Amid a growing debate in the country about the situation of Kashmiri Pandits who exited the Valley in January 1990 because of terrorism targeting them in Kashmir valley, Indian National Congress (INC) Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha on Friday introduced a private member bill in the Upper House seeking rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.
The bill titled the Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, aims to provide social, economic and political rehabilitation of the community. Tankha said that it was the first of its kind comprehensive attempt in 32 years to bring to the forefront the issues of the community who faced exodus and barbarism in 1990. The bill provides for granting special minority status to Kashmiri Pandits, changing their official nomenclature to “internally displaced persons” and declaring the community as victims of genocide.
The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022 also proposes releasing a white paper documenting all the events pertaining to the atrocities and plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. According to the provisions of the Bill, a high-level advisory committee comprising a retired Chief Justice of India as chairman, two sitting Members of Parliament, two retired judges of the Supreme Court and four other noted individuals should be formed and Government of India in consultation with this advisory committee shall take measures necessary to establish a peaceful environment for Kashmiri Pandits to return to the valley again.
The Bill also provides for the creation of a corpus fund for the purpose of grants to be given to 5,000 small cottage industries owned by Kashmiri Pandits. It also called for interest free loans and other assistance to the community. The private member bill introduced by Vivek Tankha has provisions for restoring heritages and religious places belonging to the Kashmiri Pandits and calls for ensuring safety and security to the community.
The genocide faced by Kashmiri Pandits again came to forefront after a recently released film, The Kashmir Files, showed in detail the terror, mass killings and barbarism the community faced in 1990 as law and order failed completely in the valley.