[Reader-list] No. 2: Nandimarg Massacre, Kashmir - Statements / Press Coverage

[Harsh Kapoor]

[28 March 2003]

Second Compilation of material on the Massacre in Nandimarg [Kashmir] 
23, March 2003 *

A : Declarations and Statements by Citizens Groups and Governments
B : Op-Ed.s and Reports


------------

A. : Declarations  and Statements by Citizens Groups and Governments

#1.


Pakistan India Peoples' Forum for Peace & Democracy
(India Chapter)

Press Release 
25th March 2003

Condemn killings of innocent people in Kashmir

The Pakistan India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy condemn the 
barbaric incident whereby alleged militant groups have killed 24 
innocent people belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community. As per 
media reports, the dead include 11 women, 2 children and 9 male 
adults.

Triggered by religious fundamentalism, incidents like this hamper all 
attempts to bring peace back to the blood-ridden Kashmir Valley. 
Incidents like these are not only attempted at sabotaging the peace 
initiatives in Kashmir, but also are aimed at maligning the secular 
and harmonious fabric of Kashmir. We condemn all such attempts at 
terrorising the people or any section of it, by armed groups or 
individuals.

In this hour of grief, we join the families of those killed and 
injured in the incident at NADIMARG in South Kashmir. We request the 
Kashmir state government to institute a high-level enquiry into the 
incident bringing to book all those who committed this inhuman act.

We call upon all peace loving people of Kashmir and rest of India to 
refrain from any act of violence, which will further worsen the 
present turmoil existing in the state.

We strongly believe that such attempts at disrupting initiatives for 
peace will not succeed and that the people of Kashmir will not 
tolerate any violation of the right to life of all citizens.

On Behalf of PIPFPD,

Admiral Ramdas                                                   Sushil Khanna

Chairperson, India Chapter                       G. Secretary


_____


#2.

A Public Statement
March 25, 2003

A cowardly, yet horrendously brutal, killing of innocent people has 
shattered the Kashmir Valley again.

In the nightly hours of March 23, twenty-four men, women and children 
were gunned down by unknown attackers in the village of Nadimarg 
(Pulwama). The victims were all Hindu Pandits of Kashmir.

We in SANSAD (South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy) and 
in INSAF (International South Asia Forum) utterly condemn this savage 
act, this crime against humanity.

When members of any particular community are subjected to brutal 
killings - whether they are Sikhs in Punjab, Christians, Dalits, 
Tribals and Muslims in Gujarat and elsewhere, the fragile secular and 
democratic make-up of the Indian society goes through another 
challenging test.

For over twelve years now, the people of Kahmir have been subjected 
to a never-ending vortex of violence. The entire people have been 
turned into helpless victims of the terror inflicted by the 
contending forces, while their genuine aspirations for peace, 
dignity, and democratic rights of self-determination remain crushed.

It is very unfortunate that every time there is some movement toward 
normalization of social relations, some movement toward peace in the 
entire region, it becomes disrupted by such wanton and melicious acts 
of interruption. It is obvious that there are vested interests who do 
not want the Kashmir problem to be solved.

That the secular and harmonious aspects of the Kashmiri society have 
yet not been destroyed is indicated by the manner in which the entire 
community in the village of Nadimarg came together to mourn the 
deaths of the innocents. Muslim men and women wiped their own tears 
and those of the survivors of the Hindu families.

  ''We don't believe this could happen here,'' said Khatija Bano, a 
Muslim housewife. ''I am shocked. Why will anybody kill these poor 
people? They had nothing to do with anything. They were struggling 
like all of us for two meals a day here in this far off village,'' 
she said. ''They had not left the village because they had always 
felt safe here. It is their home like it is our home''.

It is noteworthy that all the Muslim, Christian, Sikh and the 
democratic/secular organizations have strongly condemned this ghastly 
act, and have demanded from the Government of India and of Jammu and 
kashmir to find the culprits, and to take the necessary steps in 
bringing security and a sense of dignity to all the people in Jammu 
and Kashmir.

We in SANSAD and INSAF join these voices of sanity, and of goodwill.

Hari Sharma
president, SANSAD (South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy)
president, INSAF (International South Asia Forum)

residence: 8027 Government Road, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 2E1
phone: 604 - 420-2972
fax: 604 - 420-2970

_______


#3.

From: "Gadar Heritage Foundation"
Subject: [gadar13] (unknown) Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 08:24:09 +0000

Massacre of Kashmiri Pandits

We are shocked and horrified by the news of the inhuman and 
unconscionable massacre of 24 innocent Kashmiri Pandit children, 
women and men in Pulwama district of Kashmiri Valley late last night. 
We condemn this ghastly killing of defenceless people in the 
strongest possible terms.

The cowards behind the latest outrage are unlikely to identify 
themselves. But there can be do doubt that the latest massacre is a 
desperate bid by those eager to communalise the Kashmir issue to 
sabotage any effort towards ensuring the return of the Kashmiri 
Pandits to their homes.

Our hearts go out to the survivors of the carnage in particular, and 
the Kashmiri Pandit community in general, the overwhelming majority 
of whom have been condemned to live the life of refugees in their own 
country because of Pakistan-aided terrorism in the Valley. We demand 
an urgent review of the security arrangements for Kashmiri Pandits 
throughout the Valley and immediate and adequate compensation for the 
families of those killed by the J&K government.

The J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has called it “[an] 
unpardonable crime by militants to derail the peace process initiated 
in J&K by the coalition government.” He has also said he has asked 
the security forces to launch a massive manhunt and bring the killers 
to the book for "these gun-wielding militants deserve no mercy."

However, we also demand a thorough investigation in the security 
lapses that turned the vulnerable Kashmiri Pandits into easy targets 
of mass murderers who pretend to be serving lofty causes.

Signatories:

Javed Anand (Co-editor, Communalism Combat, Mumbai)
Teesta Setalvad (Co-editor, Communalism Combat, Mumbai)
Javed Akhtar (Poet and Lyricist)
Shabana Azmi, (Rajya Sabha MP, social activist and actress).
Dr. Agni Shekhar (Panun Kashmir)
Askok Pandit (Panun Kashmir)
Mahesh Bhatt, Film director
Farooque Shaikh, films, theatre and TV personality
Nikhil Wagle, Editor, Apla Mahanagar
Sajid Rashid, Editor, Hindi Mahanagar
Hasan Kamal, Lyricist and Columnist
Gulam Mohamed Peshimam,Businessman
Sushobha Barve, Social Activist
Javed Siddiqui, Writer
Aslam Parvaiz, Advertising
Farrukh S. Waris, Educationist
Syed Firoz Ashraf, Social Activist
Yacoob Rahee, Writer, Social Activist
Fazal Shaad, Social Activist
Abdulkader Mukadam, Columnist, Social Activist
Khan Ahmed Ali, Social Activist
Vaqar Kadvi, Social Activist
Shamim Tariq, Social Activist
Salem bin Razak, Social Activist
Muqaddar Hameed, Writer
Khan Ayub, Social Activist
Salim Alware, Social Activist

_______


#4.

Indian Muslim Federation (UK)
Press Release - For Immediate Issue
Dated: 26 March 2003

A COLD BLOODED MASSACRE

The Indian Muslim Federation (UK) condemns the barbaric massacre of 
innocent 24 Kashmiri Pandits and their families including women and 
children  on Monday in village Nandimarg of Pulwama in South of 
Kashmir, India.

"This is the most horrific cold-blooded murder. It is one of the 
darkest days of the valley. These marauder robots have no feelings, 
no shame and no religion - Savages who have no regards for human 
lives. It is about time that the Indian Government should take 
effective steps to check this trans-border terrorism" said Shamsuddin 
Agha, the President of Indian Muslim Federation (UK).

"Our hearts go to the grieving families of the victims who have 
suffered irrecoverable loss. May the souls of the departed rest in 
peace" Shamsuddin Agha further added.

Press release issued by:
Indian Muslim Federation (UK)
Trinity Close, London E11 4 RP
Tel: +44 20 8558 6399
Fax: +44 20 8539 0486

_______


#5.

NRIS FOR SECULAR & HARMONIOUS INDIA      
115 W.  238th Street, Bronx, New York 10463                 
Friday, March 28th 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

           NRIS CONDEMN KASHMIR MASSACRE

                         New York, New York—“We the Non Resident 
Indians strongly condemn the killing of 24 innocent Hindus in the 
village of Nadimarg in Kashmir valley recently.  Terrorists posing as 
security force.  The merciless brutes did not even spare women and 
children, killing eleven women and two children


             “The Hindu Kashmiri Pandits are blood brothers of many of 
the Muslim Kashmiri Pandits and had enjoyed warm relationship with 
each other. They have common ancestors; common traditions until the 
separatist and terrorist created a gulf between them by taking to 
violence for their own political ends.

“Historically, India has led the world in pursuit of peace, 
tranquility and maintaining communal harmony among people of all 
faiths.  It is sad to see these ancient values and wisdom challenged 
by the political culture of today.

            “Sufferings of the people of Kashmir, both Hindus and 
Muslims, but especially the attacks on Kashmiri Hindus in a clear 
attempt at forcing them to migrate out of the Kashmir valley, are 
deplorable and must be stopped at once.
             “We the undersigned individuals and groups represent the 
broadest cross section of Non Resident Indians of all faith and no 
faith such as Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Parsees, Sikhs, Jains, 
Buddhist, Atheists and others strongly urge the President, Prime 
Minister, leaders of all political parties, religious and social 
leaders, members of India’s Parliament and all other citizens of 
India to urgently take these steps:

Ø     Identify The 'Guilty' And Vigorously Prosecute Them.
Ø     Provide Urgent Relief & Rehabilitation Help To The  Survivors 
of The Massacre
Ø     Protect Against Future Attacks on  Hindus And Possible Backlash 
Against Muslims
Ø     Form 'Sadbhavana Committees’ All Over The State Of Kashmir To 
Strengthen Communal Harmony.

             “We offer our deepest condolences to the family members 
of the 24 people killed in Nadigram and laud their courage for 
staying back in Kashmir valley to preserve the unity and integrity of 
India.

             “We salute you the brave people of Nadigram.  We stand 
with you in your hour of grief and promise to work with you to defeat 
the forces of hatred, communalism and separatism,” this statement was 
released by Mr. Satinath Choudhary, the national co-coordinator of 
Non Resident Indians for Secular and Harmonious India.

  Individuals:
Shrikumar Poddar, Okemos, Michigan, USA
K. S. Sripada Raju, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Devesh Poddar, Okemos, Michigan, USA 
Najid Hussein, Bear, Delaware, USA
Satinath Choudhary, New York, New York, USA
Mayurika Poddar, Okemos, Michigan, USA

Organizations:
India Foundation, Lansing, Michigan
International Service Society, East Lansing, Michigan
Washington Watch Inc. East Lansing, Michigan
Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment, Lansing, Michigan
Educational Subscription Service, Lansing, Michigan
Seva International, Okemos, Michigan
India Development Society, East Lansing, Michigan
NRIs For Secular & Harmonious India, New York, NY, USA

_______


#6.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1048701995178

JOINT STATEMENT BY JACK STRAW & COLIN L POWELL ON VIOLENCE IN KASHMIR 
(27/03/03)

The United States and the United Kingdom strongly condemn the 
massacre of innocent civilians in Kashmir on March 23. Nothing can 
justify such a vicious and cowardly act.

The United States and the United Kingdom condemn all terrorism 
wherever it occurs and whatever its purported justification. We will 
continue to work with our partners to eliminate this scourge. 
Violence will not solve Kashmir's problems. Pending the resolution of 
these problems, the LOC should be strictly respected and Pakistan 
should fulfil its commitments to stop infiltration across it. 
Pakistan should also do its utmost to discourage any acts of violence 
by militants in Kashmir. Both sides should consider immediately 
implementing a ceasefire and taking other active steps to reduce 
tension including by moves within the SAARC context. The differences 
between India and Pakistan can only be resolved through peaceful 
means and engagement.

The United States and the United Kingdom stand ready to help both 
countries to start a process aimed at building confidence, 
normalising bilateral relations and resolving outstanding 
differences, including Kashmir.

=======


B:  MEDIA COVERAGE:



Indian Press:


The Hindustan Times
Friday, March 28, 2003  
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/printedition/280303/detPLA01.shtml

Death shall have no dominion
Balraj Puri

  Protests against the massacre at Nadimarg in Kashmir on March 24 
have been more strident than against similar incidents before. 
Despite the distraction of war in Iraq, the killing of 24 innocent 
people that include 11 women and two children have been condemned by 
national leaders as well as international ones.

The central and state governments have blamed Pakistan for the 
carnage. Opposition parties and survivors of the victims have vented 
their anger against the governments for the lapses of security and 
intelligence agencies. Both accusations are not without basis.

The word 'condemnation' has lost its meaning by its excessive use in 
Jammu and Kashmir. It has become too inadequate a response to the 
pent-up anger of the people and fails to provide relief to injured 
sentiments. The fresh assurances for their security given by 
government leaders, therefore, received a cynical response at the 
place of the tragedy.

More effective measures will, therefore, have to be considered by all 
agencies concerned to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies and 
inspire the confidence of the people. Any policy revision must, 
however, take a closer look at a new dimension. The Muslims of 
Kashmir are more shell-shocked this time than ever before. Not only 
were the latest victims completely unconnected with any security or 
government agency, but also they were not killed in any Hindu 
majority area.

They were a minuscule minority in an almost entirely Muslim area and 
were closely knit - ethnically, socially and emotionally - with the 
majority community. They were a part of those prepared to share the 
trials and tribulations of Kashmiri Muslims and who hadn't joined the 
1990 Pandit exodus. They had demonstrated their faith in the Muslim 
community and in the tenets of Islam.

More than a challenge to the Indian State and the fate of a few 
thousand Kashmiri Pandits still left in the Valley, the Nadimarg 
massacre is an insult to Islam. It is also an assault on the very 
soul of Kashmir and the values of a unique civilisational heritage.

The wailing Muslim men and women in the funeral procession was not 
merely a testimony to their genuine sympathy for the bereaved 
families, but also to their sense of guilt and realisation that the 
real target of the terrorists were the humane principles of their 
religion and Kashmiriyat. The spontaneous slogans against 
dehshatgardi (terrorism) indicated that they had no doubt who the 
culprits were.

That all Kashmiri leaders and parties, including militants and 
separatists, have condemned the massacre shows that they have 
realised the strength of popular sentiment. However, the Hizbul 
Mujahideen has accused Indian security forces of orchestrating the 
massacre to defame its movement. The Hurriyat has demanded an 
impartial probe to find out who are responsible for the barbaric act.

If the Indian State had organised a series of mass killings of 
innocent Hindus and Sikhs - from Wandhama in Kashmir in 1998 to Rajiv 
Nagar in Jammu in 2002 - would it have been possible for it to keep 
it a secret? Such a decision, which can only be taken at the highest 
level and implemented only after it's passed through a number of 
channels and hundreds of operators, would have definitely been leaked 
out - as it had been when the army mowed down five innocent locals 
after branding them as terrorists responsible for the killing of 35 
Sikhs at Chittisinghpora.

There may have been some grey areas in the past when some individuals 
were killed and the identity of the killers could not be established.

It is also possible to understand the compulsions of separatist 
leaders who can't ignore the warning implied in the fate of some 
leaders of the movement suspected to have deviated from any 'official 
line' of the militant leadership. The killings of dissident Hizb 
leader Abdul Majid Dar and senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone are 
recent examples.

If an inquiry is needed, let Pervez Musharraf find out whether the 
carnage was ordered by the ISI. He could also ascertain how much 
control he has over those who carried out the Nadimarg massacre. 
After all, the Pakistani general's anti-terrorism declarations have 
lost all credibility and terrorists are a major threat to his regime 
and to the stability of Pakistan. By diverting them to Kashmir, he 
cannot become immune from the threat.

An inquiry is needed to find out the inadequacies and lapses in the 
security system. It must also fix responsibility on individuals and 
agencies who failed to protect a small group of innocent Kashmiri 
pandits.

As far as Kashmir's movement for azadi is concerned, it's high time 
that it's understood that the gun has outlived its utility. The 
violent movement has reached a stage when like all violent 
revolutions, it has started devouring its own children. The question 
of who is responsible for the massacre at Nadimarg is less relevant 
than the fact that gun culture has become the greatest liability for 
the 'Kashmir cause'.

It was this realisation that made people defy militants' bullets and 
the boycott call of separatists to take part in the elections in 
October 2002. It may not stand to logic that all those who voted have 
become anti-azadi. But there is little doubt that they have realised 
that azadi is unachievable through the gun. Moreover, freedom from 
misgovernance, corruption and nepotism, unemployment and economic 
hardship is at least as important and more urgent than azadi from 
India. The separatist leaders who had underrated the wisdom of the 
people have lost some of their relevance.

The message from Nadimarg is equally unequivocal. Azadi will not be 
worth having if in the process the soul of Kashmir is killed. The 
foremost task in Kashmir is to save this soul and repair the injuries 
that have been inflicted on it. Any leadership that can't read this 
message will become irrelevant.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Jammu


o o o


The Hindu Thursday, Mar 27, 2003
http://www.hindu.com/stories/2003032702221200.htm

Rage against the dying of the light

By Syeda Saiyidain Hameed

It was Dylan Thomas who said, "Do not go gentle into the good night/ 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." On Tuesday evening, some 
of us, ordinary citizens and concerned people of Delhi raged. We 
stood on Sansad Marg, across the road from Park Hotel, in solidarity 
with the Kashmiri Pandits whose families had been gunned down in 
Nadimarg village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. We were 
mourning the killing of 24 innocent villagers and demanding justice 
for the survivors. Not even the most hard-hearted cynic could keep a 
dry eye reading the blow-by-blow account of the event on March 25.

The pathos of a handful Pandits who had for 12 years braved the 
scourge of terrorism and chosen to stay back in their beloved Valley, 
is an expression of the most depraved mentality. Beasts masquerading 
as humans in military fatigues brutally gunned down the last of them 
sparing neither the smallest baby nor the most venerable elder. These 
families had stayed back from the early 1990s on the strength of 
support they got from their neighbours. These very neighbours, Muslim 
women and men, were seen on TV screens and in photographs, crowding 
around the grieving families, speechless with the horror they had 
witnessed with their own eyes. And those who perpetrated the heinous 
massacre, will to their dying day, carry the guilt not only of taking 
24 innocent lives but also of having tried to deal a death blow to 
very ethos of Kashmiriyat.

In this land of Sufis, made sacred by the teachings of Nund Reshi and 
Lalla Arifa, who are these shaitani forces which kill innocent 
children, women and men to create terror. Every time innocent blood 
is spilt in Kashmir whether of Muslims, Sikhs or Hindus we read about 
`unidentified gunmen' who enter at the dead of night, force the 
villagers to line up for identification or tell them that they have 
cordon and search orders.

Having lined up their prey, their guns then splatter innocent bodies 
with bullets. Children's small bodies are seen riddled with holes, 
before they are covered with white sheets. Women beat their breasts 
when they see the faces of their loved ones for the last time before 
the last rites are performed.

One entire generation of Kashmiris has been lost in this 12-year 
dance of death. Can we forget the face of Prof. Mushirul Haq, 
Vice-Chancellor, Kashmir University, when he was gunned down in 1991? 
Or the face of Abdul Gani Lone who was showered with bullets last 
year? Or the mass killings of Sikhs in Chattisinghpora three years 
ago. Or Abdul Majeed Dar of Sopore two days ago and now the Kashmiri 
Pandits. Kashmir has been a gallery of horrors.

On Tuesday, we all stood up. There was not much planning or 
mobilisation. People came out spontaneously, nothing was more 
important than standing on Sansad Marg for the victims of Pulwama. A 
few of us spread the word and in a matter of two hours we had 
representatives of over 30 civil society organisations such as the 
Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia, the All-India Democratic 
Women's Association, the Indian Social Institute, Sangat, the Aman 
Ekta Manch, the Muslim Women's Forum, Guild of Service, Jagori, 
Saheli, Action Aid, the Women's Federation for World Peace, North 
Eastern Network and Servants of People Society plus many, many 
individuals who came in their personal capacity.

Our message was clear; namely, we won't let this go on. We won't 
allow the peace process to be derailed. We are one with the Kashmiris 
in their moment of sorrow. We demand that the central and state 
government ensure that they will ruthlessly crush all elements who 
will try to use this event for political gain. No reprisals, justice 
for the families, and protection for the minorities. We will not go 
gentle into the good night.

(The writer is Convener, Muslim Women's Forum.)

o o o

Kashmir Monitor
Editorial, March 25

"The brutal massacre of 24 innocent members of the minority community 
at Pulwama has added yet another sordid chapter to the ongoing 
separatist struggle in Jammu and Kashmir... "[It] has once again 
exposed the inability of the state government to make adequate 
security arrangements for the minority [Pandit] community who have 
fallen to the bullets of unidentified gunmen more than once...

"The consistent killings have made clear that the killers are not 
interested in peace in Kashmir. They want to keep the issue burning 
by shedding innocent blood. This [is] the reason that the killers are 
sabotaging every move aimed at peaceful resolution to the long 
pending dispute. And Sunday night added yet another leaf in the 
bloody history of Jammu and Kashmir."

o o o

Greater Kashmir
Editorial, March 25

"Whenever the political situation at the international level gets 
hot, Kashmiris have been used as cannon fodder... After every 
massacre both the militants and the [Kashmiri regional] government 
have been putting the blame on each other. Every time various 
quarters including the [separatist] Hurriyat Conference and even the 
frontline militant outfits have demanded a probe by an impartial 
agency and every time the government has rejected the demand. The 
reluctance of the government to unveil the ugly faces behind such 
brutal acts has been sending the wrong signals."

o o o

Kashmir Observer
Editorial, March 24

"It is shameful that the state government has failed to provide 
security... at a time when it is making boastful statements of 
bringing back the migrant Kashmiri Pandits and setting up separate 
colonies for them. Governments are not run by making mere statements 
or coining new slogans...

"Like his predecessors, the new government of the chief minister, 
Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, also seems to be the captive of a section of 
bureaucrats and sleuths who have been thriving on the prevailing 
political uncertainty in the state. There is need for doing something 
more than issuing ritualistic statements to prevent recurrence of 
such carnage in the future.

"There is need for preventing the mysterious gun to take lives of 
innocents. Whosoever is responsible for this monstrous act simply 
cannot be a human being."

o o o

The Hindu, Thursday, Mar 27, 2003
http://www.hindu.com/stories/2003032702201200.htm
NHRC notice to Centre, J&K Govt.
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 26. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has 
asked the Union and Jammu and Kashmir Governments to submit reports 
on the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Nadimarg, which occurred 
"despite the presence of a police picket there."

The NHRC also asked the Union Home Secretary and the Jammu and 
Kashmir Chief Secretary to provide details of the measures taken or 
planned to be taken to increase security of the Pandits in the State 
and to ameliorate the suffering of the families of those killed or 
traumatised.

Taking a suo motu cognisance of the killings, the Commission said 
that such an "unspeakable act of violence,'' was "deeply hostile to 
human rights, including the most fundamental of human rights - the 
right to life."

The massacre, the Commission said, was "doubly reprehensible'' as it 
had taken place at a time when fresh efforts were under way to bring 
peace and reconciliation to the States.''

The NHRC said that it had received a petition from the Kashmiri 
Samiti, copies of which had been sent to the State and Central 
Governments.


o o o


Rediff.com
The Rediff Special/Basharat Peer in Nadimarg
Sorrow, fear rule over Kashmir
March 27, 2003

"Enter with your shoes on, there is no one left to stop you," a 
hysterical youth surrounded by a group of wailing women shouts from a 
barely lit room.

In the courtyard of this mud-and-brick house there are more men and 
women, all crying. Nine occupants of this house were among the 24 
persons -- men, women, children -- who were lined up in a neighbour's 
courtyard and sprayed with bullets by militants on Sunday night.

Every house in Nadimarg, a tiny hamlet in Pulwama district inhabited 
by only Kashmiri Pandits, is grieving.

Nadimarg had just lulled itself to sleep on Sunday night when armed 
men in fatigues knocked on the doors. The villagers took it for an 
army search operation, though search operations in this village were 
rare and never so late in the night.

The gunmen asked the villagers to gather in the garden of a migrant 
Pandit's deserted house. The assassins then showered bullets on them.

Two days later, the remnants of that Hitleresque act lie littered 
around the village -- Lassa Koul's crutches, a plastic shoe, a blue 
woollen cap, a pair of sleepers, crushed chinar leaves smeared with 
blood, an impotent sandbag bunker.

Beyond the killing field, now swarming with soldiers in bulletproof 
jackets, a dusty track leads to the heart-rending wails of men and 
women.

"They killed everyone here!" the disconsolate youth repeats. "Nobody 
will tell you to take off your shoes now!" His reference to the 
Kashmiri practice of taking one's shoes off before entering a drawing 
room is poignantly melodramatic.

"Sushma would sleep here," a girl cries, throwing herself on the 
unfolded bedding.

The wailing girl is Shehnaz Akhter, the angry boy is Bilal Ahmad. 
They were with Sushma just hours before she was killed along with her 
father.

The three had walked the unpaved, dusty paths of their villages, 
shared their small joys and little secrets. "She was my best friend, 
my sister," says Shehnaz, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Sushma worked with Shehnaz's sister as an Integrated Child 
Development Scheme worker. Shehnaz and her sisters would accompany 
Sushma on her trips to nearby towns and walk her back home. "We would 
spend most of the time together," Shehnaz says.

Sushma's was one of the nine Hindu families that had refused to 
migrate from Nadimarg in the early 1990s despite militant threats and 
that had made their Muslim friends very protective of them.

Though survivors of Sunday night's massacre like Pran Nath Bhat, who 
lost his mother, brother, and a nephew, speak of it as 
"unthinkable", talk of death had been a part of the lives of the 
residents of this semi-pastoral village for a long time. Similar 
massacres in the past and the helplessness of the majority Muslim 
community in protecting their friends had played on their minds.

Shehnaz, Sushma and Bilal would often talk of an unseen death. Sushma 
would confide her fears, her insecurity and vulnerability, to 
her friends. "We would tell her we will be your shield," sobs 
Shehnaz. "If a bullet comes your way, we will take it. But the day it 
happened, we could not keep the promise."

Bilal finds it hard to keep his composure for long. In his hysteria 
he refers to his discussions on Sufism and Hinduism with Sushma's 
paramedic father. "Daddy [Sushma's father] would tell me about 
satsangs [devotional congregations] and Shaivism. I would talk to him 
about Islam. He was like my father and they killed him," he says.

On the Saturday preceding the massacre, Sushma had spent the night at 
Shehnaz's house. The girls had chatted the night away. Sushma seemed 
to have had a premonition of death. "She was very scared and told us 
some armed men were spotted near her house," recalls Shehnaz. "We 
were worried, but we told her to talk about good things, like her 
cousin Vijay's marriage."

Vijay Bhat, 27, a teacher, had left for Jammu a week back to shop for 
his marriage. He returned to light his family's funeral pyres.

In the courtyard of his house, his friends and acquaintances from 
neighbouring villages console Vijay. Lying on a grass-mat, two Muslim 
youths plead with him to take some tea.

"They could have burnt my house down, taken away every valuable. But 
they took all the lives, they did not spare
a single person," Vijay sighs.

Vijay studied at the government college in Anantnag. He has several 
Muslim friends and students. The massacre, however, has left him with 
nothing. "What do I stay here for?" he wonders. "I never wanted to 
leave, but now I have to."

The government's promises of increased security in villages inhabited 
by the Pandits do not mean anything to Vijay; nor do the tears, the 
grieving faces of his neighbours. The frenzied slogans raised after 
every death in Kashmir sound hollow too.

The helplessness of the situation was evident in the words of Deputy 
Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, who visited Nadimarg on 
Tuesday. On the one hand he promised assistance to those wanting to 
migrate; on the other, he said migration of Pandits from the Kashmir 
Valley would be like playing into the enemy's hands.

The Muslims, though grieving with the Pandits, seem reluctant to come 
out in the open with their protest. "We want all this to stop," says 
Vijay's friend Tufail Ahmad, a teacher. "Every person you will talk 
to will tell you how they hate these massacres, but nobody wants to 
stick his neck out. Even the most secured politicians are using 
carefully chosen words to react to the situation. It is fear that 
keeps the Kashmiri Muslims indoors."

His words are heard everywhere in Kashmir. The condemnations have 
come pouring in, not just from mainstream parties and separatists, 
but even from ultra-Islamist parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir 
and Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadees. But all they have is sympathy.

As far as the Pandits are concerned, they see no option but to move 
out of the valley. "We are in a state of shock," says Pran Nath Bhat, 
"but we will decide soon."

Vijay Bhatt has made up his mind already.


o o o


The Rediff Special
March 24, 2003
http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/24spec.htm

This did not happen in my Kashmir
Basharat Peer

This morning a colleague phoned me. "There has been a massacre in 
Kashmir," he said. "Twenty-four Kashmiri Pandits killed."

It jolted me out of my slumber. He told me it had happened some hours 
ago in a village in south Kashmir. He did not know where exactly. He 
wanted me to leave for Srinagar.

I had known that. I have been leaving for Kashmir every time some 
maniac pulled the trigger and killed innocents. I would run to my 
room, throw a few shirts, jeans, a notebook and my camera into my 
backpack, lock my room and head for the airport.
But today I began calling my friends in Kashmir to find out where the 
massacre had occurred. I wanted to know which village -- yes, I 
wanted to know that badly.

Because it could be my village.

Because the survivors I would interview, the bullet-ridden bodies I 
would see, they could be my people.

Would it be Chaman Lal Kantroo, my Pandit teacher, who gave me a 
notebook and two pencils for winning a quiz at school?

Would it be Somnath Dhar, our grocer, my grandfather's friend, from 
whose shop I would return home with my pockets full of cashew nuts 
and dried apricots?
Would they have killed Naina, that beautiful classmate of mine with 
whom I used to lunch by the side of the spring?

I prayed not. I did not have the strength to face that.

How would I write about the people who have influenced my life, who 
have taught me to live? About the friends of my grandfather, a devout 
Muslim who headed the prayers at the mosque but kept not a separate 
place for Somnath Dhar in his house? About my father's best friend, 
Bansi Lal Pandita, Pandita uncle to me?

How would I write about their death?

I have seen my parents cry when our Pandit neighbours migrated. I did 
not cry then. I did not understand what was happening.

A decade later, I did. When I visited the migrants camp in Jammu.

On another assignment there, I decided to visit the camp on the 
outskirts of the city to write about my displaced brethren who live 
in claustrophobic one-room hutments, abandoned by man and god.

"Nobody cares about us," a teenager told me.

He did not speak like a Kashmiri. And he hated Muslims.

I could not muster the courage to tell him I was one. I told him I 
was a Punjabi from Delhi.

As I walked around, trying to locate the people from my part of 
Kashmir, a 50-something man in a white kurta appeared out of a 
narrow, dingy lane.
I introduced myself as a journalist working in Delhi, originally from Anantnag.

He looked at me carefully. "Where from in Anantnag?"
"Seer," I said.
"You are from Seer? Whose son are you?"
I gave my father's name and my grandfather's name. In my part of the 
world, you are always your father's son, your grandfather's grandson.

His eyes lit up. He laughed, abused me fondly, hugged me tight.

Before I could ask him who he was, he grabbed my arm, telling me to 
keep my mouth shut and obey.

We walked through narrow lanes for a minute or so. He stopped outside 
a shabby hut, where a frail woman was washing clothes.

"Get up, Gowri!" he said. "Hug him! Your son has come!"
She didn't recognize me. But she hugged me.

"She is your father's sister," the man told me.

I did not know of any. But I believed him, when the woman said: "Is 
he Amel's son?"
Amel is my father's nickname, which hardly anyone outside the family 
knew. She was crying. So was her husband. And so was I.

I spent the next few hours with them in their cramped room, learning 
about my family, my history. Not for a moment was I anything but 
their son.

I left Jammu that day happier than ever, richer by an aunt and an 
uncle and a faith in that unorthodox, anti-communal value system that 
makes me proud of Kashmir.
But today the news has come. More of my people have been massacred.

The friends I phoned up said it was not in my village. The massacre 
was in a place where I have never been to. Every child orphaned, 
every widow there is a stranger to me.

But I share a bond with them. And it is a strong bond. We belong to 
Kashmir. We are partners in the grief and misery of our beautiful 
valley.
There are maniacs who want to severe this emotional, cultural and 
historical chord I share with my Pandit brothers. I am not sure about 
the identity of these enemies of my Kashmir.

The police say they are Muslim militants. Maybe. Maybe not. 
Everything the police tell us in Kashmir is not true. What they told 
us after the Chittisinghpora massacre of Sikhs in March 2000 has been 
proved a lie.

The separatists say it is Indian intelligence agencies; words like 
'politico-intelligence operations' fly in carpeted drawing rooms.

I do not know the truth. The truth was murdered in the first bomb 
blast in Kashmir. Now we have only versions in Kashmir.
As I prepared to leave for the airport, my reporter's reflexes 
failed. I did not want to go. I did not want to report this massacre. 
This did not happen in my Kashmir. Not again.

I dream about seeing the Pandits back. I want to visit Somnath Dhar's 
shop again. And walk home with cashews and apricots in my pockets.

I don't have words to express my grief. Let me paraphrase Kashmiri 
poet Agha Shahid Ali from Farewell in the country without a post 
office:
At a certain point I lost track of you.
You needed me. You needed to perfect me:
In your absence you polished me into the Enemy.
Your history gets in the way of my memory.
I am everything you lost. Your perfect enemy.
Your memory gets in the way of my memory.
There is nothing to forgive. You won't forgive me.
I hid my pain even from myself; I revealed my pain only to myself.
There is everything to forgive. You can't forgive me.

===========


[* A collection of articles on the Nandimarg [Kashmir] massacre of 
23, March 2003 has been gathered from 24 march 2003 to  28 March 2003 
by the South Asia Citizens Web. It is available to all interested. 
For a copy write to <aiindex at mnet.fr>]
--