New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) has expressed its deep anguish at the condition of community members living in the valley in the “prevailing atmosphere of fear and insecurity”.
While the community was driven out from the valley steadily from 1986 in trickles, the flood of exodus peaked in 1989 to 1990. However less than 1,000 families decided to stay by placing their trust in the local community. These families have turned out to be “children of lesser God”.
GKPD said they have been denied all rights, which are due to an Indian.
“Shunned by every government in the last 32 years, they have continued to live a miserable life. The recent attack on such a person, who was incidentally providing health care services, clearly demonstrates that our community continues to live at the whims and fancies of the radical elements in the valley,” it said.
“To compound the misery, our PM Package employees, who are posted all over the valley as per a mistaken policy decision of Government of India, have received a letter threatening them to face death if they do not leave the valley immediately,” GKPD said.
“The question that begs asking is what the wisdom behind this policy was of employing our community youth under the PM Package and then posting them all over the valley without providing them a safe working environment. Their misery is further compounded by forcing them to sign an undertaking that their posting will always remain in the valley and cannot be transferred,” GKPD said.
“This is a draconian rule, which does not exist anywhere in India. The sadistic pleasure drawn by the local administration by denying them equal rights as J&K Government employees by refusing them full pay and promotion avenues is clear testimony of the silent oppression against our community.”
Whatever the wisdom behind framing the rules of employment of PM Package, it clearly defies understanding. In retrospect, it clearly emerges that Governments have “used the community youth as sacrificial lambs to peddle a narrative of normalcy in the valley”.
“The Government is welcome to pursue its line of thinking and policy implementation, but it will not be allowed to use our community as tools of convenience. Our community with all our might and resources available to us will resist this. A global protest will be done to prevent the government from such ‘akin to crime’ decisions,” GKPD said.
GKPD appreciates the bold and muscular policy being followed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to root out terrorism and nepotism from the UT of J&K.
GKPD has requested the government to announce a comprehensive package for the Kashmiri Pandits still living in the valley.
The package should have constitutional guarantees to provide security and an honourable life, to create a sense of security to PM Package employees while redressing the draconian rules in their rules of employment, zero tolerance should be the governing criterion for both demands.
