Kashmiri Pandits: Political bunglings from exodus to return

January 2019 marks the 29th year of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and the solid binaries as well as animosity and mistrust that were created between the two communities of Kashmir.

The displacement of Kashmiri Pandits remains a matter of contestation between the Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. While the former believe that Jagmohan, then Governor, is responsible for the exodus and latter opines that Kashmiri Muslims are responsible for this barbaric incident. But what actually happened?

During GM Shah's rein in Jammu and Kashmir, there was a communal clash between Hindus and Muslims. When the situation got worse, GM Shah's government was dismissed on March 12, 1986 by Governor Jagmohan which led him to rule the state directly under Section 92 of J&K constitution. The Muslim right wing groups and individuals and some others got together and organized themselves under a banner named Muslim United Front with a manifesto to work for Islamic unity and against political interference from the center and contested the 1987 state elections. But there was a massive rigging. The losing candidates of other parties, National Conference (NC) and Congress, were declared winners. It shook the ordinary people's faith in the elections and the democratic process.

When Farooq Abdullah was elected as Chief Minister with a coalition government with Congress, the anger of rigging pushed the valley into a morass of frustration and radicalisation. In July 1988, the JKLF launched its first bomb attack in Srinagar. A cycle of violence and protests took hold which led to the militant insurgency in the valley.

The Center then appointed Jagmohan as Governor, forcing Farooq Abdullah to resign. The state came under governor's rule in the afternoon on January 19, 1990. Before 19th January some incidents of killings of Kashmiri Pandits allegedly by militants and eruption of mysterious posters (allegedly from militant organisations), threatening all Hindus to leave Kashmir.

On January 19, 1990 when Jagmohan took over the state, the situation got out of control and the night became the worst nightmare for both the communities. Walls were pasted with posters with threatening messages to all Kashmiris to harshly follow the Islamic rules. On the streets, ugly and jarring slogans reverberated with: "Kashmir main agar rehna hai Allah-ho-akbar kehna hai" (if you want to live in Kashmir you have to say God is great or in other words you have to accept Islam). There were sexist slogans too like: "Kashmir Banawon Pakistan, Batav varei Batnew Saan" (we will turn kashmir into Pakistan with Kashmiri pandit women but without Kashmiri pandit men). Pandits were labeled as infidels or Kafirs. They were given three choices - Raliv, Tsaliv ya Galiv (convert to Islam, leave the place or perish). The blood curdling shouts and shrieks became the slogan of the 'Islamic Zealots'. Such a situation enhanced the fears and insecurities of the Kashmiri Pandits who were a small minority in Kashmir. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits fled the valley and took refuge in Jammu or Delhi; and only a couple of thousands stayed back. A report of J&K Govt says that as many as 219 people of KP community were killed in the period between 1989-2004 but many Kashmiri Pandit say that the numbers were higher.

With respect to the role of Jagmohan, there is lot of evidence pointing out that the exodus was an orchestrated event and somebody in authority had put in a sizeable effort in executing it. Though the sense of fear and panic in the minds of Pandit community is indisputable, Jagmohan cashed in on that anxiety to facilitate their departure. There ae reports pointing to the transport provided in a planned manner to KPs in particular localities. A Kashmiri Pandit leader, KL Kaul had held the communal elements, particularly Jagmohan, responsible for their exodus. A retired senior police officer has given clinching evidence of J&K's police department being pressed into service by the Raj Bhawan to organize Pandit exodus in the early months of 90s.

It is believed that Jagmohan's efforts to organize things was meant to give a safe passage of Pandits to Jammu or elsewhere. Stringent laws to curb militancy were already in force but these laws couldn't be freely applied on a mixed population. His plan was to get the Pandits out and crush the Muslims with a heavy hand. But when the situation got out of his hand, he was removed on May 26, 1990 as the governor of the state and within two weeks, on July 6 1990, the valley ended up with the barbaric and inhumane law, AFSPA(Armed forces special powers act) an act which give a lot of power to armed forces to open fire, damage property or houses, make arrests and take action against anyone whom they suspect.

Neither the politicians nor the Kashmiri Muslims got benefited from it. Instead we lost our own people and lost the faith in humanity too. I myself feel guilty and remorseful for the manner in which these developments weakened Kashmiriyat, which had stood strong despite so many onslaughts on Kashmir. Had the majority community showed more sense of responsibility, the exodus may not have happened.

I have heard that during the 1948 tribal attacks in Kashmir, in which many KPs were looted and killed, when the intruders tried to do so in our village Sirhama, a brave Muslim Ghulam Qadir Rather tried to disarm the intruders and save the Pandits of our village. Unfortunately he was killed by the intruders. Salute to his martyrdom that Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims maintained that bond for decades after that. But sadly the number of Pandit families decreased in our village from 40 to 4 since 90s.

Every Kashmiri Muslim now wants KPs to return but there isn't any strong political will. Government of India doesn't seem interested in them because they aren't a vote bank. Since 90s, government hasn't taken any recognizable initiative to bring KPs back to the valley. Governments have come and gone but no one has been able to find a unique solution and if they did something, they always come up with some controversial ideas like the proposal of separate colonies which further divide the two communities. It is obvious that Kashmiri Muslims want KPs to return, but not in separate colonies but at the places where they actually belonged. There is much more to life than just finding a house to stay and they don't want a house, they want a home.

Setting up separate colonies for Pandits is a policy to manipulate the existing demography of Kashmir, as Kashmiri pandits currently residing in Kashmir are living without fear or animosity with Kashmiri Muslims in various parts of the valley.

Some other initiatives like PM packages, cash relief and some government jobs aren't going to solve their problems permanently. They are living a life of despair in refugee camps; neither are they provided any financial support nor any medical facilities. They don't have jobs to do and proper schools to study in. The condition is so much worse that some of them can't afford to feed themselves. If some Pandits try to return the valley, they don't have anything to do. They lost their properties during the exodus. Some of them bartered their properties in compulsion and in many cases, the property was occupied by security forces or neighbours.

For the rehabilitation of KPs, there is a need for permanent solution. Firstly, we must make the ground situation conducive in Kashmir for their rehabilitation. It is becoming difficult even for Kashmiri Muslims to stay, how would Pandits return if peace isn't prevailing. There is an urgent need of dialogue between between India and Pakistan to solve their disputes. It may be slow process but there is nothing that can't be settled by sitting across the negotiation table in the spirit of friendship and give and take, and probably it could have been achieved in the last three decades but there wasn't any strong political will as Kashmir has become a marketplace of speculations, conspiracy theories and agendas for everyone be it India or Pakistan. Besides this we must take some baby steps at the community level to provide confidence and support to the Pandits. Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims have lived together for centuries. If the problem has to be solved we need to join hands with one another to settle together and bring back the charm of the valley. As Martin Luther King Jr said, "the time is always right to do what is right".

(The author is pursuing BA (Hons) Economics from Delhi University. He originally hails from Sirhama, a village in Anantnag district of J&K. He can be reached out at azharmir104@gmail.com)