35 Years of Unhealed Wounds: Kashmiri Pandit Family Awaits Justice

By : Rajinder Premi

Despite the cries and sorrow of the KP families affected by the terrorism in Kashmir, the Govts have not been able to embalm our inflicted wounds. Our tales of suffering still continue even after three decades of our forced exile. We have not only lost our near and dear ones but had to abandon our homes and hearths in this back drop. We had not to come out of the valley, but had to flee elsewhere for safety and security of the rest of the family members only after the Martyrdom of my father and younger brother.

Exactly 35 years after we were displaced and rendered homeless, the tears in our eyes have still not dried. We have managed to get along our lives with steely-grit and determination, but a mere mention of those horrific days, enough to break the carefully put together composure, the agony, the helplessness and the anger directed more towards the Govt; for their callous attitude and a little towards fate and destiny.

It has been these 35 years since tragedy struck our house hold, but for us time seems to have stood still by our side. Our family trauma is too well known to need a repetition, as the family has been a front-line victim of terrorism. We did not only loose two male family members, but quite a lot of property, looted away by the militant kidnapers, leaving almost destitute. The devastation also leads too disintegration of a once solid family. The then young widow of my slain younger brother, Usha got employed in Telecom Department in place of her husband. Now she is retired. Her daughter Promila, then one and a half year old has now been married for the past five years.

Even after three decades of the tragic happenings in the family the murderers are scot free. The case was closed as un-traced in 1992, as was intimated to us by the DIG of South Kashmir Range, Anantnag. Neither there has been any clue of the property looted away by the intruders.

Our two native houses in our ancestral village have been burnt-down by the subversive in Aug 1998, along with our Cowshed. We were a single KP family living in our village and our local temple was also burnt-down in Dec 1992. For us the wounds are still raw. What hurts us more is the attitude of the state authorities, who have not honoured their assurances and promises. They have always been in a denial mood. Although we brought our tragic and pathetic case into the notice of all successive Union/ State Govts. who all conveyed their sympathies and assured of their full support and assistance, which proved only a lip-services? However, what has given the family some solace is the unstinted support of some eminent friends of my illustrious father.

All other family members are in-consolable with grief. It is too painful a memory for the entire family. Two of my elder uncles also passed away in Jammu during this year of tragedy, due to this shock, which came as a bolt from blue.

Healing touch eludes our front-line terrorist victim family, more than three decades on, the tearful saga continues, as our wounds are still raw, will they heal any-time? Our Saga of struggle for restoration of justice

Many promises were made by the then Govt., which have not been kept and are still unfulfilled. The Govt. has been too callous to us. Every Govt. officer visiting our family during those days of painful tragedy, pain and agony promised their full support and assistance in fully rehabilitating the up-rooted and devastated family but sorry nothing has been done in this direction; we had to start life afresh from a scratch, as nothing in cash or kind was left in the family. The Govt. has been treating our case casually with a tough bureaucratic approach, rubbing salt on our inflicted wounds. Our case needed a special treatment with more human touch, as it involved extreme compassion.

“Is there anything enough which can fully compensate the Physical loss? Can anybody bring back the martyred people? But the Government could perhaps wipe out the tears of the survivors. The demands could be full filled as a mark of respect and also a tribute to them. The rigid rules could be relaxed which I think is fully justified in the circumstances of the case.” I think.

When National Commission for Human Rights was established by the Govt. of India, I brought into the notice of NHRC the atrocities, genocide, human rights violation, ethnic cleansing faced by my exiled community in a four-page simple hand-written letter in 1994. The NHRC took a Suo-Moto cognizance of my petition-letter and granted me the full commission of Justice Ranga Nath Mishra, Justice S S Kang and Justice B B Fatima, audience on a humid-hot June of 1994. My precise focus was on denial, deprivation and discrimination suffered by the exiled community. I also prayed for preventive, punitive, and restorative measures. Later on, when All India Kashmiri Samaj & Panun Kashmir Movement also moved their respective petitions, my petition was also clubbed with these two and we were regularly heard together by the commission. In 1999, the NHRC gave its verdict and appreciated me on my arguments on genocide. The NHRC transferred my family case to SHRC J&K in year 2008 asking them for a speedy-disposal, as the state Govt. had miserably failed to redress the genuine and justified grievances of this patriotic and front-line terrorism victim family.

The SHRC after a prolonged hearings for more than four years, in its double bench verdict, the first of its kind in a KP case asked the State Govt. to redress the grievances – “Sooner the Better” in its judgment dt: 22.2.2012. Although the state Govt; held many high-level meetings chaired by the Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Financial-Commissioner RR&R D.M, the Chief-Secretary and the last but not the least by the advisor (V) to the Governor on 4.10.2018 at Srinagar, but unfortunately neither the decision taken in these meetings nor the recommendations of the SHRC have been translated into action so far. This continued callous attitude of the Govt. is not only an utter disregard to the state’s own Institution SHRC, but also an insult to the family of a martyr who have suffered so much heavily at the hands of the militants.

These decisions as well as the judgments of the SHRC have been confined with the paper work in Govt files of J&K, but we are hopeful to get our due. Justice has been much delayed in our-case as the

Govt. has always remained in a denial mood. We are not asking to be rewarded because we are loyal to the Nation and suffered only on account of this, when the Govt. failed to provide us the due safety and security, primarily, we certainly deserve not be treated like this.

When all our requests and reminders fell on deaf ears of the Govt; I filed an online petition in the NHRC on 15.7.2020, requesting NHRC to take a suo-motu cognizance, appealed for its intervention for restoration of justice to this front-line terrorist victim-family, by implementing the directions of the J& K SHRC verdict dated 22.2.2012,and also the decisions of the State Govt; Accordingly, the NHRC taking the IST action on this case on 30.8.2020 asked the J&K UT Govt, to send its action taken report within 4 weeks.

The J& k Govt did not submit any report & the NHRC ordered on 16.10.2020 to issue a final reminder, calling for submission of the desired report within 4 weeks, failing which the commission will be constrained to invoke its coercive powers u/s 13 of the PHR act 1993, calling for personal appearance of the authority concerned before the Commission. The chief secretary J& k was asked to submit the report to the NHRC latest by 23/11/2020.

The UT Govt. of J&K again, maintaining a criminal silence did not pay any heed to these directions, compelling the NHRC on 21. 12. 2020, to issue the directions to the chief secretary UT J&K for a personal appearance. The Commission observed with pain that J&K Govt. was overlooking & undermining the NHRC. Although, the Government of UT J&K submitted to the NHRC to keep this matter in abeyance till the decision of the hon’ble JKL high court in this matter, against the orders passed by the NHRC on 16.03.2021 and 08.06.2021, which amounted to challenging the authority of NHRC. The family strongly protested against this and submitted before the NHRC on 15.04.2024 that the hon’ble high court of J&K has neither issued any notice to NHRC nor has it granted any stay on the proceedings of the NHRC so the question of keeping this case in abeyance was not justified, we further submitted before the NHRC that personal appearance of the Chief Secretary UT of J&K has dispensed with.

The commission heard this case on 18.04.2024 and finally directed the Govt . Of J&K to examine the whole issue with the human approach and take action as per the directions passed by the NHRC in its earlier orders by implementing the orders/recommendations of SHRC dated 22.02.2012 in toto, the compliance report to be submitted to the NHRC within a period of 8 weeks. Thus, this case was disposed off in our favour by NHRC with these directions.

This case under number WP©NO.1431/2021 UT of J&K, petitioners Vs. NHRC and ANR on 02.05.2024. The division bench hearing this case ordered that this petition has been rendered infructuous in view of the fact that impugned interim orders dated 16.03.2021 and 08.06.2021 passed by the NHRC in case number 152/2020 titled Rajinder Premi has been decided in terms of main order dated 18 April, 2024 and case has been closed. “ In view of the above decision nothing survives to adjudicate in this petition and as such the same is disposed off.

The UT Govt. Under these directions constituted a committee headed by the principal secretary home department, to recommend to the government various measures to restore justice to this victimized family

within a period of 8 weeks and now more than a year has passed the family is yet to hear anything from the Government and this committee, which has reportedly met several times to calibrate, discuss and review the recommendations made by the SHRC/NHRC and also the decisions already taken by the high-level meeting of the J&K Govt from 2012 to 2018.

We are hopeful of full justice from the Government in view of the directions of the honourable NHRC and honourable J&K high court.

I would like to end my write-up with the famous Urdu couplet:

“Jahan Karwaan Bhool Jaate Hai Raasta, Nikal Aati Hain Wahin Se Manzil Ki Raahein”