Jammu and Kashmir elections: Kashmiri Pandits, who have been facing the brunt of displacement for more than three decades, are on the agenda of all parties in coming elections. All members of this community, which has a vote count of about 1.15 lakh in Jammu and Kashmir, want a respectable return to the valley. At present, the Apni Party have described the return of Pandits as a priority in their manifestos. BJP is already working on many plans for the return of Pandits. PDP has also stated that the valley is incomplete without Pandits. Congress is also in favour of the rehabilitation of Pandits. Despite all the promises and announcements of the parties, Kashmiri Pandits do not trust that the parties are working for them.
Kashmiri Pandits are voters of all 47 assemblies of the valley. Their ancestral homes are in 10 districts of South, Central and North Kashmir. After displacement in 1990, they settled in Jammu, Udhampur and other places. Since then, due to the atmosphere of fear, voting centers were set up for them in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
Registered voters have been given the facility to vote through M-Form, but to facilitate the pundits, this form was made mandatory in the Lok Sabha elections. Its positive results also emerged. The voting percentage of pundits increased. The same process will be adopted in this election also. The Election Commission believes that this will increase the vote of pundits. Also, many candidates from the Pandit community can contest in this election. At present the names of Sandeep Mawa and Sanjay Saraf are in discussion from Habbakadal area of Srinagar.
Kashmiri Pandits say that all the parties have been talking about rehabilitation and honorable return since displacement, but it should be seen what they got. No improvement is visible at the ground level. Giving a government job cannot be rehabilitation. Not a single Kashmiri Pandit settled in the valley. The government had launched the portal to get rid of the encroachment on their lands. It also brought some positive results, but still a lot needs to be done in this direction.
MK Dhar, spokesperson of Panun Kashmir, an organisation of Kashmiri Pandits, believes that homeland is the solution to all problems. There is a demand for homeland in the east and north of Jhelum. There is confidence in the government that one day the situation will change.
