[Reader-list] Massacres - Part X

Pawan Durani pawan.durani at gmail.com
Tue Jun 9 10:40:25 IST 2009


Part X because I simply lost count. How many more do our peaceful and
minuscule community have to withstand without being noticed by the
world conscience ?

- PD
++++++++++++++++


1          Nadimarg Massacre

Terrorists target Kashmiri Pandits once again

KS Correspondent

JAMMU, Apr 8: On March 23 Nadimarg entered as yet another chapter in
the history of genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. In a brutal display of
savagery, the merchants of terror, waging Jehadic war moved down 24
Kashmiri Hindus, including 11 women and two children. Nadimarg, a
village 7 kms from Bijbehara, the home town of the State Chief
Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, showed to the whole world how hollow
were the claims of the State Government that situation was ripe for
the journey back home. Government's so called return plan has only
paved the way for yet another exodus by those who had braved the
selective killings and massacres, of their co-religionists during the
past thirteen years.

Nadimarg, a picturesque village is located 1 1/2 kms away from Zainapore,
the historic town founded by the benevolent king, Zain-ul-Abdin, in
the fifteenth century. The Pandits had named the king as 'Bata Shah',
(protector of Pandits) because of the protection he provided to them,
after he called them back from exile and hiding. Today the town stands
witness to intolerance. A small stream demarcates the Pandit locality
from the Muslim mohalla. In 1990, the village had 51 families .
Presently there were only eleven families with 52 members. These
families belonged to the downtrodden section of the Pandit community.
Their survival depended on either class IV jobs or meagre land they
possessed. Some of these families would supplement their meagre income
by doing side jobs. At the time of the massacre, sixteen members of
this community had been out to some neighbouring village tolerance.

In the chapter of intolerance, being scripted by the religious
warriors, nearly fifteen hundred members of the minority, community
have been killed in 80 massacres in J&K. For Kashmiri Pandits,
Nadimarg massacre is fifth one, since the 'popular' govt took reins of
power in 1996. Terrorists have attacked Pandits through massacre in
these districts--Budgam (March 20, Sangrampora), Srinagar 25/26 Jan.,
Wandhama), Anantnag (Jan 20-Telwani, Aug. 2002 Sirigufwara). The main
motive behind these massacres is to terrorise the minorities and force
them to migrate. For the last three years the incidents involving
attacks on minorities and their religious places have been occurring
with regular frequency. Incidentally, the Kashmiri Pandit exodus
started in 1990, when the present Chief Minister was Union Home
Minister.

March 23:

Equewitnesses, who survived the carnage said a group of 4-7, heavily
armed terrorists, dressed in army uniform, descended on Nadimarg
hamlet at around 10.30 PM, when the victims were going to sleep. They
first went to the police picket, set up to safeguard Pandit population
of the village. Presently, nine policemen had been posted here, while
twenty constables had been withdrawn before the assembly elections.
These nine cops were supposed to look after the protection of 55
families in a radius of 15-20 km.

At the time of the attack only five cops were present. These poorly
motivated policemen meekly surrendered their weapons, four SLRs, three
303 Rifles, one carbine and the lone wireless set to the terrorists
and escaped from the scene. Knowing the identity of police cops, the
terrorists did not touch police. The cops even did not go to report
the massacre to the nearby Zainpora police station.

The terrorists, after looting arms and ammunition of the policemen,
went to knock at the doors of Kashmiri Pandit houses. They commanded
them to assemble in the compound near the picket under a Chinar tree.
Those who did not comply with orders had their doors broken open.
Terrorists, in fact, beat some people, who were reluctant to come out.

Phoola, who lost her husband and daughter told reporters, "The
terrorists were calling the people by name. After identifying them
they took them to the compound. They told us they were armymen, and
had to search the houses. They asked everybody to come out". While
driving the residents out, the terrorists looted cash and snatched
away gold and ornaments from women. This had not been the style of
terrorists in previous massacres.

When the terrorists knocked at Phoola's house, she and her daughter
pushed Chand Ji, her son into a chimney, before opening the door
Phoola herself slipped away from the line and hid in the bushes, just
metres from the massacre site.

Soom Nath, a government servant had retired recently. He had brought
his gratuity money and other pensionary benefits to home and kept
these in the cupboard. He said terrorists were carrying torches and
introduced themselves as troops. They asked all the family members to
vacate their homes and assemble near the Chinar tree in the main
compound, he added. Soom Nath was slapped twice and asked to show
other family members. His wife was taken outside and was asked to join
other Pandits under the Chinar tree. Soom Nath's son smelt a rat and
hid himself under the cot. He and his wife gave slip to the terrorists
and hid themselves behind the haystack. Though Chuni Lal's family was
lucky to escape, the terrorists looted away his cash of Rs 1.7 lakhs
and other costly items before fleeing from the scene.

After collecting the Pandits under the Chinar tree, the terrorists
began looting Pandit houses. The looted goods were put in a matador.
The Pandits thought, possibly the intention of the terrorists was to
loot them and their lives would be spared. But soon after the matador
was despatched, the terrorists opened fire in discriminately upon the
hapless Pandits, killing 24 people. Chuni Lal, who had been hit in the
thigh fell down and found himself in a pile of dead bodies. As guns
fell silent, the gunmen came to check for any living. In a pool of
blood, Chuni Lal held his breath and feigned death.

The killers had left and reached near the school, a few dozen metres
away, when they heard the cries of a child. Mohan Lal Bhat recalled,
"I heard one of them shout to others that there is some work still to
be done. Then I heard a gun shot. Later I got to know it was Monu".
Bullets had made sieve of his chest. Devki (75), w/o Jiya Lal was
dragged upto carnage site and her pleas of mercy were turned down.
Gunwati, a 90-year old paralytic lady asked the killers to kill her
too. A terrorist told her in Kashmiri that there was no need to kill a
dead person. A 23 year old handicapped girl, who could not walk
because of her disability was dragged out, and shot dead.

Most of the victims were found with bullet holes in the face.
Survivors said many of the people were killed in cold blood from point
blank range. Almost all the bodies were found with gun shot wounds in
their heads.

Ramesh Koul, who lost his father, took great risk to reach Zainapora
police station at 1.00 AM. The police cops told him they can go to
Nadimarg only after they receive orders from above. Zainpora police
party reached Nadimarg at 4 AM, while senior officials and security
forces' commanders reached the carnage site only in the morning. Even
the chief minister was informed by DGP only at 6.30 AM.

In the carnage, the whole family of Bansi Lal (59), his wife Bindri
(55), daughter Girja (35), daughter Princy (20) and son Rakesh was
wiped out. Suraj had gone to sleep after celebrating his third
birthday. His grandfather Dwarka Nath had come on the occasion with
presents from Fatehpur village. Dwarka Nath lost his both daughters
and two grandsons. Only a three month infant who had been sleeping
escaped the eyes of the killers. There were 12 survivors, who managed
to hide in darkness.

A day after the massacre, it was a horrifying scene in the village.
Blood and body parts were littered everywhere. At the carnage site,
shoes, blankets and lantern were scattered. A correspondent of a
leading English daily wrote, "once a prosperous village, Nadimarg
today presented a look of war ravaged hamlet. The difference was that
instead of helmets of soldiers, the boots and the caps of the innocent
civilians were scattered everywhere. The killers had dumped the bodies
on the spot as if they wanted vultures to eat them. It was a scene
that could even send a cold-hearted person to a virtual shock. A large
row of bodies, wrapped in a shroud, with blood making its way out of
the thin white coffin".

The cremation was delayed by the administration for the arrival of the
chief minister. But no politician or official of the administration
stayed back for cremation. As the bodies were being lined up for
funeral, on old Pandit who could not walk, wept bitterly at the
verandah of his house and said, "I have not lost just my family. I
feel my roots have ditched me. I will never belong to Kashmir again".



Advani's Visit:

Nearly two hundred Pandits from Nadimarg and other neighbouring
villages assembled to give hostile reception to the Deputy Prime
Minister, LK Advani. They were inconsolable and accused Mufti
government for not providing security despite requests made to
government. The people shouted slogans against Mr Advani and Mr Mufti
Mohammad Sayeed and attacked 'healing touch policy'. The chief
minister had to face serious embarrassment, when Pandits named
officials who were responsible for security lapse. The protestors
shouted, "we want migration...J&K Police Hai Hai. Healing Touch Hai
Hai". DGP and senior police officials were hooted down. A lone
survivor of a family, wiped out in the carnage, Mohan Lal alias Vicky,
was so emotional that he shoulted at Mr Advani and Mufti Sayeed that
he too must "be shot dead". He asked them, "what for I have to live
now, kill me, please, kill me". Chandji, who survived miraculously
asked Mr Advani what they had given to the Pandit community except for
"death and destruction".

In a remorseful mood, Advani consoled the relatives of the victims,
saying, "I must admit we have not done justice to you". They asked him
if government could not protect eight thousand Pandits left in the
Valley, how could it talk of return of more than two lakh displaced
members of the community. When the Pandits demanded dismissal of Mufti
government, he told them the NDA government would use Article 356 only
in extreme cases.

Security Lapse :

Why did Nadimarg massacre took place? Where were the lapses? Mr MM
Khajuria a former DPG of the state said, "The terrorists normally
leave the Pandits staying back in the Valley alone. In fact, they are
considered a 'war asset' by their foreign masters. Pawns in the hands
of the merchants of terror, these Pandits were handy for strategic
butchering as and when required. Such massacres have broadly followed
a set pattern".

The former DPG also points his finger at the state government for its
casual approach. He observed, "...the plan for securing return of
Pandit migrants to Kashmir failed to address the basic and crucial
requirement of a sturdy and fool proof security cover for those
already there...The omission to conduct a comprehensive and realistic
appraisal of the ground reality while planning the 'Go Home Project'
for the migrants and put in place necessary security cover has not
only made the Nadimarg tragedy possible but also exposed the mighty
Indian state to ridicule...In view of the overall security
environment, the threat perception, the known modus-operandi of the
enemy, and their established capability to mount such operations
something much more than establishment of symbolic police pickets
needed to be done".

Survivors of the carnage put the whole blame on the administration.
The women folk had observed suspicious movement a week prior to the
attack. A few days before, a milkman had told Pandits to be careful.
Chuni Lal said, "we had some fears about our safety for the past two
days. We went to meet DC Anantnag on 22nd and had asked for additional
security. The DC ignored our plea...they came only after our fears
came to true". The Pandits had also met DC Pulwama, Ms Naseema Lankar
but to no help. They approached two local MLAs of CPM and also alerted
their brethren in Jammu. A delegation of Panun Kashmir had met the
State Governor and Mr ID Swami. On 21st, two days before the massacre,
Panun Kashmir held a press conference and tried to impress upon the
state government that its decision was ill-conceived and could create
problems for Pandits. On the day of the massacre, a Pandit of a
neighbouring village had to visit Nadimarg for distributing marriage
cards. He was advised by his Muslim friend not to stay in the village
that night and return home. How could all these inputs be not in the
knowledge of the police intelligence. Even the SHO Zainapora had
described Nadimarg as hypersensitive. A fortnight back there was a
attack on Telephone Exchange at Zainapora.

The survivors have also alleged that the terrorists were in connivance
with some cops, deployed at the police picket. They added that the
terrorists picked up and chose men and women from the inhabited houses
only and did not enter the inhabited ones. According to these Pandits
a few of the militants were Kashmiris. A delegation of Kashmiri Pandit
Sabha which visited Nadimarg did not rule out the involvement of some
locals from the neighbouring village, Yaripora. The particular village
has remained a stronghold of Jamaat Islami. A few Pandit families,
which migrated from other villages said new vested interests have
emerged in Valley and they have been trying to throw them out of the
Valley.

Justice (retd.) Ghulam Ahmed Kuchay, in his capacity as head of State
Human Rights Commission, had probed Wandhama massacre. He had stated
in his six page report that Wandhama massacre may be taken as a
warning note and proper measures needed to be initiated to prevent
such incidents. He told the media, "I had given a detailed account of
things and recommended measures. But none of these were implemented".

The Pandit community and the NC President, Omar Abdullah have also
accused the chief minister of bungling the return issue. They have
charged that he had been building media-hype on the issue, without
taking ground reality into account. In a veiled criticism of state
government's plan, Deputy Prime Minister had told Rajya Sabha on March
12, "The yardstick for their return will be safety. The Kashmiri
migrants are still not convinced about their safety in the Valley.
Nobody will be pushed anywhere. " Referring to the state government's
plan, he added that unless they (migrants) are convinced the plan will
not succeed. Taking part in the discussion, Dr Farooq Abdullah warned
that Pandits would not be safe in the Valley. He added, "I do not
think conditions are conducive enough for these people to go back. The
government's plans to set up two colonies would not solve the problem.
The government had to provide security to them. The former chief
minister warned, "they will became a target of the Al-Qaida and other
movements. The fallout of any attack would be felt in other places of
the country".

In the wake of Nadimarg massacre, nearly two hundred members of 32
families of Pandit community have migrated from such places like
Kangan, Magam, Karan Nagar, Sathu, Kulgam, Sirhama etc. The government
fears if Nadimarg survivors are allowed to go, Pandits in other
villages will follow suit.

'The massacre dented its (State Government's) image and the migration
would deepen the dent'. The district administration, whose negligence
led to massacre, had brought Nadimarg survivors back from Barsoo, when
they were on way to Jammu. Presently survivors are living as
'captives' in Nadimarg. This has further eroded the image and
credibility of PDP-led government. Nadimarg  Pandits told mediamen,
"we have been held hostages in the village as no member of the
community from rest of the Valley is allowed to see us nor are we
allowed to go out". Meanwhile Pandits in other parts of the Valley are
feeling apprehensive about their safety and have demand a CBI or
judicial probe in all aspects of massacre. They have also demanded
strong action against guilty officials. The state government too is in
a fix how to provide fool-proof security to 271 hamlets of Kashmir
Pandits.

Return of Pandits is a national issue. Its use for partisan ends can
only be detrimental to their ultimate return.



Victims of Nadimarg massacre, 23-3-03

1. Bansi Lal (70), S/o Daya Ram

2.  Rajni (22) D/o Bansi Lal

3.Lok Nath (40) S/o Kanth Ram

4. Radhakrishan (60) S/o Kanth Ram

5. Pradhiman Krishan (25) S/o Radhakrishan

6. Geeta (40) W/o Radha Krishan

7. Ramesh Pandit

8. Lassa Koul (70) S/o Govind Ram

9. Triloki Nath (55) F/o Manohar Nath Pandit

10. Sangeeta (30) W/o Manohar Nath Pandit

11. Suraj Kumar (3) S/o Manohar Nath Pandit

12. Suman (Julie) (30), W/o Satish Kumar Pandit

13. Monu Raj (2) S/o Satish Kumar

14. Chand Rani (40) W/o Chuni Lal

15. Jiya Lal Bhat (80)

16. Devki (75) W/o Jiya Lal Bhat

17. Sushma (26) D/o Jiya Lal

18. Avtar Krishan (55) S/o Jiya Lal

19. Girja Kumari (23) D/o Bansi Lal

20. Princy (27) D/o Bansi Lal

21. Rakesh Kumar (22) S/o Jiya Lal

22. Bansi Lal (50) S/o Jiya Lal

23. Umat Kumar (20) S/o Avtar Krishan

24. Ashajee (Bindri) 40) W/o Bansi Lal

Injured: Chuni Lal

Survivors of Carnage:

1. Mohan Lal Bhat

2. Ramesh Koul

3.Chuni Lal and his son (4) Deep

5. Phoola Devi

6. Gunwati

7. Som Nath (8) his wife and (9) his son

10. 3 month old child of Satish Kumar

11. Sanjay Koul

12. Manohar Nath Pandit

13. Pran Nath Bhat

14. Rohit

15. Bhushan Lal

**

Kashmiri Pandits staying in Valley at the time of Nadimarg massacre

Total No. of Families : 1535       Number of People : 7823      No. of
Localities : 271


             District

                         Srinagar     Budgam      Baramulla
Kupwara      Anantnag  Pulwama

No. of Families:   557              112               313
      16                419         118

No. of People :  2228             425             1404
   64              1859      1543







2          Probe Nadimarg massacre



WHILE some of the Kashmiri Pandit families have been persuaded not to
migrate after the gory killings at Nadimarg the police have yet to
achieve any major breakthrough in identifying the killers. As has
happened in several cases of massacres and killings of other innocent
persons as also the assassination of prominent leaders in the recent
past the security authorities, which otherwise fail to prevent such
strikes, blamed the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad militants for
the Nadimarg massacre within hours of the incident.

On the other hand the DIG police while claiming to have achieved some
breakthrough in the investigations refused to divulge the details.
Even in the past the police made similar claims about all the cases of
killings but eventually all such cases were closed without identifying
the culprits, not to speak of bringing them to book. In most cases of
such massacres no independent probes are ordered and in few cases
where such inquiries are held the reports, if any, are kept closely
guarded secrets and no follow-up action is taken. Such an attitude of
the authorities and their failure to order independent probes and keep
every thing secret about the cases only creates doubts about the
official claims regarding the culprits. The chief minister has alleged
that Nadimarg massacre is an attempt to derail the peace process. It
is also claimed that the Nadimarg massacre was aimed at frustrating
the State government's move to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandit
migrants in the Valley in different phases. For restoring the affected
people's confidence it is important that the killer are unmasked and
given stern punishment. The failure to probe incidents and bring the
culprits to book in the past has only increased the sense of
insecurity among the people.

This has also encouraged the killers to strike again and again more
brutally. In most of the cases of killings including the latest
incident at Nadimarg there has been obvious lapse on the part of the
security and intelligence agencies who failed to prevent such
killings. To identify the killers and bring them to book as also to
find out the security lapses and inefficacy of the security agencies
in preventing such incidents it is necessary that a high level and
impartial probe is ordered into every such case soon after the
incident. While police may go ahead with routine investigations the
independent and impartial inquiries can help in preventing such
incidents for the future while restoring to much extent the people's
faith in the administration in doing them justice. The killers must be
unmasked and punished in every such case if the government is keen to
prevent such incidents and go ahead with its peace process. (Editorial
Kashmir Times, Jammu)



3          An emotionally turbulent fortnight

By David Devadas

It has been an emotionally turbulent fortnight in Kashmir. Shock and
anguish at the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits overwhelmed all other
sentiments but, before that, Islamic passions were rising to fever
pitch over the "shock and awe" strikes against Iraq. If pan-Islamic
militant groups were trying to whip that Islamic sentiment farther by
hitting at non-Muslims, they miscalculated terribly. Indeed, they
could not have done greater damage to their cause.

There has rarely been a more complete protest strike in recent years
than the one last week against this massacre. Kashmir's leading Imam,
Mirwaiz Umar, declared that whoever had done it had grievously injured
Islam.

The conflation of emotions in Kashmiri minds and hearts is sometimes
very difficult for others to comprehend. On the one hand, they are
deeply devoted to Islam. On the other, they warmly cherish the fusion
of cultures that they call Kashmiriyat. To understand this
co-existence of sentiments, one must realise that most Kashmiris see
no contradiction in the subtle absorption of Hindu traditions into
their practice of Islam, although these seem heretical to AhIe-hadis
puritans. In fact, the ambivalent complexity of the Kashmiri mind or
perhaps it is the Kashmiri heart-has led to confusion about what the
entire militant movement is about. Such killings naturally lead people
to presume that it is basically a Hindu-Muslim problem. That is a very
limited under standing.

One must remember that Pandits were killed largely in two phases. The
first phase lasted mainly from February to August 1990 and targeted
individual Pandits or males in twos and threes. The second phase of
Pandit killings has concentrated on mowing down entire families in
particular villages and can be dated from January 26, 1998, when a
massacre similar to this one occurred at Wandhama near Ganderbal. The
first series of killings, in which about 150 Hindus were slaughtered,
was often revoltingly depraved. Such brutality can only be explained
in the context of the mass hysteria I wrote about it in my last
column. Its roots probably lie in the collective memory of Kashmiri
Muslims of their gross repression over a century-and-a-half. If that
is so, that season of vicious blood letting in 1990 served as a
catharsis. The Kashmiri Muslim went back by autumn that year to
rediscovering his composite culture. Of course, that rediscovery was
facilitated by the economic spin-offs of the mass migration of Pandits
that those murders caused. Muslim school teachers, university
professors, consultants at the most prestigious hospitals, wannabe
journalists and civil servants in every department suddenly had
unexpected avenues for promotion. For, though Pandit domination of
government jobs had been gradually declining for 40 years, their
learning, diligence and kinship network still left them with a strong
grip over several professions.

Since the Pandits who remained beyond the summer of 1990 were mainly
poor peasants who lacked the tools to build a new life out side the
valley, the community ceased to be economically competitive. So it was
easy for Muslims to bask once more in the comforting glow of composite
culture. Many Muslims continued to want independence but now wished
for the remaining minorities to go with them.

By the late l990s, the militancy had been largely taken over by jehadi
warriors from Pakistan, churned out from the sprawling Dawat-ul-Irshad
campus at Muridke or madarsas affiliated to the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam
(which also spawned the Taliban) or to Pakistan's Jamaat-e-Islami.
This type of warrior had no feel for Kashmir's freedom struggle. They
were steeped in doctrinaire sermons invoking Islamic resurgence on a
global scale, before which national boundaries would crumble.

To these zealots, Kashmir was Islamic territory and putting its kafir
Hindus to death would earn them a place in heaven beside the Ghazis of
yore. They could not understand why Kashmiri Muslims got so upset at
the deaths of their Hindu compatriots. It is ironic that these jihadi
warriors killed Abdul Majid Dar, former Operational Commander of
Hizb-ul Mujahideen, a day before they slaughtered Hindus just last
week.

 (Source: The Tribune)





4          The guns were never silent

By Shujaat Bukhari

The killings in Kashmir never stopped. Over 800 people died in the
cause of a free and fair election.

And those who are on the frontline say that while militant activity,
in the form of major attacks, showed a decline in Kashmir - until the
strike in Nadimarg - after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed took over as Chief
Minister in November last, it did not mean that the militant set-up
was disturbed in any way.

As the security officials put it, the militants were waiting and
watching how the situation in the Valley developed after the new
Government assumed power.

But elsewhere in the State, particularly the Jammu region, major
attacks continued to take place. Even in Kashmir, targeted killings of
individuals never stopped - the daily toll in ones and twos kept the
death count mounting. But there was a fall in spectacular fidayeen
(suicide) attacks.

The figures of fatalities in militancy-related incidents in the five
months beginning November 2, 2002, seem to bolster this view of a
continued high level of attrition.

The number of deaths was about 850, which included 263 civilians, 130
security and police personnel and 450 militants. And among the killed
were Abdul Aziz Mir, the first member of the newly-elected Legislative
Assembly from Pampore, and the former chief commander of the Hizbul
Mujahideen, Abdul Majid Dar. What is noticeable and commented on is
the rise in militant activity in the rural areas and in the number of
foreigners involved.

Official sources confirm that in the Kashmir Valley alone, there are
as many as 4,000 militants, as infiltration from across the border
never stopped. Not even during the unprecedented troops mobilisation
along the International Border with Pakistan, after the December 13
Parliament attack. And as always, the number will go up in summer as
the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. N. C. Vij, confirmed in Srinagar
recently: "It will increase after the passes open."(Source: The Hindu)







5          What Do The Survivors Say

Chuni Lal (60)--"When I heard a knock, I opened the door and saw some
gunmen asking us to come out for searches being conducted to flush out
the militants. They were wearing Army uniforms and spoke Urdu and
Kashmiri. Later all of us were asked to assemble outside the police
post and the indiscriminate firing started. When one of them said he
(Chuni Lal) is still alive I pretended to be dead and thus survived".

Deep, son of Chuni Lal--"We had approached the Deputy Commissioner,
Anantnag, on Saturday (22 March) and told him that we had some
apprehensions and asked for security to be strengthened. But he
refused to listen."

Bhushan Lal--"The security was insufficient. They (the police)
surrendered their weapons and were nothing but lame ducks".

Som Nath--"The gunmen, dressed in army uniforms were carrying torches
and introduced themselves as troops. They asked all the family members
to vacate their homes and assemble near the Chinar tree in the main
compound. They slapped me twice and asked me to show them other family
members. We were only three people putting up in the house at that
time. They took my wife outside and ordered her to join other people
in the compound. My son smelt a rat and hid himself under the cot. I
and my wife were asked to join the other people. But we gave them a
slip and hid ourselves behind the haystack. The armed men then
searched the whole house and broke open all the cupboards. They also
took away cash of Rs 1.7 lakhs and other costly items before fleeing
from the scene".

Phoola--"The gun men were speaking pure Kashmiri. I heard one of them
call a resident of this village by name. They told us that they were
armymen and had to search the houses. They asked everybody to come
out. I came out with my husband and daughter. But when they asked us
to line up infront of the police picket, I slipped away towards the
bushes. Within seconds, they started firing indiscriminately. And when
they (the gunmen) left the village, I looked for my family. My husband
and daughter were lying dead but my son Chandji had also escaped. He
had hidden inside the house".

Mohan Lal Bhat (19)--"I was about to go to sleep when there was a knock
at the door. My mother opened the door and there were three men
wearing army uniforms, helmets and "bullet proof" vests. Two of them
were bearded and they asked everybody to come out. One of them spoke
in Kashmiri, which roused suspicion and when my father tried to
resist, they dragged him out. Then they dragged out my mother, sister
and uncle. I heard the commotion on the door and hid behind a tin
sheet upstairs. Within fifteen minutes I heard gun shots and wails.
They had left and reached near the school (a few dozen metres away)
when they heard the cries of a child. I heard one of them shout to
others that there is some work still to be done. Then I heard a gun
shot. Later I got to know it was two year old Monu".

Sanjay Koul--"We are in a dilemma that why were our people killed so
ruthlessly. We requested the authorities several times that the
security was not adequate and demanded more security, but they never
heard us. Now, the result is in front of us. Our families have been
eliminated.

Pran Nath Bhat (38)--We stayed back in 1990 after they (local Muslims)
pleaded with us not to go, assuring us that we would be safe. But
after this tragedy, they (local Muslims) want us to leave because even
they don't feel safe here anymore".

Chand Kumar Bhat S/o Bansi Lal--"These people (Rashtriya Rifles men)
were just 3 km away from here but took six hours to arrive after the
killers left. Now they want us to stay back. How can we feel safe
here? The government has said that if migrate, no aid will be given.
We tell them we don't need you, we can take care of ourselves" END



6          Nadimarg Massacre--Global Reactions

KS Correspondent

George Bush, U.S. President--"The President strongly condemns the
cowardly attack that left 24 innocent men, women and children dead in
Shopian in J&K on March 23. The attack underscores the importance of
the war on terror and strengthens our resolve to work with friends and
allies to fight terrorism at home and abroad".

Robert Blackwell, U.S. Ambassador in New Delhi--"The U.S. condemns the
ghastly murders of innocent men, women and children at Nadimarg
village in J&K. The global war on terrorism will not be won until such
atrocities end against all countries. We look forward to the
terrorists being brought swiftly to justice".

Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary--"These killings underline the
need for continued action to eliminate the scourage of terrorism".

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General--"The UN Secretary General condemns in
the strongest possible terms as a cowardly act of terrorism the
massacre of 24 Kashmiri Hindus, including women and children, that
took place near the town of Shopian in Kashmir".

French Foreign Ministry Spokesman--"France condemns the attack which
took place in J&K, resulting in numerous civilian casualties and
conveys its condolences to the families of the victims".

The Times, London--"The despicable massacre...is a calculated attempt
to provoke a blood bath at a time when the world is preoccupied with
Iraq. The attacks came after three months of relative peace, and were
deliberately brutal in order to goad the Indians into retaliation. It
was a crime against Kashmir's Hindu minority and a shocking reminder
that Kashmir remains a flash-point in the confrontation between the
subcontinent's two nuclear powers. The militants cannot be allowed to
provoke a return to nuclear confrontation. Musharraf is a vital ally
in US efforts to deflect Muslim criticism of the war in Iraq. But he
must be held to his commitment to end the fund arming and training of
terrorists in Kashmir. Pakistan's condemnation of the massacre is
prompt and welcome. It must be backed with an unrelenting crackdown on
those who would shoot women and children in Kashmir"

Christina Rocca, US Assistant Secretary of State for South
Asia--"Continued terrorism like Sunday's attack threatens to provoke
yet another crisis in the coming months. We look to Pakistan to do
everything in its power to prevent extremist groups operating from its
soil from crossing the LoC. Pakistan has taken steps to curb
infiltration but we are asking the government to redouble its efforts.
At the same time, we will use our good offices to continue to press
both sides to take confidence building steps that will lead to a
process of engagement addressing all issues that divide them (India
and Pakistan) including Kashmir".





7          Nadimarg Massacre--Reactions

Governor G.C. Saxena--"It is a crime against humanity and a barbaric
act of ethnic-cleansing".

Mufti Mohd. Sayeed, Chief Minister, J&K--"It is aimed at derailing our
peace process but we are committed to go ahead. This is a barbaric
act. I cannot be acquitted in this but such incidents have taken place
in the past as well. Situation has to be made conducive before the
return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. If protected people like us
are not safe there, what can be the fate of the common man".

Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, State Congress Chief--"It was a security lapse as
no proper security arrangements had been made. An inquiry should be
ordered into the massacre. All the guilty officials should be taken to
task. The government, run by PDP and the Congress, is talking about
rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandit migrants but adequate security
arrangements are missing for those who chose to stay back in the
Valley for all these years".

Mr L.K. Advani, Union Home Minister--"Such acts which are perpetrated
against one particular community can only be seen as ethnic-cleansing.
Pakistan is not only responsible for violence in J&K but even in other
parts of the country"

Mr Omar Abdullah, Former Minister of State for External Affairs--"The
brutal massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir should be an
eye-opener for the Mufti Sayeed government in the state to shelve its
ill-conceived plan of bringing the minority community back to the
Valley. The State government plans to rehabilitate them in Mattan and
Khirbhawani places thus leaving them an easy prey for the militants.
The Chief Minister had neglected the security concerns of the minority
community. Our government could have also brought them back. But we
have to see whether we are in a position  to provide them with cent
percent security or not. While healing touch policy of the State
government is well it had to see that it did not leave more deep and
painful wounds on the people of J&K".

Mr M.Venkiah Naidu, BJP President--"These incidents were the handiwork
of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism which are aimed at their long
established agenda of ethnic-cleansing of the Kashmir valley of the
heterogenous population. The Congress-PDP government in the state
should immediately reassess the utility of continuing with its soft
policy on terrorism. The situation in Kashmir requires a healing
touch. This healing touch must heal only the victims of terror and not
its perpetrators. In view of the serious situation the PDP-Congress
Government will adequately respond in the national interest and review
its earlier decision of disbanding the Special Operations Group (SOG).
The international community must understand that Pakistan has not
given up its cross border terrorism and should become aware of the
evil designs of Islamabad and condemn it outright".

Prof. V.K. Malhotra senior BJP leader--"The Centre must direct the
State government under Article 355 to take action against terrorism.
If killings continue in state like this, there is no other alternative
to imposition of Article 356 in the state".

Prof. O.P. Kohli, former BJP chief--"The spurt in terrorist activities
was the direct result of the wrong policy being pursued by the State
government. Terrorism cannot be curbed by showing softness to the
militants but only by adopting a realistic and hard approach to them".

Mr M.Y. Tarigami (CPM), MLA--"There are no two opinions that State
government should review security arrangements. The forces which say
that the Pandits had migrated to Jammu for a picnic must see the
realities. Even now some voices would be raised to mislead the public
that the killings were executed by army".

Mr Harshdev Singh, Education Minister--"No civilised society can
tolerate it How long we depend on U.S. certificate of great restrain".

Dr Mehboob Beg (NC) MLC--"There were lapses and loopholes in the
security arrangements. The government examine that whether it should
have given a premature statement on the Pandits return to the Valley."

Mr Jugal Kishore (BJP) MLA-"Militancy has got a boost under new
government while police and security forces were demoralised. If the
government couldn't provide security cover to the Pandits putting up
in the Valley, how it would take other Kashmiri migrants to the
Valley? The government should not have disbanded SoG".

Mr Mohd. Khalil Naik (CPM) MLA--"The Kashmiri Pandits had approached me
for security cover. I had sounded the concerned officers but no action
was taken to provide them with the security cover. The state
government should take strong action against the officers"

Mr Ajay Sadhotra (NC) MLA--A wave of insecurity was prevailing among
the people in view of a series of militancy related incidents in the
state. If the state government continued with its present polices,
they day is not far when the militancy would spread to Jammu and then
it would be difficult to contain it. Government should enhance
ex-gratia compensation to Rs 5 lakh at par with the compensation given
to the dependents of army jawans".

CPM, Polit Bureau--"This inhuman act has been deliberately done to
spoil the chances of restoring peace and allowing the minority
community to live peacefully in the Valley. Reports that police posted
in Nadimarg village did not take action to protect the families which
were targeted demand a proper inquiry into their role and prompt
action".

Shabana Azami and others--"We condemn the ghastly killings of
defenceless people in the strongest possible terms. The cowards behind
the latest outrage are unlikely to identify themselves but the
massacre is a desperate bid to communalise the Kashmir issue to
sabotage any efforts towards ensuring the return of Kashmiri Pandits
to their homes. We demand a thorough investigation into security
lapses that turned the vulnerable Kashmiri Pandits into easy targets
of mass murderers who pretend to be serving lofty causes. Our hearts
go out to the survivors of the carnage in particular and Kashmiri
Pandit community in general, the overwhelming majority of whom have
been condemned to live the life of refugees in their own country
because of Pakistan-aided terrorism in the Valley"

Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, Finance Minister--"Nadimarg carnage is a deep
stab wound in the chest of Kashmir psyche. The repeat of such gruesome
incidents will only reopen the old wounds. I wonder how would be the
next bloody chapter of the state's bleeding history scripted".

Mr Shyam Khosla, veteran Journalists--"The Pulwama massacre of 24
Kashmiri Hindus is a part of Pakistan's evil conspiracy to complete
the "unfinished task" of ethnic-cleansing of the Valley...No one seems
to be concerned about the misery and plight of Kashmiri Hindus. They
are the forgotten community...Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's
much publicised plans to resettle Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley is
meaningless as his police force didn't fire a single shot at the
mercenaries as they went about killing innocent women and children.
While any movement back to the Valley is out of question at this
juncture, what appears imminent is yet another wave of migration from
the Valley...Release of a large number of suspected terrorists and
disbanding of Special Operations Group have sent wrong signals".

Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, President, All India Anti-Terrorist
Front--"Congress should withdraw support to the Mufti government in
J&K. Governor's rule must also be imposed on that state and KPS Gill
should be made the Governor. This kind of steps are essential for
controlling militancy in Kashmir".

Acharya Giriraj Kishore (VHP)--"Nadimarg massacre is not only a blot
for the state government but also the central government. The Centre
should take stern steps to protect the innocent people from falling
prey to the guns of terrorists. The Centre should immediately declare
J&K as a disturbed state and dismiss the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led
PDP-Congress government. The healing touch policy of the PDP-Cong
government is responsible for the spurt in terrorist incidents in
J&K".

Jammu Mukti Morcha--"The incidents like Nadimarg have highlighted one
harsh fact that state government has failed to ensure their security.
The only viable alternative to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits is to
carve an area out of the Valley which will be administered by the
Central government and state government having no role to play.
Because of the Mufti Sayeed led government's soft policy towards
militancy there has been a spurt in the militancy in the state.
Negotiations is no solution for militancy particularly when it is
sponsored and supported by external forces. The militancy in J&K will
not be brought under control unless security forces are given free
hand to tackle the situation".

Mr Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena Chief--"The attack on Kashmiri Pandits,
recent spate of blasts in Mumbai and the Akshardam incident are
examples of Islamic terrorism. We all have to be together and not talk
in terms of Marathi, Gujarati or Bengali...but as Hindus. And we will
all have to fight Islamic terrorism. The country is passing through a
critical phase. We are like orphans and we have no clear leader".

Mr Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary Panun Kashmir--"It is surprising
that despite tall claims to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the
Valley the government failed to protect the one who were putting up
there. Our organisation had already warned that the situation in the
Valley was not conducive. The coalition government's policies are not
in favour of Kashmiri Pandits".

Dr Praveen Bhai Togadia, VHP International General Secretary--"The
militants have repeated Godhra in Pulwama district of J&K by mowing
down 24 Kashmiri Pandits. The public faith in the system is waning in
view of the rising number of attacks on the Hindus and their property
in J&K and outside over the years. The soft state policy against the
ultras and their patrons from across the border could lead to outbreak
of another civil war. The watering down of the drive against militants
by disbanding SOG of the state police and withdrawing cases against
terrorists as part of the 'healing touch' policy has resulted in
escalation of killings of Hindus in the state in recent months".



Source: Kashmir Sentinel


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