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

[Jeebesh]

dear Lalit,

Looks like the stress of news is having a toll on your coherence.  
understandable. we live in difficult times of confused visibility and  
unpredictable silences.

take care.

warmly
jeebesh


On 14-Aug-10, at 2:13 PM, Lalit Ambardar wrote:

>
> 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
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>> 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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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _________________________________________
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>>>> city.
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
>>>
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