Thread by @kirti_sd

This is an English translation of the original Marathi essay ( काश्मिरी पंडितांचे विस्थापन - सत्यामागचे कटू सत्य) written by @ashutosh_shirke

Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits - A bitter truth behind the truth👇

Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits!  A very painful period in the history of Kashmir!

The already complex Kashmir issue which had been lurking since independence was further aggravated by this black chapter. 👇

Kashmiri Pandit families will never forget the dark night of terror that was frozen by the bitter cold of January 1990.  Families left their homes, businesses behind and fled the valley to face a future of darkness and uncertainty.👇

The BJP RSS have been manoeuvring this injustice on Kashmiri Pandits like a political Brahmastra till date.
The same Brahmastra is used by BJP to point out the so-called weakness of previous govts & to create a feeling of hatred towards Muslims in minds of Hindus all over India👇

Today, this Brahmastra is being used to justify the various acts of trampling of the voices of Kashmiri people.

That is why this 1990 incident in the history of Kashmir has to be re-examined. 👇

Ashok Kumar Pandey in his book "Kashmiri Pandit - Basne aur Bikharne Ke 1500 Saal" has described this period of plight of Kashmiri Pandits very meticulously.  He has attempted an impartial presentation of many facts.👇

January 1990 was the period of displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.

In 1990, the Pakistan-sponsored militancy suddenly became extremely strong leading to an out-of-control series of terrorism and violence in Kashmir.👇

Pandits were given open threats to leave Kashmir.

After 1947, Kashmir must have been somewhat volatile, but never before have these terrorist groups been so powerful as to pose a threat to the Muslim or Hindu people of Kashmir itself.👇

What were the reasons for the terrorists to suddenly become so rampant?

Whose government was at the center at that time? 

Congress? 

No! Certainly not!👇

While this horrible tragedy of the escape of Pandits was taking place, V. P.  Singh became the Prime Minister with the support of the BJP.

The BJP had complete control over the central government at that time.👇

Therefore, the credit for giving such open concessions to terrorists in the country goes to BJP and its allies.

The inexperienced VP Singh government was not in a position to take any initiative on Kashmir independently. 👇

Mufti Mohammad Saeed of Kashmir was appointed as the country's Home Minister.

On December 8, just four days after Mufti was sworn in as Minister, his daughter, Dr. Rubia Saeed was abducted from Kashmir.👇

The kidnappers demanded the release of initially 3 and later on 5 of their members in exchange of Rubia's release.  Under no circumstances did Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah favour the release of militants.👇

However, under pressure from the central government, five terrorists - Hamid Sheikh, Sher Khan, Noor Mohammad, Mohammad Altaf and Javed Ahmed were set free.  This incident proved that the (state) government could be subdued under pressure.👇

It was only natural that this would increase the morale of the terrorists.

What followed was a spate of kidnappings and subsequent releases.  And all this was being done by the BJP-backed central government.👇

Former head of I B and RAW A.S.  Dulat in his book Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years writes, "Srinagar resembled a devastated city in the winter of 1990.  This was the beginning of the war.👇

The abduction of Rubia Saeed opened the floodgates of rebellion.  Murder was a daily occurrence.  Bombings and shootings took place even in areas of heavy security near the Chief Minister's residence.👇

Young men were seen carrying guns in a truck near the cantonment area.  A military parade was being held by terrorists regularly in the central part of the city. "
(Page 60)👇

To bring the situation under control by focusing on Kashmir should have been the central government's priority at the time.  But the RSS and the BJP were involved in another game plan. 👇

That was the period when RSS was engrossed in provoking Hindus by organizing rath yatras across the country under Advani's leadership.👇

If the BJP was really concerned about the national interest, it would have tried to protect the Pandits instead of this yatra. However, the yatra was as a rallying cry for several Hindu organisations.👇

The RSS knew pretty well that the more the terrorism in Kashmir, the easier it would be to spread hatred against Muslims across the country.

It put pressure on Mufti to appoint Jagmohan, an RSS ideologue, as Governor.👇

Later, the elected government in Kashmir was overthrown and a presidential rule was announced.  Consequently, the entire reigns of Kashmir fell in the hands of Jagmohan of the RSS.👇

The next step in this game plan was to make the situation even more tense.

As soon as Jagmohan took oath as Governor, he started making statements which would shatter the confidence of the people of Kashmir in the government.👇

In one of his speeches, Jagmohan said, "Every Muslim in Kashmir is a terrorist ... Peace will not be established here unless all the terrorists are killed."👇

(Reference: Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War - Victoria Scofield, IB Tauris & Company London, 2003)

It started a series of direct shootings and deaths of civilians.👇

The anger and discontent of the Kashmiri people increased abruptly and promptly as more and more people started joining the anti-India processions.👇

"After the arrival of Jagmohan in January 1990, the entire Muslim population in the valley was driven away from India emotionally - a shattered emotion had now turned into bitter rage," wrote Justice Tarkunde, Justice Sachchar and a team of experts who visited Kashmir in 1990.👇

(Reference: Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War - Victoria Scofield, IB Tauris & Company London, 2003)👇

Ashok Jaitley, the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, says: "Jagmohan did in five months what the terrorists could not do in five years" (Ref: Edward Desmond's article The Insurgency in Kashmir (1989-91), Contemporary South Asia (1995)).👇

In fact, in Kashmir, killings of both Hindu and Muslim political activists were taking place continuously at that time. 👇

In such a scenario, it was necessary to strengthen the administration on the one hand by bringing together anti-terrorist citizens and Kashmiris who have fallen victim to terrorism, and on the other hand a tactful use of force was necessary to tackle the terrorists.👇

But instead, the series of assassinations were given a communal colour by the Jagmohan administration for presenting before the Indian public.

The next step in this game plan was to drive the Kashmiri Pandits out of the valley.👇

Kashmir scholar and leader Balraj Puri says a Hindu-Muslim joint committee was formed under the leadership of the people at that time, with the aim of stopping the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.👇

Former Chief Justice of Kashmir Mufti Bahauddin Farooqui, H.N. Jattu and Ghulam Nabi Hagru were a part of this committee.  Many Muslim leaders, political leaders and even some extremist organisations had appealed to Kashmiri Pandits not to migrate.👇

But Jagmohan did not attach any importance to the efforts of the Joint Committee.  On the contrary, he influenced the Pandits by building a narrative of Hindu Rashtra and persuaded them to migrate. 👇

(Ref: Page 70-71, Ref: Page 70-71, Kashmir: Insurgency and After, Balraj Puri, Orient Longman, Delhi, 2008)👇

Kashmiri Pandit leader Sanjay Tikku opines, at that time a delegation of Kashmiri Pandits met Jagmohan and literally pleaded for security.  But instead of providing security, Jagmohan insisted that they reach Jammu immediately. 👇

(Reference: Greaterkashmirnews - kashmiri-pandits-an-incendiary-venomous-narrative)

 Tavleen Singh says, "It is true that within a few days of Jagmohan's arrival in Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits left the valley in groups 👇

and there is also ample evidence that the administration has provided resources for this migration" (Reference: greaterkashmirnews-kashmiri-pandits-an-incendiary-venomous-narrative)👇

In a letter published in the local Urdu newspaper 'Afsana' on September 18, 1990, Kashmiri Pandit K.  L. Kaul wrote "Pandits were told that the government wanted to kill one lakh Muslims in Kashmir so that terrorism could be eradicated". 👇

It was also informed that free rations, houses, jobs etc. would be provided to the Pandits on their arrival in Jammu. They were told they would be brought back to the valley after the massacre.
(Reference: greaterkashmirnews-kashmiri-pandits-an-incendiary-venomous-narrative)👇

All these incidents bring to light a terrible conspiracy and a very dirty politics.  Doesn't this show that RSS sent its volunteer Jagmohan not to protect Kashmiri Pandits but to expel Pandits from Kashmir?
👇

The RSS and the BJP seem to have rewarded Jagmohan for this service to make a Pandit-free Kashmir.  Later in the Vajpayee government, he was given a ministerial post at the Center.👇

It should also be noted that the RSS and BJP, which are constantly raising a hue & cry about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, have not rehabilitated a single Pandit family in Kashmir in the 5 years of Vajpayee govt and 7 years of Modi govt.👇

Of course, why would they even do that?

Isn't it binding on the Pandits to remain in exile so that the political agenda of RSS / BJP hatred would be served?

- Original Marathi essay by Ashutosh Shirke.

(Eng translation by Kirti Deolekar).
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