EXODUS OF KASHMIR'S PANDITS (PART 2) B.16
Hello everyone,
In the previous blog, we discussed the arrival of terrorism in Kashmir. In this blog, we will talk about terrorism and the radical Islamic mindset that destroyed the harmony of Kashmir and forced the pandit of Kashmir to leave their hometown and live as refugees. Further, we will understand the connection between Pakistan and terrorism in Kashmir. But before I start if you are new to my blog I recommend you to read the previous part of this blog.
LET'S GET STARTED,
The defeat of MUF( Muslim united front) Resulted in disenchantment and radicalization in the Kashmir valley. The militants of these groups openly attacked those who were active in pro-India activities. Hindu were soft targets in Kashmir because firstly they were in minority and they were not concentrated at one place, they all were scattered everywhere in the Kashmir valley and slowly mob lynching of Hindus became a common practice in Kashmir. During 1988 open insurgency was started and slogans like "Free-Kashmir" and "Nizam-e-Mustafa" were openly raised and all these were lead by the organization "JKLF". At the same time in Pakistan, newly elected prime minister Benazir Bhutto also promoted 'Jihad' and the youth of Kashmir was funded to act against the state of India and its policies. Open training camps were organized for Kashmiri boys to train themselves as terrorists. I will now tell you some prominent killing of Hindus by militants.
14 Sept 1989- Pandit Tika Lal was killed (Senior advocate and a BJP leader)
2 Oct 1989- Pandit Neel Kanth (Retired judge) was shot dead because he sentenced the JKLF Maqbool Bhat to death.
27 Dec 1989 - Prem Nath Bhat (A lawyer and journalist)was shot at Anantnag.
As stated earlier the killing of pandits was a normal practice so why I am focusing on these names? Because these personalities were very prominent and to kill them was an open statement for all the Hindus and the supporters of the pro-India movement that none of you are safe. After this, the terrorist captured the daughter of the Home Minister of India and they demanded the release of 5 terrorists, and the central government agreed to their terms. This all gave immense motivation to all the terrorists and they were freely roaming on the street of Srinagar holding AK47. Now before moving further we again have to understand the politics of J&K. During 1989-90 VP Singh was the prime minister and mufti Mohd Sayeed was his Home minister. He advised PM to re-appoint Jagmohan as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir to understand and analyze the situation of Kashmiri pandits. But this move made Farooq Abdullah angry because they didn't have good relations. During all this time torture against the pandits was increasing on daily basis. After the re-appointment of the governer, he was on his way to Kashmir but due to bad weather he could not reach. Meanwhile, because of the appointment of Jagmohan, CM of J&K resigned. Now the scenario was like this
1. Whole government and government bodies were functioning from Jammu because in the winter season Jammu used to become the state capital. There was no help for Kashmiri pandits in Srinagar, and the rest of Kashmir.
2. CM Farooq Abdullah resigned and protested against the reappointment of the governer Jagmohan on the same day itself. This all resulted in the paralyzation of state administration. So this all created more fear in the hearts of Kashmiri pandits because they knew there is no government machinery in Kashmir valley and they were left helpless.
After all this on January 04, 1990, a Local Urdu newspaper published a press release issued by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, asking all the pandits to leave Kashmir. In addition to that, the Hitlist of Pandits were circulated by the Masked men militants carrying AK47. Pandits were receiving death threats against their Wives and Daughters. Small bombs were planted in the homes of Pandits, Open firing at their houses, Explosive and Inflammatory speeches were delivered from mosques against them. Finally, the night of terror began on January 19,1990, this was one of the most terrorizing night for Kashmiri pandits because Radicalised and Communal slogans were raised like "पाकिस्तान ज़िंदाबाद" and "कश्मीर में रहना होगा तो अल्लाहु अख़बर कहना होगा ".
Houses of Kashmiri pandits were burnt not by other militants but by their neighbors. From the next morning onwards few families of Kashmiri pandits started to migrate from Kashmir towards Jammu. But the families who decided to stay in Kashmir became the bearer of the barbaric acts of the local militants and neighbors. Their wives and daughters were kidnapped and forced to accept Islam, the males were openly persecuted. This forced the remaining families also to leave Kashmir. Kashmiri pandits were quite educated and were engaged in government jobs. Thus, they owned beautiful houses. Before they were moving out of Kashmir the situation forced them to sell their houses at a very minimal rate and some of them could not even sell their property because it was occupied by the Muslim neighbors also known as "squatters".
Due to all these events, 90% of the Kashmir pandits had to leave their entire property and were forced to live in refugee camps in Jammu. The exodus of Kashmiri families continued till the year 2004. The media of that time never threw light on this harsh reality and the government of that time never disclosed the true statistics related to these brutal events. Not even one of the leading organizations ever forward to raise voice against this human right violation. So in the next blog, we will discuss the extent of hypocrisy from the side of the media and the current situation of Kashmiri pandits in our country.
If you are new to my blog do read my previous blogs and don't forget to subscribe.
THANK YOU FOR READING
JAI HIND
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