[Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account

Sat Aug 14 14:13:36 IST 2010

Physical intimidation;written threats delivered at home;hit lists put on the walls of the holy mosques ; threats from the loudspeakers of holy mosques; selective  brutal killings of young & old in broad day light in streets in full view of  conspicously silent public/neighbours & in homes ;rape & murder ; Wandahama & Nadimarg mass murders ........did not become stories......no one attempted to weave any......how your own chose to become unknown with eyes shut lest guilt would be seen, never made it to any discourse...till the tribe vanished almost, from the lands.....

Ethnic cleansing....genocide....near genocide...mass exodus...exodus....departure or journey of a large number.....escape from hostile environment.....forced to flee under threat of violence...migration.... etc.etc...???.... who cares...??? Did it ever matter? Does it matter now ?

Now, it sounds like comforting the lamb after it was sacrificed " well dear,you know it, the blade was shinning sharp........................"

Rgds all

LA

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> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:31:57 +0530
> From: zulfi14 at gmail.com
> To: akmalik45 at yahoo.com
> CC: reader-list at sarai.net
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account
> 
> How about "Exodus"? It refers to the departure or journey of a large number
> of people to escape from a hostile environment.
> 
> Regards,
> Zulfiya
> 
> On Fri, Aug 13, 2010 at 7:35 PM, A.K. Malik <akmalik45 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> > Can you find an equivalent word for "Forced to flee under threat of
> > violence"?
> > Regards,
> >
> > (A.K.MALIK)
> >
> >
> > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > From: gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu
> > 2002- A personal account
> > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > > Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 6:29 PM
> > >
> > >
> > > A point by point response to Kshmendra’s queries: I am
> > > engaging in plain talk
> > > at times and I hope it does not hurt your sentiments
> > > because that it not the
> > > intension. I would have ideally desired to take more time
> > > on this but for my
> > > other engagements. I hope this is somewhat useful.
> > >
> > > K: Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but were
> > > forced by
> > > circumstances to seek refuge? Wouldn’t 'refugees' or
> > > 'internally displaced' be a
> > > better term? What do you think?
> > >
> > > G: I think there are differing views on how and why Pandits
> > > left. Personally I
> > > feel the atmosphere would have been really scary. It was
> > > for us too. Though
> > > there were some targeted killings and acts of deliberate
> > > humiliation against
> > > individual Pandits, it is the larger fear in a more
> > > diffused form that would
> > > have threatened the community at large. The tone the
> > > resistance movement in
> > > Kashmir started adopting as the time went by and as the
> > > state became more and
> > > more repressive, became radical. I think it was best for
> > > Pandits to have left
> > > at that time, but at no cost should they have severed
> > > political and social ties
> > > with Kashmir and stopped engaging with the discourse in
> > > Kashmir.
> > >
> > >
> > > I am not an expert on nomenclature of people who are
> > > displaced nor did I want to
> > > derive any political mileage out of calling them
> > > ‘migrants’. The reason why I
> > > may have preferred to use the word ‘migrant’ was not to
> > > get into a similar
> > > debate on nomenclature with Kashmiri Muslims who use this
> > > word and thus lose the
> > > affect I was trying to communicate in political jargon.
> > > This report was
> > > presented before an open public audience in Srinagar.
> > >
> > > K: Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this
> > > time around the
> > > Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements
> > > for them to meet at
> > > least some of those who have similarly suffered intense
> > > miseries and more? Is
> > > there any such existing mechanism?
> > >
> > > G: Though no permanent mechanism exists, I can put you
> > > across to friends who can
> > > and will help you, including some who were part of the
> > > earlier initiative. If
> > > you are really serious you, should use a reasonably neutral
> > > or credible base to
> > > make such a sensitive move. Even just as a thought, it is
> > > appreciable.
> > >
> > > K: Your 2002 report concludes with the comment "a
> > > tremendous and deep felt
> > > desire to restore the broken relationships and the way of
> > > life that has been
> > > lost." Do you think that sentiment still exists? Can the
> > > gulf of 'broken
> > > relationships' be bridged, by word and action and some
> > > sort of a 'return'? If
> > > yes; How?
> > >
> > > G: I was referring to the energy we felt in the gathering
> > > of over hundred
> > > people who turned up in Porkhu and the number of families
> > > and individuals we met
> > > outside the camp.
> > >
> > >
> > > There is no discourse regarding this in the public sphere
> > > at the moment. People
> > > have obvious pressing concerns regarding their survival in
> > > the ongoing violence
> > > and repression.
> > >
> > > Individually many people retain personal contacts and feel
> > > the sentiment.
> > > Politically no group opposes return of Pandits and all have
> > > a stated position of
> > > wanting the Pandits to return. Personally I think
> > > possible return of Pandits is
> > > hostage to the resolution of Kashmir problem in a civilized
> > > manner. Redemption
> > > of all Kashmirs is in seeking such a solution. The more
> > > bloodshed there is, and
> > > the longer it takes, the harder it will get. I think in
> > > the meanwhile if more
> > > and more Pandits engage with Kashmir from a moral and
> > > principled perspective
> > > rather than a jingoistic and demonizing manner like it
> > > happened near Jantar
> > > Mantar, Kashmiri Muslims are actually large hearted,
> > > accommodative and
> > > gregarious… and you know it.
> > >
> > > K: Connectedly, why do you think it is seen necessary by
> > > the Kashmiri Pandits
> > > still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of SAS
> > > Geelani and beg for
> > > protection?
> > >
> > > G: It shouldn’t be necessary and it is shocking. But a
> > > society in which naked
> > > dance of brutality and violence takes place on a daily
> > > basis will throw up some
> > > deranged people, don’t you think. You should not expect
> > > otherwise.
> > >
> > >
> > > K: Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much
> > > vaunted Civil Society
> > > of Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have
> > > to be part of the
> > > Tehreek?
> > >
> > > G:Were they! By whom? What exactly did they mean? It
> > > is possible people would
> > > have expected Pandits to have acted as a buffer between the
> > > Indian state which
> > > was becoming more and more communal as the people engaged
> > > in a political
> > > struggle, especially when it unleashed violence on the
> > > masses and not expect
> > > Pandits to be aloof and thus tacitly support the Indian
> > > state.
> > >
> > > K: Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst
> > > Kashmiri Muslims (who
> > > desire separation from India) is towards an Independent
> > > Kashmir why does SAS
> > > (Kashmir should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of
> > > space he does without
> > > receiving strong condemnation?
> > >
> > > The state gives him space and locks up or discredits the
> > > moderates. Secondly,
> > > more the oppression more radical the population will
> > > become. Many people hate
> > > Geelani personally, but their respect for him is increasing
> > > because of his
> > > constant unflinching stand. Various moderates were pulled
> > > into secret or open
> > > talks by the state and then discredited by exposing the
> > > secret talks or because
> > > the Indian sate did not budge an inch and thus the
> > > moderates were seen to have
> > > brought humiliation upon the people who believe their stand
> > > is just.
> > >
> > > In response to the reponse to the earlier post:
> > >
> > > With respect to the post about Kashmiri Pandits having lost
> > > their Kashmiriat by
> > > an ordinary Muslim participant, it was to demonstrate how
> > > the Pandit performance
> > > at Jantar Mantar was received by the people, for its sheer
> > > insensitivity in
> > > terms timing and not the politics they might otherwise
> > > uphold. Attacking the
> > > people who are seeking separatism while brandishing a
> > > National flag and
> > > counterpoising Pandit suffering to undermine the loss
> > > suffered, even while the
> > > blood is still dripping off the bodies in Kashmir, was
> > > grossly insensitive. It
> > > is like you turn up on my child’s funeral and try to
> > > disrupt it because you too
> > > have suffered loss some twenty years before.
> > >
> > > As for the suffering in exile it is very sad, but
> > > Kashmiri’s in Kashmir are not
> > > exactly home and safe.
> > >
> > > I agree that there is a set of people seeking Azadi for
> > > Islam but it does not
> > > constitute a majority. And even among those who apparently
> > > say they stand for
> > > Islam, for a great many, their interpretation of Islam
> > > itself means
> > > accommodation of and justice for all.
> > >
> > > At the moment people more sure of what they do not want,
> > > rather than what
> > > exactly they want. Pandits could have been a great help
> > > in shaping and steering
> > > this discourse (like some of them did as the fall of the
> > > Maharaja precipitated,
> > > Bhushan Bazaz to mention just one) had they not
> > > ideologically succumbed to the
> > > Hindu right wing in great numbers.
> > > Best,
> > > Gowhar
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>
> > > To: "reader-list at sarai.net"
> > > <reader-list at sarai.net>;
> > > gowhar fazli
> > > <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 4:05:19 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant
> > > camps in Jammu 2002- A
> > > personal account
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear Gowhar
> > >
> > > I understand.
> > >
> > > No easy answers.
> > >
> > > Take care
> > >
> > > Kshmendra
> > >
> > > --- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > >From: gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > >Subject: [Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant
> > > camps in Jammu 2002- A
> > > >personal account
> > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net"
> > > <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > > >Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 3:54 PM
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Very pertinent questions on both my posts requiring
> > > serious reflection Kshmendra
> > > >
> > > >and I would not make light of them by replying a
> > > hurry. I must confess that I
> > > >am personally struggling with ambivalences often
> > > between mutually exclusive and
> > > >
> > > >contradictory concerns and may not have clear answers
> > > for everything. However i
> > >
> > > >promise I will try. Thanks for reading the whole
> > > thing.
> > > >
> > > >In the meanwhile others who may have energy to engage
> > > may go ahead.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >________________________________
> > > >From: Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>
> > > >To: "reader-list at sarai.net"
> > > <reader-list at sarai.net>;
> > > gowhar fazli
> > > ><gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > >Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 3:25:24 PM
> > > >Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant
> > > camps in Jammu 2002- A
> > > >personal account
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Dear Gowhar
> > > >
> > > >Thank you for sharing this.
> > > >
> > > >Would you agree that they were/are not migrants but
> > > were forced by circumstances
> > > >
> > > >to seek refuge? Wouldnt 'refugees' or 'internally
> > > displaced' be a better term?
> > > >What do you think?
> > > >
> > > >Do you think this exercise can be duplicated with this
> > > time around the Kashmiri
> > >
> > > >Pandits visiting Kashmir and similar arrangements for
> > > them to meet at least some
> > > >
> > > >of those who have similarly suffered intense miseries
> > > and more? Is there any
> > > >such existing mechanism?
> > > >
> > > >Your 2002 report conclude with the comment "a
> > > tremendous and deep felt desire
> > > >to restore the broken relationships and the way of
> > > life that has been lost." Do
> > > >
> > > >you think that sentiment still exists? Can the gulf
> > > of 'broken relationships' be
> > > >
> > > >bridged, by word and action and some sort of a
> > > 'return'? If yes; How?
> > > >
> > > >Connectedly, why do you think it is seen neccessary by
> > > the Kashmiri Pandits
> > > >still residing in Kashmir to go and weep in front of
> > > SAS Geelani and beg for
> > > >protection?
> > > >
> > > >Connectedly, why was there no hue and cry by the much
> > > vaunted Civil Society of
> > > >Kashmir when Kashmiri Pandits were told that they have
> > > to be part of the
> > > >Tehreek?
> > > >
> > > >Connectedly, if the overwhelming sentiment amongst
> > > Kashmiri Muslims (who desire
> > >
> > > >separation from India) is towards an Independent
> > > Kashmir why does SAS (Kashmir
> > > >should be with Pakistan) Geelani get the kind of space
> > > he does without receiving
> > > >
> > > >strong condemnation?
> > > >
> > > >Kshmendra
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >--- On Thu, 8/12/10, gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>From: gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>
> > > >>Subject: [Reader-list] Visit to Pandit migrant
> > > camps in Jammu 2002- A personal
> > >
> > > >>account
> > > >>To: "reader-list at sarai.net"
> > > <reader-list at sarai.net>
> > > >>Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 11:51 AM
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A
> > > personal account
> > > >>By Gowhar Fazili
> > > >>
> > > >>After the first reconciliation workshop involving
> > > Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Muslim it was decided that a team of Muslim
> > > participants would visit migrant
> > > >>camps in Jammu in continuation of the process that
> > > had just begun to unfold by
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>the end of the workshop. We realized that enormous
> > > amount of courage on part of
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>the participants led them to share their personal
> > > and collective grief and
> > > >>suffering. We witnessed that honest sharing can
> > > transform people and must be
> > > >>respected and valued. To further explore the spirit
> > > of oneness in suffering and
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>to take it beyond the confines of the meeting
> > > venue, a visit by some Kashmiri
> > >
> > > >>Muslim participants was to be the next step.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Accordingly, my friend and I were deputed to visit
> > > Jammu in the month of
> > > >>September and we visited homes of Pandit
> > > participants residing in and outside
> > >
> > > >>the camps and also met with some other members of
> > > the community. The experience
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>generated so many emotions and thoughts that it
> > > will take a lifetime to unpack
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>them but I will try to share some of the
> > > observations that can be made.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>When I told some of my friends in Srinagar about
> > > the plan, they asked why I
> > > >>should be visiting Pandit camps while the suffering
> > > is far too greater here in
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>Kashmir and no one is bothered. There are too many
> > > widows, orphans, bereaved
> > > >>and people who have lost their homes and property
> > > in the ongoing turmoil in the
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>valley, while Pandits in Jammu are better off by
> > > far. Some said that Pandits
> > > >>are a pampered lot. Both the central and the
> > > state government pamper Pandits
> > > >>and they are living better lives in the safety of
> > > camps in Jammu than any of us
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>here. They also said that everybody from the
> > > humanitarian organizations to
> > > >>politicians visit Jammu camps as a priority while
> > > we (Kashmiri Muslims) are
> > > >>merely seen as terrorists who deserve what they
> > > are undergoing because we are
> > >
> > > >>supposedly the source of all trouble.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Nevertheless we went ahead with our plan, if only
> > > to know if the stories that
> > >
> > > >>take rounds in Srinagar are true and to what
> > > extent. How do Pandits themselves
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>feel about their migration from Kashmir valley,
> > > which has been their home for
> > >
> > > >>ages? Are they living away from their homeland by
> > > choice? What were the
> > > >>circumstances, which compelled them to leave? Was
> > > it merely state policy whisk
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>Pandits to safety, as many believe in Srinagar or
> > > was their enough fear in the
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>atmosphere to have made a community of a such small
> > > size feel vulnerable and
> > > >>unsafe? What is it really like for a Kashmiri, used
> > > to living in spacious house
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>to live in a camp? What is the condition of the
> > > camps ... and so many questions
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>that could be answered only through experience and
> > > first hand interaction.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Since we arrived in Jammu on the eve of a festival,
> > > we did not think it prudent
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>to land up in the camps right away. We stayed in a
> > > hotel and from there called
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>some people we had met in the reconciliation
> > > workshop and fixed to visit their
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>places on the next day. But even before we set out
> > > for our visits we received
> > >
> > > >>an early morning delegation of Pandits associated
> > > with the Chamber of Commerce.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>They had heard about our work and were curious to
> > > know more. They appreciated
> > >
> > > >>the idea of faith based reconciliation and assured
> > > us their support especially
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>in the section of people associated with trade
> > > and commerce. They also spoke of
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>the efforts they had made earlier to maintain
> > > relationship between the members
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>of the two communities but that they could not
> > > sustain it for too long. They
> > > >>also emphasized the need for a place in Jammu so
> > > that there could be sustained
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>communication between the people of two
> > > communities.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>From then on Anil (one of the participants in the
> > > workshop) played our host and
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>guided us to residences of the members. He had
> > > already fixed our schedule for
> > >
> > > >>the day and we felt very relaxed to be guided in
> > > this manner. We began by
> > > >>visiting members who lived outside the camps. The
> > > houses we visited looked
> > > >>similar to the ones in Kashmir as though there were
> > > a deliberate effort to live
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>back the life as it was in Kashmir. One of the
> > > houses even had an elaborately
> > >
> > > >>and exquisitely designed Chinar like gate. The
> > > residents explained that this
> > > >>keeps the memory of my homeland alive. We felt very
> > > much at home possibly
> > > >>because of our common culture and the foods that we
> > > were treated to. The
> > > >>conversations went on endlessly as they do in
> > > Kashmir. There was a special
> > > >>feeling like when we meet relatives separated from
> > > us for a long time. There
> > > >>was so much to catch up on. We could sense among
> > > our hosts a deep longing and
> > >
> > > >>love for the homeland. It didn't need to be said it
> > > was clearly evident by the
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>manner in which they had maintained continuity with
> > > their way of life in an
> > > >>alien land and the profusion artifacts that they
> > > had surrounded themselves
> > > >>with. We could also sense genuine gladness in their
> > > eyes to receive us in their
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>homes and I guess a lot of healing must have taken
> > > place while we shared about
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>our experiences and the situations we are faced
> > > with in either place.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>The greatest fear that seemed to override the minds
> > > of most Kashmiri Pandits
> > > >>was not economic loss but the fear of losing
> > > community itself in the vast sea
> > >
> > > >>of humanity that is India... They so much want to
> > > remain Kashmiris and so
> > > >>easily find extension of their selves among the co-
> > > community of Kashmiri
> > > >>Muslims. At least with Kashmiri Muslims they can
> > > share the language, culture
> > > >>and the local idiom even though their religion is
> > > different. They can talk to
> > >
> > > >>us and share the inherited meanings while it is not
> > > possible with
> > > >>co-religionists from other parts of India. In
> > > Kashmir they also shared a
> > > >>relationship of mutual respect with other
> > > Kashmiris, while in a place like
> > > >>Jammu or Delhi no one recognizes them as a special
> > > community. They are merely
> > >
> > > >>outsiders who are encroaching on the local
> > > resources. But even now when we meet
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>after thirteen years of separation, we seem to be
> > > familiar and know how to
> > > >>address each other and can share so much. In all
> > > our conversations the use of
> > >
> > > >>'we' to signify all Kashmiris including Muslims and
> > > Pandits was frequent. We
> > > >>could still identify ourselves as a people apart
> > > from others.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>From the homes we visited it was clear how much
> > > they must have had to struggle
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>to settle themselves in a place like Jammu. It had
> > > taken years for some to
> > > >>finally resolve and make permanent houses in Jammu.
> > > For a long while they felt
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>that their stay in Jammu was temporary, hoping to
> > > return very soon. Some said
> > >
> > > >>that they can still not relate to these houses as
> > > their own, and that whenever
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>they dream of home they can only visualize their
> > > houses in Kashmir.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>I realized the difference between migrating for
> > > better opportunities like many
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>of us do and being forced by circumstances to
> > > migrate from home and having no
> > >
> > > >>place to return to. I realized that Pandit
> > > migration was a tragic event for
> > > >>Kashmiri community as a whole because they took
> > > with them so much that was us.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>It was especially tragic for the Pandits who feel
> > > so vulnerable as a community
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>away from home.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>From there Anil led us to the camps for the first
> > > time. Since most of the
> > > >>participants for our workshop had come from the
> > > Porkhu camp we went there to
> > > >>meet up with the people. I must confess that my
> > > idea of Pandit camps while in
> > >
> > > >>Srinagar was that these must be decent flats as
> > > befit the so-called 'pampered'
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>community. To my shock the camp can be described no
> > > better than a slum. Pandit
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>camps in Jammu are shanty barracks made of plywood
> > > or single brick walls. In
> > > >>the barracks each family has been allotted a room
> > > or if the family is really
> > > >>large two rooms at the most. The lanes between
> > > the barracks are narrow and
> > > >>lined by deep open drains. The residents have
> > > constructed toilets and small
> > > >>kitchens and walls around the space on their own.
> > > Once inside, we felt very
> > > >>hot. Three children who were sleeping in the room
> > > where shifted to one side to
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>make room for the seven men who had visited the
> > > house. The immediate feeling
> > > >>that came to our mind was that this was no place
> > > to live for ten days and these
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>people had managed to live here for more than
> > > thirteen years. Yet we were
> > > >>treated very hospitably, as we would be in
> > > Kashmir. Again we realized that
> > > >>Kashmiri culture was being lived with a vengeance
> > > even in terms of the food
> > > >>they continue to consume like Namkeen Chai and
> > > traditional Kashmiri bread
> > > >>(chochwor!) We met up with most of the members who
> > > had visited Kashmir. Some of
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>the members in the camp had to give serious
> > > explanation for having participated
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>in the workshop at Gulmarg and had been blamed of
> > > having made a compromise with
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Kashmiri Muslims. We had to assure them once again
> > > that there was no hidden
> > > >>agenda and that none of the known political
> > > organizations had anything to do
> > > >>with our work. We decided to visit the camp once
> > > again on the next day in order
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>to hear from more people and also to share the idea
> > > of reconciliation with
> > > >>them.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>To our surprise more people turned up for the
> > > meeting than we were prepared to
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>face. We expected not more than fifteen to twenty
> > > people in the meeting. But
> > > >>the hall meant for marriages and other functions
> > > began to fill until we had
> > > >>more than hundred people many of whom did not
> > > understand why we were there.
> > > >>Some of the people were charged up due to the
> > > election campaigns and the offer
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>made by the central government to give rupees
> > > seven-lakh assistance for Pandits
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>who chose to return to the valley. One of the
> > > elderly persons emphasized that
> > >
> > > >>they did not want this package because they saw it
> > > more as an insult added to
> > >
> > > >>the injury. He said that the problem of Kashmiri
> > > Pandits was not about money,
> > >
> > > >>but about insecurity and how they can redeem the
> > > way of life that was lost.
> > > >>“Would they be able to return the security we
> > > felt in living among our own
> > > >>people and how would they ensure that now, with
> > > the changes that our people
> > > >>have undergone by living away from each other?”
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>It was clear that some of the people in the camp
> > > were mistaking us for the
> > > >>representatives of some political party or the
> > > central government. After
> > > >>hearing to some angry expressions some of our hosts
> > > thought that we must be
> > > >>asked why we have come to the camps in the first
> > > place. We began by explaining
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>that we did not represent any official initiatives
> > > for rehabilitation of
> > > >>Kashmiri Pandits and that we have just come as
> > > concerned individuals who are
> > > >>not happy with the situation as it exists. “We
> > > have no offers to make because
> > >
> > > >>have nothing to offer except a patient hearing. In
> > > a sense we feel guilty for
> > >
> > > >>not having done enough to stop the migration when
> > > it took place and also for
> > > >>not having been in touch for the last thirteen
> > > years. It is partly to absolve
> > >
> > > >>ourselves of that guilt that we have come. We have
> > > also come to hear from your
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>experiences and to observe how you people are
> > > living away from home and what
> > > >>you have to say.”
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>This brief introduction changed the tone of the
> > > meeting and then on almost all
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>the members individually began to share their
> > > experiences. Some laid emphasis
> > >
> > > >>on the unique brotherhood that existed among
> > > Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits and
> > >
> > > >>how they longed for its return, while others
> > > expressed the pain of living for
> > >
> > > >>thirteen long years away from Kashmir. While the
> > > elderly were very vivid about
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>their memories of Kashmir and their desire “to at
> > > least die in Kashmir”, the
> > > >>younger ones were bitter about the state of
> > > helplessness and feared whether
> > > >>their future would be safe if they were to choose
> > > to return. Some of the
> > > >>members related the number of times Kashmiri
> > > Pandits have had to migrate from
> > >
> > > >>Kashmir and how every time after the peace was
> > > restored they returned to their
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>homeland. They also said that if they were to
> > > return this time, they would want
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>the surity that they do not have to migrate yet
> > > again.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Some of the younger members were very bitter about
> > > the circumstances that led
> > >
> > > >>them to leave Kashmir and said that under no
> > > circumstances are they willing to
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>forget how some of their people were tortured and
> > > killed. We tried to explain
> > >
> > > >>that to reconcile did not mean that one has to
> > > forget and we did not expect
> > > >>them to forget what they had experienced. Asking
> > > one to forget would amount to
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>disrespecting their pain and suffering. We only
> > > feel that hate should not be
> > > >>the motive for our actions and that we must
> > > forgive without forgetting.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>One of the members explained how the state was
> > > maintaining the camps in bad
> > > >>repair so as to win the sympathy of the foreigners
> > > and visitors to the camps as
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>a means of propaganda to impress upon them their
> > > own version of the conflict in
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Kashmir. He explained that they felt like animals
> > > kept in a zoo, displayed
> > > >>whenever the need was felt. The state according
> > > to them could do better and at
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>least afford to provide reasonable conditions of
> > > living for the migrants. The
> > >
> > > >>dilapidated condition of the camps was a
> > > deliberate state policy.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>Almost all the people appreciated our effort and
> > > felt that it was in some ways
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>different from all the other efforts that are being
> > > made for their return and
> > >
> > > >>rehabilitation. They also felt that our efforts
> > > were in the least sincere and
> > >
> > > >>thus need to be expanded. Many emphasized that
> > > the greater part of the work is
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>required in Kashmir, as they being a minority do
> > > not pose a big problem. It is
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>only when certain receptiveness is created among
> > > the majority community in
> > > >>Kashmir that the return of Pandits can be made
> > > possible.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>There was a difference of opinion whether they
> > > should return to their own
> > > >>respective villages or a separate enclave should be
> > > created to rehabilitate
> > > >>them in the valley. For some the texture of the
> > > villages over the years had
> > > >>changed so drastically that it was no longer
> > > possible for them to feel safe in
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>their old homes. So though the interaction between
> > > the members of the two
> > > >>communities should get restored, but for their
> > > safety they must be settled in
> > >
> > > >>an all Pandit habitation. Some felt that this
> > > arrangement would not be healthy,
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>as it would not help restore old relationship and
> > > increase suspicion and
> > > >>segregation.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>The meeting lasted well over five hours into the
> > > night and at last when most
> > > >>people had spoken we sought permission to leave.
> > > But the people would not let
> > >
> > > >>us go and took us back to their homes where more
> > > rounds of tea and informal
> > > >>conversation resumed. We had to leave finally
> > > because of an earlier commitment
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>to dine with one of our Pandit hosts living outside
> > > the camp. The conversations
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>at the dinners during our visit, which lasted well
> > > past midnight, were in my
> > > >>opinion, most fruitful. They operated in a language
> > > that can only be possible
> > >
> > > >>with the members of ones own community. There was
> > > endless joking and laughing!
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>To sum it all, I think what we encountered in Jammu
> > > was beyond our
> > > >>expectations, a tremendous and deep felt desire to
> > > restore the broken
> > > >>relationships and the way of life that has been
> > > lost. People are cautiously,
> > > >>willing to explore ... because the stake is worth
> > > every bit of effort.
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>_________________________________________
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> > > the city.
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> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >_________________________________________
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> > > city.
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _________________________________________
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> > > city.
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> >
> >
> > _________________________________________
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