Kashmiri Muslims return to Valley

JAMMU, MARCH 25: This year, it is not the scorching heat, but the killing of 35 Sikhs in Chitti Singhpora that has forced several Kashmiri...

JAMMU, MARCH 25: This year, it is not the scorching heat, but the killing of 35 Sikhs in Chitti Singhpora that has forced several Kashmiri Muslims working outside the state to migrate earlier than usual to their hearths in the Valley.

It was in the early nineties that they had left their homes, when tourism became the first casualty to the blazing Kalashnikovs. Being dependant on incoming tourists, many of them lost their means of livelihood. They had no option but to venture out of the Valley. And since then, they only returned in the last week of April when summer elsewhere became unbearable for them.

But the rallies and protests following the Kashmir massacre, all over the country, have instilled a wave of uncertainty among these people– they have given up their jobs and are returning to their native places early.

Sitting outside the booking counter of the Railway Station the migrants are totally lost not knowing what to do when they will get back to the Valley. Most of them are cursing militants for the uncertainties that have become apart of their lives.

“I don’t understand how these so-called soldiers of Allah (foreign militants) are benefitting Islam. Initially, they snatched our homes and peace of mind. And with their recent act they have taken away our jobs,” rued Mohammad Abdullah , a resident of Kangan, who for the past eight years has been working in Himachal Pradesh.

Like Abdullah, there are 500 families, with fear writ large on their faces, waiting outside the State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) yard to board a bus for the Valley.

Even though officials inform them that no bus will run because of curfew, the families are not ready to move away from the spot. The fear psychosis has gripped them to such an extent that rather than moving out to a hotel or a sarai they (migrants) prefer to stay put in the open, outside the booking counters of the railway station or SRTC depots.

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“In 1984 I had witnessed an agitated mob setting a Sikh youth ablaze. Even today when I think of the incident I feel shocked and numb with fear. It is this mob mentality I am scared off. Therefore I have decided to stay here rather than go alone to a hotel,” said Mudassir, a resident of Hawal in down town Srinagar.

Why were they so frightened? Has any Sikh or Hindu person harmed them? Their answer is, "No". “As we were leaving for Jammu, our landlady, a Sikh, handed us a packet of eatables for our journey. She said that due to the curfew the children may not get anything to eat on the way. She was concerned about us, but we had to leave,” said Gul Bhat, a resident of Tangmarg, who worked in a sugar factory in Haryana.

“The stories of partition which we have heard from our elders is the main reason for this fright. We do not want to take any risks,” said Gaffar Dar of Narbal area in district Baramulla.

An elderly man sitting in the corner said, “An example of the tolerance our Hindu and Sikh brethren have shown after this carnage is enough to indicate that militants will not succeed in their designs. I am returning to convey this message loud and clear. How long will we carry a fear of the gun and hide the truth.”