Kashmiri Pandits and their exodus from the Valley is at the heart of the election campaign in the union territory.
Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National Conference-Congress alliance have promised their rehabilitation. The BJP manifesto has announced the Tika Lal Taploo Visthapit Samaj Punarvas Yojana. Taploo, an advocate of the high court and a BJP leader, was one of the first Kashmiri Pandits who was killed by terrorists in Srinagar in September 1989. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a mention of him at his Doda rally. Kishtwar BJP candidate Shagun Parihar’s campaign is dotted with mention the horrific killing of her father and uncle by terrorists in 2018.
The NC-Congress alliance reminds the Pandit community of steps taken for their rehabilitation under Dr Manmohan Singh. Congress chief Malikarjun Kharge, during his Anantnag visit, has promised to take Dr Singh’s legacy forward in this regard.
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
In Nagrota’s Jagti Camp, there is a sense of despondency about these elections. Madhu Suri can’t stop her tears when asked about the past four decades of her life. “My elder son had cleft palate. We had gone to get him operated on at the PGI Chandigarh in September. We could never go home,” Madhu narrates amid sobs. i Camp, there is a sense of despondency about these elections. Madhu Suri can’t stop her tears when asked about the past four decades of her life. “My elder son had cleft palate. We had gone to get him operated on at the PGI Chandigarh in September. We could never go home,” Madhu narrates amid sobs.
Her husband, Rakesh Kumar Suri, points to their one-room quarter when asked if the government has taken steps to help them. “We have been allotted this room. Look around. See the wall. You can’t even hammer a nail here. The wall will collapse. We had a big house in Srinagar. For the past four decades, we have only got promises as we struggled from tents to pre-fab huts. We are still refugees in our own homeland,” Suri said, pointing to his belongings strewn all across the house.
Ashok Jagti has a similar story. “This election is meaningless for us. We would have voted if they had given a Pandit candidate. But instead, the government made Pandit representation nominated. So they will prioritise people who are nominating rather than raise our issues,” he said.
Badrinath, an octogenarian, tells News18 that Jamat’s entry into the electoral fray may be a positive development for the Pandit community. “Jamat is better for us than the NC and Congress. The NC did nothing to protect us when Jamat raised slogans to throw us out of the valley. Today, if they have a stake in democracy, may be things will change for us,” Badrinath said.
Sunil Jagti, however, disagreed. “I can never forget those days. As a 13-year-old, I lived on green peas for three days as we escaped from the valley in a truck. It was Dr Manmohan Singh’s government which gave us a package. The only government which did anything meaningful for us,” he said.
WHAT KASHMIRI PANDITS WANT
It is this sentiment that the Congress is highlighting in its campaign. As the PM touched down in J&K, Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “Why has the Government failed to support Kashmiri Pandits? The BJP has exploited the misery of the Kashmiri Pandits in every election campaign. However, 10 years after coming to power, the Government and the Home Minister have done absolutely nothing for the community and have not even held a meeting with the community’s representatives. In consultation with the community, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Government had devised a 6,000-job employment package for Kashmiri Pandit youth to take up jobs in Kashmir Valley. For all the bluster of the current Government, that remains the last major intervention by the Union Government to rehabilitate the Pandit community, even amidst a nationwide social and political consensus for the community’s Gharwapsi.”
Economic package, better accommodation and incentive to go back to the Valley is what the Kashmiri Pandit community in Jagti and Nagrota is seeking.
“They all say Pandits should go back. How will we? What steps are being taken to restore the houses that we had? The bond that we once had with our neighbours. Staying in ghettos will only make us more vulnerable,” Ashwini Bhatt signed off.
