Petitioning PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA: ENCROACHMENT AND LAND GRABBING OF KASHMIRI PANDIT MIGRANTS PROPERTIES Petition by VIJAY RAINA New Delhi, India Kashmiri Pandit (KP) is still an unwelcome guest in Kashmir. Though I should have not used the word guest for the fact that KP’s are the aborigines of Kashmir and for that matter Kashmir belongs to KP’s to same extent to which it belongs to a Kashmiri Muslim (KM). But the harsh truth is, whenever a KP visits valley, visits as a guest and not as a host. So called separatists of both extremist and turned to moderate factions had been making tall and high claims from time to time that a KP is always welcome to his home and they need not to be afraid of anybody to visit their ancestral places and there is no need to provide security to them. Similar were the assurance given by those who can be openly held responsible for hounding out KP’s from their hearths. To capitalize maximum on these assurances, both state and central govts were second to none to jump in to the fray and seemed in hurry to rehabilitate the exiled community back in their mother land. All these tall and high claims from all quarters got refuted by the recent incident in valley where in, a Kashmiri Pandit namely Vijay Raina and his family was attacked by his neighbours’ in their native village Chowgama in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on June 19, 2013. If reports of the media are to be believed, cause of the incident is, objection raised by one of his KM neighbour over the fencing and demarcation of his immovable property in the form of apple orchard to which he was to sprinkle pesticide. The incident in itself is clear depictions of the fact that how locals of valley are looking at KP’s and the evil eye they keep over the remains of KP’s property. This simply is just one instance of such nature which came to fore, thanks to media for having caught the attention of this particular incident. There are many similar instances where not only the land has been encroached but also the records of the revenue department have been tempered and ownership changed. Authorities at helm know very well that tempering with revenue records is not otherwise possible without hand-in-glove between the land mafia of Kashmir and officials of the govt agencies. During the early days of migration, circumstance compelled most of the KP’s to dispose of major portion of their property worth peanuts, the harsh truth which is still hunting most of them. Still more, most of the KP’s who visited their native places in between this unending exile were taken by surprise when the open spaces around their houses mostly in the shape of lawns, kitchen gardens and commons etc were encroached by none other than their neighbours. Numerous cases are there where locals have constructed house and other permanent structures on the KP’s residential land without any sale or purchase, perhaps knowing very well that even govt won’t be able to move them out of their houses unless they are suitably compensated for their heinous crime, which they are even sure of to be rewarded sooner or later. There are recorded instances of deliberate damage to immovable property of KP’s, were blooming orchards of almond and apple have been razed to ground only to inflict further pain to elders of the KP community who are still nostalgic about their motherland. Complains if any made by a KP on account of encroachment, grabbing of land, tempering of records or any other similar instance are simply thrown as trash by officials of the govt who otherwise are there to address issues of such nature. Even keeping record of all such correspondences made with the officials within valley is hardly of any use as the same is refuted by officials either owing it to postal loss or will come up with an excuse of not having come across any such complain. Even talking to officials in person is equally a futile exercise. Establishment of grievance cell by Chief Minister of the state in itself is a cruel joke, as the cell is more about adjustment of blue eyed persons and not to address the real issue. Email ID’s of the authorities concerned circulated for complaining online is equally disgusting, as the same gets bounced after waiting for couple of days. Nobody except the govt of J & K itself is to be blamed for encroachment, tempering of revenue records, land grabbing and other incidents of loss of KP’s property, it is the free will of govt to not to address such burning and sensitive issues and had the govt of J & K been serious and sincere enough in addressing such property gobbling incidents of KP’s, nobody would have ever dared to put his hand on KP’s property. Since the same lacks political will such reoccurring of incidents like manhandling of KP, encroachment of their property etc is endemic. Construction of fabricated shanties at different identified places across the valley by govt of India with the help of state govt with the view to act as transit camps for KP families willing to return and rehabilitate in valley turned out to be a damp squib with no hope to materialize in near future under the prevails conditions. The idea to entice KP’s with money package succumbed to its own death as nobody showed willingness to return. Sincerely Yours Vijay Kumar Raina S/o Late Sh. Shib Nath Raina Village Chowgam, Dist. Kulgam, Kashmir (J&K) - 192102. At Present: House No. 5, Lane 2, Shiv Dass Colony, Tomal, Bohri Jammu - 180002 J&K.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 07:48:31 +0000
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