Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI—Has the situation in Kashmir returned to normal so that Kashmiri Pandits can go back and resettle in their native places?
While Kashmiri Pandit leaders say that the situation on the ground has not changed a bit for their return even after the repeal of Article 370 in August 2019, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, however, claims that “the time for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley has come closer.”
Bhagwat made his claims while addressing Kashmiri migrants during a virtual conference two days ago, ahead of Kashmir New Year or Navreh, to be celebrated the coming week.
However, Bhagwat cautioned KPs not to decide to return to the valley in haste. Instead, he advised them to go at a time when they don’t have to migrate again from there.
What does Bhagwat mean by his statements? Both the announcements of the RSS chief appear in contradiction to each other. First, he says that the time for the return of KPs to their homes has come closer and then advises they should go there only when they feel that they would not have to remigrate.
If Bhagwat feels that a conducive atmosphere has not yet returned for KPs to return, why is he claiming that the time for KPs to return is near? So, Bhagwat seems to lack clarity on the issue. Did Bhagwat make the statement out of political expediency because the BJP had time and again promised to ensure the return of KPs to their native places in Kashmir but has miserably failed to do so even after eight years of its rule at the Centre since 2014?
The entire Kashmiri Pandit population had left their homes and migrated in 1990 when Jagmohan Malhotra was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir during the Janata Party government at the Centre, supported by BJP. As a result, only a few KP families are left behind in the valley. According to KP leaders, there are not more than 250 KP families living in villages and towns of Kashmir, including Srinagar, currently.
Article 370 Repealed, But Atmosphere Not Conducive For return of KPs
Speaking to India Tomorrow over the phone from Jammu, national convener of Panun Kashmir Agnishekhar, said that “Bhagwat’s statements are welcome, but the fact is that BJP has failed to solve the resettlement issue of displaced KPs in the valley.” Agnishkehar is also a prominent Hindi writer and poet.
“While Article 370 has been withdrawn, the old political and administrative system continues. KPs can’t return to die in such a situation,” Agnishekhar said.
He said that “the return of KPs is possible only when a separate Union Territory exclusively for KPs is created within the Kashmir valley, with administration and security in the hands of KPs.” However, such a solution would open up Pandora’s Box all over the country as internally displaced persons in other states may raise demand for separate zones for themselves, with their administrative control in their hands.
“While BJP harps on Hindutva, it is silent on the core issue of KPs return to the valley,” says Agnishekhar. He laments that the central government had not accepted in Parliament that the killing of KPs was a genocide. “We (India) also don’t have a law on genocide,” he pointed out.
The attack on KPs and Hindus, says Agnishekhar, has increased after Bhagwat’s statements. One Sonu Kumar Balaji was shot at Chotagam Harmain in the Shopian district. A CRPF man was killed in a militant attack in the Maisuma area of Srinagar, besides an attack on two Hindu labourers from Bihar in the Pulwama district.
“Whenever government gives a statement to resettle KPs, terrorists strike at KPs. So, the return of KPs to the valley is not so easy,” points out Agnishekhar. Reports say there are 79 foreigners and 93 local militants active in Kashmir.
“We welcome the statements of Bhagwat. But is the return of KPs to the valley so easy? How can they return? Terrorism has not ended,” says Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, a former Panun Kashmir leader, now in the BJP and based in Jammu.
Chrungoo is clear that KPs cannot go back with the help of security forces alone.
“The best way for their return is that local Muslims guarantee KPs security and take responsibility for resettlement of KPs. But, unfortunately, local Muslims are silent,” says Chrungoo.
Chrungoo, a writer and columnist, says there are two other options to resettle. First: separate settlement of all KPs at one place with security management in the hands of KPs, and Second: bring Hindus from the rest of India and settle them permanently in Kashmir to change the demography in Kashmir. The two solutions suggested by Chrungoo are based on the pattern of Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas in territories by Israel in the 1967 war.
President of All India Kashmiri Pandit Samaj Ramesh Raina supports Bhagwat on the issue of return of KPs to the valley but says “current atmosphere is not conducive”.
He says that a favourable atmosphere for return can be created only if the government takes concrete confidence-building measures, for instance, the arrest of political leaders like Yasin Malik, to reduce the threat to KPs.
“The resettlement of KPs has been on BJP agenda since 2014. We are waiting for it. However, a larger picture of rehabilitation plans for KPs has yet not emerged,” points out Raina.
