Good Start to the innings

In  terms  of the mandate of 2024 Assembly election the National Conference in alliance with   I.N.D.I.A block has formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir. Omar Abdullah assumed charge as  head of  administration. Soon after assuming charge he said  that the  people of Jammu have as much claim of ownership  in his government as people of Kashmir have, and  that his government  will carry  all sections of the society along, and do justice, irrespective of their  voting  preferences. The assurance was held out in view of the fractured poll verdict which  revealed a  significant political cleavage between the two regions. While as National Conference  (NC) nearly  swept  the Valley with few noticeable  wins in some pockets of Jammu region, the  BJP  got  nearly all  seats of Jammu plains.  This  assurance  is, indeed,   a welcome development.

Congratulation to  Omar Saheb  for   becoming  Chief Minister  for the second time. Though,  in the present term he will have to preside over a truncated and disempowered Jammu and Kashmir. Leaving that  apart,  Omar Abdullah  has started the innings on a right note and seems to be   playing the game by a book.   So, his ascendance to the CM office and the way  he has begun the job, both need to be applauded.

The Chief Minister's  assurance to the people of Jammu has rekindled hopes among the  internally displaced Kashmiri Pandits that  their  “ownership rights”  too will be restored .  They have been living in wilderness   since 1990, scattered all over the place. What they hope  for  now  ought to have flowed to them, naturally, as provided by the constitution of the country, having regard to the history and geography of  J &K  of which  they  are  an inseparable part.  Kashmiri Pandit  community  has  had the story and a recognition. But, today,  when we look into what  lies  deep inside  and  the  drastic  changes the KP's story has  suffered, the world may  find it hard to understand. With their post 1990 situation and as things stand with them today, the entire Pandit community is now walking on a path of an irresistible trajectory with the foregone conclusion of their collective destiny as that of fading into the history as a lost community.

The need of a home place can best be understood if one cares to have a look at the   anthropological studies  which reveal  that it is the land one belongs to which holds firm his  marks of identity and  physical and social characteristics.   KPs  feel  that CM  Omar Abdullah  will appreciate the matter in  this perspective  and initiate measures for restoration of homeland to them, after addressing  their  security, economic and political  issues, and taking them in  the   confidence.

It is a matter of satisfaction that KPs' concerns  have  been   recognized by the    N C government  in 1997  and 2009  when  The  Migrant    Immovable  Proper  ( Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act  was passed in 1997   ( shortly the Act 1997 ) and  A  Bill   for Care, Protection and Management of Hindu Temples in Kashmir ( Bill No 11 / 2009 ) was introduced in the Assembly.

Tribunal   Required

The  practice has shown that the Distress Sales  Act  couldn’t  stem the rot. In 2021  the  UT government  set  up a  Portal to  ensure   protection of the immovable assets left  in Kashmir   by   the  internally displaced  persons.  Provisions of  The Act, 1997 were  invoked . However,  the  Portal   didn’t  yield  desired results.  Latest  order of  the Honourable High Court clubbing together for disposal  dozens of matters, having arisen under the Act,  is  one such example. To  give teeth  to the Act  and ensure speedy disposal  of the cases there is need to have a Tribunal  armed with special powers  to deal with  such  cases   in a summary manner.

P M  Package  Employees 

The   employees  appointed under PM  Package have been serving the Valley people, since 2011. Their service progression issues remain still unresolved: most of them don’t have safe accommodation  and those who have it  that doesn’t  cater to their basic requirements.

Need  for  the law to protect  Religious  places of Hindus in Kashmir  

Many Hindu religious places in the Valley have suffered for having no statutory safeguard  which could  have fastened a strict duty on the State to protect them from any damage. The onset of militancy in the Valley  left nobody  among the Hindus  in Kashmir to look after them.  The vagaries of weather and the unscrupulous elements adversely impacted their invaluable assets   and spiritual sanctity. As  stated above, appreciating the concern, the NC led government   introduced the  Bill  in  Assembly’s  Budget Session of 2009, as Bill No 2 / 2009 . Unfortunately,  for   no  reasons,  it could not be passed in the  legislature  and lapsed with the expiry of  the term of the  previous Assembly.

Big  Confidence Building  Measure

The government, both  in Delhi and Srinagar, are striving to ensure return of the Displaced  Community to the Valley.  The Hindus of Kashmir feel that the enactment of the Law for Protection of Hindu Shrines and  Religious Paces will be a significant measure to instill    confidence in them to think of return to Kashmir.

The  displaced community may have to think that  it is  no wisdom to live perennially in  a time warp, as hostage to history. Attempt has to be made to cut through the mesh woven around the thought process and unshackle mental prejudices, so as to judge things in an evolving  perspective.

B L Saraf, Former  Principal  District  & Sessions Judge