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

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

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