Refugees In Their Own Country : Kashmiri Migrants

Have you ever wondered how someone can be a migrant and that also in their very own country? Doesn’t it sound a little strange? It does. In fact, it is.

I am talking about Kashmiri Migrants. To be more precise, I am talking about the native Pandits of the Kashmir Valley.

What circumstances could have forced them to leave their homeland behind them?
And how did all this happen?

All this started back in 1990. The Black Day of 19 January whose darkness engulfed the bright future and lives of all those who were the epitome of a peaceful community.

How painful was it for a community to survive outside its motherland, leaving behind its beautiful culture, traditions and a lot of memories?

Nostalgic memories, of their childhood spent running in the lanes of sun-kissed valleys, of an adolescence spent among the mesmerising green forests and the sparkling rivers, of a youth spent admiring breath-taking sceneries from the Shikaras of Dal lake. Fragrant memories of Jhoomar, Kehwa, Shikara and much more. Memories of Kashmir and a life spent there. A life of peace and serenity.

Everything that they had in their peaceful lives, they were forced to leave.

Forced to leave the vibrancy of their youth, the comfort of their old age and the innocence of their childhood. They were forced to leave their lands, homes, loved ones and what not.

They were forced to leave their homeland behind them, they were forced to leave their Kashmir behind them.

19 January 1990, a Black Day in the book of Indian history, bookmarked by numerous painful memories for those, who were, once, the real residents of their native place, the Kashmiri Hindus.

That day witnessed too much of bloodshed. Someone's father, someone's mother, someone's brother or sister. No one was spared.

They were left with two options: Either stay in your homeland and die a painful death or leave your homeland and live a painful life, wandering like refugees in your own country.

Their fate, written by Weapons in order to quench their insatiable thirst of blood, gave them a painful memories that will continue to haunt them throughout their life. Even a glimpse of those cruel days resurfaces a lot of painful memories for them. They can neither forget nor change their situation, the only option left for them is to silently suffer because no government, no leader and no party till date has been able to give them what they really deserve.

29 years have passed. Government changes, leaders change, but the pain of these people remains constant. Every year they choose their leader in the hope of a better future for them and their children but the government turns a deaf ear to them and their pleas remain unheard.

People tend to forget about those incidents. And why not, it is very convenient for someone to read an article based on violent conflict between two communities in the comfort of their bed. But someone who has seen that cruel massacre from their very own eyes, escaped the death by a few inches and were forced to live like a refugee for months in the outer areas of cities, they surely know how it feels when someone says "Migrant" and that also, a "Kashmiri Migrant ".

But since then, they have not demanded anything for themselves. No reservation, no special status, nothing. They need only one thing - equality.

The equality that is given to each and every citizen of India.

They want the status of an Indian Citizen, not that of a person who is considered a migrant in his own country.