The return of Kashmiri Pandits requires more than government schemes. It demands self-probing from the community, a changed attitude from Kashmiri Muslims, and a clear, achievable roadmap suited to social, political, and economic realities. Physical security, statutory protection of spiritual sites, and a meaningful presence in state institutions must be assured before displaced families can confidently return home.
L. Saraf
Is Kashmir ready to welcome Pandits? Turn around the question and ask: are Pandits prepared to return to Kashmir? This two-dimensional question needs a two-way answer.
The question did strike the minds of the Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) soon after their enforced displacement from their home. Then, they would eagerly say when and how they would return home! Almost everyone among them expressed a firm belief in the return. However, with the passage of time, as their exile got unintentionally elongated, a second thought developed in their minds. By then, many of them had adjusted to the new situation and some, perforce, compromised with what they thought was in their store and accepted that as a fait accompli. However, the return issue kept constantly taxing the minds of the displaced persons—as it did to some Kashmiri Muslims. Sometimes it came to the fore hard, and at times it receded into the background.
Today, the issue has resurfaced with a good deal of seriousness. Both Srinagar and Jammu political and social circles are abuzz with talk that the time has come when KPs should return and be welcomed in Kashmir. For many KPs, things seem to have cleared a bit, and for the KMs, the sight of the Pandits in their neighbourhood is also becoming rather clearer. The recently concluded GKPD Conclave held on the banks of Dal Lake, Srinagar, and the subsequent meeting organised at Amar Singh Club, Srinagar, where some KPs and persons from other faiths participated and deliberated upon how to rebuild inter-community relations and find a way for the Pandits’ honourable return to their home, did have some impact. These events were marked by a positive approach required for mutual reconciliation. Not to be missed here is the religious and social fervour witnessed around the religious places sacred to the Pandits—spread across the hills and plains of the Valley—where locals welcomed Hindu devotees with noticeable warmth.
KPs’ return to the Valley is not all that easy. They have a story and a recognition that lies bruised deep inside, which needs narration and an understanding, especially by the Kashmiri Muslims. With its post-1990 situation and as things stand today, the entire Pandit community is, perforce, now walking on a path of an irresistible trajectory, with the foregone conclusion of their collective destiny being that of fading into history as a lost community. Undoubtedly, members of the community individually are bound to thrive and prosper wherever they live on this planet. But the authenticity of being Kashmiri Pandits in their identity and make-up is bound to wane and then completely wither away with the passage of time.
It is agonising that the Internally Displaced KPs (IDPs) are still groping in darkness to find a path that may take them back to home, to Kashmir, from where they were hounded out. A path has to be found out. Though primarily it is a community job, nonetheless, other state and non-state actors too have a role cut out for them in this regard. Our neighbours (KMs), back home, may have to bear some responsibility.
What makes the KP problem worrying is that nobody has time and inclination to look for the truth. It is important to welcome self-probing and stay calm. We have allowed many problems to go unnoticed and unaddressed, to create the impression that it is acceptable to tolerate such things. It is for us to prepare and present an achievable return Road Map, suited to our social, political, and economic requirements—having regard for security concerns. The job cannot be left to others—certainly not to the government. Though the government’s role in ensuring the foregoing cannot be disregarded.
Apart from physical security issues, one of the main concerns among the aged and ageing IDPs is that with children far away, eking out a livelihood, there will be none to look after them in Kashmir—almost a new habitat to begin afresh. Given the paucity of sources to make earnings, these children will not find an attraction to return. The concern has some substance. But at the same time, one must keep in mind that residing at a place does not mean remaining fixed to that place forever. The exigencies of life often force a native to leave one place for another simply to earn a livelihood, as has been the case with so many of us. But while he moves out to the other place, the native always retains the right to come back or revisit the place, by choice. There is no impediment—physical, psychological, or emotional—for him to return home when occasion arises. Therefore, more than living at a native place, it is the unfettered right of egress and ingress that matters. Restoration of that inalienable right should be the guiding force when we think of return and resettlement in Kashmir—our birthplace.
Jammu and Kashmir needs peace and a congenial atmosphere. In this regard, the changed attitude of the KMs gives some hope. But the prevailing atmosphere in the Valley is still far from satisfactory on the security front. A trust deficit on the social circuit remains, which deters Pandits from embarking on a return journey. The initiatives referred to in the beginning may help reduce the deficit.
It is the duty of the state to give the displaced community what the Constitution has provided for the citizenry—as a measure of political, economic, and social empowerment. The KPs are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir; therefore, they should be recognised as such in terms of the relevant law applicable to minorities in the rest of the country. Similarly, their spiritual sites—temples and shrines—and their assets should have statutory protection, along with an assured architecture for democratic management. The KPs must have a meaningful presence in all organs of the state.
It is in the appropriateness of things that both communities commence and keep a dialogue going for achieving mutual understanding, which is very essential to promote human dignity. It is equally necessary to underline the need for interfaith harmony and to encourage those who are on the job in this regard. Recent attempts made in this direction are welcome. Kashmiri Pandits believe in a composite way of life in the Valley, where each one of the different creeds and faiths lived in harmony on equal terms. The bond of interdependence that existed earlier and held communities together, at some level, must be revived.
The writer – Bushan Lal Saraf – is a former Principal District & Sessions Judge
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