poor pandits

[Guest guest]

Namaskar,

 

Poor Kashmiri Pandits, their plight is ignored by one and all. May Ishwar give

them the strength to cope with this ignorance.

I wish could donate some money to institutions that support the displaced

Pandits. Would yu know of names.

cheers and om sanjeev

 

MANUSHI/Issue 124 Sarkari Relief

Brings Little ReliefThe Plight of Displaced Kashmiri Pandits

Dr. Anuradha MathuIt was about 12 years ago that Kashmiri

Pandits, other non-Muslim Kashmiris and even some Muslims were forced to

leave their homeland and come to live in the plains, on alien soil. Some have

migrated for good. Others still nurse the hope of going back to their

‘nests’. Their lives have been uprooted and many live in miserable

conditions in relief camps or in makeshift arrangements.It is

really heartbreaking to visit the shabby and unhygienic camps of the

displaced Kashmiris. An unusually high number of people living in camps in

Jammu have died due to snakebites, heatstroke and unhygienic conditions.A

recent study by Neha Kachroo on the status of Kashmir’s displaced

families living in government camps discusses the present conditions and

overall status of these lives lived in squalor. Kachroo interviewed 110

families through random sampling. A structured questionnaire, along

with informal discussions and general observations was used for

data collection.According to her findings, a majority of respondents

(93 percent) have been displaced from villages and only sevenpercent

of them were from Srinagar city. About 53 percent belong to the age group of

45 to 65 years, with education up to secondary school; 35.44 percent

were involved in farming and other allied occupations, besides private

jobs, business and government employment. Of the group, 98 percent were

married; 82 percent of the families were male -headed and only 16.36 were

female-headed. The reasons for the deaths of their spouses included

lack of amenities in camps and health disorders like kidney failure and

snakebites. One person was murdered in the valley. The average family size is

eight people and 21.18 percent of the families were nuclear.The mass migration

of Kashmiri Pandits came about in 1990. Ninety-four percent of these

respondents were displaced in the same year and started their lives in camps

which the government had established in view of the exodus. Eighty percent

of the respondents did not have their belongings with them; 97 percent did not

receive any compensation from the government. Approximately 53 percent of

the respondents had lost their houses, of which about 95 percent were

burnt down. Five percent of the respondents were forced to sell their

houses under pressure, due to financial distress. Nearly 96 percent had

possessed houses, of which 57 percent were damaged or destroyed.

Occupational trends of Kashmiri Pandits have also changed due to displacement.

Huge losses have been suffered by 35 percent of the families who were in

agriculture-related occupations; they are now dependent upon government

provided relief. At least 27 percent of the Pandits were in business.

Initially, nine percent of the families had private jobs. After displacement,

this figure increased to 16.36 percent. Those with government jobs

constituted 28 percent of the camp population. However, everyone expressed

frustration with the administration’s response to their various problems.The

infrastructural facilities at the relief camps are very poor. The rooms

allocated to the families have a maximum size of 15ftby 15ft and a minimum

size of 8ft by 8ft. These were allocated irrespective of the size of the

families. The area of the MultiCamp- Phase Second, where the respondents of

the present study reside, had an open type of drainage. About 71 percent were

using community bathrooms and 89 percent were using community latrines; 86.3

percent of these were cleaned only once in a while due to the irregular

cleaning by safai-karamcharis (toilet cleaners) and shortage of water.

Besides, during the rainy season the open drains cause problems, as dirty

water enters the rooms of the camp residents.As far as the health conditions

of the migrants are concerned, about 60 percent of them reported that they

suffered from numerous ailments such as high blood pressure and

psychological problems. After displacement, 87.37 percent of the respondents

reported facing health problems due to a change in environment, resulting from

the move from a cold to a hot region.About 67 percent of the migrants' children

go to school, of whom 62 percent attend private schools and about 38 percent go

to camp schools. Though sending children to private schools is an

expensive affair for parents, sending them to camp schools is a waste of time

since the latter lack proper facilities, such as an adequate number of

teachers and classrooms, and other infrastructural facilities.The

miserable economic condition of these people is apparent from the fact that

70 percent of the migrants are unable to provide for their financial needs.

The migrants are forced to take short- term loans from friends or moneylenders.

 

What are we to offer our future generations? Cultural loss is a big issue for

the community. While living in camps, families findit hard to inculcate the

traditional sanskars (values) among young people. The emotional attachment

of the migrants to their motherland cannot be overlooked, as about 60

percent of them still want to go back to their roots at any cost.----Discover

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