Hyderabad: Union home minister Amit Shah said that the government has decided to resettle all displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley by 2022 in Lok Sabha on 13th February.
Who are Kashmiri Pandits?
The Kashmiri Pandits are Hindu minority—mainly Brahmins and followers of Shaivism—of Kashmir.
In 1941 census Kashmiri Pandits constituted about 15% of the Kashmir valley Population. By 1981 they are reduced to a mere 4% of the Population (Our moon has blood clots - Rahul Pandita)
Events that led to the Kashmir Pandits exodus
1984: In Jammu Kashmir, in 1984, Farooq Abdullah’s government was toppled by his brother-in-law, Ghulam Mohd. Shah, also known as Gulshah. He then became the Chief Minister of the state of J&K. Contrary to initial beliefs; he supposedly ran a rogue government. He allegedly started aggressive Islamisation in the valley.
February 1986: Major anti-Pandit riots broke out in South Kashmir's Anantnag area. Pandits beaten their women raped several houses and temples are burnt down.
1987: In 1987, elections took place which was allegedly rigged by the Congress and Farooq Abdullah. The suspected rigged elections led to the rise of separatists. . The State elections of 1987 added oil to the flames and all separatist, anti-India groups united under one banner to contest elections to fulfil their ulterior motives.
The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) became more and more active under Farooq Abdullah’s government. Religious conflict and communal hatred had begun.
July 1988: Two low-intensity bombs rock Srinagar.
September 1989: Pandit political activist, Tika Lal Taploo shot dead by armed men outside his residence.
1990: The Kashmiri Pandits (KP) began to panic widely. After the resignation of Farooq Abdullah in the year 1990, President’s rule is applied and a lot of political ruckus manifests, the Anti-Hindu movement and the exodus gained speed.
January 1990: Massive crowds assemble in Mosques across valley shouting anti-India, anti -Pandit slogans, The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits begins. In the next few months, hundreds of innocent Pandits are tortured, killed and raped. By the year-end, about 350,000 Pandits have escaped from the valley and taken refuge in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. only a handful of them stay back.
March 1997: Terrorists drag out seven Kashmiri Pandits from their houses in Sangrampora village and gun them down.
January 1998: 23 Kashmiri Pandits, including women and children shot in cold blood in Wandhama village.
March 2003: 24 Kashmiri Pandits, including infants, brutally shot dead in Nadimarg village.
August 2019: Narendra Modi government abrogates Article 370. The decision was welcomed by the Kashmiri Pandits.
Registered Kashmir Pandit families: The Government of Jammu & Kashmir has reported that due to the onset of militancy in Kashmir valley in the 1990s, the number of registered migrant families currently residing in Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere in the country is as under:
Also read: 'We demand restoration of J-K's special status not statehood'
The Kashmir Pandit Exodus in Numbers:
The Numbers from different Organizations
- A report by the Jammu and Kashmir government states that 219 members of the Pandit community, out of the 1,400 Hindus, were killed in the region between 1989 and 2004 – but none thereafter.
- Contradicting the government’s claims, Panun Kashmir, a political group representing the Pandits, published a list that stated 1,341 Pandits were killed since 1990.
- According to political scientist Alexander Evans, 95 percent of the Kashmiri Pandits living in the Valley left in 1990 — between 1,50,000 and 1,60,000.
- A 2010 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of Norwegian Refugee Council suggested that over 2,50,000 Pandits have been displaced since 1990.
Early promises of Rehabilitation of Kashmir Pandits
- The UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April 2008 announced a proposal of Rs 1,618 crore packages for the return and rehabilitation of Pandits following a similar package in 2004. The assistance offered for reconstruction or construction of houses was capped at Rs. 7.5 lakh.
- Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced Rs. 500-crore special package for rehabilitation of Kashmir Pandits in the Union Budget 2014.
- In 2017, Union Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Srinagar the government's decision to construct 6,000 transit accommodations for the Pandits – but this plan too did not see the light of day.
BJP Promises in its 2014 and 2019 Manifestos to facilitate Kashmir Pandits safe return.
2014 Manifesto: The return of Kashmiri Pandits to the land of their ancestors with full dignity, security and assured livelihood will figure high on the BJP's agenda.
2019 Manifesto: We will make all efforts to ensure the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits.
