Kashmiri Pandit teachers’ new posting locations revealed on social media
Against the backdrop of a spate of targeted killings, the very purpose of the Jammu & Kashmir Government’s move to transfer 177 Kashmiri Pandit teachers posted in Srinagar to “safer” locations has been defeated as the list has become public. The transfer list, prepared by the Office of Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, was out on social media on Friday. The community members said it has further endangered their lives.
Raising question marks, the Kashmiri migrant employees demanded an enquiry to ascertain how the transfer list was leaked in the public domain jeopardising their security. “We are already feeling insecure due to the prevailing security situation and now our new places of posting have been made public, defeating the very purpose of shifting us to safer zones,” they said.
Local BJP leader in Srinagar Altaf Thakur also demanded a thorough investigation while urging the Government to take strong note of the leak and zero in on the people who made the list public at a time when targeted killings are taking place in the Valley. The BJP spokesman demanded action against the officers involved in the leak.
On the other hand, Kashmiri Pandits’ protests continued in Kashmir valley and in Jammu in support of their demand for relocation to safer places outside Kashmir valley. Though the majority of employees have already shifted to Jammu, those left behind are still holding the fort in support of their demands. Tight security arrangements have been made outside these transit camps to prevent their movement outside the camps.
Several Kashmiri Pandit organizations, including Panun Kashmir, are gearing up for another round of confrontation as the Government had categorically rejected the proposal of shifting these employees to Jammu region.
The Panun Kashmir leadership has urged the Government employees to return to Jammu to launch a decisive struggle. “First of all, we appeal to all the employees working under the PM’s package to return to Jammu and here we will launch a stir to address the issue.
We will mobilise the whole community and organise a series of protests to raise our voice across different quarters,” a senior Panun Kashmir activist told a gathering here in Jammu on Saturday. On the other hand, Jammu-based employees of reserved categories deployed in Kashmir valley have also intensified their agitation in support of the new transfer policy. The employees camping here for the last one week disrupted traffic on the main Tawi bridge and demanded the Union Territory administration to immediately frame a new transfer policy as per which they should be accommodated in their own home districts.
“We are serving in Kashmir valley since 2007 and till date we have not been transferred even once. We are not going to resume our duties till the time the UT administration comes up with the new transfer policy,” the employees demanded.