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NHRC tells J&K, Centre to provide better relief to Kashmiri Pandits

In a significant ruling, the National Human Rights Commission today urged the central and Jammu and Kashmir governments to step up efforts to provide assistance to the Kashmiri Pandits, but refused to accept that a 'genocide was being perpetrated' against the community in the state.

Expressing its empathy on the feelings of the Pandits that they have not been given the understanding and relief that they deserved and were entitled to, the commission made the request to the central and the state governments in its verdict on the plea of two Kashmiri Pandits organisations.

Stating that the crimes committed against the Kashmiri Pandits deserved, by all yardsticks, strongest condemnation, the commission, however, felt that crimes against the community fell short of genocide. ''There can be no gainsaying the acute suffering and deprivation caused to the community. But against the stern definition of the genocide convention, the commission is constrained to observe that while acts akin to genocide have occurred in respect of the Kashmiri Pandits..., the crimes against Kashmiri Pandits, grave as they undoubtedly are, fall short of the 'ultimate' crime -- genocide,'' the commission said in its ruling.

A three-member bench headed by NHRC chairperson Justice M N Venkatachaliah overruled the preliminary objection of the Jammu and Kashmir government questioning the applicability of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 in the state. The judgment noted that the commission has suggested several measures to enhance the understanding and assistance to Kashmiri Pandits that they require in 'these difficult days'. A major recommendation was for the formation of a high-level committee to go into the practical problems facing the Pandits.

The committee has been directed to submit its first report expeditiously and keep the commission apprised of the developments on a regular basis. The commission was hearing the pleas of Panun Kashmir and the All India Kashmiri Samaj.

The NHRC, which is monitoring the steps taken by the governments to rehabilitate Pandits in a safe and secure manner, hoped that the community would return in safety and honour to the Valley in the not too distant future. The commisssion, moreover, made it clear that it would continue to monitor the developments regarding the state of Pandits on a regular basis, including proper listing and protection of properties they left behind and restoration of the properties.

The three-member bench said, ''The figures provided by the central government show that both Hindus and Muslims suffered grievous killings with many more thousand killed by the militants.'' The Centre had informed the commission that of the total of 16,850 people killed during 1988 to 1997, 719 were Hindus and 6,219 were Muslims. The list of 157 'leaders' who were killed during the period, included 37 Hindus as against 120 Muslims. Pandits had claimed that more than 1,000 members of their community have been killed in the Valley during the period.

The commission said that though there was some differences in the figures provided by the complaints and the governments, there was a general view that nearly three lakh Pandits had to leave the Valley for reasons of terror and insecurity. The commission said, ''It understands the reasons in the prayer of the complainants that an inquiry be held into the causes and circumstances leading to the present sufferings of the Pandits''. It would always be willing and ready to examine and take actions on complaints relating to specific matters, as and when brought before it, the NHRC assured.

The commission also considered it important to note that it has not discussed the killings of the members of other communities in the state as it not the subject matter of the case. The commission believed that the time will come when peace will be restored for all in the Valley and that ''the essence of that peace will be reconciliation and the restoration of that trust and tolerance that characterised the Valley for centuries and gave the term 'Kashmiriyat' a meaning that was unique in the life of this nation.''

UNI

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