Er. P. L. Khushu
During the recent debate in the Parliament of India, on the no confidence motion of the opposition parties, the MP from the National Conference Sh. Farooq Abdullah made certain cryptic remarks about the bringing back the displaced Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir. This has added more salt to the bleeding wounds of the displaced KP’s, when such wounds of KP’s since last more than 33 years are the acrimonious legacies of the National Conference Party to the displaced KP’s. It was the National Conference which was ruling the J & K State, when the militancy erupted on a large scale in Jammu and Kashmir in1989-1990 and the KP’s were asked to leave the valley immediately after killing prominent members of the KP community to ensure a scare in the valley, so that other KP’s follow suit. National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah said in the parliament, that during his tenure as the Chief Minister he tried to take Kashmiri Pandits back, but the process was sabotaged by forces from across the border. Speaking during the discussion on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, Dr Abdullah said, “We tried to bring Kashmiri Pandits back home. He said when he was the Chief Minister and Inder Kumar Gujral was the Prime Minister, they tried to take back Kashmiri Pandits, but forces from across the border killed innocent KPs at a village in Ganderbal district. Many of them died, he recalled. “Immediately, we stopped 50 vehicles that had to bring Kashmiri Pandits back home, Farooq said. What a ludicrous statement from the then chief minister about the KP’s. Was he scared by the militant’s operating in Kashmir that he could not manage with the assistance of his police force, under the pointed assistance of the Indian armed forces posted in Kashmir, to ensure the return of the KP’s back to their places of homes and hearths with proper security. In fact it is a fact that all the dynasty based politicians who ruled Kashmir after the militancy in Kashmir, did so with the secret support of the militants and their harbors in Kashmir, with an assurance from such politicians to the militants, that their view points of fanning of terror will be looked after by such politicians. Who does not know about Dr. Farooq Abdullah, when he has been repeatedly professing that India should talk to Pakistan, if India wants peace in Kashmir. This is a resultant compulsion of these dynasty based apolitical parties, in which NC is a major political party, to pose as the well wishers of the separatists forces in Kashmir including the militants for ruling Jammu and Kashmir, as their family empire. How could such politicians, while ruling Jammu and Kashmir risk their empirical chairs of rule and loot and bring back the KP’s to Kashmir against the wishes of the separatists, the militants, or even their mentors in Pakistan, in whose case Dr. Farooq Abdullah has repeatedly been advocating that India should talk to Pakistan about Kashmir. Dr. Farooq may dodge the nation on this issue by shedding crocodile tears and showing sympathy to the displaced KP’s on this count. The KP’s very well know as to who are their actual enemies in this regard, who never wanted Kashmiri Pandits to flourish and live like respected citizens in Kashmir after the state power of governance was transferred to Sheikh Abdullah in 1947, at the asking of Jawaharlal Nehru. The dynasty-backed politicians of Kashmir that includes Dr. Farooq too, never wanted KP’s rehabilitation back in Kashmir with dignity and honor, under a proper security cover. Such politicians are on record to have thwarted all such moves of the government of India, regarding the rehabilitation of the displaced KP’s back in Kashmir, particularly in secured clusters under proper security covers, when such politicians would always brazenly object to it. Such situations have often made all such displaced KP’s, who ventured to go back to Kashmir, on their own, the easy ducks of the guns of the terrorists, when so many innocent KP’s have brutally been killed by the terrorists that too by the local ones so far, who have enough local political patronage. In fact these people are the abettors for the mass forced exodus and genocide of KP’s with the advent of militancy in Kashmir ever since 1990. Kashmiri Pandits killings have been unabated and continuous in the valley of Kashmir with more ferocity and tyranny. It was disgraceful to witness Farooq Abdullah saying openly that the killings of Kashmiri Pandits will continue, unless justice is not done. What does he mean by saying that Justice has to be done? Was he showing his sympathy with the separatist’s, particularly the terrorists with guns, or trying to keep the political pot boiling by blackmailing the Indians in the name of so called Kashmir dispute for his power huger to rule Jammu and Kashmir through proxy as a Dynast politician, claiming Kashmir as a hereditary Bungalow. Let Farooq Sahib know it that it is over now. Article 370 is in eternal paradise now with most of the political leaders of Kashmir of dynastic base of that time. Much water has flown down rivers Jhelum, Sindh, Tawi and Chenab. Jammu and Kashmir is now full India open to every one from India as its own territory. The statement of Dr. Farooq in the parliament is to rub salt on the bleeding wounds of KP’s as he has forgotten the sad event of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus occurred in the year 1990-91, when it was the dark period for the Kashmiri Pandits as they were forced out of the Valley under the threat of terror by the Islamic fundamentalists, when the militancy coupled with extreme terror activities gave birth in the Kashmir valley. Consequently, 19 January 1990 came to be known by Kashmiri Hindus as “Exodus Day”, in memory of the Kashmiri Hindus who were either killed or forced out of Kashmir. The January month of each year after the 19th January-1990, haunts each and every Kashmiri Pandit, living in forced exile across the country of the horrors and woes of this month, when they were forced to flee from Kashmir due to the terror dragon of the Islamist fundamentalists on this day. The dark night of January 19, 1990, shivering with cold, is remembered by all of them, as it was the worst nightmare for the Kashmiri Pandits living in the valley. Screaming from loud speakers and crowded streets was a message for KP’s living in Kashmir, which said, Ralive, Tsaliv , Neti- Galiv. (It meant that either convert to Islam or leave Kashmir and in the alternative face death). Even after about 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits shiver remembering the night which forced them into exodus and a life of exile within their own country. Jehadi cum communal speeches from mosques were put on loud speakers meant for “Azan & Nimaz”, which would say (“Yeti- Bani Pakistan, Bhatov Bhegeer the Bhatenen-San”), meaning there in that the Kashmir will become a Pakistan without male Kashmiri Pandits, but including women folk of Kashmiri Pandits. A sizeable number of Kashmiri pundits were killed, their houses burnt and looted. Many Kashmiri Hindu women were kidnapped, raped and murdered, during this period of exodus. It happened when NC was in power and was followed by Governors rule. Did Dr. Farooq Abdullah ever raise this issue in the parliament, or did he ever suggest measures in his capacity as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the union minister of India to get back the forcibly displaced KP’s to their homes and hearths back in Kashmir with dignity and honor. Let him ask his innate conscious as to why did he not do so. Did he and his political party ever held any ” Dharna” or protest in this regard about the sad plight, genocide and forced exodus of KP’s. No never. The reasons are obvious. They are the silent spectators about it, beating their breasts for public show some times, while celebrating it within their robes silently. In fact KP’s have been suffering from various types of repressions ever since 1947, when Sheikh Abdullah assumed the governing power of the state of Jammu and Kashmir . Making a mention of the recent times pertaining to pro 1947 era, the rigmarole about the duping the KP’s of their fundamental right to live in Kashmir with dignity and honor, started in this period only, when the exodus of KP’s started from Kashmir. So it was a process which was well defined and thought of by the Islamic fundamentalists now having captured the sentimental aura of Kashmir under the big psyche of making Kashmir a purely dominated place of Kashmiri Muslims. Sheikh’s rule in 1947, embedded the seeds of “Pseudo Secularism, viz half truths about the real concept of true secularism”, in Jammu and Kashmir, for which the main suffering population of Jammu and Kashmir were the Kashmiri Pandits. It was in this time only when the Land to Tiller laws were enforced which in particular made Kashmiri Pandits the main targets as most of the Kashmiri Pandits were well established “Zamindars” and their agricultural lands were snatched from them and given to the tillers who were Muslims, with a biased base of communal tinge. Apart from this enough of partialities occurred during that time when KP’s were refused proper representations in the government jobs, educational trainings, etc. This is the period when the first mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits occurred towards the plains, for earning their bread and butter with dignity and honor. Subsequent governments in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir followed suit to destabilize the base of the KP’s from the valley, under a well knit plan, when mass exoduses of KP’s took place from time to time, thus limiting the population of KP’s to just to a miniscule one in Kashmir. With the brute advent of militancy in the year 1989-90, during the national conference rule, abetted by the sympathetic support of the Congress party from Delhi, the situation for the KP’s became a death knell for them. Mass genocide and exodus of the KP’s occurred, which is reverberating still on the fascia and the minds of the KP’s and will continue to be so as long as humanity exists in this universe. Prominent leaders, intellectuals, politicians, individuals, government officers and the like amongst the KP’s were brutally killed in broad day lights in thousands, along with the mass migration of this minuscule community to their destinations of devastations. Let Dr. Farooq Abdullah stop from giving such loose settlements on KP’s, when he tries to represent the Kashmir Muslims in this behalf. Dr. Farooq Abdullah has a vague notion that he is representing Jammu & Kashmir in the national and the international forums. Should he know that he has won the parliamentary elections from the Srinagar constituency, claiming to have won it by a big margin of 70000 votes against his nearest rival, thus concealing the actual fact to tell to the people of this nation, that he has actually been selected by hardly 9% of the total electorate of this constituency which has 12.10 lack voters. Let him introspect about it. The insurgency of militancy and terror in Jammu & Kashmir is a product of the dynastic ruler ship of various political leaders. Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections of 1987, is widely believed to have been rigged. Allegations of malpractices and rigging led to the disillusionment of Kashmiris. In this environment, secessionist and subversive elements started claiming that they had been denied democratic rights illegally and began justifying recourse to unconstitutional and other methods. It was in this environment that Pakistan encouraged Kashmiri youth to come across the Line of Control and receive arms training to begin an armed secessionist movement. As is mostly said and spoken that the root cause of the militancy in the state is basically the elections of 1987. Who was involved in these elections is an open secret. The militancy is a creation of the dynastic rules in Jammu & Kashmir since 1947, in which the national conference and its heritage rulers are the principal participants. Let sermons by its leaders to the people of Kashmir be restricted, as these rulers are fully exposed before Kashmiri Pandits. (The author of this article is a chartered consultant civil engineer, who loves his mother land the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir).