Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits a move to change IIOJK’s religious and demographic composition

ISLAMABAD, April 6: The NarendraModi-led government is rehabilitating the Kashmiri pandit families back to the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), by offering substantial rewards, to change the religious and demographic composition of the disputed territory.
The pandit families were displaced in the wake of unrest during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is widely believed that this exodus was orchestrated by the Indian government so that it could use it as a pretext to garner domestic support in favor of large scale military operation to quell freedom movement.
Now, the Indian government is channeling all its energies, cunningness and resources to subdue Kashmir but it remains resistant and resilient.
According to the Indian government’s statistics, some 3800 Kashmiri pandit families had already been rehabilitated. Around 44000 Kashmiri pandit families received INR/- 13000 per month and around 6,000 jobs had been created for them; out of which, 3800 have already been given.
Contrary to the lucrative offers being given to the Kashmiri pandits, the displaced Muslim families of the Gujarat riots were given a stipend of only INR/- 500 and that too was discontinued shortly thereafter and their camps were also forcefully shut down.
On July 2, 1984, G. M. Shah, who had support from Indira Gandhi, replaced his brother-in-law Farooq Abdullah and became the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, after Abdullah was dismissed, in what was termed as a political “coup”.
In 1986, Shah decided to construct a mosque within the premises of an ancient Hindu temple inside the New Civil Secretariat area which triggered Hindu-Muslim clashes.
In Vanpoh, Lukbhavan, Anantnag, Salar and Fatehpur, Muslim mobs plundered or destroyed the properties and temples of Hindus.
An investigation of Anantnag riots revealed that members of the Indian government-backed ‘secular parties’ in the state, rather than the Islamists, had played a key role in organizing the violence to gain political mileage through religious sentiments.
According to the official data of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir Relief and Rehabilitation, approximately 60,000 families migrated from the Kashmir valley and settled in Jammu and its adjoining areas. – PR