Srinagar: The ruling National Conference (NC) is facing accusations of exploiting the plight of Kashmiri Pandits for electoral gains after a demolition drive conducted by the Jammu Development Authority on Wednesday (November 20).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti accused the NC vice-president and J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah of furthering the Pandits’ “sense of alienation and loss” while the Congress, which is in an alliance with the NC in Jammu and Kashmir, interestingly, blamed the lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s administration for the demolition drive.
The issue came to the fore earlier this week when a video clip showed two anguished Kashmiri Pandits breaking down in front of a group of reporters, claiming that their shops in a migrant camp for Kashmiri Pandits in Muthi locality of Jammu were demolished by the JDA without a prior legal notice.
The clip, which has been filmed moments after the demolition squad purportedly left the area, showed one of the shopkeepers narrating his ordeal in tears, while accusing a reporter of not answering his phone call when the demolition drive was underway and he had reached out to him for help.
“You are aware that we have been doing business here for 32 years. Today the JDA people came and demolished our shops without any (notice). Is this how Pandits are going to be rehabilitated, Omar Abdullah,” the shopkeeper told the reporters, addressing LG Manoj Sinha and NC president Farooq Abdullah as well.
He added, “I was young when I opened this shop. I am old now with daughters to marry. What will I do now? Burn down my house. Thousands of kanals of land were usurped under the Roshni Act. How are our tiny shops making a big difference?”
Anil Bhan, president of the migrant camp, alleged that 10 shops run by the minority Hindu community were demolished by the JDA without notice.
“Some of the families, who had been residing here for 35 years, made a living by selling wares from these shops. The JDA is assuring us that we will get new shops within two months but how are these families going to survive till then,” he said.
According to reports, about a dozen of the 34 establishments targeted by the JDA on Wednesday belonged to Kashmiri Pandits.
Ashok Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit, compared the demolitions to the tragic flight of his community from Kashmir in the early 90s when an armed insurgency erupted in the Valley.
“We were transported to the 90s when we had to abandon our homes and flee Kashmir. We have been thrown on the road again. It is a similar situation. I don’t understand if it is 1990 or 2024,” Raina, who lives in the migrant camp along with his family, told ANI.
He added, sarcastically, “We don’t own any land; whatever we had, it is in Kashmir. We were recovering from the tragedy of the 90s but the government has thrown us into a quandary once again. Now we will be rehabilitated. Is there no end to our rehabilitation?”
JDA said that it carried out a demolition drive on a land parcel measuring 25 kanals in Lower Roop Nagar, where a one BHK housing society with 208 flats for ‘Economically Weaker Sections’ (EWS) was going to be developed and a tender for the project has been floated already.
“The earmarked land was found having 12 dome quarters (abandoned/vacant) and 22 kiosks under illegal possession of those who were already rehabilitated at various locations such as Purkhoo, Muthi and Jagti and some have rented out to some outsiders/locals on monthly rental basis. These structures were to be cleared for making the land available for the purpose of EWS Flats,” the JDA said.
The statement said that the “illegal occupants” were issued notices under Section 4 of the J&K Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act 1988) on January 20 this year.
“The shopkeepers were requested and apprised about the project contemplated on the land for which Lol (Letter of Interest) was already issued,” it said, adding that the occupants sought a month’s time to shift their belongings to alternate places.
“Some .. shopkeepers left … knowing fully well that … they shall have to vacate the premises sooner or later. Some … have themselves submitted affidavits (to) … vacate the JDA land by 5th of February 2024,” the statement said, claiming that some kiosks and one-room apartments were occupied by non-domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, terming the demolition as “another blow” for Kashmiri Pandits, the PDP president said that the minority Hindu community has “endured unimaginable hardships for decades”.
“What began as targeted demolitions of assets of the tribal community has now been extended to Kashmiri Pandits, further deepening their sense of alienation and loss. We urge chief minister Omar Abdullah to step in and address this grave injustice with compassion and urgency,” she said in a post on X, referring to the anti-encroachment drive that was launched by the LG administration against the Gujjar and Bakarwal establishments.
J&K Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari also condemned the demolition drive.
In a post on X, the Congress’s national spokesperson Shama Mohamed blamed Sinha’s administration for the drive, even though the chief minister Omar Abdullah has the charge of J&K’s housing and urban development ministry which controls the JDA.
“The Jammu Development Authority has demolished a dozen shops belonging to Kashmiri Pandits from the land where they were initially settled by the then government. BJP leaders exploit the plight of Kashmiri Pandits for political gains through movies like Kashmir Files yet under their administration, they are losing their livelihoods. I urge [the chief minister] to intervene and ensure justice. These shops must be reconstructed immediately,” she said.
