The Indian chapter of Amnesty International (AI) has welcomed the Central Government’s recent overtures to work for the return of Kashmiri Pandits who fled the Valley after armed insurgency broke out in early 1990s.
“The overtures, made to rehabilitate families of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to leave the State between 1990 and 1994 due to threats and intimidation from armed groups, are welcome. At the outbreak of insurgency in the early 1990s, several prominent Kashmiri Pandit community leaders were killed and others intimidated by armed groups,” the AI India said in a statement.
Media reports say that the Narendra Modi-led Government has sought swathes of land (around 2000 hectares) in three separate parts of the Valley to rehabilitate Pandits in satellite cities. The supposed proposals, which have no official attestation so far, have evoked resentment from separatists. The separatists say the Pandits should return to the social milieu they abandoned a quarter century ago instead of landing in ghettos.
AII welcomes the positive steps taken by the NDA Government, and urges it to take a comprehensive approach in implementing proposed policies, including consultations with all communities living in J&K, and those looking to return there. The organisation is also concerned that proposed steps do not adequately address India’s obligations under international and domestic law to provide effective remedy and reparation to victims of human rights abuses, a necessary measure according community leaders to build confidence in the State.
A noted human rights activist Khurram Parvez described the rehabilitation policy as fascist. “If ghettoisation of any community is bad around the world, how will it yield good results in Kashmir. The creation of these proposed cities is a wild accusation against the Kashmiri Muslims and that is ‘Kashmiri Pandits are not safe amongst Kashmiri Muslims’, which is very provocative,” Parvez said.
Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani said that Kashmiri Pandits were inalienable part of Kashmiri society and ethos and they must be encouraged to return to their homes and hearts. “However, the way, the Indian Government is planning to get the Pandits back seems to be a conspiracy to change the demography of the Muslim majority State,” Geelani said.
The AII has also asked the Government to protect its citizens in situations of conflict from threats to their lives and security. “Recent statements made by armed groups, including a video released by Al-Qaeda, have raised concerns within the Government and civil society of heightened conflict in the region. The Government should ensure that any response to these threats respects the human rights of those living in J&K, and the rule of law. These principles must be held in the highest regard even in the most challenging of times”, the statement added.
The State Government has promised a dignified return for the estimated 200,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were internally displaced to camps in the Hindu-majority Jammu region, or relocated to Delhi at the outbreak of the insurgency in the early 1990s.However, Amnesty International is concerned that there have been insufficient measures to build confidence and ensure the safety and smooth integration of families returning to the Kashmir Valley.