Instead of providing security, Jagmohan 'engineered' relocation of Kashmiri Pandits

By Praveen Kabthiyal*
There is a need to do some reading on Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) and why they fled from the valley. Between 1990 and 2007 the number of KPs killed in the valley was 399, out of which around half were killed in the first year.
KSS (Kashmir Sangharsh Samiti) a KP organization, conducted research and published a report with exact names and addresses. One can Google it. These 399 people were not killed by the common Kashmiris but were killed by terrorists. One must keep in mind that, similarly, over 15,000 Kashmiri Muslims were also killed by terrorists in that same period.
Sikhs were also minorities in Kashmir, and they were also targeted in the valley by the militants, same as KPs (google Chattisinghpora massacre), yet the Sikhs did not flee from the valley like KPs. There are still around 70-80,000 Sikhs who reside in the valley, mainly in the areas of Baramula, Handwara, Awantipora and Tral.
The reason why KPs fled from the valley was that Jagmohan (an RSS man) was governor there and the state was under governors rule with BJP supported coalition government in centre. There was an issue of Hindu-Muslim being created in the country by BJP and the Ram Mandir issue was also heating up.
When terrorists killed KPs, instead of providing them more security, the governor called for the KPs to temporarily relocate to Jammu for 3-4 months so that security situation could be brought under control. KPs panicked and moved out enmasse from the valley. This migration of KPs suited the Hindu-Muslim narrative and aided BJP to gain electorally.

Terrorists, not common people, killed 399 Kashmiri Pandits. They similarly also killed 15,000 Kashmiri Muslims

The Kashmiri Muslims did not kill the KPs in some riots or violent ethnic clashes, as is the common perception. In fact, when in 1948 there was riot and killings of over 1,00,000 Kashmiri Muslims in Jammu region, that time as well there were on retaliatory killings of KPs in the valley! One can Google the 1948 killings of Kashmiri Muslims.
There has been no resettlement of the KPs in the last three decades or so because this issue is used for political mileage to fan the Hindu-Muslim divide. BJP champions the KP cause but one must keep in mind that there have been two terms of the BJP government at the centre and one term in the state govt yet they didnt initiate any steps for the KPs. Keeping the KP issue alive benefits the politicians.
Also, one must keep in mind that despite major riots and thousands of people killed in say Nellie in Assam, or 2002 in Gujarat, the Muslims did not run away from the state like KPs were 'engineered' to flee.
One must understand political issues behind the action. I would urge people to pick up any book on the Kashmir issue and read it to understand the problem.
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