Aftermath of Kashmiri Pandit's Exodus

By Prof. Omkar Nath Raina

The Valley of Kashmir that is well known for its beauty and splendour has attracted thousands of pilgrims since times immovable. This enchanting place is said to be the land of Gods. People belonging to different religious came here and carried with them the immense wealth of spiritual knowledge. Religion has never been a barrier between the people of Kashmir, because wise men of Kashmir propagated universal brotherhood, mutual love and equality between men and man, regardless of caste, creed and nationality.

It is unfortunately eventuality that Hindus and Muslims living in perfect harmony and emity in a land which was known as paradise on earth and paradoxically choose to confront one another on the basis of communal angle. The reasons are not far to seek. There have been certain fauxpas which have led to misplaced animosity for the Govt. of India and this was coloured as animity on the communal lives. Even though Muslims out-numbered Hindus in Kmr. yet surprisingly unlike the situation in other parts of India we lived in a spirit of comadarie all along. The turns and twists came in the post. Independence period. If we have a dig to the past we may be able to bring to the surface certain mistakes committed both in the area of politics and certain socio-economic reasons and in these we need no go at length. The dye is cast. The present unfortunate happening has taken a very ugly turn which could largely be attributed to the two nation theory of Pakistan. The Provocation as given by the Pakistan to India solely on the basis of communal lives is the greatest factor which has swayed the Kashmiri Muslim youth to take up arms and get training across the border. The whole matter as it has boiled down to stands that the recalcitrant Muslim youth of Kmr. are hell bent upon to create trouble both for India as well as Kashmiri Hindus, resulting in the exodus of the Hindus from that place; together with those of the Muslims but mostly business people to small number who choose to remain away from Kashmir and settle mostly at Jammu and Delhi.

The Kashmir who ran for their security and life away from Kashmir have mostly rural background. These people have their own sub cultures which initially made them very difficult to adjust in urban areas outside Kmr. Now that they are away from their homes for almost twelve years. The exodus of these rural people have created problems for the urban people and it is becoming increasingly difficult for these rural people to get fully submerged economically, socially and culturally with the people of the urban area particularly Jammu per force these rural people could not stick at one place had to move out from Jammu to places like Delhi and other metropolitan cities, when it become all the more difficult from them to coup up with the rush and race of such bigger cities. Thus they are at a loss to accommodate themselves to find a way out. Thee is one more factor which has aggravated their uneasiness because they happen to be lesser qualified as compared to those Kashmiri Hindus who have moved out from towns and cities in Kashmir like Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla.

In Jammu new problems have surfaced as a reuslt of this exodus to Jammu. Certain problems cropped up, for instance house accommodation, the problem of earning a livelihood, social problems--finding a suitable match for their daughters and very important one being changing of food habits and climatic conditions. All these pressed them down and they began to feel uneasy. Jammu being holter as compared to Kmr. they had to face the sweltering heat of Jammu in Summer season which they could not with stand and had to face the ailment like stoke, malaria and allied problems of health. In this way they have become unadjustable and now-a-days are in deep sea devel. The other side of this picture is people of Jammu have been strained to the utmost. The rental value of the houses have considerably increased.

Vegetables have become dearer. Mutual adjustibility of Kashmiri and Dogras have started to come out from the scams which has taken shape of bekrings and sometimes it takes the shape of squabbles. This has become isole for the administration in Jammu.

 Now the Dogras of the Jammu have started feeling uneasy because of the rising price of daily consumptional commodities Kashmiri are also becoming uneasy and wish to return back to their homes and hearths. It is not that some crumps have been thrown by the government in the form of financial relief which is grossly inadequate. Living in the camps as against in their own decent homes have aggravated the problem. Anxiety is but large on their faces. They are never happy and could not adjust to the changing scenario, but the gun-toting militants of Kmr. keeps them away from returning to homes.

These migrants though they are not happy where they have migrated yet they have started to take up alternate jobs in Jammu and elsewhere. They are now thinking in terms of constructing their own houses largely in Jammu and getting absorbed culturally, economically and socially with the people in Jammu willy-nilly.

The future of these Kashmiri Pandits appears to be bleak. They have lost their identity in the mading Crowd outside Kashmir but what mostly aches them is the future of their children who are in a very bad shape. These Kashmir do not have very good purse to set their wards on the right track. Because normally all Kashmiri Pandits believe largely in good education of their children for which money is wanting and this pains them. Kashmiri Pandits have to have lesser degree engaged themselves in business. They have always believed in good education whether academic or technical and drained out their every source of income in this cause. This is a position which they have not been able to reconcile with. Thus they are psychologically depressed, economically in a bad shape and culturally not being able to accommodate themselves.

In Jammu itself this migration has brought a train of difficulties for themselves as well as their hoasts. It has been observed that their coming to Jammu has created problems like pollution, unhygienic living, a non-availability of jobs and no supportive finance to give a new lease of life to their business. Among themselves the Kashmiri as migrants having become irritative have landed themselves into a blind alley. They cannot themselves determine their own course. They are in two minds-first they would like to return to their homes of their birth and second not to go there as they are conscious of the fact that the days of amity and friendliness in Kashmir Hindus vis-a-vis Kashmiri Pandits could never be retrieved as the condition stand today, only a miracle could save them.

There is a brighter side of this picture. Mostly Jammu was semi-urban area. With the incoming of these migrants Jammu people have earned a good future for themselves. If the monthly rental value of a room was previously Rs 500 a month, new this has catapulated to 1000-1500 or even move. To meet the needs of Kashmiri Pandits the economic activities of Jammuites have considerably increased. New building have come up, new establishments like shops, schools, transport activities and earning from these have increased the fortune of Jammu people. The value of real estate has short up manifold, adding the their income and enabling them to live better and learn considerably from the mutual contact with the Kashmiri. The whole of Jammu is bustling with people found on roads, in buses, in shopping places, at ration ships and daity need centres. All these things have enriched the life of Jammuites. Even though the prices of all the eating commodities have gone up both for the Kashmiri and Jammuites. This rising in the value of daily needs has lost its bite because the additional income they have accrued from their rising the price of rental value and transport and other things. Jammu has turned into a big city unlike it was in older days. Govt. is not able to control the uncontrolled expansion as it is happening in other cities of India.