National News Service (Kolkata), 28 Sept. 2004: The bleeding hearts who talk about Kashmir and the imaginary atrocities committed by the security forces, the so called Bollywood intellectuals apologists for the Muslim Community, and the so called leftist intellectuals whose heart goes out for minority communities, and secularists of all hue and color are all united in a conspiracy of silence on the plight Kashmiri Pundits.
The Kashmiri Pundits are generations of Hindus living in Kashmir in villages and towns and probably the descendants of the original inhabitants of Kashmir. Today they are the targets of ethnic cleansing. The world cries itself hoarse over the Nazi Holocaust, the actions of the Serbs in erstwhile Yugoslavia, or the events in Rwanda and Burundi, and now the latest happenings in Dafur in Sudan, and except for a few articles here and there in isolated newspapers no one hears about the Kashmiri Pundits.
How many people have heard of the recent attack in Nandimarg on 12 April 2004. Nandimarg a tiny village situated about 70 Kms. from Srinagar. 11 woman and children were mercilessly gunned down by Islamic terrorists. The world is silent. When bombs explode in Israel, 15 or 16 people are killed it becomes world headlines but when Kashmiri Pundits are killed a veil of silence descends.
Lets look at the statistics. The total population of Kashmiri pundits in 1989 was 4,25,000. The total number of Kashmiri's displaced since that year is 4,00,000.
The breakup is given below
The number of Pundits living in Jammu as migrants - 2,16,820, The number of Pundits living in Delhi as migrants - 1,43,565, The number of Pundits living in other cities - 50,000, Number of Pundits killed in Kashmir since 1998 - 1,800, Number of Pundit houses destroyed - 3,080
The figures are approximately correct, and the figures are rising everyday. These migrants live in wretched conditions, and yet these people were peaceful and a talented lot.
If this is not ethnic cleansing then what is? The reason for this silence are many. Why was the recent killings in Nandimarg not publicized. Mufti Mohamed Sayed the present Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is a Congress stooge and so the silence. When this Chief Minister's daughter was kidnapped he had no hesitation so cave in to the terrorists demand, the net result was the Hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar.
When it comes to Kashmiri Pundits who cares. Terrorism in Kashmir had gone out control when Jagmohan was sent as Governor. He employed the right strategy his approach was akin to Ariel Sharon. He unfortunately did not get the political support that was necessary, he may have short circuited the terrorists.
Kashmir was the only State in India which never experienced any communal riots. So it was not the Kashmiris who where the terrorists, the instigation and the terror was from Pakistan and other neighboring countries. The Indian Politicians did not have the mental or moral courage to do what it takes to snuff out this terrorism.
When they face Islamic terrorism the the Politicians start wearing blinkers, and yet when there was trouble in Punjab they used all means necessary to suppress the movement, if we can do it in Punjab why can this not be done in Kashmir.
If Israel can set up settlements in what they claim to be theirs why should not the Government set up armed settlements for the Kashmiri Pundits and provide them the necessary security.
Treat the Hurriyat the way Israel treats the Palestinian authority. They are not the true representative of the Kashmiri people, they are the agents of Pakistan, and there cannot be any dialog with terrorists or their supporters.
Let the Hurriyat stand in the elections and establish their authenticity, and actively help the authorities in suppressing the terrorist, then only can a dialog take place.
Unfortunately Indian politicians of whatever hue or color do not have the courage to take effective action. The Indian Prime Ministers suffer from a weird syndrome, that when they see the American President or the British Prime Minister their head automatically droops to 45 degrees. They cannot speak out and tell the world that the Pakistan sponsored terrorism has to stop, and take effective measures to ensure that it is stopped.
Terrorism cannot be met with flowers it has to be suppressed ruthlessly and without mercy, and there maybe certain excesses\ committed, but the perpetrators can be identified and punished to keep these at a minimum.
Force has to be met with force and we need politicians who have this courage.
