Out of 38, 378 registered Displaced Kashmiri only 2 % voted in recently held Srinagar Lok Sabha by-poll
Ripan Tikoo
In the recently held by-election for Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on April 9, 2017, only 7 per cent voters cast their votes and it became a matter of discussion nationwide. Nobody took note of another set of voters who were outside the valley and still did not vote. We had as many as 38,278 Displaced Kashmiris (DK) registered voters from Srinagar Lok Sabha (LS) in 2014; an increase of around 40% over the last LS elections. Out of them only 912 i.e. 2.38% DKs cast their votes against 7% votes polled in the valley on the same day. The valley was witnessing violence but DK polling booths were outside Kashmir, still why there was this apathy towards election process is an important question missing the discourse pertaining Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Since Displaced Kashmiris do not make noise or draw attention through arson/violence, nobody took cognisance of their silent protest. The above data clearly indicates that they are disillusioned by the parties and
candidates contesting the Srinagar by-elections. What are the reasons for this disillusionment? As a displaced Kashmiri myself, I can list out few of them as follows:
- The implementation of Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property Act, 1997 is overdue according to which District Magistrate and District Superintendent of Police should be accountable for safeguarding the property of DKs, There is hardly any movement in this direction.
- The demand for formation of fast track tribunal/court to bring to book the perpetrators who engineered the massacres of Pandits at Anantnag (1986), Sangrampura (1997), Vandhama-(1998) and Nadimarg (2003) etc is not even discussed;
- There is a demand for a three member commission with a retired Chief Justice of India as Chairman to submit a white paper to the Parliament on the exodus, ethnic cleansing and genocide of DK and failure of the establishment in protecting its citizens and their right to live (read: life) at their native place since 1989 which is still pending;
- Shri Narendra Modi, who as Chief Minster of Gujarat, provided educational reservations to DK and was later followed by many state governments. There is a growing demand to extend the same to Centrally funded schools, institutions and universities, none of the representatives from J&K speak about the same;
- The Prime Minister’s (PM) recruitment package, 2008 has failed to meet its intended objective. Moreover, it didn”t address the recruitment needs of displaced youth coming to job market every year. The Centre and the State should provide reservations in recruitment for DKs. Instead of taking up this issues it is clubbed with residential facility for DK as our return to the Valley which nothing but rubbing salt to
the wounds.; - A sustainable rehabilitation and settlement in the Valley is close to every DK’s heart. The road-map that can be discussed with the organisations like Panun Kashmir, Roots in Kashmir, Kashmir Vichar Manch, KPS, AIKS and different KP Associations etc.is not in the priority list of political parties
contesting elections; - DKs are demanding reservation of a Lok Sabha Seat and an Assembly seat in each District, of Kashmir but no political outfit considers it
important for representation.
Besides these genuine demands, DKs do not want to be called as Kashmiri migrants ( the nomenclature used in the official records of J&K), they want passage of Temple and Shrine Bill in J&K Assembly as early as possible to protect the remaining heritage sites in the valley, simplification of enrolment process in the voters list, and declaration of Navreh, the 5000 year old tradition of new year, as the Kashmiri cultural day are other demands for protecting the identity of DKs.
As no candidate or political party bothered to take cognisance of these pertinent issues, the Displaced Kashmirs protested silently. When stone-pelters are discussed all over India, will anybody take cognisance of this missing voice of real Kashmiris?
(The writer is a scientist with IIT-Powai and himself a Displaced Kashmiri)
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