KK Khosa
How we miss Kashmir from the bottom of our hearts although with each passing day hopes of returning recede for many of us.
PM package employees and those who never moved out give us some hope. Gen next are torn between priorities of career, issues of livelihood and desire to regain land of their ancestors. Pakistan supported by China will continue with their evil designs. Even near bankruptcy will not dissuade Pakistan. KPs will be on their radar. GOI will not like to take chances.
Although apparently focus has moved to Poonch Rajouri areas yet once again terrorism has raised it’s ugly head and manifested itself in the unfortunate killings of our bravehearts belonging to army and the J K P in Kokernag area of Anantnag. KPs have to be patient. No one can say for how long. Patience is running out for those who have been actively involved in keeping this issue of return and rehabilitation alive.
Successful hosting of G20 summit and chandrayan 3 success will not go down well with India’s enemies, both within and out of India.
Next opportunity comes up for such forces in the form of forthcoming parliamentary elections. Political parties having high stakes in winning elections sometimes tend to play into the hands of such forces. All that the beleaguered community can hope for is to wait for the next government to show political will and frame a policy. We will have to keep drinking our cups of poison for some more time. Bitterness among mainstream Kashmir politicians is there for everyone to see. With skeletons in their cupboard threatening to tumble out, they can’t even open their mouths. KPs were never a vote bank therefore will remain ignored. With Supreme Court asking questions, how long can elections be delayed. Optimism also has it’s limitations.
Even on the eve of parliamentary elections there is still nothing much to look forward to, for the community. Sabka saath, sabka vishwas, sabka vikas and sabka prayaas seems to have inadvertently eluded the community. Yes financial compensation for victims of targeted killings is a reassuring measure. Also resolution of many issues of PM package employees is praiseworthy.
All this accounts for approximately twenty-five thousand people belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community. We are grateful for the measures. Now we need to plan for the whole community including these twenty-five thousand who are there due to the employment factor alone. For a rejuvenated Bharat, having refugees in it’s own country is disturbing. Rishi Sunak the British Prime Minister and his wife made no bones about their Sanatani ethos and beliefs which they wore on their sleeves, manifesting it in abundance upon their recent visit to Bharat. One can easily imagine the deep anguish and disappointment of a Kashmiri Pandit who still doesn’t have a sense of security although he desperately wants to regain his rightful place in the valley today and pray in the places of worship around which he has grown up. Narendra Modi continues to remain our best bet with his amazing and proven ability to achieve a consensus over irreconcilable issues even amongst sovereign states, despite their stated contrarian stances on international affairs. With his God given ability of pursuation, there should be little difficulty in carving out a consensus amongst the stakeholders of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in general and the valley in particular which has apparently been calm and relatively peaceful for some time now. Terrorism in Punjab during the eighties lasted for a decade before it was eliminated. Punjab is a border state as well. Pakistan infiltration along with narco terrorism are a reality even today. Khalistanis are yet another menace. Still people are living there. J&K has borne the brunt of terrorism for many decades. Three generations have lived through these turbulent years. Even root causes of terrorism have undergone changes. New dimensions have been added to the original causes that have been trumpeted by people having different ideologies, mainly to further their political goals and promote their economic interests. A breakthrough is required to extricate the valley from this cobweb. A sizeable number of Kashmiris want to consolidate the gains that have emerged from the unshackling of enigmatic Kashmir by virtue of the many measures taken by the Narendra Modi led Government including the dismantling of the ecosystem of terrorism and abrogation of articles 370&35A. Many more Kashmiris including the Pandits are waiting for an opportunity to play their role in any initiatives which may be launched by the UT Government and the GOI. It would be naive to imagine that anyone else can take any initiative to break the impasse. The minimum the displaced community waits for, is a clear and forthright mention in the manifesto of the BJP for the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Return and rehabilitation in Kashmir is our inalienable right. To strive for achievement of this goal the community also has to make concerted efforts. There will always be forces which will try to scuttle our efforts.
The extraordinary success of the G20 summit has generated an incredible euphoria throughout our country. Different sections of society will have different opinions about the perceived deliverables from this meeting. A sizeable number of people think that Bharat is emerging as the vishwaguru who will now be able to play a major role in world affairs. While it may be true in some respects but the flip side is that those nations who have been hitherto leaders in world affairs would not like this to happen. Reports emanating that the wily Chinese had tried to create a circuit for espionage during the summit through it’s delegates are to be taken seriously. Even people like Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot be expected to support Bharat as against Pakistan, ever. His clear message to MIKTA, a partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkiya and Australia, which I quote ” Instead of Islamophobia, we need to make mutual respect and a culture of coexistence prevail” has been made in reference to perceived policy of curtailing of freedom of expression and resistance towards accepting sharia laws by the west in their Muslim majority areas. Kashmir valley has been the Achilles heel of our nation where inimical nations like Pakistan, China and Taliban have been actively involved in creating unrest and disturbance for the past many decades. The comparative calm achieved in the valley in recent times will never be to their liking. Even the Soros supported ecosystem will try to ensure that terrorists receive aid in the form of men, arms and funds which has got affected due to the near bankruptcy of Pakistan. National conference and the PDP will be gaining no electoral benefit by entering into any alliance due to the inherent limitations of their constituencies. They must procrastinate before committing themselves any further, especially in view of the changes that have taken place post abrogation of articles 370&35A in their own backyard. Common sense requires that their primary objective should be to help establish permanent peace in the valley where they can pursue their political goals without any further threat and troubles that they have faced for decades. We all need to be proactive in the changed scenario.
(The author is President, Kashmiri Pandit Sabha Jammu)
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