RAVINDER JALALI
An Open Letter Return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir Valley, their homeland, has yet again generated a fresh debate across the entire political spectrum in Kashmir Valley. This has followed a proposal by the government to put the Kashmiri Pandit community temporarily in transit accommodation in clusters at identified locations in their homeland before shifting and resettling them at their native places i.e. the place of their origin which no where exists as on date, in most of the cases. The community has, however not been taken on board by the government at any level on such move.
The proposal has generated a heated debate amongst the Kashimiri Muslim camps, both in separatists and ‘so called’ main stream political establishments. Be it National Conference, PDP or separatist amalgams of Geelani or Mirwaiz, all are of the opinion that Kashmiri Pandits should return to their original homes and locations in their homeland.
It is not for the first time that the separatists and even mainstream politicians and their political parties from Kashmir have opposed but whenever such move is initiated, these political parties representing different ideology, cutting across party lines and ideologies converge on single point of opposing the return of KPs to the Valley. All these parties who want Kashmiri Pandits to return to the Valley as per the dictate and direction of the separatists ironically are the same people who are responsible for their mass exodus in 1989, after the eruption of militancy.
Notwithstanding the bleeding wounds of the exodus, engineered by the protagonist of the demand for a separate Kashmir on theological considerations through mass killings, rapes, loot etc, the community may consider the proposal and reciprocate , if a few questions (as under) are addressed.
Mirwaiz has even gone to the extent of expressing his desire to initiate a dialogue with KP community, across the country, to request them for their return. He wants a new phase of communal harmony and amity to be developed by burying the past. The former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah too has expressed a similar opinion. So has it been echoed by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. She, however, opines that the immediate return of the community to the original locations may not be feasible and that would follow in due course.
Be it as it May, the questions which would naturally arise and need to be answered are:
i. Whether the separatist leadership would demand restoration of the original houses/other properties at the original locations of the community to their original inhabitants and ask for declaring the occupation of these houses/properties as invalid?
ii. Whether the State Govt. and mainstream political setup would support such a demand?
iii. Whether they will demand reconstruction and renovation of damaged and burnt houses of the community, which were not disposed off, for restoring to their owners?
iv. Whether the separatists would demand from the Govt. employment for KP youth in the Valley in State Govt. /Central Government Departments, PSUs etc, as a prerequisite for their return?
v. Whether such a demand will be supported by the so called mainstream political setup?
(The employment should be at least 10 per cent more than the number of posts they were holding at the time of their exodus in 1989/1990)
The other points which need to be settled before a discussion on the return move, as to meet the aspirations of the majority community, claimed, would be:
I) Whether they will ensure and offer a credible mechanism of security at Mohalla levels, which will be accountable to KP community as well as to law enforcing agencies in order to build up the required level of confidence?
II) Whether they will demand minority status to KP community to protect their distinct ethnic, cultural identity, traditions and values which they have been carrying for the last several thousand years and provide adequate and appropriate guarantees for their resettlement?
III) Will they guarantee to preserve the ethnicity and culture of KPs by not disturbing the nomenclature of age old heritage and historic places, roads, gardens, buildings etc and not revamp and rename the rich grand old tradition of aborigines of which they are a part?
(E.g. Hari Parbhat, Shankaracharya and others)
IV) Whether they will ask for bringing perpetrators of heinous crimes against KPs like Nadimarg, Wandhama, Chhitisingpora massacres etc. to justice?
A public affirmation to the above points would build up a basis for a discussion on return of the KP community to their original homes and locations. Members of Kashmiri Pandit community, across the globe can debate to work out strategies for a discussion on their return to their homeland.
Silence on the above points by the separatists and the main stream political set ups, will only confirm that the Muslim leadership in the Valley are interested in making the situation more complex and confusing. The silence, if chosen by them, would also reinforce the demand of Kashmiri Pandtits for creation of a separate homeland in Kashmir Valley, as per the Margdarshan Resolution of 1991 and that would be the only viable and practicable solution to the return of Kashmiri Pandits.
