Kashmiri migrants are agitating for their settlement.(pic)
Ravi Speaks:
Though I haven’t really been a political commentator, as a commoner and a patriotic Kashmiri Pandit, I do carefully look ahead for the government’s future course of action with regard to rehabilitation.
There is a section of people who think that the government hasn’t done anything substantial for the settling of the KP-issue. In fact they say that the government has done nothing to address the situation and has not made favourable conditions for the community’s rehabilitation, instead using the misfortune of the Pandits for electoral gain. In fact the BJP’s strategy has increased insecurity for the displaced Pandits by escalating regional and religious polarization.
If we go back to the times when in 2019 the abrogation of the article 370 and 35A took place. We all were very happy and thrilled with the bold step taken by the Modi Government. There were the comments that the three decades agony of Pandits would be dealt with very firmly and certain acts would be brought about reaffirming the safety and security of Kashmiri Pandits especially looking to their plight in 1989-90 at the time of exodus.
The immediate concrete step taken by the government as a result of abrogation of the article was the introduction of the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Amendment bill’. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, is an act of the Indian parliament that goes into effect on October 31, 2019, and it contains provisions to rebuild the Indian-administrated state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Indian-administrated union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. As a result, in place of the 1954 order that applied all of the Indian constitution’s clauses to Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian President issued an order that supersedes it.
Despite all of this, only the jobs offered to the Pandits in the valley with restrictions constituted a significant, practical step toward the community’s proper relocation. Once more, there was a wave of massacres of Pandits and even other valley outsiders/foreigners. The Kashmiri Pandits serving in the valley were quite apprehensive and afraid as a result of this.
We even saw another mini-exodus when those who were given jobs in the valley had to leave the area to protect their lives. How long would it take the government to actually propose a solution to the issue is the only thing that comes to mind.
Now it is learnt that to ensure Kashmiri Pandits have a voice in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, the Centre is planning to amend the law and shall be giving them the membership in the assembly.
Groups of Kashmiri Pandits have long desired representation in the state assembly as a way to guarantee the protection of their political rights. Additionally, they had informed the committee that they had been expelled from their homes and had been made to live as refugees within their own nation.
There will be two Kashmiri-Pandit nominees from Kashmir for the legislature. The decision is justified by “three decades of persecution and defending the community’s political rights.” According to sources, the nominated members would participate in the legislature using the same model as Puducherry.
How the community will regain its courage and confidence to face the valley’s terrorists’ gunfire through such tactics is still an open-ended question.
The designated representatives and leaders of the Kashmiri pandit community should have been engaged in ongoing constructive dialogue, and there should have been concrete efforts taken to remove any remaining terrorists from the valley at the same time.
In order for the inhabitants of the valley to openly accept the actions taken by the Indian government that are for their improvement and prosperity, there must be a serious attempt to regain their trust.
This appears to be a lengthy process, and ongoing, earnest efforts must be made in that direction. We are constantly on the lookout for a strong solution that would end these issues once and for all, and the government must follow suit.
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