News Analysis India

Tag: Kashmiri Pandits

  • I am not leaving Kashmir, says Kashmiri Pandit bizman whose salesman was shot dead by militants

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Kashmiri Pandit businessman Sandeep Mawa, whose salesman was killed here in a militant attack believed to be aimed at him, on Wednesday said he will not leave Kashmir and remain here despite opposition from his family.

    Mawa also claimed that he escaped the attack as he left his shop early due to a prior intelligence input, but his salesman Mohammad Ibrahim Khan was shot dead near his shop in Bohri Kadal area of the city on Monday.

    He said he was not deterred and will continue to stay in Kashmir Valley.

    “No, I am not leaving Kashmir. There is no question (of leaving the valley),” Mawa said when asked if he was thinking of leaving Kashmir in the wake of Monday’s attack and a series of such attacks against the members of the minority communities recently.

    Mawa, who is related to Kashmiri Pandit chemist M L Bindroo who was shot dead near his shop last month, said he believes Monday’s attack was a case of mistaken identity and a part of the series of attacks on the minority community members.

    “What I think is it is (part of) attack on minority (community members),” he said, adding the attackers mistook his salesman for him and shot Khan who worked for the family for about 14 years from a close range when he went inside Mawa’s car.

    Mawa whose family returned to Kashmir in 2018 said he will not leave again and is determined to stay in Kashmir despite opposition to the idea from his family.

    “I am staying here and I am not going to run away,” he added.

    He said the people of Kashmir — Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs — have to collectively fight it.

    “We cannot run away and leave this field open for them,” Mawa said.

    The Kashmiri Pandit businessman said he was alerted by the police in the afternoon on Monday about a possible attack on his life, hours before the militants shot dead his Kashmiri Muslim salesman.

    “I was told by the police that there was an input (about a possible attack on his life). The police advised me to leave the shop and so, I left around 3:15 pm,” Mawa said.

    He had filed a petition before the high court seeking constitution of a special investigation team into the Shopian fake encounter in which three labourers from Rajouri were killed last year.

    Mawa also demanded the constitution of the State Human Rights Commission in the UT of JK.

    The businessman said he left his car near the shop and left in some other vehicle in a hurry.

    “Around 8 pm, when my brother (Khan) was trying to get into my car, he was shot at,” he added.

  • Many Kashmiri pandits join National Conference in Jammu

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Many Kashmiri pandits on Friday joined the National Conference here at a function presided over by party chief Farooq Abdullah who promised them to raise their issues and facilitate resolution of their demands, the party said.

    The joining of 75 Kashmiri pandit activists was facilitated by National Conference minority cell president M K Yogi, who met Abdullah at his residence here where various pertinent issues of the migrant community living in exile for last over thirty years were discussed, a release issued by the party said.

    The issues raised by Yogi with the NC chief included enhancement of monthly relief assistance for KPs from Rs 13,000 to Rs 25,000, safety and security of PM package employees working in Kashmir and their accommodation, it said.

    Abdullah assured them that their demands would be raised with the government as well as on the floor of Parliament, the release said.

  • Killing of J&K civilians aimed at denting ‘normalcy’ claim?

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The recent spike in attacks on non-Muslim civilians in Kashmir Valley could be an attempt by militant outfits to puncture the central government’s claim of restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, feel some senior officials.

    According to sources in intelligence agencies, the terrorists have plans to carry out more civilian killings in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting more members of the minority communities living in Anantnag and Kulgam regions. “There are specific inputs about the possibility of targeted killings in around 10 colonies where non-Muslims have a sizeable population,” a senior intelligence official told this newspaper. 

    The official added that the intel was generated on Friday, a day after two government teachers were shot dead in downtown Srinagar. Latest intel suggests that terrorists want to send a message of “no normalcy” in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s scheduled visit to the Valley this month, another top security official said. 

    With these attacks, the official said, terrorists wanted to puncture the narrative of the Centre that abrogation of Article 370 had led to “revival of normalcy, boosted tourism and full integration of J&K with rest of India”, and instead create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, particularly among the minority communities.

    ALSO READ | J&K militants attempting to recreate early 1990 situation, scare minorities: Experts

    Meanwhile, an analysis of government data reveals that more people from minority communities have been killed by militants in J&K this year compared to last year, though the total number of civilians killed in the UT this year is fewer than the number of civilians killed in 2019 and 2020 (as on October 5 for all years). The data, analysed by this newspaper, comes amid widespread panic among minorities in the Valley over the spate of targeted killings over the last one week. Many Kashmiri Pandits have reportedly fled the Valley while many more are in the process of leaving their homes.

    As of October 5 this year, as many as 29 civilians have been killed in the newly carved UT. Of these, five were non-Muslims. Last year till October 5, as many as 37 civilians, including three non-Muslims were killed in terror incidents. The year 2019, when the erstwhile state was split into two union territories and its special status revoked, saw a higher number of civilian casualties during the corresponding period. Thirty four Muslims and six non-Muslims lost lives to terror attacks till October 5, 2019.

    MORE THAN 300 DETAINEDThe local police have detained over 300 people for questioning in the case of civilian killings. Many more are expected to be detained and questioned over the course of next one week

  • J&K militants attempting to recreate early 1990 situation, scare minorities: Experts

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Security experts are sensing a shift in the pattern of militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir as four non-Muslim civilians have been gunned down in the Valley in the last five days. They feel the militants are aiming to create fear among minority communities and recreate the situation of early 1990s in Kashmir. 

    “Yes, there is a pattern in the violence. It is to create panic and gain relevance on the part of militant organisations functioning under the ISI’s umbrella,” Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain told TNIE. 

    He said the militants outfits could be aiming to recreate the situation of the early 1990s, whereby political Islam could be brought to bear through the purging of minorities. “It may have succeeded then to an extent but we are far stronger today to not fall prey to the designs of our adversaries,” said Lt Gen Hasnain, who had also served as GoC of Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps.  

    Retired J&K police chief S P Vaid said militants kept on changing their plans. “First they were targeting BJP leaders and now they are targeting minority community members. They want to spread fear and terror,” he said. Vaid said there was a clear change in the pattern of violence as militants wanted to prevent their own casualties by avoiding direct confrontation with security personnel and targeting soft targets. The former police chief said killings would continue till the militant group involved in such killings was neutralised. 

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said due to the killing of large number of militants, their handlers across got frustrated and changed their strategy.  “In all such cases, militants have been using pistols. These acts are committed by newly recruited militants or those who are about to join militant rank.”

  • ‘Some have started leaving’: Kashmiri Pandits fear 1990 rerun as attack on minorities rises in J&K

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR/ANANTNAG: As a spate of targeted killings of minorities rock Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit organisation Friday said some employees from the community, who were provided government jobs under a rehabilitation package in 2010-11, have started moving to Jammu quietly fearing for their life, alleging the administration was unable to provide then a secure environment.

    The administration, meanwhile, has given a holiday of 10 days to employees from the minority community, official sources said.

    A woman principal and a teacher were shot dead at point blank range inside a government school in the heart of the city on Thursday, taking to seven the number of civilians killed by militants in Kashmir Valley in five days.

    ​ALSO READ | Priyanka Gandhi condemns terrorist attacks on J&K civilians, urges govt to ensure safety of all

    Of the seven, four were from minority communities.

    With these targeted killings, members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who were provided employment under the Prime Minister’s rehabilitation programme in 2010-11, fear the terror groups would target them too.

    “Around 500 people or more have started leaving from different areas like Budgam, Anantnag and Pulwama. There are some non-Kashmir pandit families who have also left. It is 1990 revisited,” says Sanjay Tiku, president of Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) “It may seem invisible but migration is going on and I was anticipating this.

    We had requested appointment from the Lt Governor’s office in June, but have not been given time till now,” Tiku, who has never migrated out of the valley, said. He said such developments are noticed much these days due to social media, and “we are aware of who all have left.”

    The KPSS says it is now evidently clear that the Confidence Building Measure of providing employment to the Kashmiri migrants is not appreciated by the anti-minority forces.

    He also slammed the administration.

    ​ALSO READ | Will smoke perpetrators out, hold them accountable: Naqvi as militants target civilians in J&K

    Vessu migrant camp in Qazigund area of South Kashmir which houses around 380 families became an epicentre of administrative actions Friday morning when Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla along with police officers pleaded the families not to leave the transit camp.

    “He assured us complete security and requested us not to move to Jammu,” said Sunny Raina, President of Vessu camp package employee association.

    The organisation, which has 4,284 employees, had written a letter to the chief secretary expressing fear for their lives.

    “In a state of extreme fear and panic, we bring to your kind notice that the whole of the minority populace of Kashmiri Pandits dispensing their duties in Kashmir feels scared of the emerging grave, anti-minority situation in Kashmir.

    “Due to recent brutal and gruesome selective killings of members of Hindu community, all employees who belong to the same community feel insecure and frightened,” they wrote.

    ALSO READ | Civilian killings in J&K: PDP demands L-G Manoj Sinha’s resignation, says situation is alarming

    “The emerging situation reminds us of the similar situation that of decade 1990s, which led to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits,” the memorandum said, adding the same loss of lives cannot be afforded by the community again.

    Raina argues that while the camps where they stay are completely secure, there are several hundred employees residing outside these camps and have to attend to their duties in far flung areas.

    “It seems that the administration is not capable enough to provide security to all the employees and therefore, we have asked the chief secretary to exempt us from the duties till the situation returns to normal,” he said.

    Raina said that while 20 percent of 380 families had left on Thursday, some families moved out even Friday before the Deputy Commissioner came to the camp.

    Vinod Raina, who is the President of PM package employee’s association at Mattan, an area in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, says that around 250 people living outside the transit camps have left for Jammu since attack on minority community started a few day back.

    ​ALSO READ | Have we lost ground intelligence or enemy has become sharper? asks Altaf Bukhari on civilian killings

    “When the news of killing of teachers in Srinagar reached, our fellow colleagues belonging to Muslim community escorted us back to the camp.

    The bonhomie between the two communities is strong and I hope it stays like that,” says Raina, who was employed as teacher in 2010.

    He said that some of the migrant employees staying outside transit camps have already shifted their base to Jammu.

    “This is a sad,” says another employee who did not wish to be named.

    “And the pace at which the government has been functioning for the last few years is not encouraging.”

  • J&K businessman’s killing sows fear among Pandits

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR:  The killing of prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman and owner of Bindroo Chemist, Makhan Lal Bindroo, by militants in a highly secured area of Srinagar has sowed fear among the Pandits who chose to live in the Valley without migrating elsewhere. Sanjay Tickoo, president of a non-migrant Pandit group — Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) — said the incident has spread fear among the Sikhs in the Valley.

    Makhan Lal Bindroo, 68, was shot dead by militants at his shop at Iqbal Park area of uptown Srinagar. Bindroo was among the Pandits who did not migrate from the Valley after the eruption of militancy in J&K in 1990. He operated his pharmacy  even during the peak of militancy. Tickoo said it was after 18 years that a non-migrant Pandit had been killed by the militants.

    ALSO READ | ‘You can kill the body, not the spirit’: Slain Kashmiri Pandit’s daughter hails her ‘warrior’ father

    “The last time a non-migrant Pandit was killed was in March 2003, when 24 were gunned down in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district,” he said. Tickoo said a few hours after Bindroo’s killing, he wrote a letter to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha about the threat to the lives of prominent faces of non-migrant Pandits living in the Valley. “I again wrote to him on October 6. But there has been no response till now.”

    Tickoo claimed that for over a year, he had been trying to get an appointment with Lt Governor Sinha but to no avail.  “Bindroo’s killing took place at a highly secured area in Srinagar. If a person is not safe in the highly secured zone of Srinagar, how come a person is safe in villages and far off places in other districts of the Valley,” Tickoo added.

    Most non-migrants staying in south KashmirAbout 800 Kashmiri Pandit families comprising 3,400 persons are living in different parts of the Valley. A majority of them are staying in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts

    INDIA FLAYS PAK CHARGESNew Delhi: Responding to Pakistan’s accusations of India committing atrocities in Kashmir, New Delhi has slammed its neighbour for repeating “litany of lies” at the UN, saying the country should stop cleansing its own minorities.  Counsellor and legal advisor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, Kajal Bhat said Kashmir would always be a part of India. “Pakistan is the biggest perpetrator and supporter of terrorism masquerading as a victim,” she said.

  • Ladakh HC rules all Kashmiri Hindus not Kashmir Pandits

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR:  In a significant verdict, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court have ruled that all Kashmiri Hindus are not Kashmiri Pandits.

    “There is no denying the fact that in common parlance, Kashmiri Pandit is a community of Kashmiri-speaking Brahmins living in Kashmir from generations and are distinctly identified by their dress, customs, and traditions etc. Kashmiri Pandits is a separately identifiable community distinct from other Hindus residing in the Valley like Rajputs, Brahmins other than Kashmiri Pandits, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and many others,” said Justice Sanjeev Kumar while dismissing a petition seeking appointments against the quota of jobs provided for Kashmiri non-migrant Pandits under the Prime Minister’s Package.

    He said it is difficult to accept the contention of the petitioners, who are mostly Kshatriyas, Rajputs, Scheduled Caste non- Kashmiri Brahmins, etc, to be treated as Kashmiri Pandits and admitted to the benefits of the Prime Minister’s revised package for return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants given effect to by the Rules of 2009 read with SRO 425 of 2017.

    The petitioner’s lawyer had advocated that in absence of any definition of Kashmiri Pandits given in the SRO, all Hindus, who are staying in Kashmir and did not migrate like non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits, should be treated as “Kashmiri Pandits”.

    The judge, however, said, “I regret my inability to accept such broad definition of “Kashmiri Pandits”. It is true that neither in SRO 425 nor in the Rules of 2009 as amended vide SRO 425 of 2017, the term “Kashmiri Pandit family” has been defined. What is, however, defined in Rule 2(ca), the term “’Kashmiri Pandit’ means a person belonging to Kashmiri Pandit family, who has not migrated from Kashmir after 1st of November, 1989 and is presently residing in Kashmir Valley”.

    In their petition, some non-migrant Kashmiri Hindus had sought to specify the quota out of 1997 posts advertised by the government through a notification dated 01.12.2020 for Kashmiri migrants and non migrant Pandits.

    “For the foregoing reasons, I find no merit in the petition and the same is, accordingly, dismissed along with connected application,” ordered Justice Sanjeev Kumar.

    The judge noted that on the same set of principles and laws, a plea filed by Sikh community seeking the same benefits under the Prime Minister’s Scheme was dismissed earlier by the court.

    This Court vides its judgment dated 14.02.2019 had rejected the contention of petitioner Sikh community that SRO 425 dated 10th October 2017 was ultra vires.

  • Jammu and Kashmir HC rules all Kashmiri Hindus not Kashmir Pandits

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR:  In a significant verdict, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court have ruled that all Kashmiri Hindus are not Kashmiri Pandits.

    “There is no denying the fact that in common parlance, Kashmiri Pandit is a community of Kashmiri-speaking Brahmins living in Kashmir from generations and are distinctly identified by their dress, customs, and traditions etc. Kashmiri Pandits is a separately identifiable community distinct from other Hindus residing in the Valley like Rajputs, Brahmins other than Kashmiri Pandits, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and many others,” said Justice Sanjeev Kumar while dismissing a petition seeking appointments against the quota of jobs provided for Kashmiri non-migrant Pandits under the Prime Minister’s Package.

    He said it is difficult to accept the contention of the petitioners, who are mostly Kshatriyas, Rajputs, Scheduled Caste non- Kashmiri Brahmins, etc, to be treated as Kashmiri Pandits and admitted to the benefits of the Prime Minister’s revised package for return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants given effect to by the Rules of 2009 read with SRO 425 of 2017.

    The petitioner’s lawyer had advocated that in absence of any definition of Kashmiri Pandits given in the SRO, all Hindus, who are staying in Kashmir and did not migrate like non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits, should be treated as “Kashmiri Pandits”.

    The judge, however, said, “I regret my inability to accept such broad definition of “Kashmiri Pandits”. It is true that neither in SRO 425 nor in the Rules of 2009 as amended vide SRO 425 of 2017, the term “Kashmiri Pandit family” has been defined. What is, however, defined in Rule 2(ca), the term “’Kashmiri Pandit’ means a person belonging to Kashmiri Pandit family, who has not migrated from Kashmir after 1st of November, 1989 and is presently residing in Kashmir Valley”.

    In their petition, some non-migrant Kashmiri Hindus had sought to specify the quota out of 1997 posts advertised by the government through a notification dated 01.12.2020 for Kashmiri migrants and non migrant Pandits.

    “For the foregoing reasons, I find no merit in the petition and the same is, accordingly, dismissed along with connected application,” ordered Justice Sanjeev Kumar.

    The judge noted that on the same set of principles and laws, a plea filed by Sikh community seeking the same benefits under the Prime Minister’s Scheme was dismissed earlier by the court.

    This Court vides its judgment dated 14.02.2019 had rejected the contention of petitioner Sikh community that SRO 425 dated 10th October 2017 was ultra vires.

  • BJP camp kicks off outreach drive in Jammu and Kashmir

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The BJP has kicked off a major outreach drive in poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir involving close to 70 Union ministers.  The Centre’s outreach to J&K is principally aimed to boost the confidence-building measures, particularly to reassure political workers at the grassroots level of unflinching support of the government, said a senior BJP functionary.

    He added that efforts will be made to motivate Kashmiri Pandits to resettle in the Valley according to the compensations given to them previously. As many as 70 Union ministers will visit the Valley over the next nine weeks to carry forward the party’s outreach. They have been instructed to submit reports of their visists to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister Affairs, which will form the basis for further measures from the Centre, said a senior official in the government.

    The party noted that there has been a decrease in militant activities and linked it with satisfaction in the government and the BJP.  “The BJP, in the recent years, has built a good base of political assets in the Valley. The Centre’s backing of the local body representatives has been a significant political investment, with signs visible of the emergence of alternative leadership in the UT,” said a BJP worker.

  • Will provide all help to Kashmiri Pandits: Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reached out to displaced Kashmiri Pandits, saying he and his family belong to this community, and promised them all help.

    He also accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of trying to break the composite culture of Jammu and Kashmir, and said both the organisations are “ruining” the love and brotherhood that exists among the people of the Union Territory.

    “I told my Kashmiri Pandit brothers that I will show by helping you. I do not tell lies,” Gandhi said while addressing Congress office-bearers and workers at a party function here on the last day of his two-day visit to Jammu.

    He said that he himself belongs to the Kashmiri Pandit community and feels their pain. “Today morning, a delegation of Kashmiri Pandit brothers had come. When the members of the delegation were talking to me, it came to my mind that I am also a part of this community,” Gandhi said.

    He said that his family belongs to the Kashmiri Pandit community. Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee from the Kashmir Valley to Jammu and other states in the early 90s soon after the outbreak of militancy in the region.

    Taking a dig at BJP-led central government, Gandhi accused it of making false promises to migrant Kashmiri Pandits.

    “A delegation of Kashmiri Pandits told me that a promise of providing Rs 25 lakh compensation has not been fulfilled yet. It was the Congress that announced the compensation for the Kashmiri Pandits,” he said.

    The Congress leader said that whenever he comes to Jammu and Kashmir he feels at home. “I had said in Srinagar that whenever I come to Jammu and Kashmir I feel that I have come home. Yesterday, I had gone to offer prayers at the Mata Vaishnodevi temple (in Reasi district) and I felt at home,” he said.

    “Jammu and Kashmir, which was a state, but now is a Union Territory, has a very old relation with my family,” said Gandhi. On August 5, 2019, the Centre had abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

    On the first day of his visit to Jammu on Thursday, Gandhi had paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi after undertaking a 13-km-long foot yatra.

    Last month, Gandhi had offered prayers at one of the biggest temples of Kashmiri Pandits — the Mata Kheerbhawani temple in Ganderbal district in the Kashmir Valley.

    This is Gandhi’s second visit to Jammu and Kashmir in the last one month, and he has said that he will also go to Ladakh in the coming days.