Reason Why KP community Boycott J&K Assembly Elections: Lalit k kaul

 Reasons Why the Kashmiri Pandit Community Should Boycott Assembly Elections in J&K

Lalit K Kaul

Democracy is characterized by a government that's “Of the People By the People & For the People". But in our country, India, it's characterized by a government that's “Of the depraved Netas By the depraved Netas & For the Chosen Castes and Minority Group". It's also governance for votes consolidation. Therefore, more the numbers in a caste and minority-based categorizations, the more that caste and minority centric governance. This kind of governance has put such a dispensation in place which inhibits bringing culprits and criminals to justice and justice delivering system itself is conspicuous by its absence. Because the Police has been reduced to being a handmaiden of political outfit in power; the voters/goons/supporters of a political outfit in power are declared to be above law and, therefore, beyond the reach of the police force. The investigating agencies like CBI ED are under the thumb of the Home Minister of the day (of the ruling party) and these agencies are activated against the political opponents- who indeed are/have been neck deep in financial misappropriations- only to draw political mileage and not to bring the corrupt to justice. So, the investigations never end and trial never starts and then Their Lordships come into play at the behest of Black Coats to secure lifetime bail for VVIP accused! The accused pass into eternity/oblivion and justice is deemed to have been rendered! At the End of the Day Ishwar intervenes to relieve Mother Earth of burden of such predators!

But Kashmiri Pandit Community (KPC) is exception to the above rule/state of affairs. For, quite a different set of rules, different yardsticks for governance and definition of justice have been put in vogue since 1947 as documented in a Constitution that's unwritten and unavailable in Gross form because this unseen Constitution resides in the minds of depraved power-hungry politicians and, therefore, exists in Subtle form. Let's analyse the How and Why of it.

The State of Existence of KPC in Democratic and Secular India:

1. “Hindu Muslim Sikh Ittehad Zindabad! Zindabad!”. This was Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah’s outward expression; his true personality was quite the opposite of it because by his administrative actions he proved himself to be anti-non-Muslims. His exterior was benevolent, but his interior was poisonously malevolent. He was the Chameleon of Kashmir politics. During his first tenure as the PM of J&K, he implemented “land to the tiller" programme, but didn't give the KPC a single penny in compensation! This singular act of his became the stimulus for first exodus of KPC members- in independent India- from the Valley to other parts of India. This was a peaceful and silent method of committing genocide on Pandit community; at once uprooted from their land of cultural heritage and religious faith, the KPC members found themselves amongst alien culture, social belief system and language. The families got split only to reunite once in a while on festive or mournful occasions. In his second tenure as the CM of J&K, he publicly told a group of Kashmiri Pandits that all the resources- natural or otherwise- including job opportunities and admissions to colleges and university for higher education were exclusively for Muslims and that the Pandits had entire India to look for! The then central governments (Congress party based) looked the other way for his such inhuman and anti-social acts.

2. Post 1953, J&K was ruled by the governments backed by Congress and National Conference up to until the year 1990. These governments institutionalized discriminations against the non-Muslims in Kashmir that ensured a sure and steady outflow of KPC members from the Valley to other parts of India in search of admissions to colleges and university for vocational studies/training and for jobs. This was not migration, but the result of peaceful genocide perpetrated on the hapless community. Since Jammu was designated as non-Muslim majority region it was totally neglected by way of starving it of its share of the funds received from successive central governments. During this time span, we had Janata government, Congress government and the United Front government. All chose to look the other way for the injustices meted out to the non-Muslim populace in J&K. There was some kind of reprieve for the KPC during Bakshi Gulam Mohammed’s rule (1953 to 1964) in that he tried to minimize the scale of discriminations against it.

3. Then came the final assault! In their quest for “Azadi" from India and transforming Kashmiri society from being a heterogeneous one to the homogeneous one, the combine of Muslim Clergy and political leadership (comprising political leadership belonging to Congress, National Conference and Jamait e Islami) let loose upon the hapless KPC the violent genocide ensuring their exile. Thus, the community was uprooted, as it turned out, for good from its land of cultural heritage, religious faith and social belief system. All the political outfits including the BJP looked the other way!

4. While the ethnic cleansing of KPC was being planned silently by the Muslim Clergy and their political outfits like the National Conference and the Congress beginning 1973/74, the KPC voters in Kashmir continued voting for Congress and National Conference! The Jamait e Islami which was avowedly in league with JKLF and HM was one outfit the Pandit voters didn't vote for.

5. Post ethnic cleansing and exile, no political outfit in the Parliament and no central government of the day thought it necessary/worthwhile to discuss the plight of this hapless community and devise ways for its honourable rehabilitation in the Valley. In this shocking insensitiveness towards the KPC leading to absolute indifference, there was never anything to choose between the UPA and NDA regimes that governed India up to until 2014.

6. Come 2014 Lok Sabha elections and one saw BJP securing absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections on its own; only to be returned with a bigger number in 2019. The KPC members who had pinned their hopes on this government for their emancipation from the humiliating experience of having had to live in exile were to be in for a shock as this government turned out to be more insensitive to their plight. This government that enjoyed majority in both the houses of the Parliament got busy in distributing freebies to different castes, tribal societies and a minority community for the purpose of strengthening their vote base. Looks like that in its slogans of “Sab ka Saath Sab ka Vikas" and “Sab ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas aur Sab ka Vishvas", the KPC didn't form part of that scheme! In its 3rd election manifesto, it made no mention of this unfortunate community and thereby declaring it as persona non grata.

7. The all-party political consensus on ethnic cleansing and exile of KPC from the Valley to other parts of India deterred the SC of India from admitting KPC petitions that sought bringing culprits of genocide to justice. It dismissed three times such petitions citing time constraint and non-availability of witnesses to the ultimate crime on humanity- the genocide!

The Constitution of India reshaped to being Exclusive of the KPC:

“Right to live with dignity", “Right to life and property", “Right to religious freedom", etcetera as enshrined in the Constitution of India have seized to be applicable to the KPC. Because all these lofty ideals have been made applicable in proportion to the numerical strength of group(s). The Constitution of India has failed to protect life, property, honour, cultural heritage and religious faith including social belief systems of KPC because those who swear by it and are under oath to function within its Directive Principles they masquerade as people's elected representatives (Netas) are in realty a bunch of self-seeking predators ever engrossed in consolidating their voter base. The primary object is to rule the country and in achieving that “Art of the Possible" remains the guiding principle. The KPC is/has been the victim of the doctrine which underlines that politics is the Art of the Possible.

To Vote is To Endorse the Genocide and Its Perpetrators:

The KPC has, over the decades, voted for the Congress, National Conference (in state elections) and the BJP and Congress in Lok Sabha elections. To what avail! Hardly they knew that by voting thus, they were only strengthening the hands of their tormentors who were to throw them out of the Valley! Since the days of Vajpayeeji's Prime Ministership, the KPC voters have been voting for BJP- that's post exile period.

The BJP led governments have not only miserably failed to live up to the expectations of the KPC, but have also forced this community- by transferring exiled community's votes to the Valley- to vote for those party candidates, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections from Kashmir, who were covertly and overtly engaged in planning and executing their genocide! In fact, the BJP lent its support to such candidates from the Valley! What does it mean in real terms? It means that the BJP has declared the KPC as “Dhimmies" who are left with no option but to serve their tormentors.

In the upcoming Assembly elections also the KPC voters are left with no option but to choose between the candidates fielded by National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Conference, Congress and Apni Party! All these parties were covertly involved in the genocide of hapless Pandit community- Peoples Democratic Party being the breakaway group of Congress party in J&K, courtesy Sri Vajpayee and Sri L K Advani and Apni party is a conglomerate of defectors from other regional outfits. The BJP has no big chance in the Valley and in any case its candidates would be defectors from other regional outfits and crossing over doesn't mean that they are no chameleons. If BJP is unable to form the government in J&K, those who won on BJP ticket in the Valley may defect enblock to their parent party.

So, the question is: where is the need or compulsion for KPC to cast its votes in favour of those who were equal partners in committing their genocide and enforcing their exile? For that matter, there is no reason whatsoever for the KPC to cast its vote in favour of BJP candidates in the Jammu region. The naked indifference of the BJP towards the plight of the KPC is no less than those of other political outfits. BJP at the national level endorsed genocide and exile of KPC from the Valley to other parts of India when it didn't question the then PM Sri V P Singh on his highly objectionable and uncivilized response “Who Pandits" when a reporter informed him that the Pandit community was fleeing Kashmir and what was his take on it. Remember that the BJP was supporting V P Singh government from outside as were the Communists. So, Sri V P Singh was on crutches. The BJP never questioned him in the Lok Sabha on his response to a reporter! But the same BJP withdrew its support when implementation of Mandal Commission report was announced by Sri V P Singh! So, for all the big mouthed BJP, its credentials are equally suspect in respect of the KPC.

Not to Vote is to Declare No Confidence in the Constitution of India:

That's the only peaceful and civilized way to draw attention of the people of India to our humiliating state of existence as refugees in a country we always stood for even amidst highly volatile conditions- conditions that threatened our very existence as a community and ultimately ended up as victims of genocide. It's the only peaceful and civilized way to draw attention of world communities to how the KPC continues to be dehumanized in a land that boasts of “democratic and secular" dispensation. If our collective voice for justice is to be unmuted and it has to leave indelible impressions in political circles and media, then boycotting elections by the entire KPC voters in Jammu and Kashmir is the only way! If the KPC members want to redeem their honour, boycotting elections is the first step in the long struggle ahead. Struggle to get our Homeland as guaranteed by the Constitution of India.