B L Saraf
It took just one statement of the BJP’s official in charge of J&K affairs to burst the bubble and disrupt the beeline , made by the Pandit leaders to the minions in the Union Home Ministry, claiming patient audience and offering them out of box solutions to the vexed issue of Pandit’s return to rehabilitation in Kashmir. It is official. R .P Singh, co – in charge for Jammu and Kashmir said in Jammu that his party ( BJP ) is not for a separate place for Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
Advent of Modi lead BJP Government at Centre has given a new impetus to the move. A number of ideas are afloat regarding return to and rehabilitation of the Pandits in the Valley. Some want them to be settled in an exclusive corner – administered by the Central Government- where “Constitution of India will flow freely”. Some propagate theory of Satellite Township, some want rehabilitation in three towns located in different places in the Valley. While as some want them to return to the old places. Everyone of them comes up with an argument to buttress his point. Each position needs to be evaluated on its merits, factoring in the elements of Desirability and Achievability. When we talk of these elements, desirability of all the stakeholders – locals, the displaced, Governmental (both State and the Central) and others has to be taken into the consideration. How far the idea is achievable without disturbing stated positions at the national and international levels, is of prime consideration. Pandits are , undoubtedly, imbued with a strong nationalistic fervour . So, it is important for them to see that the Constitution of India flows freely across the State, as was established by Maharaja Gulab Singh, and is not restricted just to two and a half Tehsils in South Kashmir, leaving the remaining vast area to the tender mercies of the religious fanatics, where sectarian laws, in their ugliest form, would flow freely .
Old habitas , from where the Pandits got displaced , is lost – not only to the Pandits but also to those among the majority community who were their neighbours . Their dwelling houses have been raised to the ground; the lands underneath and appurtenant thereto have been usurped. In some cases, the Government has, unimaginatively, invoked public interest to acquire their properties . So, the old environment is unavailable to the displaced. The question of return of the Panditis has, actually, turned into an enigma wrapped in a mystery. It will take lot of imagination, foresight and hard ground calculations to solve the riddle. Any haste made in this direction would prove a problem rather than a solution. It has to be ensured that remedy doesn’t become worse than the disease. There are many challenges in the path. So are people with extreme and irreconcilable positions on both sides of Bannihal Tunnel. We need a composite civil society of Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims which will strive for a common space and break the stereotypes; and help in ironing out creases developed in the inter – community relations . The opinion makers in the majority community in Kashmir will have to summon courage and tell the separatist leaders and the ” Grand Muftis ” that return of Pandits to their home is not a demographic change but restoration of the ethnic balance, so integral to the Kashmiri ethos. The so called religious leader should be told to desist from equating Pandit return to the Valley with the settlements of aliens in Palestine. In Kashmir the case is reverse. Kashmir without Hindus is an ethnically cleansed state. Hindus in Kashmir have a right to live where ever they want, albeit in an ambience dotted with all sections of the Kashmir society. Out of so many ideas floating around, the Idea of Kashmir, indelibly ingrained in the sands of times, has to be kept in mind.
While as Pandit’s livening in a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere, in the Valley, largely depends upon smooth inter – community relations, nevertheless the State Governmen has a significant role to facilitate such a living. The least it could do, in the first place, is to de-notify the migrant’s land under acquisition and, secondly, implement the employment component of the P M’s package. Apart from that, a high quality work environment has to be created to attract the KP boys and girls, who have worked in such atmosphere elsewhere in the globe. This will ensure retention of equally highly qualified Muslim boys and girls in the Valley. Such a move will allay fears of discrimination, mistrust and heart burning. Give Kashmiri youth a robust reason to stick to the roots. Provide them a common ground to discuss reconciliation and shared opportunities. After all it is the quality of relationship among the youth of both the communities that will mark the inter – community harmony in the long run. Rest may be the cosmetics.
( The author is former , Principal District & Sessions Judge)
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