REDEFINING THE FUTURE: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH FOR KPS

It has now been thirty-six years since the forced exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from the Kashmir Valley - a tragic and defining moment in India's recent history.

- BY: VIVEK KOUL

This painful displacement uprooted an entire population from its ancestral homeland, scattering Kashmiri Pandits across Jammu, other states of India, and even abroad. Over these decades, while successive governments have occasionally revisited the issue of return and rehabilitation, and various KP organizations have passionately advocated for "Ghar Wapisi," the ground realities have evolved in ways that necessitate a serious rethinking of priorities. KP Organizations such as, All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS), All India Kashmiri Pandit Conference, Panun Kashmir, Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS), and many other smaller outfits have remained focused on the return narrative. Their commitment to preserving identity and demanding justice for historical wrongs is understandable. However, thirty-six years later, a sobering truth emerges: most of the displaced community has moved on. They have built new lives, forged new relationships with the cities and towns they now call home, and adapted to cultural and professional ecosystems far removed from the Kashmir they once knew. Further, Around 4,500 KP youth were employed in Kashmir under the Prime Minister's Return and Rehabilitation Package, touted as a step toward Ghar Wapisi. But the harsh reality is different. These employees live and work under fear and insecurity in a volatile environment. Worse, after retirement, they are expected to vacate their transit accommodations, with no provision for permanent settlement. This clearly shows that their presence in the Valley is temporary and conditional not genuine rehabilitation. Their future remains as uncertain as it was decades ago. Leadership must stop using such placements as evidence of successful return and instead focus on long-term development: new colleges, universities, medical institutions, and better relief for poor Pandits.