A series of targeted killings in the region have created a climate of terror. Many Hindus—not just Pandits but also Dalits—want to flee the state. But the government will neither allow them to leave—nor can it ensure their safety.
Editor’s note: We have done a number of Big Stories on Kashmir. To understand the mass exodus of Pandits from the Valley, see our two-part explainer here and here. We also explained the fresh spike of terrorist attacks back in October.
Researched by: Sara Varghese
Since almost the very beginning, Kashmir has been the target of blatant political interference by the Union government—all of it designed to bring the state tightly under its control. The effect, however, has been to fuel Kashmiri rage against the ‘outsiders’—and which eventually turned the Pandits into collateral damage, trapped between political expediency and the rising frenzy for ‘azadi’.
The 1990 exodus: In 1989, there was a spate of brutal killings targeting Kashmiri Pandits—which finally triggered a panicked exodus, starting in January 1990. By the end of the year, most of the community had fled—leaving only 800 families in the Valley today.
The return to Kashmir: The return of the Pandits to the Valley has long been an emotional rallying cry—and a political flashpoint. Various governments have made various promises to ensure their homecoming—but none have been able to ensure their security. And with this renewed rise of targeted killings, we may well be on the cusp of a new exodus from the Valley. And this time, it’s not just about Pandits.
Over the past month, eight civilians were shot dead in Kashmir. These include: a teacher, bank manager, a government employee, a woman artist, a wine shop employee and three policemen. The most recent among them:
Point to note: Apart from the actual killings, there have been reports of letters from extremists groups threatening the Pandit community—though some seem to be fake.
As we explained in our previous Big Story, many of the killings over the past year have been attributed to The Resistance Front (TRF)—which is likely a front for the Pakistan-based terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Most recently, some group called Kashmir Freedom Fighters—again linked to the LeT—claimed responsibility for the bank manager’s killing.
What’s new is that these groups rely on ‘hybrid’ militants:
“A hybrid militant has no criminal record in official books, making it difficult for the security agencies to identify them. Wearing the cloak of anonymity, hybrid militants are armed with small arms, like pistols and grenades, and they melt into the crowds after carrying out attacks.”
Once the crime has been committed, these part-time killers go back into the civilian population:
“Today the perpetrator commits a crime using a pistol and then goes back to living as he normally would…This pistol will be stashed away somewhere under a tree or inside the barn where his colleagues can find it too.”
At least 11 of the 27 killings since October were carried out by such terrorists.
While all the attention is given to Kashmiri Pandits, those being targeted include out-of-state government employees and Dalits. Here are the broad groups they belong to:
Returning Pandits: Since 2008, more than 4,000 Kashmiri Pandits have returned to the Valley to take government jobs—offered to them as part of a rehabilitation program first announced by PM Manmohan Singh. Most of them still live in transit camps—despite the promise to build them permanent housing. Only 17% of the houses have been built. And they live in squalid conditions even within these tiny homes. Most of the better units have been taken over by the military forces.
Dalit employees: The government has also recruited hundreds of Hindus from Jammu to work in the Valley—under the Scheduled Caste quota. There are around 10 lakh residents from the scheduled castes in Jammu & Kashmir—who account for 8% of the population. And 8% of the jobs across the state are reserved for them. However, this means they have to take posts in Muslim-dominated districts—which puts their lives at risk. Also this:
“[W]hereas the Pandits were persuaded to go to Kashmir with a resettlement package, the Dalits were forced to accept routine postings in the Valley because of a skewed reservation policy that artificially shifted a chunk of their job quota from Jammu to Kashmir, benefiting Jammu’s caste Hindus.”
Dalit groups accuse the government of focusing exclusively on Pandits:
“But in the eyes of the government, they (migrant Dalit employees in Kashmir) have no worth. They have to live in rented accommodation and there are no transit colonies for them. They are usually posted in far-flung areas, as was the case with Rajni Bala Ji.”
Point to note: According to these groups, Rajni Bala’s assassination was the first notable instance of a member of their community being targeted in the Valley.
Migrant workers: Also mostly overlooked are poorer workers who come to the Valley looking for a livelihood. Last year, five were killed in just one month. They were street vendors and labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh—barely making ends meet. And they are the most vulnerable. This month—soon after the killing of the bank manager—terrorists fired on two labourers working in a brick kiln. One of them died. Ironically, the Muslim owner of the brick kiln has now been arrested for negligence.
While many are desperate to leave the Valley, the government is doing its damndest to stem the tide—at least where the Pandits are concerned.
The Pandit blockade: The government has literally trapped Pandit employees inside transit camps:
“To stop more people from leaving, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel guard the entry and exit points. Movement is restricted, and many say they are not able to buy milk, groceries, and medicines when they need them.”
And yet, many are fleeing in the middle of the night. One colony in Anantnag claims that more than 80% have already left since June 1. And this time, these Pandits have no intention of returning:
“Those who are still here can only wait for their chance to go somewhere safer. And they hope this will be their last exodus. Because now they do not want to ever come back. Not even for the sake of a job or money.”
Safety postings for Pandits: The government has also ‘redesignated’ posts for Pandit employees brought in under the rehabilitation program. This will allow them to be posted to safer districts within the Valley—and made it easier for them to get promotions. But the new policy keeps them in Kashmir.
As for the others: Many Dalit employees are fleeing as well—but there is no sign of an exodus among migrant workers as yet.
Point to note: In a PTI story, anonymous J&K officials declared “the Jammu and Kashmir administration cannot be a party to any ‘ethnic-cleansing’ scripted from across the border by agreeing to the demand of Kashmiri Pandit employees to be shifted out of the Valley.” And they are confident that the security forces will put an end to the killings.
The bottomline: In Kashmir, the price for ‘normalcy’ is often paid by the innocent.
Tarushi Aswani in The Diplomat argues that the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status has made Hindus more vulnerable to terrorism. The Print has a good ground report from the transit camps. The Guardian reports on the rising fears within the community. The Telegraph spotlights the concerns of the Dalit employees.
What you can watch online is likely to shrink dramatically in the coming years.
Read MoreWhy did Netflix and other OTT platforms in India slide so rapidly down the greasy pole of self-censorship?
Read MoreThe unprecedented arrest of Arvind Kejriwal reveals the high price of an anti-corruption law that may keep him in jail.
Read MoreThe attack in Moscow is a reminder that ISIS is not dead and making sure it is not forgotten.
Read More