With an eye on J&K polls, Home Min takes first steps to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits

Taks Force set up to expedite citizenship to Hindus persecuted in neighbouring countries

The BJP-led government on Friday took crucial steps to deliver on two of the promises the party had made in its Lok Sabha poll manifesto – rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits to their ancestral lands and providing asylum to Hindus persecuted anywhere in the world. Resettling Pandits is likely to be an evocative issue in the coming Assembly polls in J&K at the end of the year.

Home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday wrote to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to “identify suitable land” for the rehabilitation of nearly three lakh Kashmiri Pandits who migrated from the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s due to militancy.

The home minister suggested the land might be identified near the native places of these migrants. He advised that this should be done in such a manner there was adequate security in and around the area.

The BJP has launched ‘mission 44+’, to win 44-seats in the 87-member J&K assembly. It believes it could win most of the 37 seats in the Jammu region and four seats in the Ladakh region. Pre-militancy, there were at least eight of the 46-seats in the Valley where Kashmiri Pandits lived in substantial numbers to impact election outcomes. BJP strategists believe the party could have a chance in these seats as well if Kashmiri Pandits could vote in the forthcoming Assembly elections. These include Ganderbal, Tral (which also has a significant Sikh population), Sopore, Khanyar, Amirakaldal, Habbakadal, Anantnag and Kulgam. Elections in Kashmir witness abysmal turnouts, as low as 10 to 25 per cent, because of calls of boycott by separatist outfits.

There are about 60,452 registered Kashmiri migrant families who migrated from the Kashmir Valley. Of these, 38,119 are settled in Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi and 1,995 in other states. Political parties in Kashmir have welcomed the return of the Pandits but oppose creating separate colonies for them. The new government at the Centre has held a series of meetings between state and central officials.

The BJP had, in its manifesto, committed to “the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the land of their ancestors with full dignity, security and assured livelihood”. It had stated that the objective “will figure high on the BJP's agenda.” The government at the Centre consequently earmarked Rs 500 crore for this in the 2014-15 Union Budget.

It had also promised that its government would address “the long-pending problems and demands of refugees from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir” and that “India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge.” The BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh believes India to be the “natural and spiritual home” of Hindus and followers of other Dharmic/Indian religions - Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.

On Friday, the home minister set up a task force to monitor and expedite the processing of citizenship and long term visa applications of (non-Muslim) minorities from neighbouring (Muslim majority) countries – Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

According to a home ministry statement, the delay “causes hardships and difficulties to applicants, especially to minorities from neighbouring countries who are often of poor economic standing.”

The task force will start functioning in a fortnight’s time and will be headed by Joint Secretary (Foreigners).

It has been asked to process cases with complete documents within two months. The home ministry will coordinate with state governments about any pending cases there. “For many applicants, the grant of long term visa would have to be processed/considered first,” the home ministry said.