Kashmir, they have not lived with Muslims and they do not want to come back.”

Some feeble voices have been definitely raised over `identity crisis’ that the community is facing right now but by and large, the Pandits are well off in the `sweet’ lap of Bharat Mata.

But to their dismay, the Pandits are perceived as intruders notwithstanding the packages offered by Maharastra, Gujarat and some other states. Slowly but surely the community is getting diluted. A human being cannot survive on reservations in technical institutions, jobs in big business houses and hollow slogans alone. Something else is also needed.

The indifference shown to the Pandits everywhere in India especially in Jammu has forced them to think of preserving the race-the Saraswat Brahmins which is on the verge of extinction this time.

The problem is that the younger generation in Kashmir treats Pandits as aliens and this must be a cause of concern for what once was an `intelligent’ race.

Normally the Pandits should have responded to the invitations of the leaders and the civil society positively and returned to Kashmir. But that has not happened. Instead, the Pandits have made clear time and again that they want to stay with India.

I also want to make clear that I do not feel incomplete without them. My friend Sanjay Tikoo has the courage to admit the truth. According to him, Muslims and Pandits always hated each other. The two communities were always on different sides of the fence. The bonhomie between the two communities, according to him, was a dakosla (fake).

He shocked me by his bluntness but history proved him right. An esteemed person Khalid Bashir wants to know why Pandits observe July 13 as a black day. He has been told that Muslims looted some Pandit shops and houses on that day.

However, the Pandits have miserably filed to prove it. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in his Aatish-e-Chinar writes that a few Khatri shops in Maharajgunj were ransacked by an irate mob. Eyewitnesses have stated that the shops were ransacked when the Khatri shopkeepers mocked at the grieving people.

A few months earlier, a noted Pandit caused commotion in the town by his blasphemous comments. The comments were directed against the Holy prophet (SAW). The people were angry and wanted to kill the Pandit but Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad took him in an open Car around the city. This defused the tension and nobody harmed the community.

Former Chief Conservator, Noor-ul-Hassan narrated his personal experience. "We lived in down town. One day when I left for college, I was intercepted by a group of hooligans near Bohri Kadal. I was asked whether I was a Sher (supporter of Sher-e-Kashmr) or a Bakra (Supporter of Mirwaiz Moulvi Yusuf Shah). I said Bakra and the hooligans gave me a sound thrashing. Somehow I managed to escape but was again caught near Khankah-e-Moula. This time I again made a mistake. I was beaten, this time for being a supporter of Mirwaiz. Again I gave them a slip but only to be caught again near Narparistaan. This time I told the hooligans that I was a Kashmiri Pandit. On hearing this, I was given safe passage. Someone from the crowd said, ‘Oh! Leave him; he is our revered Pandit brother'."

This is how Muslims have been pampering the Pandits but the love was never returned.

Now a time has come when the pundits make no difference. Barring Khalid Bashir nobody is worried whether the Pandits treat the people killed on July 13, 1931 as martyrs or not. They treat the people killed during the past twenty-five years as terrorists. Does it make any difference? They are happy in India while Kashmiri Muslims are happily and willingly laying down their lives for a cause.

I seek self-determination for myself. Therefore, I respect the decision of the Pandits not to return. I wish them good luck. May all of them flourish and prosper wherever they are in India.

I will miss the Pandits because I have lived with them. I have shared moments of joy and grief with them. But I will never force them to come back to the Valley against their will. Let us not bother them by extending invitations to them.

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