[Reader-list] Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits: culpable silence by human rights organizations

[Pawan Durani]

http://www.groundreport.com/Business/Ethnic-cleansing-of-Kashmiri-Pandits-culpable-sile_1/2922654

By Dipin Damodharan

This is the story of an ethnic group, Kashmiri Pandits, who are
becoming refuges in their own land. We heard about human rights
violation confronted the Jews from Adolf Hitler, human rights
violation in Palestine, human rights violation by the Lord Resistance
Army of Uganda, violations in many countries like Sri Lanka, Iran,
Brazil, China… When a communal riot was broke out in Gujarat (India)
in 2002, as an upshot of the killing of 59 Hindu Saints in Sabarmati
Express (Godhra train carnage), many Muslims had also lost their life.
All human rights organization across the globe made use of this
incident to affront India in front of the world. But they never speak
on the Genocide, the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from the
Kashmir valley; they have a culpable silence on the human rights
violations executing by the Islamic terrorists trained by Pakistan.

Over four lakh Kashmiri Pandits, constituting 99% of the total
population of Hindus, living in Muslim best part area of the Kashmir
Valley. Since the end of 1989 they were grudgingly pushed out of the
Valley by Islamic terrorists, trained in Pakistan, they have been
forced to live the life of exiles in their own country, outside their
homeland, by unleashing an organized campaign of terror, murder,
burgle and arson. Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits has reached its zenith
with Muslim terrorism succeeding in cleansing the valley of this
ancient ethno-religious Kashmiri Pandits community.

With the completion of 21st year of their forced exile, this peace
loving, culturally affluent community with a history of more than 5000
years is fighting a harsh battle to save itself from becoming extinct
as a distinct race and culture. The exodus took place on January 19th
of I989. On that day the loudspeakers of mosques in Kashmir blasted
out a message as a threat: Pandits leave the valley, leaving behind
your women. We want Pakistan, without Kashmiri Pandits. Despite of
some organizations, the entire country then was like silent spectators
of this event.

The massacres of Pandits were brutal, barbaric and inhuman. Killing of
Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists evidently portrays fanatical
sadism. All victims have been subjected to extreme torture and terror.
Torture deaths have been brought about by such inhuman practices as
strangulation by using steel wires, hanging, branding with hot irons,
burning alive, lynching, bleeding to death. Besides these, terrorists
have frequently indulged in barbaric acts like performing death dances
after killing their target. Many a time, dead bodies were not even
allowed to be properly cremated. Is this acts cannot be considered as
violation of human rights? The so-called cultural celebrity Arundati
Roy had spend several days with Maoist terrorists recently, why she is
even not ready to think a while for this Kashmiri Pandits ?

Every one forgets the fact that terrorism in Kashmir is an ideological
struggle with specified political commitments which are fundamentalist
and communal in character. Terrorist violence is aimed at achieving
the disentanglement of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from India and
its annexation to Pakistan. It is the continuation of the Islamic
fundamentalist struggle for the homeland of Pakistan which claims
Jammu and Kashmir State on account of its Muslim majority character.
To achieve this aim, the terrorists are continuously destroying the
educational, cultural and religious institutions of Kashmiri Pandits.

Killing of Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists clearly depicts
extreme sadism. But the great tragedy is that the Government of India
and the Jammu Kashmir State Government have utterly failed to protect
the Kashmiri Pandits against Islamic terrorism. Ethnic cleansing of
Pandits from Kashmir valley is the crucial failure of Indian state to
uphold its commitments to people of India as enshrined in Indian
constitution which provides right to live with dignity and honour to
every citizen irrespective of caste, creed, religion or colour.

International Human Rights Organizations like Amnesty International,
Asia Watch and others have yet to take proper cognizance of the
genocide perpetrated on Kashmiri Pandits. Even the representatives of
the United nations or other organizations have so far failed to visit
the camps in Jammu, Delhi and other parts of India, where thousands of
families are putting up for several years.

 The international community views the violence in Kashmir as a
Freedom struggle. But remember, terrorist violence in the valley is
not a Freedom Struggle at all. Terrorist violence cannot be justified
on the ground of its political and ideological motivations or value
basis. Cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir is a clear testimony
of this fact. There is no freedom which impinges upon freedom. There
can be no equality which leads to inequality.

Sania-Shoaib marriage extravaganza is a breaking news for the Indian
media; Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been crucified by the
media accusing him as the perpetrator of Gujarat riots, but this
ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus never being news for Indian media…

Gradual extinction of a civilized community with an ancient culture is
yet to shake the conscience of the world. I request my fellow human
beings to take up this issue and bring it to the fore of international
arena.

Dipin Damodharan is a working Journalist based in Kerala (Sub editor
with Jeevan TV). Author of several articles related to national cause
in different media. Regular columnist for online news portals
www.oneindia.in,