STATE GOVT.'S RELIEF MEASURES.
After the initial thrust was taken care of by private organisations, the govt. took over the relief measures in an organised manner. It asked for applications from the oustees from the valley to get registered for relief from the Govt.52,689 families got registered (roughly 2.00 to 2.50 lac persons) with state wise breakup as under 1.J andK JAMMU REGION 31490 families
2.DELHI 19339
3.HARYANA 523
4.CHANDIGARH 206
5.PANJAB 100
6.UTTAR PRADESH 500
7.MADHYA PRADESH 40
8.KARNATAKA 60
9.GOA 140.
10.KERALA 5
11.MAHARASHTRA 124
12.RAJASTHAN 47
Out of these ,48496 families were Hindu ,2303 were Muslim , 1830 were Sikhs , and others70.
The number who stayed in the valley number 7527 spread in all districts but more concentrated in Srinagar and Annantnag districts
(Statistics extract from Divisional comissioner kashmir's report "Action plan for return of Kashmiri migrant"(The impression from these figures would not be realistic till we know that pandit families in the list and others not listed but left the valley in the 90s were 97% of the community, the muslims who left were an isignificant part of their population in the valley)
This list is only for such people who got registered as migrants.But many who could not get to register in the specified period for one reason or other could not get any relief.There were many who owned houses in Jammu an elsewhere did not register having obviously no claims for relief but their claims for loss and damage of property in the valley was mostly ignored. Many had to find rented accomodation ( with severe strain on their meagre resources) due to shortage of accomodation in the camps.Many stayed with relatives till they could find/afford any alternative accomodation in Jammu or in some other city of the country and abroad, to build a new niche for themselves to get resettled thus rebuildig their careers and excellence in education of their children.
The state govt. recognises only about about 2.00 lac registered pandits as having migrated in the 90s.not counting the sizable number estimated as more than a lac souls who have spread worldwide, and built a nest for self and brood.It is inconceivable to imagine that these self _settled persons shall ever return as residents to an uncertain future in the valley having already lost any possible link with their old home and land.
WHO AMONG THE MIGRANTS MAY RETURN TO THE VALLEY?
The fact remains that those who have since built their own houses
and rebuilt their careers shall not,of their free will , return to the valley . On the basis of sample survey conducted by 'J and K centre for minority studies' for registered migrants, only about 1/4th of the camp and non camp dwellers have not been able till 2006 to re_ establish their lives and find some steady means of sustenance on their own. A rough estimate of such people works out to 40,000 by 2006 figures which may have reduced now to date. We can safely contemplate that they may return to the valley when offered a sound package for living and SECURITY .Even though the govt.has started building some tenements in the valley at some places for return of pandits but the return looks remote unless there is is a surge of voluntarily evolved spontaneous response and willingness of the majority population to make them feel wanted and resist any attempts to orally or physically hound them . Any fresh incidents against them would trigger another exodus.No amount of security alone shall be able to make their stay possible.
GRADUAL ATTRITION OF PANDIT POPULATION
The pandits comprised about 8% of population of the valley in 1947 . Since they could not get adequate jobs in view of proportional selections,they had to find jobs elsewhere in India and abroad resulting in reduction of their resident population.But they still maintained their roots with the valley.The pandits reduced nuemerically to 4% in 1981 due to gradual migration in search of a living and to 0.1% in 1991 due to terror of the extremists combined with silent acceptance of the majority and lack of state security.
EFFECTS ON THE PANDITS IMMEDIATELY AFTER EXODUS
The Pandits , as is so well known, have been living in Kashmir valley for generations. The place is famous for its scenic beauty , magnificient mountains ,sweet water lakes like Dal,Manasbal,Wular
in the valley floor,high level lakes like Gangabal,Kounsar nag, etc.on the mountains, springs on its table lands (plateaus) around the base of the valley ,The world famous tourist spots like Gulmarg,Pahalgam,Sonamarg ,mughal gardens are a sight for sore eyes. There is hardly any rural village in the valley bowl without a stream or a brook through the village.Many glaciers on the high ranges with perpetual snows is a grand sight on a full moon giving an ethereal feeling to any onlooker. Kashmir safron, apple,peach,pear ,almonds,walnuts etc. are in great demand in India and abroad. The famous chinar tree is an attraction of the valley. The summers are mild with the max. temp.ranging to low thirtees and tourists throng the scenic valley to escape the torrid summer of the plains.Adventure lovers flock to kashmir for trekking, hiking,mountaineering,and winter sports.
That persian poet who came to kashmir with Mughal carvan pithily
exclaimed:Ghar az jahan asto bihisht ast Hamin asto hamin asto hamin ast. (If there is any heaven on earth,it is this,this ,only this)
The pandits were living in this place for centuries well fed,well stocked and following their daily persuits without any offence to one and all.No kashmiri is homeless and everyone has enough private space to live with dignity and there are hardly any deaths due to cold.
It was from such an idyll situation,they were suddenly catapaulted into a sandy,dusty country side shelterless,penniless and without any means of sustenance having lost their all without their guilt/fault in full view of the state apparatus. They had to face the dry cold of winter and torrid summer in such conditions.Since they are politically a non entity, their expulsion did not make any ripples with the so called human rights groups or the fourth estate.
The state put up tented acomodation for those who had occupied govt.space for their stay,gradually making temporary one room tenements in the camps which they set up in jammu region and delhi.the registered migrants were given cash and ration relief on monthly basis.It was considered a temporary measure which turned out in reality a lasting one for two generations. More permanent accomodation has been built at Jagti in jammu region and being allotted to the camp dwellers only and such people who have fended after migration on their own are not understandably state's liability!
The loss of their home and hearth was a shock to all
generations and scarred their physical,psychological, mental and social health during that traumatic period.Diseases like depression, loss of memory , loss of vitality due to malnutrition, slowed metabolism and easy prey to respiratory, heart ailments,hyper tension,reduced fertility among the younger generation . Living in sketchy shelters with very limited access to adequate education facilities,water supply,and sanitation the migrants were at mercy of the vagaries of weather, and open access
to mosquitoes,insects and various field pests ,rodents,and poisonous snakes, life became a nightmare.During their early years as camp dwellers , the mortality rate in the community was
unusually high.
By the passage of time they steeled themselves to rearrange their
life and landed on various private jobs in jammu and elsewhere in india, to educate their younger generation inspite of all the odds against them. The govt.s of many states in India kept a quota of seats for the migrants and helping them by lowering the entry point for eligibility. Though pandits lost their all in 1990s , their children prospered in wider horizon beyond the valley and have settled on jobs in almost all disciplines and professions within and outside the country, making a name for themselves.The effects of trauma of the holocast of 1990,privations suffered ,sacrificed made by them, has certainly softened with the progress made by their younger generation.The generation who were adults before 1990 do have nostalgia for their life in the valley .
After the initial thrust was taken care of by private organisations, the govt. took over the relief measures in an organised manner. It asked for applications from the oustees from the valley to get registered for relief from the Govt.52,689 families got registered (roughly 2.00 to 2.50 lac persons) with state wise breakup as under 1.J andK JAMMU REGION 31490 families
2.DELHI 19339
3.HARYANA 523
4.CHANDIGARH 206
5.PANJAB 100
6.UTTAR PRADESH 500
7.MADHYA PRADESH 40
8.KARNATAKA 60
9.GOA 140.
10.KERALA 5
11.MAHARASHTRA 124
12.RAJASTHAN 47
Out of these ,48496 families were Hindu ,2303 were Muslim , 1830 were Sikhs , and others70.
The number who stayed in the valley number 7527 spread in all districts but more concentrated in Srinagar and Annantnag districts
(Statistics extract from Divisional comissioner kashmir's report "Action plan for return of Kashmiri migrant"(The impression from these figures would not be realistic till we know that pandit families in the list and others not listed but left the valley in the 90s were 97% of the community, the muslims who left were an isignificant part of their population in the valley)
This list is only for such people who got registered as migrants.But many who could not get to register in the specified period for one reason or other could not get any relief.There were many who owned houses in Jammu an elsewhere did not register having obviously no claims for relief but their claims for loss and damage of property in the valley was mostly ignored. Many had to find rented accomodation ( with severe strain on their meagre resources) due to shortage of accomodation in the camps.Many stayed with relatives till they could find/afford any alternative accomodation in Jammu or in some other city of the country and abroad, to build a new niche for themselves to get resettled thus rebuildig their careers and excellence in education of their children.
The state govt. recognises only about about 2.00 lac registered pandits as having migrated in the 90s.not counting the sizable number estimated as more than a lac souls who have spread worldwide, and built a nest for self and brood.It is inconceivable to imagine that these self _settled persons shall ever return as residents to an uncertain future in the valley having already lost any possible link with their old home and land.
WHO AMONG THE MIGRANTS MAY RETURN TO THE VALLEY?
The fact remains that those who have since built their own houses
and rebuilt their careers shall not,of their free will , return to the valley . On the basis of sample survey conducted by 'J and K centre for minority studies' for registered migrants, only about 1/4th of the camp and non camp dwellers have not been able till 2006 to re_ establish their lives and find some steady means of sustenance on their own. A rough estimate of such people works out to 40,000 by 2006 figures which may have reduced now to date. We can safely contemplate that they may return to the valley when offered a sound package for living and SECURITY .Even though the govt.has started building some tenements in the valley at some places for return of pandits but the return looks remote unless there is is a surge of voluntarily evolved spontaneous response and willingness of the majority population to make them feel wanted and resist any attempts to orally or physically hound them . Any fresh incidents against them would trigger another exodus.No amount of security alone shall be able to make their stay possible.
GRADUAL ATTRITION OF PANDIT POPULATION
The pandits comprised about 8% of population of the valley in 1947 . Since they could not get adequate jobs in view of proportional selections,they had to find jobs elsewhere in India and abroad resulting in reduction of their resident population.But they still maintained their roots with the valley.The pandits reduced nuemerically to 4% in 1981 due to gradual migration in search of a living and to 0.1% in 1991 due to terror of the extremists combined with silent acceptance of the majority and lack of state security.
EFFECTS ON THE PANDITS IMMEDIATELY AFTER EXODUS
The Pandits , as is so well known, have been living in Kashmir valley for generations. The place is famous for its scenic beauty , magnificient mountains ,sweet water lakes like Dal,Manasbal,Wular
in the valley floor,high level lakes like Gangabal,Kounsar nag, etc.on the mountains, springs on its table lands (plateaus) around the base of the valley ,The world famous tourist spots like Gulmarg,Pahalgam,Sonamarg ,mughal gardens are a sight for sore eyes. There is hardly any rural village in the valley bowl without a stream or a brook through the village.Many glaciers on the high ranges with perpetual snows is a grand sight on a full moon giving an ethereal feeling to any onlooker. Kashmir safron, apple,peach,pear ,almonds,walnuts etc. are in great demand in India and abroad. The famous chinar tree is an attraction of the valley. The summers are mild with the max. temp.ranging to low thirtees and tourists throng the scenic valley to escape the torrid summer of the plains.Adventure lovers flock to kashmir for trekking, hiking,mountaineering,and winter sports.
That persian poet who came to kashmir with Mughal carvan pithily
exclaimed:Ghar az jahan asto bihisht ast Hamin asto hamin asto hamin ast. (If there is any heaven on earth,it is this,this ,only this)
The pandits were living in this place for centuries well fed,well stocked and following their daily persuits without any offence to one and all.No kashmiri is homeless and everyone has enough private space to live with dignity and there are hardly any deaths due to cold.
It was from such an idyll situation,they were suddenly catapaulted into a sandy,dusty country side shelterless,penniless and without any means of sustenance having lost their all without their guilt/fault in full view of the state apparatus. They had to face the dry cold of winter and torrid summer in such conditions.Since they are politically a non entity, their expulsion did not make any ripples with the so called human rights groups or the fourth estate.
The state put up tented acomodation for those who had occupied govt.space for their stay,gradually making temporary one room tenements in the camps which they set up in jammu region and delhi.the registered migrants were given cash and ration relief on monthly basis.It was considered a temporary measure which turned out in reality a lasting one for two generations. More permanent accomodation has been built at Jagti in jammu region and being allotted to the camp dwellers only and such people who have fended after migration on their own are not understandably state's liability!
The loss of their home and hearth was a shock to all
generations and scarred their physical,psychological, mental and social health during that traumatic period.Diseases like depression, loss of memory , loss of vitality due to malnutrition, slowed metabolism and easy prey to respiratory, heart ailments,hyper tension,reduced fertility among the younger generation . Living in sketchy shelters with very limited access to adequate education facilities,water supply,and sanitation the migrants were at mercy of the vagaries of weather, and open access
to mosquitoes,insects and various field pests ,rodents,and poisonous snakes, life became a nightmare.During their early years as camp dwellers , the mortality rate in the community was
unusually high.
By the passage of time they steeled themselves to rearrange their
life and landed on various private jobs in jammu and elsewhere in india, to educate their younger generation inspite of all the odds against them. The govt.s of many states in India kept a quota of seats for the migrants and helping them by lowering the entry point for eligibility. Though pandits lost their all in 1990s , their children prospered in wider horizon beyond the valley and have settled on jobs in almost all disciplines and professions within and outside the country, making a name for themselves.The effects of trauma of the holocast of 1990,privations suffered ,sacrificed made by them, has certainly softened with the progress made by their younger generation.The generation who were adults before 1990 do have nostalgia for their life in the valley .
No comments:
Post a Comment