Now we’ll be able to return: Kashmiri Pandits

New Delhi: Kashmiri Pandits, displaced from the Valley in the 1990s, hailed the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution as a “historic event” and hoped it would pave the way for their return to homeland with honour and dignity. The Kashmiri Pandits living in the national capital region (NCR) are now expecting the Centre to chart out a concrete road map for their safe return and rehabilitation in the trouble-torn valley.

Following the Centre's move, an uneasy calm prevailed at two of the Jammu and Kashmir Houses in Delhi, even as authorities said security deployment at these establishments remained as usual.

The Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave the Valley by the militants about 30 years ago. The members of this much-persecuted community have been forced to live like refugees in their own country.

“I was in Class 8 when I saw the rise of militancy in Kashmir. All of a sudden, we were forced to leave our home to save our lives from the militants who were targeting us. Since then we have been shifting our base from Srinagar to Jammu and then Delhi-NCR. Even my father was kidnapped once. Somehow he managed to escape. However, the militants soon attempted to kidnap him again, but luckily the plan failed. We were left with no option but to run away from the Valley. Later, we sold our ancestral property to our neighbour at a cheap rate,” said Sandip Kaul (39), an architect who works with a Delhi-based firm and lives in Gurgaon.

“Now we don’t have any property in the Valley, but we want to go there. The government should make some new policies for us so that we can settle in our ancestral land again,” he added. The Kashmiri Pandits see the current NDA government as a saviour, which will ensure a tangible and secure a roadmap to resettle them in their ancestral place.

Sumeer Kaul (28), a Kashmiri Pandit who settled in Palam Vihar in Gurgaon, said to this newspaper: “After the revocation of Article 370, new challenges will emerge. There can be retaliation from the separatists, who can trigger violence in the state. However, this step has also neutralised the monopoly of local political parties in the Valley.”

When asked what their opinion is if non-Kashmiris settle in J&K, Swati Kaul (32), who works in a multi-national company, said: “If we can settle in any part of India without any discrimination, then why can our fellow citizens not settle in J&K?”

When asked what the community is expecting from the Modi government, Khimesh Dhar (28), a resident of Ghazibad said: “Though the PM Modi’s government in their first tenure did not do anything for us, but its recent crackdown on terrorists and separatists especially Yaseen Malik, Farooq Ahmed Dar, alias Bitta Karate, and Hurriyat Conference leaders and now this revocation of Article 370 has shown us a ray of hope. Since morning we were glued with the television and it was like a celebration of Diwali for us.” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the Centre's move to abolish Article 370 hoping it will bring peace and development to Jammu and Kashmir, even as Kashmiri students in the national capital expressed concern for their family members back home.