TON Research Team

The fervently debated Kashmiri Pandit migration movement involved tens of thousands Hindu minority population to have become the largest internally displaced group in India. In 1989, as a consequence of the armed struggle that broke out in Kashmir, a disputed region in northern India, the Kashmiri Pandits (KP) were targeted by the Muslim insurgency groups and as per the Indian media terrorized into leaving their ancestral homes. Most displaced Pandits have relocated to Jammu and other parts of India following the outbreak of violence. After three decades of displacement, many Kashmiri Pandits continue to live in migrant camps with little means of livelihood or access to basic services.

As called the Muslim insurgency in the region, resultantly caused the genocide; there are several thoughts pinned to what caused the event, contrary to what it is generally said and read. The analysts demand impartial commission of inquiry to unveil what they call the ugly truth. The historian Padma Shri Prof K N Pandita former Director of the Centre for Central Asian Studies, University of Kashmir in 2019 said in an address, “It is an irony that in spite of the demand of the entire displaced community of 700,000 people, the state and the central governments never set up any commission of inquiry to probe the causes and course of the genocide and extirpation of a defenseless and unarmed community known for its peaceful and non-violent behavior.” The majorly discussed South Asian issue has come to a point where the voices of Pandit advocacy organizations have gained prominence and often serve to create a narrative that forwards the Indian government's interests; painting the conflict in Kashmir as one of Muslim desire for communal supremacy versus the Indian state's secularism and democracy.

Given the historical backdrop, it is no surprise that the circumstances of the Pandit exodus have never been properly investigated. Nor is it surprising that Pandits feel so much rage and lack of acknowledgment, while the consecutive governments parade their cause. To break out of one’s pain and suffering is difficult when that trauma remains bodily and psychically unprocessed, as has been the case for many Kashmiri Pandit families. It becomes nearly impossible when that trauma is made to do the dirty work of governments intent on maintaining territorial sovereignty at the cost of human lives, political freedom and reconciliation. But the way to address intergenerational Kashmiri Pandit pain is not through the oppression of Kashmiri Muslims.

The lasting trauma of displacement, as well as poor living conditions, have caused premature aging. Additionally, communities still living in overcrowded camps suffer from a large number of tuberculosis and pneumonia cases. Many Pandits continue to carry deep psychological traumas as well, and disorders like depression, insomnia, schizophrenia and phobias have become prevalent. Displaced KPs have been cut off from their homeland and with it their cultural legacies. For many, living in exile feeds humiliation and insecurity that is heightened by the hostility of host communities. It is tormenting for the ones who are evacuated from the homeland in the name of political pandering because the moment a person is displaced, all aspects of humanity change as there is a forever preoccupation with making sense of why your displacement occurred and how to fit into a new society.

Many Pandits, especially the youth, feel little emotional or cultural connect to their Kashmiri heritage and homeland. Thirty-one years after they fled their homes in the Valley, an older generation of Kashmiri Pandits continue to yearn for the lives they led before the exodus. They dream of returning to their old wooden homes surrounded by chinar trees and ringed by snow-capped mountains.

However, several Pandits feel it is yet another tool using their plight for political gains, pandering some forces in the country. Their trauma is often used to engage in whataboutery, even as efforts to create effective political discourse and debate around their rehabilitation policies are nowhere in sight. Kashmiri Pandits may have been able to physically relocate, but they cannot go back in time even if they want to.

Host populations often perceive Pandit communities as threatening their livelihoods and taking away precious state resources. In reality, KPs have contributed economically to these societies by bringing new consumers and investors into Delhi and Jammu City. During the onset of the displacement crisis many NGOs assisted the KPs. However, as their displacement has become increasingly protracted, many have completed their humanitarian missions and moved on to other projects. As there are now limited initiatives focused solely on the displaced population. Whereas, a permanent solution to the crisis could be dealt when the UN office of refugees keenly looks into the matter. Moving forward, KPs have taken matters into their own hands and started various community groups. Nonetheless, irrevocably it is believed that the narrative of host communities towards internally displaced KPs must change. One cannot change the situation but can change the mindset for hope to burgeon in the minds of the most.