Chimp, Hangul And Person
By Shyam Kaul
In
Vienna there is a 26-year old
chimpanzee, named Hiasl. He is fond of
eating pastry, enjoys watching TV, and
his faourite pastime is painting. But he abhors
coffee.
Hiasl's lovers and other animal rights
advocates are now busy waging a legal battle
to get the chimp legally recognised as a
"person". If they succeed, it would entitle
Hiasl to get donations for his food and
upkeep, as the monthly expenditure on this
account runs into thousands of dollars. Under
the Austrian Law, only the status of a
"person" could give Hiasl a legal entity and
enable him to hire a paid guardian to taking
care of his upkeep and other
needs. It would also qualify him
for the right to own property.
Here in Kashmir, we are
having, more or less, a similar situation. But
in this case it is not an "animal" that is seeking
to get the status and rights of a "person". It
is actually someone who is already a
"person", but is being denied his natural and
fundamental rights as a "person". It is the
exiled Kashmiri Pandit (KP), who, inspite of
being a "person" of the status of a hereditary
citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, is for the past
two decades, languishing in homelessness
and running from pillar to post to establish
his inherent right to live in his own home, in
his own land of ancestors, as a free citizen,
without fear or danger to his life and property.
Kashmir, it is relevant to mention here, is
also the exclusive habitat of the majestic stag,
called Hangul or Hangal, which is among the
endangered animal species, and has been for
a long time, struggling between survival and
extinction. It is an interesting coincidence that
among the Pandits of Kashmir, Hangul of
Hangal is a surname. No doubt, it is limited
only to a small number of families, but going
by the turmoil, violence, terror and killings of
past two decades, with all the diastrous
consequences, especially for the KP
community, it would be apt to apply the
surname Hangal to the entire endangered
human species of Kashmiri Pandits.
Today in the din of happenings like Round
Table Conference (more curved than round),
internal dialogue (less dialogue, more cuss
words), peace process (more ballyhoo, less
process), safar-e-Azadi (Safar sans azadi) and
the deafening tumult about self-rule, joint
management, troop reduction,
demilitarisation, human rights violations, and
what have you, nobody has time, nor
inclination to listen to the voice of the
displaced Pandit, who, undoubtedly is among
the worst victims, if not the worst, of the twodecade
old scourge of militancy and terrorist
violence. Nobody has any answers to his
questions, his demands, and his problems,
and to the ultimate question of his return to
his land of birth, and rehabilitation in honour
and dignity.
Winston Churchill said once that, "There
are a lot of lies going around..... and half of
them are true."
All that the Pandits in exile have been
hearing, coming from the government during
the past 18 years, are lies, but let alone "half
of them", not even one tenth have come true.
What, for instance happened of the lie that
the successive governments over the past
18 years have been feeding the KPs with
that their return and rehabilitation in Kashmir
was a "top priority" of the government? Or
the lie about the government having
ordered, several years ago, a survey of the
KP properties, lands and other assets in
Kashmir, with a view to preparing a detailed
inventory for the benefit of the concerned
community as well as the government? Or
the lie about district commissioners having
been asked to expedite the district-wise
survey and compile the inventory at the
earliest possible? Or the lie about the
assurance of the government that all
encroachments, forced takeovers and illegal
occupations of KP houses, lands, orchards
and other properties would be ended
forthwith and the
properties would be
restored to lawful
owners? Or the lie that
the government had plans to assume
supervision of all Pandit properties, back in
Kashmir, in order to save these from falling
into the hands of illegal grabbers? Or the lie
about the government's "determination" to
stop vandalisation, encroachment and
occupation of KP temples, shrines and other
religious properties in the Valley? Or the lie
about taking "stern action" against the
illegal sales of Kp religious properties, by
some individuals, including non-state
subject persons, who were not authorised
by anyone to do so? Or the lie about
opening up new avenues of employment to
thousands of jobless KP youths, including
those living in the Valley?
It is interesting, and perhaps not for
nothing, that Chief minister, Gulam Nabi
Azad, unlike his predecessors and
preceding governments in power, is
maintaining a studied silence on the issue
of KPs return to Kashmir? He appears to be
acting on a popular Kashmiri saying;
"Silence is silver; when observed, it is gold."
Or is it a hint, an indication, of Delhi and
Srinagar having finally wrapped the ribbon
round the issue of the return of KPs to
Kashmir and locked it up for all time? If,
however, it is a lie too, then all that we can
do is to hope that this one will not come
true, either.
History tells us of the obliteration of
people, groups, and communities, at
different times, but the one that the KPs in
perpetual displacement are faced with is
unique. No doubt it started with the
onslaught of the alien cult of terror and
violence, dyed in religious fundamentalism,
but the process is being systematically
completed by our own secular, democratic
and representative government. It is a clear
instance of pushing a whole community, by
no account obscure or unknown into
disappearence from its own land of
inheritance, before consigning it to the
oblivion of history.
Is there no power of conscience, justice,
fairplay and human concern, in this country,
that would join the displaced and exiled KP
in his struggle for reclaiming and regaining
his inborn status and rights as a "person"
of the soil of Kashmir? The fulfillment of
the dream of this "person" of Kashmir will
harm none whatsoever, but it will give him
eternal peace and contentment "to breathe this native air, in his own ground."
