Displaced Pandits demand statehood, restoration of J&K’s special status

Ahead of the completion of one year of the abrogation of Article 370, a body of displaced Kashmiri Pandits on Monday demanded the restoration of J&K’s special status and statehood.

“We demand immediate restoration of the statehood and special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian constitution ensures the right to equality that extends to individuals, communities, religions, regions and all social and political institutions. The right to equality does not only ensure non-discrimination on the basis of the religion, caste, region or any other social and political sub-categories. Never before a state has been downgraded. This is not done in a democracy. One can’t have a military solution to a political situation and can’t go to war with their own people,” said Satish Mahaldar, chairman, of Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitations of Migrants.

Mahaldar had led a delegation of Pandits to the Valley twice last year and stated that 419 displaced families were ready to return to Kashmir. Besides meeting the Hurriyat and civil society, the delegation had also turned up at the Mela Kheer Bhawani in the form of a yatra in June 2019 to give a positive message.

He pointed out other states too enjoyed special status for the protection of their cultural and economic interests.

“The special provisions should be to safeguard the interest and aspirations of the backward regions, to protect cultural and economic interests of the people, safeguarding the minorities and to deal with the disturbed law and order in some parts of the state. It is not that Jammu and Kashmir was the only state with special status. Other states too enjoy special category status. These are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.  A wide range of provisions are available to these 10 states that have been listed under Articles 371, 371-A to 371-H, and 371,” Mahaldar added.

The association also batted for special status to the Kashmir Pandits.

“Special status should be conferred to Kashmiri Pandits. Since they are a cultural and religious minority within the state, the special status should be enacted within the provision of the constitution. It is the responsibility of the state and the central government to protect the ancient culture and a particular race,” he said.

Other Kashmir Pandit groups, too, have made clear their displeasure over turning J&K into a Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year.

“Our condition has gone from bad to worse after J&K was made a UT. We are feeling neglected and our demands, especially those related to rehabilitation and unemployment issues of youth, remain unaddressed,” said Chunni Lal Bhat, president of the Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK) — a body representing non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits that stayed back in the Valley after the eruption of militancy more than 30 years back.