On the heels of the recent meeting of the Apex Committee on return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri displaced persons, chaired by the Chief Minister, the follow up action comes in without loss of time. The Chief Secretary is leading a delegation of senior bureaucrats for discussions with Union Home Ministry on the subject. In the meeting of the Apex Committee, the chief minister indicated his government’s willingness to meet number genuine demands of the displaced persons to overcome their immediate and long range problems. The displaced community has, by and large, appreciated the goodwill gesture of the chief minister and his colleagues. It appears that gradually deck is being cleared for the return of these people to the valley. For quite some time stalemate of sorts had ensued in moving the matter of the return of the natives. This is now broken, and the credit goes to the chief minister. His positive approach to the entire issue has made it easier for the bureaucracy to pursue the demands in right perspective. Of course, return and rehabilitation is a complicated and sensitive issue and twenty-two years of absence from Kashmir is a long and painful story for the displaced persons. The Prime Minister’s 1618 crore rupees package for the relief and rehabilitation of militancy affected people in the State is the basis of rehabilitation policy. But, as was indicated by some of the stakeholders, this package also needed revision and modification in order to make Pandit return practicable and viable. It is also known that there are more opinions and suggestions with saner and more sensible groups among the Kashmiri Pandits that take care of the concerns of all the stakeholders at various levels. These advocates of nationalistic outreach may not be the members of Apex Committee or other semi-official organizations, nevertheless the Government in the State and at the Centre would do well to know and think over some of the pragmatic suggestions that might introduce the return of the displaced persons as a new and realistic phenomenon of post-militancy Kashmir. After all, all communities have to live together in Kashmir in peaceful coexistence. The fundamentals of their return would be to create atmosphere conducive to peaceful coexistence and mutual trust and confidence. The ugly, sordid and painful part of the story of militancy and exodus has to be repaired and substituted by a new era of fine-tuned relationship in which economic factor plays the crucial role. In a pluralistic society the majority needs to carry the minority along out of gentle persuasion and a sense of humanism while the minority needs to understand and concede the primordial status of the majority. Goodwill of the majority is the solid security to a minority as a matter of principle.
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