Government Must Protect Migrant Kashmiri Pandits
· Free Press Journal
A threat to one’s life is frightening under any circumstances. It becomes far more alarming when the person issuing the threat demonstrates that he knows precisely where the intended victim lives.
The latest threat letter to Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu does just that, naming individuals and providing their house numbers and street addresses. This cannot be dismissed as the prank of a mischief-maker.
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The letter, purportedly issued by the United Liberation Council, describes Kashmiri Pandits as “white collar terrorists” and “traitors” and warns that they are being watched. Security agencies suspect that the group could be a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba. Whatever its exact identity, the threat deserves the most serious response from the government.
Threats And Data Security
The disturbing aspect is not merely the language of intimidation but the apparent access to personal information. How did details of the residential addresses of the targeted people reach those issuing the threats? If government records were the source, the government has a duty to find out how the data was leaked and hold those responsible accountable. The timing is also significant.
The government has been trying to encourage Kashmiri Pandits, who migrated from Jammu and Kashmir during the years of militancy, to return to the Valley. Many have returned under the Prime Minister’s employment package and are working in various government departments. Threatening them is clearly an attempt to destroy their confidence in the government and scuttle the long-term rehabilitation process.
The issue is complicated by the deep divisions within the Kashmiri Pandit community itself and by the resentment among sections of Kashmiri Muslims towards those who left the Valley. Some Kashmiris distinguish between Pandits who remained in the Valley and those who migrated, with the latter sometimes being portrayed as people who abandoned Kashmir at a critical moment.
The circumstances surrounding the exodus, including the role attributed to the then governor Jagmohan, remain politically contentious, though decades have passed since then.
Return Must Be Voluntary
Many migrants have since built new lives in Delhi, other metropolitan cities and elsewhere. They cannot be expected to return merely because the government wants them to. Return must be voluntary and based on a genuine sense of security. But those who do return must be protected.
The government cannot wash its hands of their safety after creating the expectation that they can rebuild their lives in Kashmir. It must swiftly identify those behind the threatening letters and bring them to justice.
Equally important, it must reassure Kashmiri Pandits that their lives and property will be protected under any circumstances. And there is another essential step: full statehood should be restored to Jammu and Kashmir without further delay. Democratic institutions, political accountability, and public confidence are indispensable to any lasting process of reconciliation and rehabilitation.