[Reader-list] Who will deliver justice to Pyare Lal Tickoo?

[Pawan Durani]

Who will deliver justice to Pyare Lal Tickoo?



KS Correspondent



Shopian is an ancient town  and houses one of the  most sacred shrines
of Kashmiri Pandits—the Kapalmochan Tirtha. Batapora, the quarter of
Shopian, where 112 Pandit families lived till 1990, used to be the
pride of the town. It also reminded world about Shopian's pluralistic
character. Sadly, this became its undoing. How could entrepreneurs of
Islamic fundamentalism reconcile to the existence of a pocket that
stood as witness to the immense contribution of Kashmiri Pandits to
the economic, social and political life of Shopian. It also lent
prestige to the Shopian by reminding that peaceful co-existence
between the members of the two communities was not an issue at stake
here.

Pt.Saroop Nath Saraf, a son of Batapora, was the first political
worker of the region who took up the battle for nationalism, democracy
and social justice. Leading Indian National Congress leaders e.g. Sh.
Keskar stayed underground in his house during the days of 'Quit India
Movement'. He was liberal to the core and braved prison terms in
conviction of his political ideas. He was the moving spirit behind the
starting of National School, Shopian in 1941. For well-known Muslim
intellectuals—Shamim Ahmed Shamim, Mohammad Sayeed Malik, Prof. MA
Shaida, Sh. Mohammad Yusuf Teng etc. it became the alma mater. It was
Saroop Nath the visionary who launched the agitation for district
status for Shopian, though majority community stood to benefit more
from it. The entire Batapora quarter was actively involved in the
agitation.

Sh. Shamboo Nath Tickoo of the same locality spent 15 days in jail in
the agitation for district, and was released on bail later. His son
Pt. Pyare Lal Tickoo too was actively involved in secular affairs of
Shopian. A cloth merchant by profession, for over two decades he was
associated with the activities of Beopar mandal of Shopian and served
as its Secretary from 1985-88. He actively associated himself with
mainstream political parties of Kashmir and was a close friend of late
Shamim Ahmed Shamima, MP and a well-known journalist. He was his
election agent at Chrar  in 1971.

What did Pyare Lal do to earn a fate that would shame any civilised
society and a democratic government? First his 26-year old son was
gunned down by terrorists. A month later his house was burnt down by
them. Then a hostile government stepped in to complete the process of
religious-cleansing. For forty years the State government never deemed
it necessary to construct a building for housing Industrial Training
Institute. Why did the government  decide to choose the burnt earth of
Pyare Lal Tickoo's house to build the ITI building even without going
through the formality of seeking his consent? Couldn't it find a place
in the whole of Shopian town for it? This at a time when it was
telling the world that it was committed to return of Kashmiri Pandits!
Something worse was in store for Tickoos again. 6 kanals and 10 marlas
orchard land, was fraudulently occupied. Even after the declaration of
judgement in Tickoos' favour, the same government refuses to implement
its own verdict. What else can it be called? "GENOCIDE"! Pyare Lal's
tragedy and predicament has posed serious questions on the role of
civil society, the media and the government in a democratic society.

Batapora has been home to such outstanding Kashmiri Pandits —Dr RL
Lahori, Dr UK Lahori, Jia Lal, Nand Lal, Brij Lal (of Lahori family),
Lamboodar Nath Kitchu, Jagar Nath Sathu, Sh. Raghav Ram and ML
Kandhari, Jia Lal Koul, Radha Krishan Kaul, Dr. MK Punjabi, Jia Lal
Raina, Sham Sunder Pardesi, Omkar Nath Koul, Dr HN Bhat, Sh BL Saraf,
Amar Nath and Niranjan Nath Kokroo, Prem Nath Koul etc. Sh. Janki Nath
Koul, who too lived here, was Zonal secretary of National Conference
and Vice-president of Fruit Growers' Association.

Exodus:

As terrorist violence began in October, 1989 Pandits of Batapora
curtailed their movement. With spate of selective killings of members
of Pandit community in January-February, 1990 exodus began from
Batapora locality as well. Each family took its own decision. By
April, 1990 sixty of the 112 Pandit families had left for Jammu as the
government had little control to bestow protection to the minority
community. The members of the majority community did little to
reassure the minority community. Another 30 families left in May. Only
10-12 Pandit families decided to stay back. They included the families
of Shamboo Nath Tickoo, Avtar Krishan Koul, Pradiman Krishan Koul,
Kanya Lal Raina, Dr HN Bhat, Sh. Brij Lal and Nand Lal Lahori, Jia Lal
Lahori and Sh. Brij Nath Kitchlu.

Killing of Rajinder Tickoo: On June 16, 1990 Rajinder Tickoo son of
Pyare Lal Tickoo, who was just 26, was shot dead by terrorists in the
town. Rajinder had done MA Education from Kashmir University, Diploma
Business Administration from University of Jammu. He had just
completed one year Accountancy course from Finance Accountancy School,
Srinagar. After six months training he had to undergo practical
training for six months at Shopian Hospital. This too he had
completed. On the fateful day he had gone to collect the certificate
of attendance from the Hospital authorities. After coming out from the
hospital at around 4 PM he went to the shop of his friend at Bus
Stand. The terrorists who were following him fired a volley of shots
at him. 4 bullets hit him—one in the chest, two in abdomen and another
one in thigh. Rajinder died on spot. No member of the majority
community came to pick him up. Traffic stopped, people ran
helter-skelter. Those who seek to enjoy saying on electronic media
that Jagmohan provided trucks to Pandits to leave are only rubbing
salt to the wounds of the minority Pandit community.

Meanwhile, one of the members of the majority community came to inform
Pyare Lal at his shop in the bazar that his son has been shot at.
Pyare Lal saw his son lying dead in a pool of blood in the shop. There
was a bullet with marking of 'Made in China'. The objective of killing
Rajinder, a scion of a prominent Batapora Pandit family, was to serve
a warning to the remaining 10-12 Pandit families which were still
holding out.

The dead body was taken to the Hospital where Dr. Sofi conducted the
post-mortem. In those terrible times Pandits had even lost the right
of mourning their departed ones. At the time of post-mortem only
Rajinder's father and grandfather were present. Pyare Lal recalls, "I
carried the body of my son in my hands. Scene of Raja Harishchandra
(Harichandrazaen raat)'s similar predicament was constantly appearing
before my eyes. Happenings create stories".

Pyare Lal's mother exhibited rare courage. She mobilised Pandit
neighbours to prepare warm water for giving bath to her beloved
grandson. There was no purohit available. All the 12 Pandit families
attended the cremation at cremation ground at Batapora. Everything was
over by 5 PM. No member of the majority community came to Tickoo's
house or attended the cremation. There were more than fifty families
living here. This was second tragedy for Pyare Lal Tickoo. In January,
1989 his wife, who had just turned 40, had died of Mitral stenosis.
The Muslim neighbours had grieved for her for four months. What had
happened in just 18 months that 'Kashmiriyat' evaporated like thin
air? A fascist, fundamentalist movement had taken over.

All the Pandit families of Batapora who had not joined the exodus,
spent the night at Tickoos' house, both to express solidarity with the
bereaved family and to ponder over what to do next. It was at 8:30 PM
that custodian of Law and Order, Deputy Commissioner, who belonged to
the majority community turned up, exactly 4 and ½ hours after the
killing. He asked Pandits if they needed any security. Pyare Lal
Tickoo replied, "Jo Hona Tha Woh Ho Chuka Hai Ab Kya Karne Aye Ho. Yeh
Aapki Marzi Hai Security Rakho Ya Nah Rakho". (whatever had to happen
has happened. What was the need for you to come now? It is your wish
whether to keep security or not). No security was provided during the
night. Those who say Pandits were provided trucks to leave should
ponder over who is politicking—they or the Pandits who faced
religious-cleansing and an insensitive administration.

Next morning four members of the majority community came to express
their grief to Tickoos. One of them was their servant who had been
with them for over twenty years, two were friends of Pyare Lal Tickoo
and one was a close acquaintance of Pt. Shamboo Nath Tickoo. Times had
changed. One has to be a member of the minority community and live the
times of physical cleansing to understand what genocide means. It is
easy to deliver sermons or write fashionable treatises on displacement
of a cleansed community.

The Batapora Pandit families decided to leave for Jammu. A more
responsible administration would have thought it to be part of its
duty to provide transport to Kashmiri Pandits after this tragedy. This
was not to be. Shamboo Nath Tickoo braved all dangers and went in a
matador to Pulwama to arrange trucks.

On the 3rd day after the killing Tickoo family collected the ashes of
their beloved Rajinder. Part of the ashes were immersed in Raembiar
river which has been part of Shopian Pandits' history and which also
used to collect the ashes of ancestors of Rajinder for centuries. The
other part was taken by Rajinder's father to Hardwar to be immersed in
Ganges. The Pandit families left for Jammu in two trucks.

Tickoos had two cows which were being looked after by two servants.
The cows used to give five kg milk in morning and 6-7 kg in evening.
Tickoos requested their neighbour to take care of cows. The neighbour
refused saying this would invite reprisal from terrorists. The cows
and a calf were let free. Tickoos expressed sorrow that they could not
take care of cows now.

For two days Tickoo family stayed in Gita Bhavan and then went to stay
at Sarore, 22 kms way from Jammu. After a year the family was provided
a room at Camp Muthi I. The small 10 ft x 10 ft room had to
accommodate five persons—old parents of Pyare Lal, his two sons and
Pyare Lal himself. There was no dearth of any kind for Tickoos at
Shopian. Now they were proverbial abandoned refugees. As camp life
took toll of health of the family the Tickoos left the camp to seek
healthier accommodation outside. Pyare Lal's mother unable to face
rigours of exile too died.

More shock was in store for Tickoos soon after they left for Jammu. On
21st July 1990 first their house and the houses of other Pandit
families were looted and the goods taken away in trucks. Then these
houses were put to arson. The other houses of Batapora were burnt on
the day when Nunda Reshi's Mausoleum was burnt by Mast Gul at Chrar,
Budgam.

>From time to time with uncertainty looming large many families had to
go for distress sale  of their 'poorans'. Pyare Lal Tickoo and his
neighbours—Kouls and Rainas whose houses were burnt on 21st July had
already decided that come what may they would not sell their houses
and the land. Pyare Lal Tickoo had also an orchard, 5 kanals and 14
marlas in size, in the vicinity of his house. It used to bear
delicious apples. These Pandit families together owned 9 kanals and
four marlas, on which stood 7 houses and an orchard. When asked why he
did not sell his pooran and orchard land, Pyare Lal Tickoo shot back
"why should I sell the pooran? I want to return to my home".

State encroachment of Residential Land:

A Govt. which swears by "Kashmiriat" and loses no opportunity to
proclaim to the outside world that "it was committed to bring back
Displaced Kashmiri Pandits back to their homes  with 'honour and
dignity' had other ideas". If Pandit families decide not to sell their
poorans there was every possibility that these families would return
to rebuild their houses whenever situation permitted. The State
government had also declared that it would provide financial aid for
repair/rebuilding the damaged houses.

Soon after Mufti Mohammad Syed took over as the Chief Minister of
PDP-Congress coalition government, Pandit families came to know that
the District Administration had mooted a proposal to thwart the return
of Kashmiri Pandits to Batapora. Without seeking consent of the Pandit
families, either directly or through a notice, it wanted to acquire
their residential land through the Land Acquisition Act. The families
learnt that the Administration had mooted the proposal for the
construction of ITI Complex upon the said premises.

In response to it Sh. Shamboo Nath Tickoo, father of Pyare Lal moved
an application to SDM Shopian for removal of encroachment of his land.
SDM in his letter no: 140-41/SDM/S/2003 Dated: 2/8/2003 asked the
Tehsildar Shopian to furnish details within two days.

When nothing was heard for a year, the Pandit families sought
intervention of the Chief Minister, the Collector Land Acquisition
(SJM) Shopian, the Chief Secretary, the Financial Commissioner
(Revenue), DC Pulwama. The families also prayed to the State Governor,
NHRC, New Delhi and SHRC, J&K.

In their prayer to the Chief Minister, dated 5/8/2004 they asked, "If
this is the situation it clearly violates the policy of the government
and also violates the fundamental rights of the applicants. If at all,
the District Administration and the Government is interested in
construction of the ITI Complex, there are hundreds of patches of land
within the town as well. They added the "action of the District
Administration also speaks volumes, for malafide and extraneous
considerations it has mooted the proposal for the acquisition of the
proceedings". The Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed, who has been
going around talking about "Self-Rule, Self-Governance", did not feel
it his duty to respond to the aggrieved Pandits.

The Pandit families in their petition to the Collector reminded that
Hon'ble High Court of J&K in its various judgements had clearly stated
that "the Collector has to show urgency for acquisition of any
particular patch of land". They added that, "Prima-facie there appears
no public purpose for the aforesaid acquisition and if at all the
government is interested in construction of the ITI Complex, that can
be constructed at any area of the town without violating the
fundamental rights of the applicants".

Earlier on 24.7.2004 in his petition to the Financial Commissioner
(Revenue), Pt. Shamboo Nath Tickoo asked, "We wonder to know that
prior to this the sites which were taken for acquisition for ITI why
they are dropped and our plots taken for acquisition, we being
migrants and when State government has taken steps for our
rehabilitation at our own native places.......

That kindly take necessary steps not to acquire our land of migrants,
as there are so many plots of Kachari/state land free and open for
such purposes".

Pyare Lal Tickoo, who retains strong will to force authorities to give
him back what is his due said, "without seeking our consent through
notification or personal notices to seven owners bulldozers were used
to level our poorans and remove the debris of burnt houses. Why did
the government feel the need to construct ITI now and not during the
past 40 years? Couldn't it get  space for ITI building in the whole of
Shopian town?" The Pandit families have come to know that early this
year the administration has illegally raised a boundary wall around
the land it has forcibly encroached. Even after the case was reported
in a section of media the State government remained unmoved. There
have been complaints elsewhere too by Displaced Kashmiri Hindus.
During the past four years of coalition rule the land owned by Pandits
is being acquired ostensibly "for public purposes" under a deliberate
plan to thwart their chances of return by "finishing their immovable
property".  In Ward No: 1 of Batapora the residential land of Pandit
families—Lahoris, Sathus, Kitchlus and Panditas, which together
measures 35-40 kanals was taken over for building bus stand. Sadly,
GOI which depends for feedback on State authorities, did not try to
intervene.

The Shop:

Pyare Lal Tickoo's cup of woes did not end here. In 1990 soon after he
left his cloth shop in the heart of town was looted. Cloth worth 6-7
lakh rupees was taken away. The shop had sale of Rs 10 to 12 thousand
per day. Subsequently, the shop was taken over by the government for
widening of the road.

Fraudulent grab of orchard:

Pyare Lal's family owned an orchard, measuring 6 kanals and 10 marlas
under Khasra No: 242 at Kanipora, Balpora (Shopian). The 58 walnut
trees in the orchard produced 2 to 2.5 lakh walnuts annually. The
present value of this crop is Rs 4 to 5 lakhs per year. This orchard
was purchased by Pyare Lal's father Sh. Shamboo Nath in 1960 with
proper registration and was under self-cultivation. They have also
preserved the receipts of contractors to whom they sold the walnuts.

In 1996 the entire revenue record of the orchard was tempered by
Tehsil and Revenue Officers and fraudulently transferred to Gani Bhat,
son of Rehman Bhat and Musmati Sara, daughter of Rehman Bhat, R/o
Kanipora. The Revenue officials fraudulently converted 'abi bagh into
Abi Soem". Through a friend Pyare Lal came to know about the
fraudulent occupation of his orchard.

Pt. Shamboo Nath Tickoo filed an appeal before the Financial
Commissioner. Sh SD Singh the FC Revenue with Powers of Commissioner
Agrarian Reforms in his landmark judgement dated 26th June 2002 after
hearing the case for a year declared that "Mutation orders are
assailed, amongst others, on the ground that the property in question
was an orchard long before Kharif 1971, during Kharif 1971 and
continuously thereafter and thus exempt from the provisions of the
Agrarian Reforms Act; that the order has been passed at the back of
the appellant without his knowledge; that Rehman and Akbar in whose
favour the mutations have been attested were dead at the time of
entering the mutation".

Sh. SD Singh observed that, "I agree with the counsel for the
appellant that the attestation of the Mutations has resulted in
perpetration of a fraud on the appellant and that this is in pursuance
of a conspiracy hatched with the connivance of the Revenue officials.
..The circumstances under which such an illegality has been
perpetrated warrant a thorough probe to fix the responsibility for
appropriate action under law". The Financial Commissioner appointed
Additional DC Pulwama, Sh AM Khanday as inquiry officer to hold a
detailed inquiry in the matter and submit a report within a period of
two months. What happened to the inquiry Tickoos do not know, though
4½ years have elapsed since then. With Kashmiri Pandits' leadership
maintaining visibility on community's genocide, the nation is bound to
ask 'who will deliver justice Pyare Lal Tickoo'. Till then he should
suffer.

Source: Kashmir Sentinel