Plight Of Kashmiri Pandits: Is Anyone Listening?
January 9th, 2009Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to leave their sacred land because of the war waged by Islamic terrorists must now live in despicable conditions in their own country and are on the verge of extinction as a race.
The present plight of the community, once given to academic, philosophical and spiritual pursuits, is now rootless and without identity. Over one thousand members of the community have been killed by the terrorists and the thousands are dying in the miserable camps for want of basic amenities, shelter, medicare and family support; and thousands of its youth are getting scattered in search of livelihood. It is feared that at the present rate of dispersal the community is disintegrating beyond redemption and facing total extinction.
Islamic fundamentalists have declared Jihad, holy war, upon India to validate Pakistan's indefensible aggression against her neighbor in the playground of Gods now turned into a graveyard of innocents. In Kashmir, Islamic terrorists have been unleashing forces of death and destruction against Kashmiri Hindus (also called Pandits), a minority community, to force a change in the demographic composition in their favor by squeezing them out of their homeland of the last five thousand years. The terrorism in Kashmir has resulted in:
Mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits - about 95% of their population
Murder of over one thousand Kashmiri Pandits
Forced conversions to Islam
Burning and looting of thousands of houses belonging to Kashmiri Pandits
The Muslim and Hindu peoples of Kashmir have lived in relative harmony and friendliness since the 13th century when Islam first became the majority religion in Kashmir. The Sufi-Islamic way of life that ordinary Muslims followed in Kashmir complemented the rishi tradition of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus), leading to a syncretic culture where Hindus and Muslims revered the same local saints and prayed at the same shrines.
Periodically however, there have been rulers and leaders who have had a narrow view of Islam, and have subjected Hindu minorities to great cruelties and discrimination. The current armed secessionist movement in Kashmir mostly derives its inspiration from these people.
The fact is that Kashmiri Pandits were driven from their homeland after a campaign of intimidation and harassment was launched against them by the military-wing of the secessionists. Kashmiri Pandits were forced from their hearths and homes at the point of gun. The objective of this ethnic cleansing was to create a minority-free Kashmir valley where the goal of Islamization could be easily forced on the ordinary people.
Called "migrants" by the administration, the Kashmiri Pandits are in fact refugees in their own country due to total failure of the Indian State to provide security and safety to them when they were ruthlessly persecuted, threatened, tortured and murdered by the Islamic terrorists.
PM can call the Australian PM and talk about Mohanmmed Hanif and demand his release. I think PM is simply for the minorities. But are Muslims the only Minorities in India? Talking of Haneef, oh may be he is not involved directly but do you think Australia would be stupid to arrest him for a reckless SIM card charge? PM is over looking the fact that HANEEF was related to the glasgow bombers and he MIGHt have a role to play? I am not saying he is guilty or involved in the plot but surely there are a lot of questions, more questions than answers. PM was sleepless over one individual but he doesnt care abt the kashmiri Pandits. BUT then BJP did nothing for them too. Huriyat is just a facade anyway, so dont expect much from them.
Terrorist violence is aimed at achieving the disengagement of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from India and its annexation to Pakistan. It is, the continuation of the Islamic fundamentalist struggle for the homeland of Pakistan which claims Jammu and Kashmir state on account of its Muslim majority character.
The major dimension of the terrorist violence in Kashmir is the terrorists' commitment to the extermination and subjugation of the Hindus in the state because Hindus do not subscribe to the idea of separation from India, nor do they expect to be governed by the authority of the state which derives its sanction from the law and precedent of Islam. Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) have always been in the forefront of the struggle against secessionism, communalism and fundamentalism. Hence this peace loving minority with a modern outlook became the main victim of terrorist violence. The strategies involved in the terrorists' operation against the Hindus in Kashmir include:
The extermination of Hindus
Subjecting Hindus to brutal torture to instill fear among them in order to achieve their submission.
To engineer a forced mass exodus of Hindus from the land of their ancestors and birth by way of issuing threatening letters, kidnappings and torture deaths on non-compllance of the terrorists' dictates and ensure the destruction of the secular and pluralistic character of the socio-political fabric of the Kashmiri Society.
Attacks, molestations, kidnappings, gang rapes of the women folk of the Hindus in order to instil fear and humiliation in them.
Destruction and burning of the residential houses of the Hindus who leave their homes in look out for safety. Looting of their properties and appropriation of their business establishments to ensure that they do not return.
Attachment of their landed property.
Destruction of the social base of the Hindus by the desecration and destruction of their places of worship.
Appropriation of the property of the Hindu shrines and its attachment to Muslim religious endowments.
Fact sheet Of Atrocities On Kashmiri Pandits
Educational Institutions burnt, damaged forcefully occupied : 105
Religious & Cultural Institutions Destroyed/burnt, damaged : 103
Shops, Factories looted/burnt/occupied : 14,430
Agriculture dependent families deprived of their land and source of income : 20,000
Horticulture dependent families deprived of their resource : 12,500
Houses Burnt : more than 20,000
Houses looted : 95%
Torture killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley : more than 1,100
Religious Sadism At Its Peak
Killing of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists clearly depicts extreme sadism. All victims have been subjected to extreme torture and terror.
Torture deaths have been brought about by such inhuman practices as:
Strangulation by using steel wires
Hanging
Impailing
Branding with hot irons
Burning alive
Lynching
Bleeding to death
Gouging out of vital organs
Dismemberment of Human bodies
Drowning alive.
Terrorists have frequently indulged in barbaric acts like performing 'death dances' after killing their target.
Many a time, dead bodies were not even allowed to be properly cremated.
Universal Apathy
Failure of Government of India:
The Jammu and Kashmir Government and Government of India have failed squarely to protect the Kashmiri Pandits against Islamic terrorism.
Jammu and Kashmir being the only Muslim majority state in whole of India, the protection of minorities and their living peacefully, in their homeland, is crucial for India to remain as a Secular Democratic State.
Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) from Kashmir valley is the crucial failure of Indian state to uphold its commitments to people of India as enshrined in Indian constitution which provides right to live with dignity and honour to every citizen irrespective of caste, creed, religion or colour.
This is a good revenge of Sonia Gandhi to her mother in law.
A colony for Pundits in Jammu
But what about their return to the valley, Mr. Prime Minister?
From Khajuria S. Kant in Jammu
The memorandum demanded reservation in Jammu and Kashmir Legislature and government jobs for the community as well as setting-up of three townships in Kashmir valley for their rehabilitation.
As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of a colony for the displaced families of Kashmiri Pandits at Jagati in the outskirts of the winter capital of J&K, during his visit to Jammu on July 15, it has created apprehension in the minds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits that this might further discourage their return.
Angry and disappointed over the “hollow” claims of the government regarding the return of the displaced Pandits back to the valley and rehabilitating them in safer zones, the Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) allege that central and state governments are not sincere about the issue. They aver that creation of colonies and townships for displaced Pandits in Jammu will further discourage their community people from returning back to valley.
“What is the need of creating a township for migrated Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu, when government is making tall claims about bringing them back to the valley? They are deceiving us and there is no sincerity in their claims,” said Ashok Kangan, state president, Jammu and Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM).
Strongly criticising the government decision to shift the Kashmiri Pandits from various camps in Jammu to Jagati in Nagrota as another displacement for the community, he said that if central and state governments are really sincere towards the return of displaced Pandits to their homeland then such a township should be constructed in Kashmir valley.
While addressing a press conference, national vice president of JKVM, Dr R.L. Bhat, its state president Ashok Kangan and senior functionary, Dr M.K. Bharat alleged that there is a lot of resentment among the displaced community over the government’s move. The Manch leaders made it clear that shifting of camps to Jagati will not provide any succour to displaced people but further add to their problems.
They said the Jagati move is a part of the game plan to scuttle the return process of Kashmiri Pandits to their homeland completely. “The bigger township means permanent settlement and we demand it in Kashmir valley where we have roots”, said Dr R.L. Bhat.
He accused the government of furthering the jehadi agenda by keeping the Pandit minorities outside Kashmir. The entire community is totally against the move as the government is following the agenda of ISI this way, he added.
Lambasting the government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, he said it did nothing over the years for the uplift of the community. The Prime Minister is playing tricks and the concern shown by him during his last visit at migrant camp Muthi was nothing except deception, he added.
Accusing the government of denying the allotment of two-room sets to migrants constructed in different camps, Ashok Kangan alleged the community has lost all faith in the government. He warned that the Pandits will launch protest against the government decision to shift the camps at Jagati.
The All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) president A.N. Vaishnavi warned that his organisation will hold demonstrations in case the migrants putting up at Mishriwala, Muthi and Purkhoo were dislocated.
Vaishnavi was talking to a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits from these camps who urged him to persuade the government not to go ahead with shifting of the camps to Jagati. He assured these migrants that they will not be dislocated from the present camps. Vaishnavi urged the government to adopt the policy of economic rehabilitation for the community.
The KP leaders submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister on behalf of the displaced KPs soon after the foundation-laying ceremony of the migrant township at Jagati, 25-km from Jammu city.
It demanded reservation in Jammu and Kashmir Legislature and government jobs for the community as well as setting-up of three townships in Kashmir valley for their rehabilitation. It said at least three such satellite townships should be set up in Kashmir immediately with a “self-governing arrangement”.
In order to restore political rights to Kashmiri Pandits in the state, the memorandum demanded the reservation of three Assembly seats in the State Legislature.
It also demanded reservation in central and state services including banks, public sector undertakings (PSUs), autonomous bodies and educational institutions for the community.
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