Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo
Recently we heard RSS Sarkarivah, Dattatreya Hosbole’s address to the Kashmiri Pandits through virtual mode delivered in connection with the “Navreh-Mahautsav” that was organised on 12, 13 & 14 April with the blessings of this premier socio-cultural organisation. The words used in the speech by Hosebole acknowledging the sacrifice, resilience and contributions of the Pandits indeed deserve gratitude and gratefulness.
Hosebole made history when he said, ‘the whole nation is natmastak (bowing its head) before the Kashmiri Pandit community for its struggle in exile in order to protect and preserve its identity, Dharma and cultural tradition in the most difficult times of its history. The well-oriented address represented the acknowledgement of the fact that the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits was not only the failure of the governments concerned but also of the society and the nation as a whole.
RSS is among very few organisations of the country that has the capacity to introspect, review, reform and even acknowledge its failures. However, it has also a tradition to put positive aspects of an issue before its members as well as its followers and public. This author has many a time in the past heard top RSS functionaries acknowledging the major failures of the nation i.e. 1947 partition of the country, huge illegal infiltration from Bangladesh into the country, Naxalite red-killings, Hindu-Tamil exodus from Sri Lanka into India and the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir.
These five issues have pained RSS greatly as all these things happened despite its being in existence. Though RSS has not chosen any political role for itself yet it takes the responsibility to guide and inspire people, institutions and organisations to move ahead, organise things and take corrective steps to reverse the wrongs wherever possible and also initiate new projects to consolidate the national narrative on highly sensitive and serious issues of national concern.
Whether it is the role played by RSS in connection with the relief and rehabilitation work as an aftermath of exodus of millions of people in 1947, frontal role played during the anti-emergency movement for restoration of democracy in 1975-77, Assam agitation against illegal immigrants, Ram Janambhoomi campaign, socio-political geniality & bonhomie in Punjab in a scenario of terrible terrorism there or the relief work in favour of the displaced people in Jammu and Kashmir during and after 1990 situation and the consistent campaign for abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, the RSS assumes a larger role always.
RSS was fundamentally involved in all major national concerns in Jammu and Kashmir for the last eight decades. It was the then RSS Chief Guru Golwalkar who visited Kashmir twice in 1946-47 period and played his vital role to impress upon Maharaja Hari Singh to expedite accession to the Dominion of India. Preparation of the runway by the RSS members for the Indian Air Force planes to land in Srinagar in the morning hours of 27 October 1947, Praja Parishad agitation, Hindu agitation of 1967 in Kashmir, Amarnath land agitation of 2008 and the abrogation of Article 370 decision etc were all inspired and monitored by RSS in a subtle way. Its organisational backing and support was always sincere, honest and truthful, undoubtedly.
This time after a gap of three decades of the forced exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir, the RSS has shown a direct and intimate interest in the all important concerns of the nation regarding the resettlement of the indigenous people of Kashmir, the Kashmiri Pandits in the land that belonged to them and to which they belong, the Kashmir valley. The dreams can be visualised only by those people who have a vision, goal and a mission before them. In order to fast-forward the idea, the most important thing that is needed is to actually fast-forward the related action on the ground.
It is time to convert dreams into reality in regard to the return and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the valley of Kashmir. The emotional connect needs to be reinforced as the real connect in terms of the prevailing socio-political climate of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. There can be no two opinions regarding the return and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandit community and the other minorities of the valley in Kashmir in the near future. The oft-repeated rhetoric by one and all that ‘Kashmir is incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits’ and ‘the Pandits need to be resettled with safety, honour & dignity’ need to be translated into action in real terms. This is possible only when the Kashmiri Pandits are assured of the sense of security than security alone in the valley.”
In order to guarantee the sense of security, four important preludes require to be considered by the RSS, the civil society and the governments concerned urgently paving way for smooth resettlement of the displaced community in the valley. These preludes will also work as the confidence-building measures as well.
Moreover, as the RSS Sarkarivah said that it is not only the governments but the whole nation that has to support the initiative in favour of the Pandits in Kashmir as their responsibility to overcome any eventuality of a future failure in this regard in terms of one more exodus, the statement assumes great significance and political meaning.
The four preludes comprise the political empowerment of the displaced community by way of reservation/nomination in the Assembly of the UT, the constitution of a Special Crimes Tribunal-Court to go into the excesses committed against the minorities of J&K over the last 35 years, the establishment of a Board through a legislative process for protection, preservation and promotions of all Hindu temples and shrines in Kashmir valley and single place settlement resolution of the displaced community in the valley of Kashmir assuring the sense of security required.
The nation, state, polity, government and the political parties need to come on the same page to make a new history in Jammu and Kashmir and RSS in this context can play a very big role in the given situation. The issue of the displacement and resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandit community, though is an emotional concern as well, but it needs solution on a humanitarian and real-time basis which will guarantee enjoyment of a full life to the people concerned. For Kashmiri Pandits, it will be simply on the basis of comparative study that the return and resettlement can emerge as a real possibility. Beyond that, the return will be only a rhetoric at the most.
For any section of the humanity, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom to live one’s life as per one’s choice are the minimum human and fundamental rights that need guarantee and assurance and are therefore uncompromisable, when the community has already suffered so much over the last 32 years of exile. The RSS can understand the nitty-gritty of the issue better than anyone else provided it finally decides to deliver the promise.
(Feedback: ashwanikc2012@gmail.com)
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