When around two decades of exile of the Hindu minorities of Kashmir were coming to a near close in 2007, Panun Kashmir in its annual general meeting at Jammu in January 2007 decided to raise the issue of Kashmir and Kashmiri Hindus in an unusual but effective manner throughout the country. It was, in the context of Kashmiri Pandit struggle, surely an unconventional way of pushing the agenda on a public platform actively and consistently. Accordingly, it was decided to organise a two-month expedition to bring to light the coveted issue at the national level.
The security situation in the entire Jammu and Kashmir state was, as usual, nearly out of gear and the Kashmiri Hindu community continued to face apathy and neglect at the hands of both the governments, the central government and the state government after experiencing the worst scenario of living as refugees in their own country due to genocide and ethnic cleansing. Terrorism was active and people were getting killed almost every day. There was a Congress-PDP government in the state under the chief ministership of Gulam Nabi Azad and the Central government was governed by the Congress-UPA under the leadership of Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of India.
It was expected that the expedition would be led by this author in the capacity of his being the President, Panun Kashmir. However, I was working in the State Bank of India and it would have been almost impossible to snatch months together to plan, execute and lead the expedition that was named as ‘Kashmir Sankalp Yatra’ (KSY). In the month of March 2007, I was inspired to go for voluntary retirement from my service in SBI and devote full time to the community service paving way for joining the proposed KSY.
It was surely an unprecedented act that could have brought disaster to the entire family in future course of time. There was definitely some spiritual inspiration that drove me to take such a tough step in my life. My family didn’t take any serious objection to it and backed me fully thereby becoming a part of the whole thinking process. I hence applied for the same and was relieved by the bank on June 30, 2007. With this I ended my 25 years career with the SBI which could have ordinarily lasted for ten years more.
I was now having 24x7x365 days’ availability for socio-political activity in the name of Kashmir & Kashmiri Hindus under the banner of Panun Kashmir. Immediate future plans included: to raise enough finances for the Yatra, inspiring activists to join the KSY as per their time availability, counseling with key KP organizations in Jammu and other places and also with the RSS and other nationalist organisations, making friends with the local and national media, publishing the desired literature in at least two languages -English and Hindi and making foolproof travel plans spanning near two months covering 9 states and 2 union territories. It took nearly four months to make all preparations regarding the KSY.
It was finally decided to begin the Yatra on November 11, 2007 from Kashmir valley. An elaborate press conference was organised in the first week of November 2007 at Jammu in which the dates for the Yatra were officially announced. A nine-member team was finalised to go to the valley. The advance party comprised Upinder Kaul, Vinod Mattoo, Shiban Krishen Raina, Nanaji Dembi, Ashwani Bhat and Bittoo ji. This team reached Srinagar on November 10, 2007 and started making all arrangements needed for the Yatra. On the same day a ‘press conference on road’ was organised in the Old Secretariat complex, Jammu where a demonstration was also held on certain pressing issues pertaining to the displaced community.
In the early morning of November 11, 2007 a three-member team led by this author left Jammu for Srinagar by air. The other members included Prof. H.L.Jalali and S.N.Dulloo. Adequate arrangements were made by the government to provide the necessary security cover to the KSY team in the trouble-torn valley; thanks to Kuldeep Khuda, the then DGP of the J&K state for doing so. As we came out of the airport at Srinagar, we kissed the land of Kashmir and were joined by the security personnel and the advance party of the KSY outside the airport. It was for the first time in exile that a group of the displaced activists was visiting Kashmir on such a mission.
From the airport, we straightway drove to historic Sheetalnath-Sathu and paid our obeisances to the presiding deity -Sheetalnath Bhairav there. We also paid our tributes to the martyrs of 1967-agitation at their ‘samadhi’ in the complex. At the end, we took an oath to keep the flame of our struggle alive till we achieve our Homeland in Kashmir. Upinder Kaul collected some sacred earth from the temple-steps to take it along with to Jammu. We later sent a part of it to the Shri Ramjanambhumi Nyas at Ayodhya when the foundation of grand Shri Ram temple was laid there after the court verdict to enable its mingling with the sacred earth of the thousands of Tirthas of the country.
The local Muslim neighbourhood at Sheetalnath gathered in the complex on noticing our arrival but kept watching our activities keenly. The whole Sheetalnath complex including the temple was in shambles. The Hindu High School board was changed to ‘H. High School’. But there was a silver lining also to be observed and it was the concrete wall all around the complex. The administration had taken that step some time ago and deserved kudos for that. From Sheetalnath, we went to Hanuman Mandir, Amirakadal and then to the ancient Pandrethan temple in the Badami Bagh cantonment area.
Ultimately, we reached Zeethyar temple in the Dal lake area under heavy security escort and stayed there for the night. It was a sight to be seen; the whole complex was so developed that it fascinated all of us. It was a grand achievement under the circumstances. We also had the sacred darshan of the presiding deity there and stayed in the complex for the night. It was surely a very hard and fearful night in the deep woods of Zabarwan hills. That night before going to bed, we had an aarti in the temple of goddess Jeshtha Mata.
Next day in the morning, as per schedule, we organised things for the press conference to be held at Hotel Welcome near Nehru Park. The hotel complex was surrounded by the security forces. At exactly 11 am, the press conference started and lasted for an hour. After having an informal chat with the media after the press conference, the three-member team again went to the Srinagar airport and boarded the aircraft bound for Jammu. The advance party of six members stayed for the night at Zeethyar; and returned to Jammu via Nagrota camp on November 13, 2007. On the next day, ASKPC held a reception of the whole team of KSY at Geeta Bhawan, Jammu under the leadership of its General Secretary, H.L.Chatta. With this came to an end the first phase of the KSY.
On November 15, 2007, a press conference was held at Jammu in which the details of the first phase were shared with the media. Simultaneously, the schedule and other details about the next three phases were also placed before them. On November 16, the second phase of the yatra began with the visit of the entire team of Panun Kashmir to all camps of the displaced persons at Muthi, Purkhoo, Mishriwala and Nagrota. The team in the next two days paid visits to Bavey wali Mata, Raghunath Mandir and Pashupatinath Mandir in Jammu.
The second phase of the yatra from Jammu to Ahmedabad was initially joined by one hundred activists comprising men, women and the youth. The first stop was at Amritsar where we visited Darbar Sahib and were specially felicitated by the Head Granthi there. Thereafter the yatra also visited Jallianwallan Bagh and Durgiyana Mandir followed by a press conference the next day. The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, Amritsar made all arrangements for the stay and meals of the yatris. Hereafter the KSY moved on towards Delhi via H.P, Chandigah and Haryana in a Sumo jeep with a select group. Programmes and press conferences were held at all the main places where the yatra stopped for a halt throughout. It included Chandigarh and Ambala.
A number of programmes were held in Delhi, Faridabad and Ghaziabad (UP). All India Kashmiri Samaj and Kashmiri Sahayak Sabha, Faridabad under the leadership of M.K.Kaw and J.N.Kaul respectively organised special reception programmes for the KSY at their offices. A press conference was held in the Press Club of India. Here in Delhi, Utpal Kaul, a senior activist of the community and Panun Kashmir joined the yatra team up to Jodhpur. The next destinations included Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan where impressive gatherings and media conferences were organised.
Thereafter, the yatra reached Ahmedabad and stayed there for four days. The programmes there included visits to Aksher-Dham, Sabarmati Ashram, Kashmiri Pandit Milchar association and a press conference. Here, the second phase was concluded and the third phase began for which we reached Nagpur (Maharashtra) by train. The other members of the team changed here and a new team reached Nagpur directly from Jammu.
The team was welcomed in Nagpur, Nanded Sahib and Pune where big programmes and press conferences were organised. Thousands of people attended those programmes. The Yatris were specially felicitated in the Nanded Sahib Gurudwara; the Rotary Club also invited the yatra team specially over a programme followed by dinner. In Nagpur, the team went to the RSS headquarters and paid tributes at the Smriti Mandir. In all the programmes throughout, the issue of Kashmir and the Kashmiri Hindus was discussed and debated at length giving out the full perspective of Islamic terrorism and its effects on the Kashmiri Pandit minorities. The causes of displacement and the neglect thereafter were also put in detail in the RSS organised programme in the RSS office at Pune.
From Pune, the yatra reached Pathankot (Punjab) where it was joined by hundreds of yatries who came from Jammu and organised a grand programme on the banks of the river Ravi. Amarnath Vaishnavi, the President of ASKPC joined the yatra here and was the Chief guest in the programme. From the banks of river Ravi, the yatra reached Lakhanpur bridge. It was here that the third phase of the yatra got concluded and the fourth and the last phase began which was to be completed on foot up to Jammu. Vimla Chrungoo, Secretary-DOPK volunteered to accompany this author for ‘pad-yatra’ from Lakhanpur to Jammu which consumed seven days with night halts at Kathua, Hiranagar, Chichi-Mata Samba, Vijaypur, Greater Kailash and Vaishnavi Dham, Railway Station Jammu.
On December 28, 2007 (Margdarshan Day), the Kashmir Sankalp Yatra reached the banks of the Ranbir Canal at Rajinder Park, Jammu where a grand reception was held by the leaders and the activists of various organisations led by veteran H.N.Jattu. For the next three days, the yatra team had a round of all the displaced camps and the Har-ki-Pauri on the banks of river Tawi near Bahu fort. On December 31, 2007, Yatra concluding programme was held on the foundation day of Panun Kashmir at TRC-Hall, Jammu which was attended by the major organisations of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community and the Sikh community.
With this came to an end the ‘Kashmir Sankalp Yatra’ of 2007 which was the longest expedition of the displaced activists during their exile on the issue of Kashmir and the Kashmiri Hindus. The details of the KSY during the years ahead will need another day to come to light!
