[Reader-list] Fw: Visit to Pandit migrant camps in Jammu 2002- A personal account
A.K. Malik
akmalik45 at yahoo.com
Sun Aug 15 11:56:05 IST 2010
Ya, I agree, it is perhaps the nearest best word meaning : a journey by a
large group to escape from a hostile environment.The word used was migrant
which is perhaps leaving for another place on one's own volition.
Regards,
(A.K.MALIK)
________________________________
From: zulfiya hamzaki <zulfi14 at gmail.com>
To: A.K. Malik <akmalik45 at yahoo.com>
Cc: gowhar fazli <gowharfazili at yahoo.com>; Sarai List <reader-list at sarai.net>
Sent: Sat, August 14, 2010 12:31:57 AM
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.
>> >>Critiques & Collaborations
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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >_________________________________________
>> >reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the
>> city.
>> >Critiques & Collaborations
>> >To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net
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>>
>>
>>
>> _________________________________________
>> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the
>> city.
>> Critiques & Collaborations
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>
>
>
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