Displaced Kashmiri Pandits on Saturday held a protest in Jammu, demanding a comprehensive rehabilitation policy for their return to the Kashmir Valley and a fresh employment package for 15,000 educated displaced youth under the Prime Minister’s special package.
Holding placards and raising slogans, the protesters gathered outside the Press Club under the banner of Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS). Their key demands included dignified return and rehabilitation, employment opportunities and proper political representation.
R K Bhat, president of YAIKS, who led the protest, said the community had once again staged demonstrations to draw attention to its pending demands. The YAIKS president urged the Narendra Modi-led government to facilitate the return of Kashmiri Pandits to their “motherland” after nearly 37 years of displacement. He said the community was waiting for a clear roadmap that would allow families to return safely and with dignity.
"We believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision must ensure justice and rightful rehabilitation for Kashmiri Pandits. We appeal to the Prime Minister to formulate a comprehensive return and rehabilitation package in the Valley for the entire community living in displacement," he told mediapersons here.
Bhat said the community continued to have faith in the Prime Minister, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the Union Territory administration. He added that Kashmiri Pandits had begun a renewed movement to press for their rights. He noted that the same organisation had encouraged Kashmiri Pandit youth to return to the Valley in 2010 and said the effort was continuing in a new form today.
He urged the government to present a concrete rehabilitation proposal to the community, saying it should include job opportunities for youth, provisions for overage aspirants and relief holders, and restoration of rights and livelihoods lost during displacement.
Calling for a dignified and collective return of displaced families, Bhat said strong policy decisions and resolutions were needed to reflect the government’s commitment to rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. He claimed that nearly 15,000 Kashmiri Pandit youth were willing to return if adequate compensation, infrastructure and employment support were ensured by the government.
He also sought implementation of various court rulings delivered in favour of displaced Pandits and sought job opportunities for affected families willing to resettle in Kashmir.
"This peaceful protest is meant to convey our concerns. In the coming days, it can become a major movement, though it will remain peaceful. Every displaced person must be rehabilitated in Kashmir," he said.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s job package, Bhat said only about 6,000 Kashmiri Pandits had been rehabilitated so far. He questioned why a complete rehabilitation plan had not yet been discussed for the remaining displaced population.
"If the government can provide jobs to five or six thousand people, why can't it discuss the complete rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits?" he asked. The organisation also thanked the Centre and the Delimitation Commission for reserving two Assembly seats for displaced Kashmiris. It demanded a proper mechanism for conducting elections to these seats under government supervision to ensure genuine democratic representation.
Bhat welcomed the Centre’s decision to provide representation to Kashmiri Pandits in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly through nominated members but said an effective implementation mechanism was necessary to make the measure meaningful. He also criticised the government’s approach under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), saying the displaced community should be treated as one unified entity. He opposed any attempt to divide Kashmiri Pandits into separate categories and said the community remained displaced until it returned to its homeland with dignity.
"We are a displaced community, though the government termed us migrants. Until Kashmiri Pandits return to their homeland with dignity, no one has the right to redefine our status," he said.
In a memorandum submitted during the protest, YAIKS urged the Centre to review and redesign the Prime Minister’s return, relief and rehabilitation package for Kashmiri Pandits in a comprehensive manner.
The organisation sought 15,000 additional government jobs under the Prime Minister’s package for unemployed displaced youth, including Left-Over Candidates (LOC). It also sought compensation for overaged youth and displaced traders who had suffered livelihood losses for decades.
YAIKS further demanded enhancement of relief assistance for displaced families from the current Rs 108 per day per person to Rs 500 per day, arguing that the existing amount was insufficient to meet present-day living expenses.
Among other demands, the organisation called for the formation of an Apex Committee for Kashmiri Pandits under the chairmanship of the Union Home Minister to work on a comprehensive return and rehabilitation policy. It also sought a parliamentary or Assembly resolution on the issue.
The group additionally advocated community-level internal elections under government supervision to ensure transparency and prevent interference by vested interests.
Also read: Kashmiri Pandits protest over NFSA integration
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