Watch: They’re Refugees, but do Kashmiri Pandits want to go back?

They were forced to flee their beloved valley, but do Kashmiri Pandits want to go back?

Hiraeth is a Welsh word described in the Urban Dictionary as -

a longing for one’s homeland, but it’s not mere homesickness. It’s an expression of the bond one feels with one’s home when one is away from it.

Twenty five years after the exodus, do Pandits still feel a sense of ‘Hiraeth’ for Kashmir?

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Hindu-Muslim Bhai-Bhai

Surandar Kumar Jatoo’s family never left the Valley. He says their Muslim neighbours assured his father that they would remain safe. He runs a drug store in the outskirts of Srinagar and says he has never faced any discrimination.

What does he think about the BJP’s stated intention to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits? Not much apparently.

The government is not sincere, they are fooling the people. The idea of a separate colony is mischievous. A separate colony will allow trouble-makers to target the community

- Surandar Kumar Jatoo, Kashmiri Pandit lives in Srinagar

At 80, Chaman Lal Garoo actively follows politics in the Valley. He, however feels, that there is a generational gap between his children and Kashmiri Muslim youth. He feels separate colonies are best suited for the communities.

Composite vs Separate

The conundrum of a composite versus a segregated colony arose when the separatists in the Valley blocked roads and burnt effigies demanding composite colonies.

The BJP wants to build walls of hatred by segregating the two communities
- Yasin Malik, Separatist Leader

But there are others who feel, those talking of composite culture are the ones who destroyed it.

Suresh Kaul is a retired bank manager settled in Delhi. He does not wish to move to Kashmir, but wholeheartedly supports a government-sponsored rehabilitation program for those who want to.

Pro-Pak elements are carrying out a disinformation campaign. These are the very people who destroyed the composite culture of Kashmir which is thousands of years old. These are the people who have driven out Kashmiri Pandits at gunpoint and threatened to rape, kill and maim their women. What is Yasin Malik’s locus standi? Who is he to talk about “composite culture”?

-Suresh Kaul, Kashmiri Pandit settled in New Delhi