[Reader-list] Thinking Through Figures on Internal Displacement from Kashmir

Sat Nov 1 17:17:49 IST 2008

AaAri,

I shouldnt ask you to shut up. Infact i would love to hear you in person
some day. You must be a good singer........

However if you have left your braun back home, the subject was raised by
Shuddha , whom you seem to have been defending.It is better you ask him to
stop.

I can understand your leftist leaning and your commitment towards a fellow
comrade , but have some sense....check what started it .

I dont have time like Shuddha for writing such a long mail, and also it is
not my paid job.

Till the time , some of you with certain defeatist mentality occupy this
stage , you would meet the resistence.

Love us or hate us........

Better to love.......that is how peace starts.....

By any chance .....are u a JNU alumni ?

Pawan

Jai Maharshtra - Jai Hind

On 11/1/08, Aarti Sethi <aarti.sethi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Actually Pawan I think what Shuddha is trying to say is that you too should
> shut up your lip service because by now its absolutely clear that is all it
> is. Why don't we all shut up our lip service to our various pet peeves and
> hurts. We are all exhausted with containing your victimization Pawan. Truly
> we are. Every time I see one more rant about what a terrible time you have
> had my eyes glaze over. Yaar everyone has had a terrible time. Take a quick
> survey on this little readers-list. I garauntee the amount of pain,
> suffering and hurt - historical, communal, personal, economic, religious -
> that will come tumbling out will astonish you. But the readers-list is not
> an analyst's couch Pawan and we are not therapists. We are weak and badly
> equipped to deal with the insurmountable mountain of your suffering. We are,
> many of us, barely equipped to deal with our own. So please, do not take
> umbrage at what Shuddha or Kirdar say. They are only expressing the frailty
> of the human psyche when confronted with a relentless barrage of undigested
> mulch.
>
> with respectful regards
> Aarti
>
> On Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 2:11 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Dear Shuddha,
>>
>> It is a disaster for any nation to have a person like you as a citizen .
>>
>> Kashmiri Pandits have not stopped any other displaced community from
>> raising
>> their voices.
>>
>> Since , we Kashmiri Pandits have been victimised , it is but natural for
>> us
>> to raise our voice for our rights. Once we get our rights, then only we
>> can
>> support others.
>>
>> Mind it , we are fighting for ourselves and it is a unpaid job, unlike
>> some
>> surrogates who act proxy for secessionists in Kashmir and support their
>> cause by trying to create an opinion.
>>
>> Also Shuddha , just shut up your lip service for Kashmiri pandits. We know
>> where you are coming from ! Don't play around with words.
>>
>> Your words , as always are manipulative with an agenda....... dont play
>> around and instead take a walk.
>>
>> I am sure this group by now knows your plans and agenda.
>>
>> And dont worry , till the killers of Kashmiri Pandits are not hanged in
>> the
>> Tohar jail........Panun Kashmir and Roots In Kashmir would not rest.
>>
>> We have to set an example , once for all. We have already suffered 10
>> migrations in 10 centuries.........
>>
>>
>> Now ...no more........
>>
>>
>> No need to be sad ...Shuiddha.....
>>
>>
>> Pawan
>>
>> Jai Maharshtra - Jai Hind.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10/29/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>> >
>> > Dear All,
>> >
>> > Apologies for what will be a lengthy posting. And those driven to
>> > exasperation (like me) by the repeated monopolization of this list by
>> > matters 'Kashmiri' may not want to read this. But, those who are
>> > interested in more general matters to do with the politics and
>> > rhetoric of the representation of victimhood, might.
>> >
>> > I have read with interest the ongoing discussion on the plight of the
>> > displaced Kashmiri Pandit community in India. I totally agree with
>> > Kirdar Singh's recent declaration of sympathy for the displaced
>> > Kashmiri Pandit community, and hope that an improvement in conditions
>> > on the ground in Kashmir and India will enable displaced Kashmir
>> > Pandits to return to their homes in safety and dignity. I support the
>> > implementation of whatever practical and fair measures that can be
>> > taken to ensure that this can happen.
>> >
>> > It needs to be recognized that there are significant voices in
>> > Kashmir that insist today (both within and outside the movement for
>> > liberation from occupation) that a future for Kashmir without
>> > Kashmiri Pandits is not worth fighting for. Those who refuse to
>> > listen to, or acknowledge these voices, live in a denial of their own
>> > making.
>> >
>> > Having said that, I need to point out that a large number of those
>> > who speak for Kashmiri Pandits on this list and on other public fora,
>> > and the organizations that they represent, such as Panun Kashmir and
>> > Roots in Kashmir, are in my opinion, part of the problem, not of the
>> > solution. Their aggressive efforts to monopolize the public space for
>> > discussion of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit question is obstructive
>> > and loaded with a deeply divisive and communal agenda that
>> > perpetuates a cycle of hate and prejudice.They are committed to a
>> > politics of confrontation and antagonism that makes it more, not less
>> > difficult for Kashmiri Pandits to return to the Kashmir valley. They
>> > are also more than willing to be used by right wing forces such as
>> > the BJP and other mainstream parties (including sections of so called
>> > secular parties such as the Congress) that want to keep the so called
>> > 'Kashmir question' alive as a means to blackmail Indians and
>> > Kashmiris into submission for the sake of their agenda of an
>> > extractive and authoritarian state.
>> >
>> > In fact, it could well be said that they have a vested interest in
>> > the perpetuation of the pitiable state in which the majority of
>> > displaced Kashmir Pandits find themselves in today. As long as
>> > Kashmiri Pandits can be projected to the world as in a permanent
>> > status of victimhood and abjection, organizations like Panun Kashmir
>> > (all factions) and Roots in Kashmir, and their political mentors will
>> > continue to be in business. The repeated and monotonous attempts by
>> > these individuals and the organizations and networks they represent
>> > need to be seen in this light.
>> >
>> > While expressing our full sympathy with the plight of displaced
>> > Kashmiri Pandits, it is important at the same time not to lose sight
>> > of the fact that the displaced Kashmiri Pandits are one, and only one
>> > of the many displaced communities in India.
>> >
>> > Also, it is important to keep in mind that no other displaced
>> > community in India has had as much attention bestowed upon it as have
>> > displaced Kashmiri Pandits. This does not mean that there should be
>> > less attention given to the genuine and legitimate problems and
>> > concerns of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, it only means the
>> > monopolization of the discussion on internal displacement in India by
>> > the monotonous repetition of the woes of displaced Kashmiri Pandits
>> > does a great deal of violence to other communities that have been
>> > displaced. It also prevents an effective solidarity from within
>> > internally displaced communities on the question of displacement. In
>> > the long term, this can only be a disaster for the displaced Kashmiri
>> > Pandit community. It is a disaster for which organizations such as
>> > Panun Kashmir and Roots in Kashmir are responsible, and many sensible
>> > displaced and other Kashmiri Pandits are beginning to see through
>> > this game today. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time before these
>> > organizations are exposed and isolated from within the displaced
>> > Kashmiri Pandit communities that they currently hold in their
>> > stranglehold.
>> >
>> > The current leadership of organizations such as Panun Kashmir and
>> > Roots in Kashmir, and their representatives on this list and other
>> > fora have displayed a degree of 'Kashmiri Pandit exceptionalism' that
>> > needs to be seen as deeply insensitive to the plight of all
>> > internally displaced communities in India, and ultimately damaging to
>> > the constituency that they claim to represent. One would have thought
>> > that the experience of speaking for and on behalf of one displaced
>> > community (the Kashmiri Pandits) would have sensitized them to the
>> > predicaments of other communities that share their fate.
>> > Unfortunately that is not the case, neither organizations such as
>> > Panun Kashmir and Roots in Kashmir, nor their sympathizers in
>> > political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Part and the Shiv
>> > Sena, nor their partisans in Hindutva outfits such as the Rashtriya
>> > Svayamsevak Sangh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal, nor
>> > indeed the many prominent writers and intellectuals such as Arun
>> > Shourie, Swapan Dasgupta, Sandhya Jain and others who have commented
>> > on the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits have ever thought it
>> > necessary to make common cause with other displaced communities.
>> >
>> > This means that as far as most of the above are concerned, the plight
>> > of displaced communities other than Kashmiri Pandits is of no
>> > consequence. My concern with the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits
>> > stems from the predicament of their displacement, not because they
>> > are Kashmiri Pandits. This is what makes it necessary to view their
>> > displacement and abjectness in a way that is connected to the
>> > displacement and abjection of the many other communities.
>> >
>> > We might consider also, that of all the internally displaced
>> > communities in India, it is the displaced Kashmiri Pandits who have
>> > had the maximum political leverage extracted for them and on their
>> > behalf. This 'leverage' ranges from -
>> >
>> > a) special legislation to protect their rights to property left
>> > behind by them (J&K Migrants Immovable Property: Preservation,
>> > Protection and Restraint of Distress Sales Act, 1997)  to a stay on
>> > court cases and civil judicial processes involving displaced Kashmiri
>> > Pandits (J&K Migrants: Stay on Proceedings Act, 1997)
>> >
>> > to a series of
>> >
>> > b) administrative measures concerning health, housing, education, ex-
>> > gratia payments, stipends and employment enacted by central as well
>> > as state governments specifically with regard to displaced people
>> > from Jammu and Kashmir, the overwhelming majority of whom, happen to
>> > be displaced Kashmiri Pandits.
>> >
>> > In fact, the state government of Jammu and Kashmir had in 1997
>> > constituted an Apex Level Comittee under the chairmanship of the
>> > Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister to look into all aspects
>> > of the problems of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and suggest solutions.
>> > A sub committee headed by the financial commissioner (planning and
>> > development) was constituted to prepare a plan for the return of
>> > migrants. This sub committee finalized an Action Plan for the
>> > returnand rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants involving a total
>> > amount of Rs. 2589.3 crores.
>> >
>> > In the interim, many special relief packages have been announced from
>> > time to time from the discretionary funds of the Prime Minister for
>> > the upgradation of assistance to displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in
>> > camps in Jammu and Delhi Even the defence ministry has on occasion
>> > released funds from its 'Security Related Expenses' (SRE) fund for
>> > the improvement of camp infrastructure.
>> >
>> > [for details of all of the above, see 'Government Relief to Kashmiri
>> > Pandits and their Rehabilitation' - Annexure 1, pgs 91 - 101, in
>> > 'Kashmiri Pandits: Problems and Perspectives - A Dialogue for Dignity
>> > - Report  of the Conference on Kashmiri Pandits held at the Observer
>> > Research Foundation, New Delhi, 2003, published by Rupa & Co. in
>> > association with the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi, 2005]
>> >
>> > I am not for a moment suggesting that these measures are adequate to
>> > the needs of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community. What I am
>> > however acutely mindful of is the fact that no other internally
>> > displaced community in India has had as much resources spent on it,
>> > as many special measures (legislative and executive) taken on its
>> > behalf and attracted as much media attention as displaced Kashmiri
>> > Pandits have had. Compared to the conditions in which other
>> > internally displaced communities in India live, displaced Kashmiri
>> > Pandits are in a far more advantageous position. This ought to have
>> > made the most vocal amongst those who claim to be their spokepersons
>> > less aggressive, less narcissistic and more compassionate.
>> > Unfortunately, that is not the case.
>> >
>> > Let us now turn to seeing exactly what the conditions of other
>> > internally displaced communities in India are like.
>> >
>> > I am going to quote extensively here from reports and facts available
>> > at the website of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, an
>> > international rights group that concerns itself with the situation of
>> > internally displaced communities the world over. Specifically, I am
>> > looking at the webpage within this site that concerns internal
>> > displacement in India.
>> >
>> > see - <www.internal-displacement.org/countries/india>
>> >
>> > This is an excellent site, and is totally non-partisan. It highlights
>> > the plight of all internally-displaced communities, without biases
>> > and is a good place to get to know a balanced overall picture of
>> > internal displacement in India (as well as elsewhere)
>> >
>> > ON DISPLACEMENT FIGURES
>> >
>> > "The most common figure for the total number of internally displaced
>> > in India is 600,000. This figure comprises:
>> >
>> > · at least 250,000 people displaced from Kashmir (government figure)
>> > · 45,000 people who are still displaced along the Indian side of the
>> > Line of Control between India and Pakistan and cannot return despite
>> > the ceasefire
>> > · 230,000 displaced in Assam due to the conflict between Santhals and
>> > Bodos during the 1990s
>> > · 31,000 Reang displaced from Mizoram to Tripura
>> > · 45,000 displaced in the state of Chhattisgarh due to insurgency"
>> >
>> > (these figures at the moment do not include the large numbers of
>> > people displaced in the Kandhamal district of Orissa due to the anti-
>> > Christian violence there, of which the site has good reports and
>> > updates.)
>> >
>> > The site goes on to say -
>> >
>> > "These groups reside in camps and are therefore relatively easy to
>> > identify, but they constitute only part of the picture. The number of
>> > 600,000 does not include thousands of displaced in the Karbi-Anglong
>> > area of Assam and in Manipur where fighting between ethnic groups and
>> > counter-insurgency operations have displaced whole villages during
>> > the past few years. Many are displaced temporarily and are able to
>> > return after some weeks or months in displacement while an
>> > undetermined number are still displaced and receive no assistance. In
>> > Tripura, as many as 100,000-300,000 people of Bengali origin are
>> > estimated to have been displaced for the same reasons during the past
>> > decade, but no information exists about the return or continued
>> > displacement of this group (AHRC, January 2007, "Tripura"). In the
>> > state of Chhattisgarh, it is assumed that thousands have escaped the
>> > conflict between the authorities and Maoist groups by crossing over
>> > to neighbouring states, and they too are not part of the statistics.
>> > Nor does the figure take in the flight of migrant workers, as for
>> > example in Assam in January 2007 when Biharis were forced to leave in
>> > a matter of days due to threats and killings by local insurgents. The
>> > current estimate should therefore be seen as representing the camp
>> > population only and not those internally displaced who largely live
>> > unassisted with friends or relatives, or blend with other slum
>> > residents on the outskirts of the urban areas.
>> >
>> > It is therefore fair to assume that the total number of displaced is
>> > far higher than the figure of 600,000, although it is not possible to
>> > give a global estimate."
>> >
>> > ON RELIEF CAMPS
>> >
>> > "The relief camps for internally displaced in the North-East are
>> > reportedly in a deplorable condition. Camps for the displaced across
>> > the region are said to lack adequate shelter, food, health care,
>> > education and protection. This pattern has been confirmed by earlier
>> > reports which have documented that displaced throughout the North-
>> > East face severe hardship. Many of them live in public buildings and
>> > makeshift shelters, with little health care and no access to formal
>> > education (SAHRDC, March 2001). Both in Assam and in Tripura, acute
>> > food shortages and lack of health care leave internally displaced in
>> > acute hardship (MCRG, December 2006; AHRC, January 2007, p.136). The
>> > state governments say they have no money to provide relief to the
>> > displaced population and that they depend on support from the central
>> > government. Furthermore, thousands of those displaced by local
>> > insurgent groups in the state are reported to have received no relief
>> > at all, and are camping alongside roads in makeshift houses seven
>> > years after having been displaced (Deccan Herald, 22 May 2005). In
>> > Assam, it has been documented that the relief camps in the region are
>> > a major recruitment ground for trafficking of women to other places
>> > in India (BBC, 10 April 2007; IRIN, 17 May 2006).
>> >
>> > The same situation is reported from other relief camps for internally
>> > displaced in India. In Chhattisgarh, several reports have documented
>> > that the relief camps offer neither adequate assistance, nor
>> > protection to the internally displaced. In Gujarat, there are reports
>> > of immense trauma among children and women who witnessed atrocities
>> > or were victims of the 2002 riots (IIJ, December 2003, pp.64, 67;
>> > HRW, July 2003). Also, the displaced Muslim population faces acute
>> > poverty as their livelihoods were largely destroyed during the riots.
>> > Continued discrimination has left most of them unemployed, with
>> > female-headed households being particularly vulnerable. The relief
>> > camps have inadequate basic amenities such as potable water, sanitary
>> > facilities, schools and primary healthcare centres (AHRC, 10 January
>> > 2007, pp. 19-20; Bisht, 16 January 2007; AI, January 2005, 7.6.c;
>> > IIJ, December 2003). "
>> >
>> > ON INDIAN GOVERNMENTS POLICIES REGARDING IDPs
>> >
>> > "The Indian government has repeatedly expressed reservations in
>> > international fora about the UN Guiding Principles on Internal
>> > Displacement, which it sees as infringing its national sovereignty.
>> > India has no national IDP policy targeting conflict-induced IDPs, and
>> > the responsibility for IDP assistance and protection is frequently
>> > delegated to the state governments. Furthermore, although it is well
>> > documented that Indian military, paramilitary and police forces have
>> > engaged in serious human rights abuses in conflict zones, there have
>> > been no attempts at transparent investigations or prosecutions of
>> > those responsible (HRW, 12 September, 2006)."
>> >
>> > ON AD HOC AND DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT REGARDING DIFFERENT IDP
>> > POPULATIONS
>> >
>> > "Although the Indian government provides support to conflict-affected
>> > populations, such assistance is mostly ad hoc and does not correspond
>> > to the needs of the displaced. State governments are assigned the
>> > main responsibility to assist and rehabilitate the displaced, but
>> > practices vary significantly from state to state (Nath, January 2005,
>> > p.68).
>> >
>> > The Indian government has been accused of discriminatory treatment of
>> > internally displaced because the displaced Kashmiri Pandit population
>> > overall receives much more support than displaced communities
>> > elsewhere in the country (NNHR, 19 February 2007)."
>> >
>> > The Indian government has been accused of failing to adhere to the UN
>> > Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and other international
>> > human rights standards in its response to displacement in Kashmir and
>> > Gujarat (AI, January 2005; HRW July 2003, p.38; ORF, September 2003).
>> > One survey conducted among different displaced communities in India
>> > reveals that over 55 per cent of the internally displaced do not
>> > receive any support at all and only 13 per cent receive any
>> > assistance from the authorities. The report also reveals that more
>> > than 70 percent of the surveyed population believe that return will
>> > be impossible, a fact that underlines the need for the government to
>> > work out sustainable solutions (MCRG, December 2006, p. 16). In
>> > Gujarat, human rights organisations blame local authorities as well
>> > as the state government for failing to address the needs of the
>> > displaced altogether, despite promises made by the government with
>> > regard to rehabilitation (IIJ, December 2003; HRW, July 2003).
>> >
>> > INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT DUE TO DEVELOPMENT
>> >
>> > "Available reports indicate that more than 21 million people are
>> > internally displaced due to development projects in India. Although
>> > the tribal population only make up eight percent of the total
>> > population, more than 50 per cent of the development induced
>> > displaced are tribal peoples – in India also known as Scheduled
>> > Tribes or Adivasis (HRW, January 2006). Ongoing research indicate
>> > that between 1945-2000 the number of displaced who did not receive
>> > rehabilitation could be as high as 50-60 million people."
>> >
>> > Clearly, all of the above indicates that the problem of displaced
>> > Kashmiri Pandits in India needs to be seen within a larger
>> > perspective. And when we take that perspective into account we
>> > realize that displaced Kashmiri Pandits constitute what might be
>> > called the 'creamy layer' (by virtue of the disproportionate amount
>> > of resources and attention that they obtain) of the overall situation
>> > of internal displacement in India.
>> >
>> > Finally, a brief note on the extinction of cultures and human
>> > populations, a question that has been raised by Kshmendra Kaul in one
>> > of his recent postings. I fully agree with Kshmendra, we need to pay
>> > careful attention to the problem of cultural extinction. But even
>> > from that point of view, the situation of
>> >
>> > According to census figures, Kashmiri Pandits constituted 15 % of the
>> > Valley's population in 1941. This came down to 5 % by 1981 and 0.1 %
>> > by around 2003. While a significant proportion of the decrease of 4.9
>> > % (registered between 1981 and today) can be attributable to the
>> > political conditions pertaining since 1989-90 (the years that Pandits
>> > say there were targetted and forced to leave), to what can we
>> > attribute the 10 % decline (from 15 % to 5 %) in the Kashmiri Pandit
>> > population in the Kashmir valley between 1941 and 1981?
>> >
>> > In those forty years, India's writ ran unchallenged in the part of
>> > Kashmir held by India,  and the Kashmiri Pandit elite was very much
>> > part of the governing equation, both in the Kashmir valley, as well
>> > as in India. Clearly, a significant section from within the Kashmiri
>> > Pandit population (which was highly educated and considerably
>> > affluent) did not, in those forty years care as much for the
>> > retention of its cultural ethos in the Kashmir valley as much as it
>> > did for the betterment of the material prospects of members of the
>> > Kashmiri Pandit community in metropolitan India and elsewhere.
>> >
>> > In other words, while I totally agree with Kshmendra that we are all
>> > diminished when a community as culturally and intellectually vibrant
>> > as the Kashmiri Pandits find themselves virtually effaced from their
>> > homeland, I do at the same time think that this condition requires
>> > Kashmiri Pandits today to do some soul searching as to why they were
>> > so eager to abandon the Kashmir valley in the years between 1947 and
>> > 1989. Had they stayed on, or retained an interest in the way in which
>> > the valley was systematically misgoverned, under the aegis of the
>> > Indian occupation, then perhaps conditions might indeed have been
>> > different. '
>> >
>> > I still think that there is hope, no sensible person in Kashmir (no
>> > matter what their politics or affiliation)  for a single moment
>> > refuses to recognize that Kashmiri Pandits are part of the cultural
>> > mosaic of Kashmir. In countless conversations that I have had my with
>> > who stay in Kashmir, I have heard people state that they yearn for
>> > the return of all displaced Kashmiri Pandits because Kashmir feels
>> > incomplete without them. Perhaps a new generation of displaced and
>> > other Kashmiri Pandits will reciprocate (over the heads of Panun
>> > Kashmir and Roots in Kashmir) and re-engage with what is going on in
>> > Kashmir in a spirit of solidarity. For this to happen, there needs to
>> > be a recognition of the difficulties that everyone in Kashmir has
>> > faced in the last sixty odd years, and a reversal of the cultural,
>> > political and demographic abandonment of Kashmir by a section of the
>> > Kashmiri Pandit elite that began, not in 1989, but much earlier.
>> >
>> > I hope that this helps us clarify the terms on which the discussion
>> > on internal displacement, and the internally displaced Kashmiri
>> > Pandits, and the politics of perpetual victimhood can ensure, and I
>> > hope that the exploitation of a vulgar quantification of pain and
>> > oppression, which I personally find deeply distasteful, may cease on
>> > this list. We do not need to prove to each other how much worse off
>> > we are in our individual capacities in order to develop an argument
>> > against oppression.
>> >
>> > regards,
>> >
>> > Shuddha
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > _________________________________________
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