The Hon'ble Prime Minister     

7, Lok Kalyan Marg, 

New Delhi

Subject: Indian Parliament and  J&K Legislative Assembly.....Plea for adequate representation of Ethnic minority, the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) Community

Namaskar   Mahara,

The Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community like those  who live  in the mainland  are  fortunate to have  a Government, in  Delhi, led by your good self  which  apart from being conscious of the nationalistic imperatives,  is alive to the aspirations and sensitivities  of 1.3  billion Indians, without any distinction of caste, creed or colour. Under the guiding principle  of  "SAB KAA SATH SAB KAA VIKAS SAB KA VISHWAS",   your  Government is striving hard to better the  lot   of  every  Indian. With  your  firm  belief  in carrying all sections together, on the road for nation’s development, we the members of Kashmiri Pandit Community, who are the Indegenous  people of Kashmir, crave for your indulgence  for the following submissions, and  are sanguine that our Prime Minister will be kind enough to give considerate attention to these important long pending issues with the purpose of ensuring their timely and justifiable redressal.

More than 30 winters of Kashmir have now passed along with an equal number of very long mainland summers since the entire population of around 7 lakhs of highly literate and peace loving  nationalist Kashmiri  Pandits (KPs) were made to leave their ancestral homeland  and subsequently forced to live in exile as refugees in their own country. For all these years now, this once flourishing community has been living in a state of limbo  with scant attention paid to their plight, even after they lost almost everything in the orgy of violence and persecution unleashed upon them by the Islamic terrorists and secessionists. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in its pivotal decision in June 1999 said that 'acts akin to genocide' were committed against the Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir and a 'genocide type design' may exist against them in the minds and utterances of terrorists and militants.

Now 30 years and more into their dislocation, the advent of Spring in the lives of hapless KPs continues to be a distant dream. Scattered as they are presently, across the length and breadth of the country and globe, they find themselves bereft of their sense of belonging and the well known identity. They are forgotten and relegated to the  footnotes of history, with  acute socio-political exclusion and marginalisation.

Manniya  Pradhan Mantri JI,   

Under your dynamic and above board leadership, the depressed and forsaken KP Community entertained  hope and perceived a ray of light at the end of dark tunnel  wherein   they have been living ever since their mass exodus from the Valley. The present Government’s 2014 and 2019 Election-Manifestos had  advocated return of KPs to the land of their ancestors with full dignity –politically, economically and psychologically empowered.

We trust that your good self shall  redeem the promise extended to the KP community. Alongside, arrangements have to be made for a genuine political, economic and psychological empowerment of the community by reserving proportionate number of seats in the new legislative body  that will  come up  on the   completion of  ongoing  delimitation process. Reservation  of seats in the legislature  for the minorities of Kashmir (including KPs, Kashmiri Sikhs & non-Kashmiri speaking Hindus of Kashmir) is  a national imperative because they are so miniscule a minority as to  make it impossible for them to  reach the principal law-making body just on their own, mainly because (despite their numbers) they are scattered all over after forcible exodus from the valley engineered by enemy agents and terrorists.

KPs have been and will continue to be torch bearers of Indian nationalism in hostile terrain of Kashmir valley.  Pradhan Mantri Ji, it is the national duty of everyone to see their dignified return to and retention in the Valley, with assured political, social and economic rights flowing to them, uninterrupted and creation of conditions in valley to ensure that at any time in future, the community does not face another exodus and is able to live peacefully in valley along with other sections of society with dignity.

Legal and Factual position:

The delimitation  process of Assembly Constituencies, as envisaged by The J&K Reorganization Act, 2019  (Act) is underway. Delimitation Commission constituted under Section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 is on the job. Need  for delimitation of the constituencies arose because the number of seats in J & K legislative Assembly  has   been increased  to 114.

The Delimitation process  has  generated     hope    among     the  displaced KPs  that  a way will be found to ensure their political representation & empowerment. Accordingly, they approached the Commission with their well presented case for having  a statuary share carved out for them in the upcoming State Assembly.    

Social Aspect:

Among  the myriad ethno, cultural religious and other groups that exist in the melting pot called India, the place  of numerically small but significant Kashmiri Pandit community has always stood out. The  community   which down the ages has made  immense contribution to overall social, political and religious life of our nation is facing existential threat today. Away from home, they are fast losing their identity and  as  a distinct race, is on the verge of extinction. How can KP identity survive as a distinctive and distinguished culture group is the moot point. Primarily, for this reason, it should come within the ambit of the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Minorities, which General Assembly adopted recalling Resolutions 46/115 of 17.07.1991, 1992/16 of 21 Feb 1992 and 1992/4 of 20.07.1992 of Commission on Human Rights:

Art 1.1 casts a duty on the State to protect the existence and the ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic  identity of minorities within their respective territories; and shall encourage conditions for promotion of that identity;

Art 1.2 calls upon the State  to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those ends;

Art 1.3 reserves a right for the person belonging to the minorities to participate in the decision making process at national and appropriate regional levels, wherein they live.

It may be pertinent to recall that  the National Commission for Minorities  expressed concern on  the dwindling number of KPs. Former Chairperson of National Commission for Minorities, Tahir Mehmood, wrote  to  the then CM J&K, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, in 1999,  inviting  his attention to the miserable plight of the minorities in J&K state. He wrote, “Our Hindu brethren are in minority in J&K. We owe them the sacred responsibility of all that is necessary to protect their lives, properties, human rights and civil liberties” (No. CH/4/88 NCM dt 21.01.1999).

Another Chairman NCM,  Gayural Hassan Rizvi told  media on 13th June, 2017 “If the definition of minorities has to be revisited, it is my opinion that  Kashmiri  Pandits  should be first people to be accorded minority status. When minorities in the entire country have that status, privileges and opportunities, why should Kashmiri Pandits, who are a minority in the state, be left out? It is something the Parliament has to decide but I will definitely raise the matter in the appropriate forum .”

These  references are  made  to assert right of the KPs to have a say in the decision making process of the state  which, keeping  their small number in view,  may  be possible only by initiating an affirmative  action  in their favour, by   reservation of seats in  the  Assembly and Indian Parliament. Following  should be a guide in the matter :

Sangha  Reservation:

The Sikkim Legislative Assembly has one seat reserved for Buddhist Monks who live in Monasteries across Sikkim. This constituency is not bound by geographical boundaries but spreads across  whole state like a floating constituency. The Supreme Court has in RC Poudial and another  versus  UOI & others (1994  SCC  Sup 1 324) upheld its constitutionality on the argument that though these Monasteries  no doubt are religious in nature yet they form a separate section of society.  The  Court   appreciated Sikkim’s Sangha Assembly seat and  characterized it as a perfect example of state’s unique political process to protect minority rights.

Puducherry Model:

Puducherry Assembly has 30 elected members and in addition the Government of India is empowered to nominate 3 members  (with voting powers ) to the Assembly from  among   the sections of society who don’t have chances to reach  thereto  by  way of election. This model could be replicated in case of J&K UT also, to facilitate the KP representation.

Nomination for Women   in   the erstwhile  J&K Assembly:

In the  erstwhile J&K Assembly there was provision for nomination of two women   members   to the House, in order to correct the gender balance. On a similar principle, in the upcoming  Assembly, has to be maintained by ensuring representation of all sections –particularly the Ethnic minority of Kashmir viz. Kashmiri Pandits.

Anglo Indians:

Art 331 of the Constitution of India, reserved   seats  in the Lok Sabha and made provision for State Assemblies to reserve seats for the  Anglo-India Community. Rationale behind the reservation was  that Anglo Indian community constituted a religious, social as well  as  a linguistic minority, and being numerically small community interspersed all over India, it wasn't possible for them to  get  represented in a general  election. KPs are similarly situated,  so the logic behind Anglo Indian reservation fully applies to their case.  True, this  reservation lapsed in 2020 but the logic behind it remains intact.    It got lapsed because  only 296 Anglo-Indians  remained in the country.

Basic Feature of the Constitution:  

In Indira Gandhi versus Raj Narrain  (AIR 1975 SC 2299), the  Supreme Court  added  following to the list of Basic Features law laid down  in Keshvananda  Bharti’s case  (AIR 1973 SC 1461) “Democracy  which means free and fair election". In UOI V/S Association of Democratic  Reforms (2002) (SCC 294) Apex Court held  “Democratic Republic is a part of the basic structure of the constitution. For this, free and fair periodical elections based on adult franchise are must".  In People’s Union for Civil liberties case (2013 (6) Supreme 673) Supreme Court observed that the decision taken by a voter either to vote or not is his right of expression under Art 19(1)a of the Constitution. It  said, “the voters participation in the election is indeed the participation in democracy itself. Non-participation causes frustration and disinterest, which  is not a healthy sign of a growing democracy".

KPs right to vote is adversely affected for not having  a proper vehicle  of representation in the  Assembly. The candidate who stands up in the constituency, where  the exiled Pandits once lived,  is   not known to them nor does the candidate ever  bother to make himself known to the  displaced voters, leave alone enquiring about his problems and concerns which  the  displaced Pandits would want the candidate to raise in the Assembly. In this situation, where  there is none to represent him, the exile’s right to vote gets effectively scuttled. Once  a  bulk of voters   is excluded from participating in the voting process, it no longer remains  a participatory democracy.

Article 2.3 of the UN Declaration on Rights of  Minorities  reserves a right for minorities  to participate in decision-making process at national and regional levels, were they live. The right can only  be exercised if there is a proper forum available to them. For the KPs,  Legislative  Assembly  could be the forum  to feel politically empowered, besides the two houses of Parliament.

Respected  Sir,

The Delimitation Commission  is hemmed in  by  the constraints of law. It may not be able to address this  demand of the KPs in the desired manner. It requires  amendments to the Constitution and any other relevant law. If clause A could be added  to  Section 36 of now repealed JK Representation of Peoples Act to have polling booths away from the jurisdiction of an Assembly Constituency to facilitate a displaced person to cast vote, similarly constituencies could be carved out for them to   ensure their representation in the  Assembly.    

The head count of people  and geography are inalienably  integral to the whole electoral regime  of which the Delimitation of Assembly constituencies is an important component. Precisely, to mark the point, the Delimitation Act 2002  lays   emphasis on Census (Section 8) and compactness of Geography (Section 9)   for delineation of Assembly  or Parliamentary Constituencies.

For the  reasons mentioned, herein, above both Census and the Geography elude them. There has been no head count of them, nor do they  have  the Geographic compactness   to live in  present, with the result KPs stand thrown out of the electoral regime. This amounts to their disenfranchisement and denial of citizenry rights which are available to their compatriots in the country.

In addition, this constitutes a grave  violation of  Human Rights. There can be no worse  example of a whole ethnic community being for all practical purposes excluded from the electoral process. The situation goes against the letter and spirit of the Delimitation process.

Hon'ble Sir, the displaced KPs and other minorities of Kashmir look up to you as a Messiah who  would deliver them their due and ensure that the due rights -socio-political and economic– as envisaged by the Constitution of India, flow to them, smoothly.

With highest regards

Respectfully Yours,