Author: Seema Kachru
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: May 2, 2003
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/02guest.htm
Once again, spring is round the
corner and the majestic chinars will enrich the Kashmir skies. But will
it change anything for the Kashmiri Pandits? Will this year be any different?
Having been overlooked for so long,
the Pandits were daring to dream about returning to the homes they had
left years ago. After nearly a decade-and-a-half of bloodshed, the air
was again filled with anticipation. Whenever any such feeling occurs, it
is cut short by brutal massacres forcing them to put their dreams on hold
again.
Whenever there is a massacre of
Kashmiri Hindus, it makes news for a day or two. A central government team
pays a flying visit to the site of the tragedy and reiterates that the
government has formulated a strategy to combat such cold-blooded killings.
The political parties are quick to denounce cross-border terrorism sponsored
by Pakistan while the Hurriyat leadership and other self-styled intellectuals
describe it as a handiwork of security forces or Indian intelligence agents.
A bandh is observed for a day and then everything is forgotten till another
massacre.
The mindless attack in the Nadimarg
hamlet of south Kashmir on March 23 has spilled water over the state government
claims that security and rehabilitation of the minority community is their
top priority. What security are they talking about? Nadimarg is one of
the most gruesome genocides in the long history of mayhem in Kashmir.
How can a human being possibly commit
or even witness such a gruesome act? Kashmiris were famous for kangri jung
(fire pot war) or war of words, but not anymore.
Surprisingly, the Nadimarg incident
happened in the backyard of a police picket. Such carnage would not have
been possible without long time planning and help from the local police.
As per some reports, the terrorists disarmed policemen and used their guns
to kill people.
The incident has shattered the hopes
and aspirations of about 400,000 Pandit refugees scattered all over the
country and abroad. Those Pandits who stayed back braving all odds in the
valley are rethinking about their safety and are horrified by the recent
statement by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba threatening to eliminate Hindus in the
valley. Some Pandit families have already moved to Jammu for their safety.
So where do they go from here? Is
this going to be the final exodus for Kashmiri Pandits?
The endless death-list highlights
the grand design to trammel any proposal for the return of the Pandits.
Targeted mass killings have ensured the failure of every proposal to resolve
the problem of the exiled Pandits. This also proves beyond doubt that instead
of making tall claims about their safe return, successive governments have
completely failed to provide proper protection to even the few members
of the community who braved all odds to stay back in J&K.
The People's Democratic Party-led
state government is releasing more and more criminals from jails, providing
the 'healing touch' to their families and convincing the central government
to hold talks with the Hurriyat Conference. They are wooing Bollywood and
courting industrialists to invest in Kashmir in the name of peace and prosperity.
Providing jobs for the kin of terrorists
is a 'healing touch,' but doing the same for a Kashmiri Pandit is nowhere
in the agenda. What is Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed trying to prove?
Does he want to say he has taken care of terrorism and all is fine in Kashmir?
Does he seriously think industrialists will pump in money at a place where
the common man's life is uncertain and terrorists are released to kill
innocents?
Kashmir is not okay, Mr Sayeed.
Kashmir is not fine. Why can't you see it? Fourteen years, thousands of
lives, billions of rupees and not a lesson learnt.
In fact, the conflict is at its
worst today. The series of attacks on army camps, increased number of encounters
and heightened security operations all support this -- a view that both
the state and central governments are at pains to contradict.
The recent spurt of violence, they
say, is just a spurt. Another wave that will soon subside. Perhaps they
don't understand it is the 10 major strike after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's
government took over power in the state. As per his healing touch plan
for the Pandits' return, they are to be kept in two security zones, where
all security will be provided and the Pandits would be herded in worse
than a concentration camp-like situation. Even if the plan succeeds, is
this the solution to their plight?
Looking at the present scenario
it seems Kashmiri Hindus serve only one purpose for the country: as convenient
political footballs. Leaders kick them as per their needs and they get
torn between the whims of politicians.
The Bharatiya Janata Party literally
came into power by selling their plight. They promised that once in power
they would abrogate Article 370 which would put an end to the turmoil as
outsiders could also buy property and live in Kashmir. It was a good card,
but once in power they never practised it.
So what did they do different from
the previous Congress regime? Mere talking and condemning is not going
to solve the Kashmir situation. Leaders in Delhi blame Pakistan, but cannot
do anything about it. Who are they scared of?
There is no use of democracy for
countries that cannot protect their people. We definitely need a dictator
who can regain the self-respect of the country. Why can't these leaders
take some lesson from the Western world where leaders waged a war just
to protect their citizens from future attacks.
If the US can attack Iraq, terming
Saddam Hussein a terrorist, then Pakistan is a terrorist hub. India can
take this opportunity and destroy terrorist camps inside Pakistan. If the
US could not use peaceful measures in resolving the Iraqi situation, why
should India not follow suit?
The time is ripe for India to show
that there cannot be two definitions of what constitutes terror. Taking
such provocation lying down would be the surest way to invite many more
such heinous acts. Inaction is already breeding a feeling of betrayal among
a majority of people in the country, which can one day prove catastrophic.
The irony is even now, when so many
Kashmiri Pandits are being killed due to lack of security, leaders are
telling them to stay back. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani while blaming
Pakistan for the recent massacre told the Pandits that if they felt insecure
they could migrate, but felt their migration would only amount to playing
into the 'enemy's hands.' True it might, but what about their lives? Who
is going to bring back all those dead? How long will Kashmiri Pandits get
killed in order to keep the Indian flag fluttering in Kashmir?
Fourteen years and still counting.
How many more years can they last before being added to the ranks of India's
forgotten race?
(Seema Kachru is a freelance writer
and PR consultant in Houston, Texas, USA)
