Yasin Malik threatens fast unto death against separate township for Kashmiri Pandits

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatists and civil society groups and also National Conference have strongly reacted to the government's plan to set up a separate township in the Valley for over half a million Brahmin Hindus known as Pandits who fled their homes and hearth following the outbreak of insurgency in the scenic Himalayan region in 1989-90.

Chief Minister, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, was in Delhi on Tuesday where he was told by Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, that he should provide land for the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. Mr. Singh had written a letter to the previous Omar Abdullah government which was followed by another communication to state Governor N N Vohra asking for identification of land for such migrants.

The BJP-PDP coalition in the state has mentioned rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in their Common Minimum Programme. At present, there are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families in the country.

Terming the proposed separate township for Pandits a "conspiracy" against the composite culture of the Valley, these groups said on Wednesday that any such move would be fought tooth and nail. One of the outfits-Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)-has called for a one-day shutdown in the Valley on Saturday against the plan. "We don't want any confrontation but we won't tolerate attempts aimed at driving a wedge between different communities of the State either. We will not allow creation of this so-called composite township. It would be a state within the state and is fraught with dangerous consequences," said its chairman Muhammad Yasin  Malik at a hurriedly called press conference here.

He announced that he and his senior party colleagues will sit on a protest dharna at Lal Chowk, Srinagar's business hub which has also been venue of major political events right from 1947, on Friday. "If warranted, I would also begin fast unto death," if the plan is not shelved. [Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has endorsed the general strike call against the proposed township for Saturday.]

Mr. Malik asserted, "It is not only our political stand but religious belief also that minorities including Pandits are our amanat (given in trust) and, like its majority community, they have undeniable right to live on this land as first class citizens. Pandits who left the Valley are bonafide, permanent residents of the State as such can come back and live here again with Muslims, Sikhs and members of other communities as their neighbours."

He also said that during the Partition it was only in Kashmir where Mahatma Gandhi had seen a 'ray of hope' as, in spite of provocations such as massacre of thousands of Muslims in Jammu, there were no communal riots in the Muslim-majority Valley. "It seems RSS now wants to reverse it by creating a wedge between Kashmir's various communities. It through the BJP wants to set the Valley on fire. Nafrat ki aag lagana chahtay hain," he alleged.

He claimed that about ten thousand Kashmiri Pandits chose to stay put in the Valley in 1990 when majority of the community families fled it and are living with their Muslim neighbours peacefully like before. "They run businesses here and their customers are mainly Muslims. They have several educational institutions where students are mainly from majority community. They have their temples and other places of worship here. We have seen Muslims performing the last rites of their dead Pandit neighbour," he said citing several instances.

He asked, "Are Mufti Sayeed and his RSS and BJP mentors now planning to dismantle these temples, homes, shops and schools and relocate the people who own and run them to this so-called composite township." "They are not contributing anything to humanity. They must learn lessons from history and take into consideration the repercussions such moves have had at places like Palestine and South Africa," Mr. Malik said accusing the Chief Minister of playing a "dirty role."

The JKLF leader, while making a passionate appeal to "my Pandit brothers, sisters and daughters" to return home, said there will be no threat to their lives, properties and honour from 'pro-freedom' parties or their supporters. "Various pro-freedom parties and groups including JKLF and leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani have repeatedly asked the displaced Pandits to return home and we renew this appeal today in the hope they will reject this move of creating separate township and instead prefer to return to their homes and hearth," he said.

Asked majority of the Pandit homes and other properties have either been disposed off by their owners, were burned or are in dilapidated condition, Mr. Malik said, "They are as good state subjects as you and me are; hence can come and buy properties and rebuild or renovate their houses here." He added, "That alone will strengthen Kashmir's composite culture."

Taking a dig at the civil society groups of the country, he said, "They would often ask us to preserve Kashmir's composite culture. Why are they maintaining silence on this government plan." He added, "Has the definition of composite culture changed for them."?

In a joint press statement issued here, leaders of the Hurriyat Conference faction led by Shabir Ahmed Shah said that the plan of separate township for Pandits "is  akin to declaring war against the majority community of Kashmir" adding "We will oppose this dangerous conspiracy tooth and nail." They termed it "a replica of what they alleged was the Zionist ploy which Israel used against the innocent Palestinians as a weapon of war" and "is the beginning of one more well calculated dangerous conspiracy against the Muslim identity of Kashmir."

Independent MLA, Engineer Sheikh Abdur Rashid also said, "Kashmiris won't allow separate townships for Pandits. Let them integrate into their native place." He added that such a move would be detrimental to interest of every community living in Kashmir. "The fact of the matter is that majority of Kashmiri Pandits are not interested in settling back in Kashmir as they are happy (elsewhere), enjoying perks, packages  and privileges .PDP lead by Mufti Sayeed is, unfortunately, acting as a facilitator in the grand plan of BJP brigade to communalise and polarize situation in Jammu  and Kashmir, ”  he said.

The state's oldest mainstream political party National Conference (NC) while opposing the plan of the PDP-BJP government to allocate land for “composite townships” for the return of Kashmiri Pandits said that this move would be detrimental to the idea of reconciliation between the two communities and was "in fact, part of a greater, nefarious plan by PDP and BJP." NC general secretary, Ali Muhammad Sagar, told reporters in Jammu said the plan to settle Kashmiri Pandits in separate and isolated clusters was aimed at isolating and distancing the two communities from each other. “Who plans to exploit the dividends of such policies is evident. These tactics will have an adverse effect on Jammu and Kashmir and this would not be the first time when PDP has compromised on the basic tenets of ‘Kashmiriyat’ for the petty trappings of power”, Mr. Sagar alleged.

Similar statements have been issued by others separatist parties, social and civil society groups of the Valley.