Quoting Kashmiri poet Dinanath Kaul Nadim바카라s famous poem 바카라My Country바카라, Congress lawmaker Vivek Tankha on Friday introduced a bill seeking minority status for Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley from where the community was forced to flee in the late 1980s during an insurgent upsurge.
The bill, 바카라Kashmiri Pandit (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Act바카라 also asks the Centre to declare Kashmiri Pandits 바카라victims of genocide바카라 and change their official nomenclature to 바카라Internally Displaced Persons바카라, the globally accepted term for people forced to migrate within their own country.
The bill asks for a separate judicial commission having powers to bring 바카라the perpetrators of violence and genocide to justice바카라.
The bill quotes extensively from Nadim (1916-1988)바카라a leftist poet and a close associate of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah바카라saying that in his idea of a nation no one is divided on the basis of religion and everyone is identified as human beings.
The poem rings close in the heart of every Kashmiri Pandit as they dream of reuniting with their 바카라Myon Vatan바카라. The poem was also quoted by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech in 2020.
The bill comes in the backdrop of the release of the movie 바카라Kashmir Files바카라 by right-wing filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri who claims to have documented the plight of Kashmiri Pandits forced out of their homeland by militants.
Tankha said the bill was completely his idea and not influenced by the movie. 바카라If you want to find a solution, it has to be on the lines as suggested in the bill. If you are not looking for resolution, you can go on making films,바카라 he said, terming the bill a blueprint for the settlement of Kashmiri Pandits.
바카라I didn바카라t consult anybody in Congress to bring this bill. I have brought this bill only because of the global appeal from Kashmiri Pandits. I am a Kashmiri Pandit myself. We were originally from Kashmir and have migrated from there,바카라 he added.
He said that his family had fought for all Kashmiris바카라both Muslims and Pandits바카라and have ensured reservation for them in Madhya Pradesh.
The bill also asks for a separate 바카라consolidated land area바카라 to be identified for allocation to each family of domiciled Kashmiri Pandit, either living in camps or willing to re-settle in Kashmir. The bill further seeks a separate Kashmiri Pandit Security Task Force having executive and judiciary powers to take necessary steps to strengthen law and order and security situation concerning Kashmiri Pandits and issuing arms licences to at least one member of each of the family of domiciled Kashmiri Pandits.
Asked whether separate consolidated land means a separate homeland, he said, 바카라There has to be a secure area for them. Otherwise, how will they go back? Basically, if you send them back you have to ensure they are secure. They have lost their home, their properties, you have to compensate them. Otherwise, what will they do there?.
On the proposed Kashmiri Pandit Security Task Force, he was vague in his reply. 바카라In case I need help where will I go? You want them to go back or not? Do nothing if you don바카라t want them to go back. Status quo suits everyone then,바카라 he added.
The bill asks the government to issue necessary orders to declare the Kashmiri Pandit community and other religious minorities as an 바카라at-risk population바카라 and make necessary security arrangements from the perspective of risk assessment, monitoring threats, providing the capability to protect life and ability to enjoy liberty in the pursuit of happiness and fulfilment.
Tankha has sought a white paper on the community, documenting all events in the Kashmir valley pertaining to the atrocities and plight of Kashmiri Pandits starting from the year 1988.
The bill also asks the Central government to constitute an empowered advisory committee that will assert the right for return, rehabilitation and restitution and advise the government accordingly. The advisory committee is an attempt to give power in the hands of the Kashmiri Pandits themselves, as their opinion of what is best for them matters the most, the bill says. The committee, according to the bill, should comprise twenty-one representatives of the Kashmiri Pandit community, including three members from Kashmiri Pandit diaspora.
To enhance employment opportunities for migrant youth who are either living in Jammu and Kashmir or willing to return and resettle, the government will create, within three months of the passage of the bill, ten thousand direct employment opportunities for migrant or domiciled Kashmiri Pandits in J&K, the bill envisages.
In the case of properties, the bill says such properties which were sold after 1989-90, be declared 바카라distress sale바카라, thus making the sale of these properties null and void and their ownership restored to the respective Kashmiri Pandits.
Takha ends with Nadim바카라s poem.
바카라Soun watan, gulzar shalimar hyu
(Our country is like a blossoming Shalimar Bagh)
Dal manz phalwun pamposh hyu
(like a blooming lotus in Dal lake)
Nuwjawnan hun roshan khumar hyu
(like the warm blood of its young)
Myon watan, choun watan, soun watan, nundboon watan
(my country, your country, our country, the beautiful country).바카라
In contrast to previous packages announced by the Central government, the bill is comprehensive as it talks about a definite plan to resettle Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in separate land within the Valley having separate forces safeguarding and looking after their interests.
Earlier packages announced were aimed at providing jobs to the migrants. Under the Prime Minister바카라s package of 1998, a person belonging to a Kashmiri Pandit family who has migrated from Kashmir Valley after November 1, 1989, and is registered with the Relief Commissioner is entitled to a job and relief.
In 1997, the then Farooq Abdullah government came up with the Jammu & Kashmir
Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection & Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997 to prevent distress sale of immovable property by migrants.
In 2000 the then Farooq Abdullah government came up with an action plan for the return of Kashmiri migrants involving a total expenditure of Rs 2,589.73 crores. In May 2001, the Central government approved the plan that includes a rehabilitation grant per family.
