Ajay Pandita Bharti’s killing marks another chapter in the history of bloodbath of Hindus in the valley…Will Kashmiri Pandits ever be assured of a safe and dignified return to their homeland?

When a wound reopens it causes pain. But when the wound is on the soul, its reopening does not just cause pain but also plays a reel of haunting images to add to the misery. It is this frightening showreel of the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits that replayed after Ajay Pandita Bharti’s killing earlier this month which shook the Pandit community. A son, a husband, a father, a political worker, a devoted Kashmiri Pandit and a proud Indian - Ajay Pandita was a hero in every right.  

The death of Ajay Pandita Bharti, a braveheart Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch of the Lukbawan Panchayat halqa in Anantnag district’s Larkipora area, has come as a bolt from the blue for all Kashmiri Pandits spread across India and around the world. Yet another Kashmiri Hindu killed in cold blood by radical Islamists because he dared to go back to the valley and become a grassroots level Hindu political worker in what they like to believe is a “Muslim Kashmir”. This is the grim reality that first made its strong presence felt in 1989 with the advent of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and continues more or less unabated to date. So many years after the carrying out of the systematic slaughter of Kashmiri Pandits in the lates 80s and the 90s, the zeal to establish Islamic supremacy in Kashmir is so staunch that even today Hindus are considered to be ‘wajib-ul-qati’ (meant to be killed). So rife are the anti-India and Hinduphobic sentiments that the presence of a Kashmiri Pandit in Kashmir, politically active or otherwise, is made to encounter fatal repercussions by Pakistani Jihadists who are often helped with local support extended by radicalised Kashmiris. It is this sadistic Wahhabi mindset that killed Ajay Pandita.

In the post-independent India, successive Indian governments did very little to curb the rapid spread of radical Islamic ideology and separatism in Kashmir. In fact, they gave into the pressure applied by the separatist forces and nurtured a self-defeating policy of appeasement. A diabolical doctrine that aimed at the creation of a Kashmir based on Islamic tyranny was left uncontested by New Delhi. Or, at the very least, not taken seriously at all until the most dastardly operation of ethnic cleansing was unleashed on the Kashmiri Pandits because the pro-Indian Pandits were seen as the biggest hurdle in the carving out of an Islamic Kashmir. Local publications were used as messengers to carry open threats against Kashmiri Pandits and others with loyalties towards India. They were warned of dire consequences if they failed to vacate the valley. The most vicious slogans were raised to scare Pandits and drive them out:

 “Kashmir mein agar rehna hai, Allah-ho-Akbar kahna hoga” … “Islam hamara maqsad hai, Quran hamara dastur hai, jehad hamara Rasta hai” … “Pakistan se kya Rishta? La Ilah-e- Illalah” …“Kashir banawon Pakistan, Bataw varaie, Batneiw saan” (Kashmir will be turned into Pakistan. We will keep the Pandit women but not the men)… and so on. 

Kashmiri Pandits were subjected to the most gruesome infliction of terror through mass killings, kidnappings, gang-rapes, bombing, and desecration of Hindu properties that included residential houses and temples. It culminated in the forced exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits in the early 90s. Around 2 lac Kashmiri Pandits, as per various reports, had to leave Kashmir between 1989 to 1992. The message from Islamic terrorists was loud and clear. They envisaged a monolithic Kashmir based on Sharia that had no place for Hindus, Sikhs, and other minorities. It is estimated that between 1989 and 2011 more than 400 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by terrorists in the region. 

Fast forward to 30 years later, the assassination of the Sarpanch Ajay Pandita in 2020 is a walk down the horrific memory lane. It has once again shaken the belief-system of the Pandit community. In the post Article 370 era, when the demand for ensuring a safe and dignified return of Pandits to their homeland has picked up, Ajay Pandita’s killing has come as an unfortunate reminder that barely anything has changed on the ground. Not only has this incident dented the morale of the persecuted Kashmiri Pandits but it has also exposed the truth that Kashmir continues to be a hunting turf for Jihadists who slaughter Hindus in order to wipe out the few that are left there. 

Not long before carrying out the cowardly act, The Resistance Front (TRF) - a Pakistan backed terror front in Kashmir, which claimed the responsibility for the killing of Ajay Pandita had issued an open threat to non-Kashmiris in the valley. The TRF had warned of deadly consequences if Indians tried to nurture plans of settling down in Kashmir under the new domicile law of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. After Pandita’s murder, the terror outfit released a statement that read, "No political stooge/collaborator who stands alongside the occupational regime will be spared. Ajay Pandita Sarpanch was one of these political leaders who tarnished the image of Jammu and Kashmir. These are the main reasons for occupational regimes to stay on our land the Jammu and Kashmir. No one will be spared who is hand in glove with the occupational regime and strengthen their illegal occupation.” 

The audacious intimidation and confession of Pandita’s bestial killing are reminiscent of the petrifying twilight of the 20th century when the seeds of Islamic radicalism germinated in the Kashmir Valley and the blood of the peace-loving Kashmiri Pandits was spilled to realise the dream of a demographically altered all-Muslim Kashmir. 

The hypocrisy of the Congress party and the politicians in Kashmir 

When the Panchayat polls were held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 after a hiatus of two years, it marked the beginning of a new era that challenged the stronghold of dynasty politics in Kashmir spearheaded by the Abdullahs and the Muftis. Ajay Pandita was the rising Kashmiri Pandit star of this new era who as a local political representative of the Congress party set out on a journey to bring about a change - a change that would instil faith and confidence in his Pandit brethren to resettle in the valley. But instead of lashing out at Pakistan and calling it an act of terror, a senior Congress party leader donned the hat of a terror-apologist and shamelessly alleged that the killing of Ajay Pandita was politically motivated as Congress workers across India were being killed to create a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’. The death of a man on a mission of peace and rehabilitation was politicised by the same Congress that he was associated with 

But then that is what the Congress, along with other mainstream political parties with separatist tendencies, has always done in Kashmir since 1947. It was the atrocious Kashmir policy of the successive Congress governments at the centre coupled with the duplicitous attitude of the political parties in Kashmir that allowed Islamic fundamentalism to breed in the valley. Eventually, it created a foundation for the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits and other religious minorities claiming innumerable lives and leading to a heart-wrenching refugee crisis for Hindus in their own country. And now it has taken another Hindu life in the form of Ajay Pandita.

Onus on the Modi government and the J&K administration 

The reports of panic-stricken sarpanches fleeing from Kashmir to Jammu following Ajay Pandita’s killing is extremely disturbing. What is more discouraging is the series of complaints raised about Sarpanches not being provided protection. It cannot be stressed enough that the responsibility of safeguarding the lives of these Sarpanches and their families solely and entirely lies with the central government and the Jammu & Kashmir administration. Prime Minister Modi’s vision of strengthening democracy in J&K at the rudimentary level comes with its own set of challenges. Those who show faith in the Indian Constitution and participate in Panchayat polls in the valley live under a constant threat of life. Hindus and other non-Muslim minorities more so. Their safety and security are of paramount importance. Ajay Pandita was not the only Hindu political worker in Kashmir. There are others too. Moreover, an estimated 700-800 Pandit families, who chose to stay in Kashmir despite terror infestation during the 90s, continue to live there. Scores of displaced Kashmiri Pandits are working in the valley as government employees by virtue of the Prime Minister’s Employment Package. All Kashmiri Pandits are seen as Indian agents by the Jihadists which puts them in an extremely vulnerable category and makes them easy targets. 

The onus is on the Modi government to ensure that we do not lose more Ajay Panditas. Giving arms-training for self-defence to Hindu minorities in Kashmir is a fine idea but it is not the panacea for the overall problem. The solution lies in removing the deeper malaise of anti-Indianism and anti-Hinduism in Kashmir that can only be done through a systematic crackdown on Pakistani Jihadist forces supported by radicalised Kashmiri groups and terror outfits. This is the only way to expect normalcy to blossom in the valley which could eventually pave the way for the safe return of the Kashmiri Pandits.  

To conclude, there is an enormously significant lesson to be learnt from the martyrdom of Ajay Pandita. What he started was an incredibly high-risk patriotic movement to serve his community and the country for which India will forever be thankful to him and his family. But if his death is allowed to fade into history as just another sacrifice of a brave and patriotic Kashmiri Pandit, then India will always remain one step behind the nefarious terror designs of Pakistan and their radicalised extensions in Kashmir. In such a scenario, the axe of Islamic terror will keep falling on every Kashmiri Pandit who dares to go back to the valley or, worse still, show political representation there. Consequently, the Pandit community’s dream to return to their homeland will become more and more distant.

India owes a debt of gratitude to its braveheart Armed Forces for the gallantry and forbearance they display in Kashmir everyday

While the whole world has been grappling with COVID-19, it is business as usual for Pakistan that has been busy exporting terror into India from across the border. The recent Handwara encounter in which five of our bravehearts from the Indian Army and J&K police attained martyrdom will remain etched in India’s consciousness for a very long time to come.  

Among those who laid down their lives for the safety and pride of the motherland were Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, Major Anuj Sood, Naik Rajesh, Lance Naik Dinesh, and J&K Police Sub-Inspector Sageer Ahmad Pathan. It was a colossal loss for the Indian Armed Forces in which officers of the rank of Major and Colonel gave the supreme sacrifice for the country in an anti-terror operation. 

The last time India had lost such high-ranking soldiers due to Pakistan’s nefarious terror designs was in 2015. The Indian Army had lost two Colonels in a year - Colonel M N Rai who died while fighting terrorists in the Tral area of south Kashmir and Colonel Santosh Mahadik who was martyred in an encounter in Kupwara.  

The Handwara operation has an extraordinary significance because it happened at a time when India was in a state of an unprecedented health emergency. A nation of 1.3 billion engaged in a collective fight against the coronavirus pandemic ended up mourning the death of its sons sworn to protect her. It happened because our fearless soldiers put their lives on the line to save civilians who were held hostage by terrorists in a house at a village in the Rajwar forests of the Handwara area in Kashmir. One of the terrorists was a Pakistani national and Commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba while the other was a local resident as per media reports. 

On May 2, 2020, Colonel Ashutosh Sharma and his team led a joint cordon and search operation along with JK Police after receiving intelligence that terrorists had held around 11 civilians, including women and children, captive in a house and were using them as human shields. Colonel Sharma and his men successfully managed to extricate the civilians from the house. However, during the process, a fierce gun battle transpired between the terrorists and the five-member team in which the two terrorists were killed but the encounter ended up claiming the lives of the gallant Indian soldiers. 

The Handwara encounter is the truest and the boldest reflection of commitment, selflessness, and magnanimity of our security forces. Despite being at the receiving end of attacks, harassment and stones pelted by Pakistan sponsored anti-India Kashmiri seditionists, the Indian Army is always at the forefront of protecting average Kashmiris whenever there is a crisis - be it a natural disaster like the 2014 Kashmir floods or a terror-related situation such as Handwara. Therefore, the least that our bravehearts deserve is a unanimous voice coming from the political class and the civil society across the nation that backs their efforts in the valley instead of encouraging a pseudo-liberal agenda that only advocates the human rights of the seditious elements in Kashmir while ignoring the same for the Armed Forces.

Let alone an unambiguous backing of our forces, the political opposition in India spearheaded by the Congress party overtly criticised the removal of Article 370. Elected representatives of the Congress and many other left-leaning leaders tried to internationalise Kashmir on the floor of the Parliament in their bid to extend a counter-narrative to Modi’s historic step. It is this brazenness for cheap political gains that serves as an impetus for the anti-India brigade and then the mess is for the Army to clean up due to which they often end up losing their lives. 

More recently, the Pulitzer controversy has turned out to be one of the more visible straws in the pack of Congress’s growing separatist tendencies exemplifying the party’s conscious choice to encourage separatism. This has put the Gandhis in the same bracket as the Abdullahs and the Muftis of Kashmir. By congratulating the Pulitzer winning Indian photographers of the Associated Press and thereby automatically endorsing the outrageous citation of the photographs that mentioned Kashmir as a disputed territory under siege and Burhan Wani as a “rebel” rather than a terrorist - Rahul Gandhi made it abundantly clear that he subscribes to the Pakistani stand that challenges Kashmir being an integral part of India. 

There cannot be a greater insult to India’s sovereignty by Rahul Gandhi and therefore the Congress party that considers itself to be the principal opposition party in the country and a political entity that carries the legacy of being the “supreme contributor” in India’s freedom struggle. When a party that owes allegiance to the Indian constitution resonates the line on Kashmir taken by the Pakistan army and the ISI, not only does it cast a shadow on its loyalty towards India but also poses threat to the country’s internal security because of the motivation it supplies to the radicalised forces in the valley. 

The fact of the matter is that ever since Narendra Modi took over the reigns of the country from the UPA in 2014, a rapidly growing crescendo of nationalism has created an atmosphere of desperation in the anti-Modi camp. Through the abrogation of Article 370, the Modi government established an unequivocal stand that anything which challenges the integrity and sovereignty of India will be nipped in the bud. 

But the united Modi-baiters comprising of the Congress, the Communists, the pseudo-secular lobby, Kashmiri separatist voices, and the foreign-funded anti-India human rights NGOs hold an opposite position with regards to Kashmir. The lobbyists have been left exposed on more occasions than one consistently for several years through their strategic silence on the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in the 90s by Islamic Jihadists, a blatant soft-corner for the stone-pelting brigade of Kashmir that glorifies terrorists and attacks our security forces while conveniently referring to them as misguided youth and victims of the state’s apathy, or more recently by their unabashed and scathing criticism of the revocation of the discriminatory and draconian Article 370. 

After the dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo was eliminated by the forces on May 6, 2020, in the Beighpora village of the Pulwama district in Kashmir, stone-pelters and vandals got a new lease of life as they attacked the security personnel and damaged their vehicles. For one of the most wanted terrorists in Kashmir who would soon have completed eight years of his association with the Hizbul Mujahideen, the terror apologists showcased such enormous display of sympathy and solidarity that even the COVID scare could not stop them from gathering in large numbers and engaging in violence. 

Again it was the Army that was targeted for merely performing its duty of neutralising a terrorist who had been wreaking havoc in the valley, especially after the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016 post which Naikoo had become the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. The western media and the leftist media groups in India flagrantly indulged in glorifying Riyaz Naikoo, calling him a “farmer’s son” and a “mathematics graduate” who once taught poor students free of cost. It is disheartening to imagine how all this must weigh on the psyche of the Indian Armed Forces who are in the line of fire in Kashmir on a daily basis.

In light of all that has been analysed above, it is clear that there are two simultaneous battles that India is currently pitted against - one on the ground involving the seditionists in Kashmir and terrorists from across the LoC, and another against terror-sympathising fake narrative creators that are parasitically thriving in India. But the pertinent question is that while the fight against Pakistan sponsored terrorism in Kashmir in the post Article 370 era continues relentlessly, can India afford to let go in vain the ultimate sacrifices that our braveheart soldiers make day in and day out to combat terror? Is it not time India assured its Armed Forces that the country stands behind them unconditionally and with utmost gratitude? 

If it requires a severe reprimand or introducing a law against all those who for their vested political or other interests take a line that contradicts the actions of our security forces or challenges Kashmir’s belongingness to India - then so be it.