'Kashmiri Pandits return should be with justice, dignity'

In the backdrop of efforts by authorities for rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, scholars and members of civil society today said their return should signify justice and dignity to the community.
"We (KPs) are a micro-minority community in the Valley and we are treated as majority in the state, because we are Hindus. We suffered discrimination and that is why our fathers left the place and we also migrated, not for our lives initially but for our livelihood, and eventually in 1990s the mass migration took place... We want to return to our home, but with a sense of justice and dignity," activist Sushil Pandit of 'Roots In Kashmir' said.

He was speaking at a roundtable here on the topic 'Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits: The Way Forward' hosted by NGO, Global Counter Terrorism Council.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has identified 100 acres of land at eight places in the Valley for rehabilitation of Pandits who migrated from Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s following outbreak of militancy.
These pockets, where Kashmiri Pandits are likely to be rehabilitated, will be spread across all 10 districts of the valley, according to officials in the Union Home Ministry.
As per the official figures, as many as 62,000 Kashmiri migrant families were registered with the government out of which 40,000 were registered in Jammu, 20,000 in the national capital and remaining 2,000 in the rest of the country.

Grandson of Sheikh Abdullah and president of Awami National Conference, Muzaffar Shah said, efforts must be made to do away with "binaries", about who is Kashmiri Pandit and who is a Kashmiri Muslim, and the issue of rehabilitation must be addressed peacefully and with dignity.

"Different sides must come to the table to not argue with each other but amicably sort the matter," he said.
Supreme Court lawyer and daughter of leader Abdul Ghani Lone, Shabnam Lone said "we must address issues on both sides, whether its Pandits and Muslims in the Valley, and create a conducive environment for the rehabilitation".

Scholars on Kashmiri culture and a few defence experts also took part in the roundtable.
The NDA government, after assuming office in 2014, had earmarked Rs 500 crore for rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits who had migrated from the valley since January 19, 1990 following the rise of militancy.