Another
exodus?
Kashmiri Pandits in a state of shock after the Sangrampora
massacre. Many pack their bags to leave the Valley
This time of
the year the almond trees start to blossom and the miles on
miles of mustard fields are in full bloom in the villages in
Budgam district. But they bring no joy to the small groups of
farmers, Hindus and Muslims, streaming into remote
Sangrampora to console the families of the seven Kashmiri
Pandits gunned down on March 22.
Despite the comforting presence of so many friendly faces these days, Ama Bhat is packing his bags, "I used to work in the fields of the Pandits. But they are all leaving and so am I," he said misty-eyed. "I feel lonely out here and I am planning to settle down at Chakapora." His Muslim neighbour Mohammad Chopan has already left the idyllic village where about 600 Pandits live in tin-roofed houses.
Fear is tangible in Sangrampora even a fortnight after the incident and it had rubbed off on visitors like Raj Nath, a government employee, and his younger brother Kuldeep Raina. They had come from as far away as Beerwah to cheer up their fellow Pandits. Raj Nath had only good words to say about the Muslims living in the villages near Sangrampora who guided them through the mustard fields to the homes of the mourning families.
The massacre sent shock waves through the community
and aggravated their sense of alienation in the valley. Many
of the 20,000 Pandits who stayed put even after the mass
exodus in early 1990, at the height of armed militancy, are
now seriously thinking of migrating. That would be a sad day
for Kashmiri Muslims like Ghulam Mohammad of Chakpora who had
come to Sangrampora to share the grief of the Pandits.
"It's our responsibility to create a sense of confidence among the families living with us, " he said. "Such a violent incident has never happened before in this part of Kashmir. It hit us like a bolt from the blue." According to him, a few misguided men had killed the innocent people for narrow gains.
"It was a well-planned killing. The incident has shattered the faith of the Pandits in the government." said a relative of one of the victims who lives in a nearby village. Many Pandits believe that the contradictory statements of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah about the return of those who had fled in 1990 provoked the militants to target innocent folk.
The Pandits seem to be fast losing confidence in the government's ability to protect them. Dr Abdullah first said in Jammu that if they did not come back their salaries and relief would be stopped. Soon afterwards he told the state assembly that the time was not ripe for welcoming them back.
The Pandits were naturally confused by these statements. "We had stayed put all through the turbulent years," said Bansi Lal. "But it will be foolhardy to close our eyes to the threat on our lives now. " Thousands of Pandits took to the streets in Jammu as news of the massacre reached them.
Dr Abdullah had himself narrowly escaped death on March 28 when two bombs exploded minutes before he was to attend a concert by pop-bhangra star Daler Mehndi at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu.
The first bomb placed in a jeep parked at the crowded bus stand near the stadium killed about 10 passerby. Moments later, a bomb tied to a bicycle went off in a deafening explosion. The twin blasts claimed 15 lives and injured over 60 men. Nearly 20 of them were still in critical condition.
The blasts grabbed the headlines across the country when the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India were about to meet in New Delhi. Security was stepped up in the areas where the Pandits live following the explosions believed to be handiwork of the Harkatul Ansar.
Pyari Nath recollected the night of terror when she lost her husband Trilok Nath Bhat and son Dileep. Trilok opened the door, hearing a knock, and found himself facing two gun-wielding men who identified themselves as security officers. They pounced on him and Dileep and frog-marched them into the distant darkness to meet their 'chief'.
"When I tried to follow them, I was hit with a gun and pushed into my house," recalled Pyari. After an hour, she heard gun shots punctuated with screams.
When Pyari rushed to the spot where the sound had come from she found her husband on the ground bleeding profusely. "I offered him water and watched him breathe his last on my lap. Before dying he asked for Dileep," said Pyari.
Later, Pyari found Dileep on the blood-soaked ground with a few others. "He too asked for water and enquired about his papa. I told him he was okay..... But within minutes he too died in my lap."
The identity of the killers remains a mystery. Those who had caught a glimpse. of the executioners in the night said some of them had clean-shaven heads and sported long scraggly beards. A few of them seemed to be foreign mercenaries; others spoke the local language.
The murders evoked widespread criticism in Kashmir and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference joined the chief minister in condemning the incident. But the APHC held the government agencies responsible for the massacre which was an attempt to "malign the freedom fighters of kashmir:. Its spokesman said the minority community was part and pacel of kashmiri society.
The security forces conducted the mandatory search operations and launched a massive manhunt for the killers in the deep jungles bordering Budgam. A senior security officer told The Week that the three Afghan mercenaries, Abu Harris, the alleged district commander of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Abu Khalid and Abu Dard, who were shot dead on March 24, were among the killers. "We are 100 percent sure that they had been involved in the killings," he declared. But villagers who were shown their bodies were not sure.
Ashok Pandit, who escaped death with injuries on that night, said there were 15 men who took pot shots at the eight quivering Pandits lined up a few feet away. One by one they were pumped full of bullets and killed. Only Ashok escaped because they took him for dead as he was bleeding profusely.
Krishan Lal Bhat, a head constable in the Jammu and Kashmir Police posted in Budgam town, lost his two sons. The dead included two teachers, Bushan Lal and Avtar Krishan, who was a popular high school master in Budgam. "He was a great teacher who could inspire his students. But he was not spared," said his student Ghulam Hassan.
The relatives of the teachers said that no one from the education department bothered to turn up at their funeral. Even Education Minister Abdul Qayoom, who belongs to the district, was absent. A few of his cabinet colleagues visited their homes. So did APHC leader Mohammad Yasin Malik who was the first 'dignitary' to arrive at the funeral.
The state government lost no time in announcing ex-gratia payments and jobs for the next of kin of the seven killed. "But will that bring back our loved ones?" asked a tearful Majaraj Krishen. "Our Muslim brothers asked us not to leave when militancy started in the valley. But now we have decided to leave our homes and land which we nursed since 1947."
Even a strong CRPF picket has failed to clear the air of insecurity prevailing in Sangrampora and the adjoining villages. If at all, it has only added to the woes of the villagers because the sub inspector has introduced restrictions on their movement.
"We have been told to move out after dark only in groups." said a villager. Those who venture out alone may not return.
EHSAN FAZILI
