Remembrance:
19th January is the day of holocaust for all Kashmiri Hindus; for it was on this day in 1990 the campaign of genocide of the Hindus in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was publicly proclaimed by the Muslim fundamentalists.
While there were many provocations in the past but the tipping point for our exodus can be summarized in the words of Rahul Pandita a well-known community Author and Activist ….” The voices that addressed us from mosques all over Kashmir Valley on the night of January 19, 27 years ago, were not meant to liberate us from fear; they were meant to engulf us into fear so dense, so searing, that we would flee our homes from the next morning onwards.”
The night of January 19, 1990 was a cold, winter night. All was not well in Kashmir. But we were hopeful; we thought it was a temporary phase; we thought it will pass. We were inside our homes. But hundreds of thousands of people were out, most of them in mosques.
At 10pm, it began. Not in one street, not in one locality, not in one district; it began in the entire Valley, from north to south, east to west. Now remember: this is 1990. There are no cellphones. There is no Facebook or Twitter. Even the landline density is minimal. But it is all so well planned, and the Kashmiri Pandits have no clue; the Indian State has no clue – it is paralyzed, it is on its knees. At 10pm, people are out on the streets. They are shouting for our blood. In mosques, they are asking for our annihilation. They shout:
1. "Battan hund byol, Khodayan gol" (The seed of the Pandits has been destroyed by Allah).
2. "Assi gacchi panunuy Pakistan, Batav rostuy, Batanein saan" (We want our Pakistan, without Pandit men, but with their women).
3. "Dil mein rakho Allah ka khauf, haath mein rakho Kalashnikov" (In your heart keep the fear of Allah, and in your hands: Kalashnikov).
4. "Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa" (What will run here? The rule of Mustafa).
5. "Naara-e-taqbeer: Allah ho Akbar".
Imagine our plight! Imagine what ran through our minds! Imagine the fear on our faces, the sweat on our brows; imagine our heartbeat! We have nowhere to go, nobody to protect us. Some of us who have telephones are making frantic calls: to ministers, to police officers, to Union home secretary. But nobody comes to our rescue. We pass that night, somehow. Next morning, we prepare to leave…..”
Way Forward:
On 19th January, 2017, Kashmir Sabha Vadodara stands in solidarity with our community all over India and abroad to issue an appeal on behalf of our organizations to every Nationalist to impress upon the Govt. of India to address the issues agonizing our community for the last 27 years.
- Truth & Reconciliation of the Holocaust:
- This is expected to bring a closure to our plight where we cannot detach this from our psyche. It is also important to pass on this tragedy to our gen-next to allow them to go forth without victimhood which has engulfed us in absence of a sense of justice.
- Resettlement of Migrants -both Economic as well as Cultural
- Many of our migrant families have not been able to settle down in a meaningful way outside the valley. These are the ones for whom the resettlement is critical. Also remember that KP’s have survived as a community only because of those who could choose to live back in the valley. They are our link to our roots.
- Save our Temples and Shrines in Kashmir -Passing of Temples and Shrines Bill in J&K Assembly
- Of the 975 Temples and 428 shrines ,347 stand destroyed or vandalized. Religious beliefs is a critical cultural marker of our community. Return to our roots shall not become a reality unless these revered places are restored and preserved. It needs a concerted community action. The state can support it by passing these to the rightful owners -KP’s under a statute by reviving & passing the bill.
- Minority Status for KP’s as aborigines of J&K State
- As a long-term measure to safeguard the aborigines of the valley, we must fight for minority rights. The Nation should support this initiative in spite of the convention not allowing this to be taken on a community basis.
- Political Representation as a minority
- In the long term, we should fight for political representation in the valley. In view of our dispersion in the valley, we could not assert any meaningful rights in the past.
- Declaring Kashmiri Hindus outside the state as IDP’s
- We are by any international definitions a community which needs to be declared as IDP.GOI should shed the hesitancy and face the reality.
- Carving out a state specifically for KP’s within the valley-Panun Kashmir
- This could be pursued as an ultimate goal with all above failing to materialize.
