Longing for justice, oustees get glimmer of hope post 370 : The Tribune India

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Longing for justice, oustees get glimmer of hope post 370

Sumit Hakhoo
Tribune News Service
Jammu, January 18

Post abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, as Kashmiri Hindus mark 30 years of exodus on January 19, which is also observed as ‘Holocaust Day’, families of Pandits who were brutally killed by terrorists are still waiting for justice.

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Victims of genocide

On January 19, 1990, lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes in the Valley following a genocidal campaign launched by the terrorists
Officially 219 KPs were killed by terrorists, including in the massacres at Wandhama (1996), Sangrampur (1998) and Nadimarg (2003). The figure is disputed by the community

Many families are now hopeful that with the Central Government directly handling the administration in Jammu and Kashmir, it will ensure those who participated and helped militants carry out killings of minorities in the 1990s will be brought to justice. “As we gather this year to remember our dead, we are happy that Article 370 has gone, but Pandits want justice. There is still fear among the people even after three decades,” says Rajinder Kaul, son of late Sarwanand K Premi.

Premi was assassinated by Pakistan-backed terrorists at his native village in Anantnag on April 28, 1990, along with his son Virender Kaul. Kidnapped, their bodies were found after four days.

Sarwanand was one of the prolific literary persons in the Valley who had greatly contributed to literature and education and was respected by both Muslims and Hindus in Anantnag district.

“For the past three decades, I have been seeking justice. There are hundreds like me who lost their family members to bullets of terrorists. The fear continues to haunt the entire community,” says Kaul.

Fear still remains

As we gather this year to remember our dead, we are happy that Article 370 has gone, but Kashmiri Pandits want justice. There is still fear among the people even after three decades

Rajinder Kaul, son of late Sarwanand K Premi

With erstwhile J&K has now been divided into two Union Territories, a move welcomed and celebrated by Kashmiri Hindus, Pandits say without a sustainable framework of return and continued uncertain security situation in the Valley, resettlement is still a distant dream.

There is a general view among representative organisations that the BJP-led government at the Centre adopted a “policy of neglect” for the past seven years when it came to militancy victims.

“At the electoral level, the community is insignificant, but they see themselves as major stakeholders in the Kashmir resolution. Unless the security aspect is ensured, displaced people will remain uninterested to return,” says Adarsh Ajit, an author and critic. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in March 2015 called for giving resettlement of Pandits in the Valley a priority and mentioned giving financial assistance, jobs, transit and cluster accommodation to them.