Srinagar, Aug 25 (IANS) Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) on Tuesday voiced serious concern at the ‘latest threats’ by a terrorist outfit to PM Package employees working in the Valley.
In a press statement, KPSS President Sanjay Kumar Tickoo, said, “Brotherhood begins where fear ends. It cannot become a ceremonial phrase invoked after every threat or tragedy while the underlying vulnerability remains unaddressed.”
“Nor can the burden of demonstrating faith in Kashmir repeatedly be placed upon the very community that has already borne the consequences of violence and displacement.”
“There is a deeper irony in the present situation. For years, the return of Kashmiri Pandits has been described as essential to restoring the pluralistic character of Kashmir. Yet when they return, they are expected to adjust; when they seek security, they are reminded that the situation is improving; when they raise questions concerning their ancestral properties, they are encouraged to look towards the future; and when a threat again appears carrying personal details, they are expected to demonstrate patience, restraint and faith.”
“At some point, society must ask itself a very simple question: How many times must the victim prove his commitment to Kashmir before Kashmir proves its commitment to him?”
“The majority community should not be collectively held responsible for the crimes of militants, nor should the actions of a few be indiscriminately attributed to an entire society. But society must also possess the courage to examine the environment in which intimidation can emerge, information about individuals can circulate, and threats can once again be directed at a vulnerable minority,” the press statement added.
“Pretending that every such development exists entirely outside the social ecosystem of Kashmir would be an equally dangerous form of denial. The real test of a society is not how loudly it mourns after a killing. The real test is whether it recognises the warning before the killing.”
“The real test is not whether people gather for the last rites of a member of a minority community. The real test is whether that member can live, work, worship, own property and return to his ancestral home without society first having to gather around his funeral pyre to rediscover his humanity.”
The Kashmiri Pandit community has repeatedly been asked to believe in the future of Kashmir, the statement added.
“That faith should not be mistaken for blindness. Nor should its willingness to return be interpreted as a willingness to accept permanent vulnerability.”
“Those seeking to dilute the seriousness of the present threat by describing it merely as a poster should remember that intimidation has never depended solely upon the physical piece of paper on which a threat is written,” the statement added.
The statement said that the essential questions are far more serious: who prepared it, who circulated it, how were the personal details obtained, whether the communication represents a genuine operational threat, and whether any local facilitation or network was involved in its preparation or dissemination?
“These are not political questions. They are security questions. And they require credible answers. The Valley cannot convincingly claim to have turned the page while continuing to encounter the same chapter whenever a Kashmiri Pandit is threatened. The names may be different. The medium may be different. The language may now be digital. But the fundamental question remains unchanged: Will the Kashmiri Pandit be allowed to return and live as an equal citizen, or will every return continue to carry the silent warning that he is living on borrowed time?”
The answer to this question will determine whether the frequently invoked idea of brotherhood is merely a slogan or whether Kashmir is genuinely prepared to reclaim the pluralism it so often celebrates.
The Kashmiri Pandit community has already paid an immeasurable price for the failure of institutions and society to prevent the darkness of the past.
“It (Kashmiri Pandit community) must not now be asked to pay another price merely for believing that it still belongs to its own homeland. The time has come for words to acquire substance. Threats must be investigated. Security must be guaranteed. Personal information must be protected.”
“Ancestral property rights must be safeguarded. And the right to return must be made a matter of security and justice—not courage and chance. That is not a demand for privilege. It is the minimum standard expected of a society that wishes to call itself secure, pluralistic and just,” the statement added.
It must be mentioned that the security forces have not yet verified the veracity of the threat or the authenticity of the so-called terrorist outfit.
–IANS
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