CHAPTER IV
UNTOLD STORY OF KASHMIRI PANDITS
VIOLATION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The political content of the terrorist violence has a direct effect on
human rights as it involves militants' strategies which cannot but infringe the
principles which form the basis of human rights. These strategies include:
1. Liquidation of the Indian support
structures in the state, involving elimination of the people of all communities
including Muslims who constitute such support structures; 2. Suppression of all
political dissent and opposition by fear,
3. Oppression and mental torture of people
who do not support terrorism;
4. Liquidation of civil population which
extends help to security forces in their operations against terrorists; 5. Communalization of the society aimed to
suppress opinion opposed to the secession of the state; 6. Conduct of military
operations by the terrorists against the security forces of the state in
violation of the laws of war.
The second major dimension of
terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is the terrorists' aim to exterminate Hindu
population in the Kashmir valley because Hindus do not accept the secession of
the state from India and its annexation to Pakistan nor do they accept to be
governed by the authority which derives its sanction from the law and precedent
of Islam. The Hindus have always supported accession of the state to India.
They have, undeniably, formed the most powerful support base for India in
Kashmir. Hindus in the valley rose united against the invasion of the state in
1947, and fought shoulder to shoulder with the Indian soldiers against the
infiltrators from Pakistan in 1965. They were always in the forefront of the
struggle against secessionism, communalism, fundamentalism and the various
movements for annexation of the state to Pakistan.
In the present turmoil the strategies
used in the terrorist operations against the Hindus in Kashmir include: 1. The extermination of Hindus;
2.
Subjection of Hindus to brutal torture to instill fear among them in order to
achieve their submission to the terrorists and their exodus from Kashmir;
3.
Flushing out such Hindus who refuse to submit to the terrorist dictates, by
force, fear of death, fear of conversion and criminal assault on their women;
4.
Destruction of the residential houses of the Hindus who migrate and the
appropriation of their business establishments to ensure that they do not
return;
5.
Attachment of their landed property;
6.
Destruction of the social base of the Hindus by desecration and destruction of
their places of worship, shrines and temples;
7.
Appropriation of the property of the Hindu shrines and its attachment to the
Muslim religious endowments;
8.
Declaration of a religious crusade against the Hindus.
(Human Rights
Violations in Kashmir by Dr. M. K. Teng, & C. L. Gadoo)
SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
IN KASHMIR
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
IN KASHMIR
On 28th Oct. 1993, a symposium
on ‘Human Rights Violations in Kashmir’ was organized by Kashmiri Samiti, at
Himachal Bhavan, New Delhi. During the function, a booklet written by
Dr.M.K.Teng and C.L. Gadoo was released by Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It contained details of
Kashmiri Pandit genocide in detail. The work was appreciated by Sh. Vajpayee
and he personally distributed the booklet on “Human Rights
Violations in Kashmir” at an important event at UNHRC session in Geneva during March 1994.
Prior, on return of Sh. Vajpayee from Vienna after attending Human Rights meet,
he advised to register as NGO with UN and offered his help; even at a later
date he asked Sahani ji, to remind.
‘We hold no brief for any one
violating human rights anywhere. All we submit is that the small and helpless
community of Kashmiri Pandits, along with Kashmiris of other communities
suffering for their belief in secularism, nationalism and democracy, are the
worst victims of human rights violations in
Kashmir….. The
terrorist violence unleashed in Jammu and Kashmir by various terrorist
organizations and the state of Pakistan, Is by itself a violation of human
rights. The Muslim crusade which seeks to exterminate the religious and ethnic
minorities In Jammu and Kashmir and establish the primacy of Islam in the
government and the society of the state, contravenes the principle of the due
process of law which is the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Political terrorism, whatever its Ideology and objectives, is a crime against
International Law, a crime against humanity, a crime against the law of war and
a crime against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.
(Human Rights Violations
in Kashmir by Dr. M. K. Teng, C. L. Gadoo)
(LtoR)
Sh. C.L.Gadoo, president Kashmri Samiti, Sh A.B.Vajpayee, Sh. S.L. Shakdhar,
former chief election commissioner, Dr. Hari Ohm (Jammu), Dr. M.K.Teng (Jammu).
REFUGEES IN OWN
COUNTRY!
Abandoned by the state to which they
have demonstrated their allegiance, Kashmiri Hindus occupy the paradoxical
position of refugees in their own country.
This discourse
claims that the salvation of the Indian nation can only be achieved
through the
return of the Kashmiri Hindus to their homeland. The eventual return
of the community
members to their homes emerges as a patriotic imperative to
preserve the
honor and dignity of the nation. This return requires a radical transformation in
the national vision of India and the position of Kashmir Valley within it. Once
this radical transformation occurs, the community will be able “to fulfill the sacred
task of securing the integrity of India which has been our historical role in
the face of continuing oppression earlier and especially since Independence”
(Munshi 1991).
KASHMIRI SAMITI PROTESTS
AGAIST US REMARKS
INDIAN EXPRESS REPORTS PIONEER REPORTS
Nov. 17, 1993
UNTOLD
STORY OF KASHMIRI PANDITS CONTINUES;
‘The Jihad which Pakistan
launched in Kashmir in 1990, to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from the Indian
hold, mounted its first attack on the Hindus in Kashmir. The terrorist assault
on the Hindus in Kashmir commenced in the fall of 1989, and by the summer of
1990, more than seven hundred of them had been assassinated in cold blood. Most
of the victims were innocent people who lived in poverty and persecution in the
Muslim dominated constitutional organization of the State. Among those killed
were people from all section of the Hindu Society; teachers, lawyers, political
activists, media men, intellectuals, men of small means, young women and boys.
The massacre of the Hindus was accompanied by a widespread campaign of
intimidation and threat to drive out the Hindus from the Kashmir province, burn
their temples and religious shrines and homes and loot their property. By the
end of the year 1990, the whole community of the Hindus in the Kashmir province
was driven out of their homes and hearths. For the last two decades, during
which the terrorist violence in the State has continued unabated, the Hindus
have been living in exile in improvised refugee camps in Jammu and elsewhere in
the country.’ (Bitter Truth by Dr. M.K.Teng and
C.L.Gadoo)
DESTRUCTION OF
TEMPLES IN KASHMIR
“Laltaditya, 761 A.D., founded the Karkota
Empire of Kashmir. He extended his power into the upper Punjab in the south and
west of India and western Tibet in the north. He built many magnificent temples
in Kashmir, the most imposing of them being the temple of Martand. After him,
king Avantivarman built two temples, Avanti-Swamin dedicated to Vishnu, and
Avanti-Swara dedicated to Shiva. His son Sankara Varman built two elegant
temples at Pattan, both dedicated to Shiva. During the reign of the Muslim
Sultan Sikandar, known as the iconoclast, most of the Hindu temples were
destroyed. The temple of Martand was reduced to ruins. The task of destroying
the remaining temples was accomplished by Sikander’s successors. The
destruction of the Hindu temples in Kashmir continued unchecked during the Chak
rule, which followed the Shahmiri Sultanate, the rule of the Mughals, who
wrested Kashmir from the Chaks and the Durrain Pathans, who followed the
Mughals.”
Corroborating the
above account, Walter R Lawrence, a British Revenue official of the Government
of India, who wrote extensively on the Kashmir, writes, “After destroying most of their temples,
Sikandar turned his attention to the people who worshipped there and he offered
them three choices: death, conversion or exile. Tradition affirms that only
eleven families of the Hindus were left alive in Kashmir.”
The temple of Tarapida, built by
the Hindu king Tarapida and was situated close to the present Nawhatta crossing
in Srinagar. The temple was also demolished during the reign of Sikander. On
its ruins was built the Jamia Masjid in 1407AD. After the destruction of the
Tarapida temple and the construction of the Jamia Masjid over its ruins, the
Sadbhava Sri temple situated to west of Masjid was converted into a Ziarat, which
was later named Ziarat Pir Haji Mohamad.
(Kashmir—Hindu Shrines by Chanman Lal Gadoo)
Ruins of
Martand Sun Temple
DESTRUCTION OF TEMPLES IN KASHMIR,
Continued….
SIKANDER‘but-shiken’----the ICONOCLOST
During the reign of Sikander, the highly
venerated shrine of Kali Shuri, in the heart of Srinagar, situated close to the
Zaina Kadal Bridge, on the `eastern bank of the river Jhelum, was demolished. A
Muslim shrine, the Khanquah Maula was built over the plinth of the temple. The
locality around the Khanqah is now known as Kalashpur---a corruption of Kali
Shuri Pore. On the western bank of the river, opposite the Kali Shuri temple,
were two temples, Zeshthesa Bhairov and Vishaksera Bhairov. Both the temples
were demolished and turned into Muslim graveyards. The temple of Vikramishvera,
situated close to Vicharnag was destroyed during the reign of Sikander. The
temple was built by king Vikramaditya. The stone slabs of the temple were used
to build a mosque nearby. The temple of Tribhawana Swamin, which was also
located in Srinagar, was also demolished during the reign of Sikander. The
temple was constructed by the Hindu king Chandrapida. The surrounding garden of
the temple was converted into a graveyard. Sikander ordered the temples in
South Kashmir to be demolished and he went up to the Lidder valley with the
intention of supervising the demolition of the temples there. He proposed to go
to defile the cave temple of Amarnath as well. On reaching Ganeshbal, he
ordered the image of Lord Ganesha, standing in the middle of Lambodhari (Lidder
River), to be broken. Legend has it that when the knee of the idol of Ganesha
was struck, blood spouted out. Sikender
was frightened and he turned back. (Kashmir—Hindu
Shrines by C.L. Gadoo)
NATIONAL MEDIA REPORTS
NATIONAL MEDIA REPORTS
CONVERSION OF KASHMIRI
HINDUS
The author of Tohafatul-Ahbab
narrates, Amir Shams-ud-Din Iraqi carried his campaign of conversion to every
village and every Hindu home; “when Araki accomplished mission of converting
people and training and guiding them in the new faith, he addressed the task of
converting and guiding womenfolk. Pious, puritanical and honest and trustworthy
dervishes (retainale of the Sufis) and Sufis were selected and the task
assigned to them. They were sent to all villages, localities and towns. Infact,
they reached each and every house. When they came to a homestead, they would
get hold of the cow belonging to the house keeper, kill it and sit down to eat
beef in the company of the womenfolk and family members. Along with this they
administered the recitation of Kilma
to the womenfolk of the household and taught them the basics of Islam.
Distinguished vice-regents and sincere dervishes
would enter the house of the aristocrats and the elite, in order to administer
Kalima to them and make them eat beef.”
The persecution of the Hindus continued after
the Sultanate ended and the Shia Chak rulers rose to the throne of the Hindu
kingdom. The Mughals, who followed the Chaks, were expected to bring little
respite to the Hindus. But they followed the persecution of the Hindus with
greater zeal. The Mughal Governors appointed to rule Kashmir were rapacious,
corrupt and religiously as begotten as their predecessors were. The Afghan
Pathans, who ended the Mughal rule over Kashmir, were the worst and virtually
decimated whoever of the community of the Hindus had still survived, and
whatever was left out of their religious heritage. The Hindus who were forced
to flee their land suffered dispersion in India, the whole of which was now
well under the heels of the Muslim rule.
(Kashmir---Hindu Religious Culture by Chaman
Lal Gadoo)
Protest
Rally by members of Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi
Genocide & Human Rights
Violation in Kashmir
The induction of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan is its third
attempt to cut off Jammu and Kashmir from India and annex it to its
territories. In October 1947, Pakistan sent thousands of armed forces and
irregular commandos (Kabalis) into the State to annex it. Were it not for the
heroic resistance of the state troops led by the Chief of the Army Staff of the
State, Brigadier Rajender Singh, who resisted the advance of invading forces
till the State acceded to India and the Indian troops joined the battle, the
story of the State would have been different. About forty thousand Hindus and
Sikhs were slaughtered by the invading hordes in the territories of the State
overrun by them. Hundreds of thousands of them were uprooted and displaced.
That story is still untold. In 1965, Pakistan inducted thousands of its trained
commandos in the garb of local Muslims into the State to unleash a Muslim
rebellion against India. The infiltrators spread all over the valley and
penetrated into Srinagar. The prompt military action taken by Government of
India, the infiltrators sneaked back to Pakistan after war broke out between
the two countries. The present terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir is the
third attempt by Pakistan to break up India and annex Jammu and Kashmir. This
time the technique of military intervention is different; the flanks of
terrorist organizations are recruited from the local Muslim population and
after being trained and armed in Pakistan are re-inducted into the State, to
carry on the Islamic crusade, Jihad,
against India. Large numbers of armed commandos consisting of personnel of the
army and intelligence services of Pakistan, and the various troop formations
raised in the occupied territories of so-called Azad Kashmir have also been
inducted into the State to help the terrorist elements.
The consolidation of the pan-Islamic fundamentalism and its
militarization in South Asia has been effectively used by Pakistan to export
Islamic revolution to Jammu and Kashmir. Once the Jihad or the Islamic crusade for the liberation of the State
triumphs, Jammu and Kashmir will as a part of the fundamental unity of the
Muslims, join the Muslim nation of Pakistan. That is the reason why Pakistan
projected Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in the first phase of terrorism in
Kashmir, ostensibly to create an impression that the Muslims have launched an
armed struggle in the State to liberate it from India. The truth is that Jammu
and Kashmir Liberation Front was sponsored by Pakistan to impart a more
militant direction to demand for plebiscite in the State. It received arms and
funds from intelligence agencies of Pakistan and always acted under the
instructions of the intelligence services of that country. Once the terrorist
violence in the state spread, Pakistan inducted the more powerful terrorist
flanks into the state, like the Hizbul Mujahidin, the militant outfit of
Jamaat-i-Islami, Al Badar, exclusively entrusted with the task of liquidating
the Hindus, and the other terrorist organizations like Al Umar, Allah Tigers,
Janbaz Force, Hizb Ullah and several other terrorist groups all committed to
the accession of the state to Pakistan.
Mass
Massacres
The terrorist violence in Kashmir
has involved in genocide of Hindus, destruction of their property, discretion
of their temples, and their exodus from Kashmir. The terrorist violence in
Jammu and Kashmir, on a well designed pattern, has led to several consequences
which are inextricably interlinked with the violation of human rights. The
pattern in which terrorism has manifested itself in Jammu and Kashmir has
several aspects, some of which are characteristically original to the political
violence unleashed by the various terrorist organizations and Pakistan in Jammu
and Kashmir. These aspects are; (a)
mass massacre; (b) genocide of Hindus
and (c) atrocities committed by terrorists.
In Jammu and Kashmir terrorism has
involved the liquidation of thousands of people, including the Hindus, the
Muslims, the security personnel and the strategic staff of the State government
and other administrative bodies.
The main targets of terrorist violence
in Kashmir have been;
1. the Hindus; The Hindus of
Kashmir have been killed in large numbers irrespective of their age, profession
and political commitments. 2. the Muslims opposed to secession, 3. Hindu
employees of the State government, the government of India posted in the State,
Hindu technical staff of Government of India installations of communications,
police, radio and television, Hindu technical staff of the industrial
corporations and the Hindu personnel of the security organizations of the state
as well as the personnel of the Central paramilitary forces deployed in the
State.
Terrorism has taken a very heavy
toll of the personnel of the security organizations of the State. A fairly
large numbers of the personnel of the para-military forces and the Indian army
have been killed in the hit and run guerrilla attacks mounted on them by
terrorists. The attacks have involved sudden assaults on para-military pickets
in civil areas, ambush of army and para-military convoys, mine blasts, rocket
and bomb blasts on police stations and other security installations. The terrorist organizations in the State and those
operating from Pakistan have unleashed an organized campaign to exterminate the
Hindus in Kashmir. Besides the obligation to prosecute a religious war against
them, terrorists have sought to achieve several tactical advantages in
eliminating Hindus. Hindus used to form a vital and powerful base for India in
Kashmir. They have fought the secessionist movements in the State with their
bare teeth. They alone have resisted the onslaught of the pan-Islamic
fundamentalism as well as the Islamization of the Government and the society in
the State. They have always been instrumental in keeping the feedback channels
of Government of India open and maintaining a regular and uninterrupted flow of
information to its agencies.
GENOCIDE OF HINDUS
Genocide is the destruction in
whole or in part of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. The United Nations
General Assembly approved a resolution on 11th December, 1946, declaring
genocide a crime under International Law.
A convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Genocide adopted by the General Assembly came into effect on 12th
January, 1951. The Convention proclaims genocide as a crime against
International Law. The Convention lists destruction of an ethnic, racial or
religious group as genocide. Specifically, genocide includes: 1. Killing
members of a community or a group because of their affiliations; 2. Causing
bodily or mental harm to the members of a community or a group; 3. Deliberately
inflicting conditions on the community or the group to bring about its physical
destruction; 4. Imposing measures to prevent births in the community or the
group; 5. Forcibly transferring children from one group to another…….The
terrorist organizations in the State and those operating from Pakistan have
unleashed an organized campaign to exterminate the Hindus in Kashmir. Besides
the obligation to prosecute a religious war against them, terrorists have
sought to achieve several tactical advantages in eliminating Hindus. Hindus
used to form a vital and powerful base for India in Kashmir. They have fought
the secessionist movements in the State with their bare teeth. They alone have resisted
the onslaught of the pan-Islamic fundamentalism as well as the Islamization of
the Government and the society in the State.
(Human Rights Violations In Kashmir by Dr. M. K.
Teng, C. L. Gadoo)
WANDHAMA MASSACRE (Photo Courtesy Koshur Samachar)
THE MILITANCY AND THE MIGRATION
Kashmiri Hindus felt an increasing
sense of vulnerability and insecurity in response to what they perceived as a
threatening atmosphere in the region (Behera 2000; Evans 2002).
These feelings were exacerbated
by a series of actions directed against their community, including attacks on
prominent Kashmiri Hindu politicians and advocates, displays of hit lists with
the names of specific Kashmiri Hindu individuals, and acts of violence in Hindu
localities in Srinagar and elsewhere in the region. Community members were particularly
affected by the selective killings of prominent community members, such as high
profile politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, and judges. Two Srinagar based newspapers,
Al Safa and Srinagar Times, carried direct threats in April 1990,
ordering Kashmiri Hindus to leave the
Valley or be killed. More than 100,000 individuals left the region in a few
months, and the rest followed sporadically over the following decade. (International Journal of Hindu Studies
by Haley Duschinski, Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at Ohio University, Athens)
