How the Defodills were uprooted in Kashmir.
It started in the last quarter of year Ninety eighty nine, with bomb blasts , killing and injuring people on roads indiscriminately and murdering of Sh Tika Lal Taploo, eminent Kashmiri pandit Lawyer and state BJP Leader at point blank range. Kashmiri pandits joined the funeral procession of Sh. Taploo in large numbers, which was however, disrupted by the unscurplus elements. Then Retired High court Judge Pt.Nila Kanth Ganjoo was killed while walking on the Hari Singh High Street of Srinagar city. Sh,Ganjoo, as a judge had earlier announced death sentence to Mohd Maqbool Bhat , who was a founder member of JKLF and involved in high jacking of Indian plane to Pakistan. The posters and flags of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation front began to appear on all the streets and corners of Srinagar city. The anti national and pro Azadi slogans were announced on loudspeakers along with daily Azan. Then they started killing Pandits discriminately for the sake of being pandits only and blamed them as informers. The road side barbaric and serial killings of sh. Navin Sapru, Bal krishen Ganjoo and Ashok Bhan and many others in my area were really heartening experiences. No body dared to lift their dead bodies and not to speak of taking them for performing their last rites in funeral processions. Their bodies remained on roads in the pools of blood for hours together and could be handed over to their kiths and kins by police only. Fear psychosis prevailed throughout in the minds of Kashmiri Pandits. No body could decide or discuss future course of action to be taken by Kashmiri pandits. There was complete leadership crisis.
With the abduction of Rubia Syed the daughter of then union home Minister Mufti Mohd. Syed and subsequent release of five hard core Militants in exchange for her, made the situation more worse. The common Muslim earlier shy of miltancy, became a part of Tahreeq, which they liked to call it. There were mass demonstrations. The people came on roads wearing white 'kafans'. Kashmir looked like an arena of revolution. Early in the morning most of the people used to visit UNO office at Srinagar with a resolution of their self determination. State administration was in Chaos. Militancy had crept in all the ranks of administration. One day I observed that Muslims from all walks of life in all modes of transport or even on foot were heading towards chrari shareef,, shrine of Nund Reshi. Roads were full of all types of vehicles and groups of people. There was total confusion. Latter on we came to know that a big haul of arms had reached from Pakistan to Chrari Sharif, which was to be distributed evenly among all militants placed through out the valley.
Posters displaying the hit lists of Kashmiri pandits for selective killings along with warnings to them for leaving the valley in general were pasted on electric poles and prominent places.
Due to able administration of newly posted Governer of J & K law and order situation could be restored to some extent in the valley, but after his tenure cut short, because of some political reasons, power vacuum was again created in the valley.
Common Kashmiri Muslim was of the view that freedom from Indian domain is at thresh hold or merger of Kashmir with Pakistan was imminent. Moreover, many Kashmiri Muslims had postponed their present auspicious ceremonies to be celebrated with Pakistan holding the charge of Kashmir.
The night between 19th and 20th January 1990 was really a nightmare for Kashmiri pandits which sowed the seeds of migration in their minds. I was living in the heart of old city Habba kadal with my family. It was a sullen cold night and when we started to enter our beds, a loud announcement was made from the loud speakers of all the Mosques in the area, telling people to come on roads. The people came from all the lanes , bylanes yelling loud slogans ' Ham kya chahte Azadi' 'we want Islamic rule '. The nature of outburst was so sudden that it frightened us very much. But latter on we came to know that it was all preplanned and enacted through out the valley. The windows and doors of our house were already closed due to winter and We switched off all the lights in panic and could peep only through cracks of windows. As our house was situated on the banks of river Jehlim, overlooking the bridge, we could see a huge crowd in violent mood hurling abuses on Kashmiri pandits , but some sane elements among these were heard abstaining them from it. There was also a loud noise from our back side gate connecting the by lane. Suddenly I heard a loud bang from the backyard of my house. A cold shrill passed through whole of my spine. I thought end of everything. But they did not enter my house which I thought was inevitable otherwise. They had only broken the gate to burn it for warming themselves. However, we spent the night with out a wink of sleep. There was no sign of police or Army. We were at the mercy of hoodlums.
Then with the early signs of dawn we could hear few Gun shots of Army in the air to disperse the mob. our Muslim neighbors in the morning encountered us with a brazen smile on their faces betraying their ill intentions and designs . It was the most trying period we had undergone through out the night and even a thought of it today frighten and haunt us.
After some days, few boys entered our compound flaunting their guns under their 'firan' and told us that they want to tie a JKLF flag across the river from the upper story of our house, as our house was situated on river bank. Most reluctantly I allowed them to enter my house to do their job. There was no option either and after doing their job they left our house with out doing any harm. My wife missed a beat of heart and I heaved a sigh of relief as if it was a miraculous escape from death.
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