Tag: Kashmiriyat

‘Yasin Malik’s Verdict Is Balm On Kashmir Pandits’ Wounds’

By LokMarg

Deepak Kachru, a Kashmiri Pandit living in Lucknow since early 90s, India must also guard against the sympathisers of terrorists like Yasin Malik

Displaced Kashmiri Pandits, as a community, had lost hope in the system and accepted the life outside their homeland as their fait accompli for three decades. However two decisions – the removal of Article 370 in 2019 by the Union government and life sentence to Yasin Malik by a special court recently – have come as a healing touch to our wounds.

The life sentence awarded to Malik is for terror funding; he is yet to face the trial for killing of innocent Kashmiri Pandits. Anything less than a death sentence for a person who has killed many innocents, including Indian Air Force officers, and raped women and children will not be acceptable to our community.

Nevertheless, there is some progress on the justice front. There are many culprits responsible for the plight of Pandits and we expect this government to hear the cases related to Kashmir in fast-track courts.

Removal of Article 370 has proved to be a relief not only for the Pandits but for the entire region and whole of Kashmiri people. There has been a substantial fall in the terror activities and support from across the border too is dwindling. Tourism and businesses are slowly reviving in the Valley. This year the tourist footfall created a record.  

Kachru says Narendra Modi has reignited hope among Kashmiri Pandits

Earlier (before the abrogation of Article 370) criminals like Yasin Malik were enjoying all kinds of support and hospitality from inside our own territory, under previous governments. In spite of theses concessions, they did not consider themselves as a part of India.

ALSO READ: Kashmir Incomplete Without Pandits, Says Khushboo Mattoo

The Narendra Modi government has taken several bold steps and ignited hope amongst Kashmiri people as a whole. Terror modules are still there but now they are picking up soft targets such as government employees, non-Kashmiris or SPOs; earlier the terrorists would attack security forces too.

The time is ripe for the government to rid the Valley of terrorism and terrorists for once and all. Bringing the guilty to book and awarding them strict punishment will go a long way in setting an example. There are many more of the ilk of Yasin Malik who must be brought to justice for their nefarious actions.

At the same time, I must say that there are many sympathisers of these anti-nationals amongst us only. Indian government and citizens must guard against these elements. The situation is in our favour and we must make the most of it in establishing the rule of law. This will send a strong message to terrorists and their handlers across the border.

As told to Rajat Rai 

Kashmiri Pandit

‘The Kashmir Files Brings Alive Our Pain And Plight’

By LokMarg

Ashwani Kachru, a Kashmiri Pandit staying in Gr Noida, says the movie also exposes the political and intellectual ignorance about his community’s struggle

First and foremost, I wish to congratulate Vivek Agnihotri, the director of The Kashmir Files, from the bottom of my heart. Never ever before this movie, the facts about the forced and violent migration of Kashmiri Pandits were laid out before the rest of the country so realistically.

Some of the scenes in the movie brought alive my own frightening memories of the 1990s. My house was located barely one km from the spot where four Air Force personnel were shot dead in Srinagar by terrorists. Other scenes of selective killings of Kashmiri Pandits; the horrific announcements made from places of worship against non-Muslims and; the Hindu families from the Valley living in fear… as shown in the movie, left me in cold sweat.

Agnihotri has the heart to call a spade a spade. This was not an exodus; this was a genocide – premeditated ethnic cleansing of Pandits from the crown of India. Radical Islamic groups supported from within the country and across the border distinctly targeted a peace-loving community in Kashmir and the unfortunate part is that all this happened in a free and democratic India.

Yet, no one in over three decades every talked openly about the pain and tragedy of the victims; in fact repeated attempts were made by the previous governments, terrorist sympathisers, liberal thinkers and the so-called intellectuals to misguide the people of India on this issue and to cover up the real face of a radicalised movement.

ALSO READ: ‘Kashmir Will Never Be Same Without Pandits’

I am glad, the issue is now being talked and how! The filmmakers have done justice to our sufferings by revealing the truth. Simultaneously, they have also exposed the brain-washed Kashmiris involved in our killings, a couldn’t-care-less government machinery, a section of the deaf and dumb media, and the intelligentsia.

Communal harmony is the proven culture of India since centuries and this could not be digested by terror sympathizers who want to dismantle the several thousand years old Indian secular structure.

I often wondered why those people in power kept quiet to our situation. It seems as if these people and organisations were funded to prove the terrorists in the Valley innocent. Spineless governments and judiciary never showed the courage to act against such anti-national elements.

Through your columns, let me also congratulate the state governments who have made this movie tax free, this will definitely help in conveying the message to a large section of our society.

I recently read media reports that a political leader, an ally of the Congress party in Assam, has demanded a ban on this movie. I feel the Congress party has remained at the centre of many major problems that India is facing today. Their declining vote share is a clear indication that the new and young Indians don’t want to continue with their policies any longer.

As told to Deepti Sharma

Kashmiri Pandit Family

‘Pandits Can Return Only After Kashmiris Agree To Accept Them’

By LokMarg

Surbhi Sapru, 31, who belongs to a displaced Kashmiri Pandit family, says her return to the state is not possible unless the ruptured social fabric is restored in Kashmir

My family used to live in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, an area that saw mass exodus of Pandits in the 1990s. However, my grandfather had decided much earlier to leave the place, because socially active people like him had been getting targeted, threatened, much before ordinary people and in 1982 he (an educationist) decided it wasn’t safe for my family to remain there.

My brother and I weren’t born yet, so it is our parents and family who had to leave a piece of their heart and hearth behind in Kashmir. My family shifted base to Jammu, still hopeful that things might get better in Kashmir, but that was not to be; things only got worse from there.

I was born in 1990, at the cusp of change, when Kashmir’s history, geography, everything was being re-written. Even the Dogra community was against us. So when my father got a chance to settle in Jaipur, he jumped at it. Jaipur became home for us the next 14 years.

Abrogation of Article 370 did bring hope, but it is only a flicker and it is a long road before Kashmiri Pandits can think of going back ‘home’. The Jammu & Kashmir issue might be seen as a political issue but deep down it is a breakdown of the social fabric. People from different religions have coexisted in different parts of India, but in Kashmir that gets caught in religious turmoil.

Surbhi says her grandfather (left) would break down on every Maha Shivratri, which their family celebrated in Kashmir with much pomp

If the ordinary citizen understands each other, then the issue can be resolved, otherwise nothing will change, the problem will linger on. Thus both the Kashmiri Pandits as well as Muslims will have to reassure each other: Hum ek doosre ko jante hain padosi ke taur par, hum kisi teesre ki baton me nahi aayenge (We will resolve matter between us as neighbours; won’t allow a third party to mediate). While many leaders have advocated a special, safe zone for Pandits, labelled Panun Kashmir, I say why can’t Pandits stay wherever they want in Jammu & Kashmir?

We have been displaced once. If the government is talking about rehabilitation, then Pandits need to feel safe; that they can trust everyone around us in Kashmir. Let me share an incident. I had gone to our Kul Devi (family deity) temple (Kheer Bhawani) in 2016 along with my mother on a Friday. Right after the juma namaz got over, our car started getting chased by many people. Every few minutes, we would be stopped by someone or the other. Our driver, a local Sikh from Kashmir, kept on requesting people to let us go. Apparently there was some strike and they were angry that Sardarji was still driving us in his taxi and that we were Hindus.

ALSO READ: ‘Situation On Ground Is Improving In J-K’

Those angry faces, the fear that I felt that day cannot be explained in words. We also gave lift to two Ladakhi policemen midway, who were in the same predicament as us. They weren’t liked there. I was utterly surprised to see that even a 10 year old was threatening us. But how many people can you reason with? At one point a group of people pushed open the taxi door, to pull us out, and only after a lot of pleading from the Sardarji, we were let off.  Till the time this hatred among Jammu-Kashmiri citizens is there, the return of Pandits is not possible. Who knows one might be made to leave again.

I remember the teary eyes of my grandfather, on every Maha Shivaratri which they used to celebrate with great pomp in Kashmir. He told us a story that when he was posted in Gurez, a Peer Baba (holy man) had asked him to take the responsibility of educating a Muslim child. My grandfather followed his instruction and treated the boy like a son in the family. However, the family had to leave him behind. He still sometimes comes to meet us, now that we have shifted to Delhi, and my parents reminisce about the olden times.

Dadaji is no more. But his love for Kashmir flows in our veins too. But unless there is reassurance for peace on the ground, not by the political leadership, our return to homeland is not possible. I bear no hatred for any community in my heart, but also expect that we are not hated for our beliefs as well.

Has The Nation Forgotten Kashmir?

By Amit Sengupta

Between the multiplying rainbows of Shaheen Baghs all over the country and new waves of mass non-violent protests, the resounding defeat of hate politics and the victory of AAP’s s welfare agenda of health, education, bijli and paani in Delhi, and new videos of unprecedented police brutality on students in Jamia right inside the reading rooms the library, has the nation forgotten Kashmir, under a military and communication lockdown since August 5, 2019?

Has the world too chosen to allow the BJP regime get away with the total violation of the Indian Constitution in Kashmir, the denial of fundamental rights, and the continued detention under draconian laws of three former chief ministers, and scores of others, on flimsy and bizzare grounds?

Surely, all indications are there that in the frozen white expanse of the Valley, with the snow still refusing to melt, the simmering angst and anger at the grave injustice done to its 8 million people remain etched like a dark and relentless memory in infinite bad faith. And this memory moves in a circle of tragedy, outrage and despair, beyond the ruling regime’s rhetoric of ‘national security and terrorism’, troubling the democratic conscience of the nation and the world. The undiplomatic behavior of the current regime has not helped matters.

This has been starkly reflected in the rejection of visa to British Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams. She was allegedly denied entry into India and was “deported” at the Delhi airport on Monday after landing there. Her e-visa, surprisingly, was rejected. Chairperson of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir, the British MP has alleged that she was indeed “treated like a criminal”. She said the immigration officer was rude and aggressive, and shouted at her — “come with me”.

ALSO READ: Azadi Slogans Echo Across India

She had apparently written a letter as a chair of the British group on Kashmir, to the Indian envoy, expressing serious concern on the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. If that be the reason for her ‘deportation’ in such humiliating conditions, then it only reflects, yet again, the insecure foreign policy initiatives marking this government.

Earlier, New Delhi had botched up badly by inviting a group of Rightwing and Far-Right politicians from abroad, organised by an unknown and shadowy organization, for a sponsored sojourn to Kashmir, with doctored meetings with planted pro-BJP loyalists, and officials. The entire exercise turned out to be a big disaster.

Besides, despite the best efforts of the external affairs ministry, Kashmir did become ‘internationalised’ even while top media organisations in the West, like the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, The Guardian etc., blasted the Delhi government for human rights violations in Kashmir. The media trend seemed to have continued in the recent past, despite the best efforts in lobbying by the external affairs ministry.

WATCH: ‘Kashmir Pandits Got Freedom In 2019’

Recently, 25 foreign envoys were taken to Jammu and Kashmir for yet another diplomatic foray to mark a paradigm shift in global opinion.  The French Ambassador, Emmaneul Lenain, made a loaded but crypic statement. He said that while the government was making “significant efforts” to “normalise the situation”, the remaining restrictions should be removed “as soon as possible”. 

One day earlier, EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Virginie Battu-Henriksson had categorically stated: “Some restrictions remain, notably on Internet access and mobile services, and some political leaders are still in detention. While we recognise the serious security concerns, it is important that the remaining restrictions are lifted swiftly,” she said.

The fact is that India’s relation with a big chunk of the powerful EU has been marked with a certain pronounced bad faith since August 5, which has only been aggravated by the massive protests all over the country against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. In January last, as many as 626 of the 751 members of the EU Parliament took up six resolutions concerning  Kashmir and discriminatory laws for discussion creating much concern in the Indian ruling establishment. It has postponed a vote on the resolution, but the discomfort is for the whole world to see.  Indeed, most top university campuses in the West have stood up in support of the protests against the CAA/NRC in India.

ALSO READ: ‘Govt Owes Kashmiris An Explanation’

Earlier, despite Donald Trump’s big brotherly affection for the Indian prime minister, several top leaders in American politics, especially among the democrats, have taken up the issue of Kashmir and the willful discrimination against the minorities in India under the current regime.  With the United Nations taking it up after more than 70 years, and China upping the ante, the Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, brought back bad memories of fascism under Adolf Hitler in Europe while talking about the Indian situation vis-à-vis Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the imposition of the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) on two former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, without an iota of evidence to prove the charges, has been widely criticised in India. The allegations in the dossier against them are bizarre and smacks of mindless vendetta, and does not really add up to the moral high ground around the prime minister or his best buddy, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, who also led the botched-up Delhi elections with a daily cacophony of lies, crude hate politics and muscle flexing.

For instance, Omar Abdullah, who has also been part of the BJP-led NDA regime in Delhi under Atal Behari Vajpayee, has been accused of subversive activities. “The capacity of the subject to influence people for any cause can be gauged from the fact that he was able to convince his electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during peak of militancy and poll boycotts,” reads the alleged government dossier, accessed by NDTV.

WATCH: Will Modi’s Gamble Pay Off?

Apparently, his last tweet hours before the imposition of the communication and military lockdown, while being arrested, said: “Violence will only play into the hands of those who do not have the best interests of the state in mind. This wasn’t the India Jammu and Kashmir acceded to, but I’m not quite ready to give up hope yet. Let calm heads prevail. God be with you all.”

Journalists in Kashmir are up in arms against the hounding and harassment of mediapersons by the authorities. Some journalists were asked to disclose their sources, even as the internet lockdown and the military clampdown restricted freedom of press to a minimal in the Valley. Journalists say that theirs is overt and tacit censorship at all levels.

Locals say tourism in the Valley has touched an all-time low, unemployment is at an unprecedented high while all educational institutions are closed. And with regards to detention, the focus has become concentrated on the politicians. There is little mention of scores of others, including youngsters, who are lodged in jails outside the state (now Union Territory)! There is a widespread belief in the valley that several youngsters and other innocents are still imprisoned in various jails, especially in UP, with mothers and relatives just not able to track them.

The Supreme Court has given notice to the Centre and the J&K administration, on a petition filed by Omar’s sister, Sara Abdullah Pilot who had petitioned that the exercise of powers by authorities under the CrPC to detain individuals, including political leaders, was “clearly mala fide to ensure that the opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution is silenced”.

The petition said that “similar orders of detention have been issued by respondents (authorities of the union territory of J&K) over the last seven months in a wholly mechanical manner to other detinues, which suggest that there has been a consistent and concerted effort to muzzle all political rivals”.

Her petition pointed out there is no new evidence or material available available to detain a person who has already been under detention for six months and the “grounds for the detention order are wholly lacking any material facts or particulars which are imperative for an order of detention.”

In the same manner, the dossier against Mehbooba Mufti, who was the last chief minister in the state in an alliance with the BJP, is full of absurd allegations.  “In new India, dossier on an ex-chief minister slapped with draconian PSA mentions insidious machinations & being a ‘Daddy’s girl’ as charges,” her daughter Iltija Mufti had tweeted.

“Not unusual that she adored, respected & loved her father. They had an unshakeable bond & were each other’s closest confidante. Which is why she honoured Mufti sahab’s commitment after his sudden death in 2016. Didn’t know loving your parent constitutes a crime,” she wrote. This is a question that needs to be answered if current regime wishes to honour the legacy of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who spoke about insaniyat (humanity), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat.