445729-arvindkejriwalafp-1349171471-896-640x480_0Dear Arvind Kejriwalji,

I am writing an open letter to you in capacity of your follower and as a common man which you represent through your Party.

Arvind Ji, looking at all the great work that you have done to expose Politicians, Government-Corporate nexus, spread awareness about Jan Lokpal etc; you have surely become a youth icon not only in my eyes but among the eyes of thousands of people in India who see a ray of hope in you.

Let me quickly draw your attention towards the reason of writing this letter to you. I am a Kashmiri Pandit who is living in exile since early 1990 after Islamic religious fundamentalists in the valley of Kashmir took to armed subversion and terrorism. I (along with about 7 lac Pandit families) was driven out of my habitat which is centuries old. The Indian state has totally failed to provide any sense of security and safety to me. Since, I am writing to you on my individual capacity, I choose not to use the word “us”, although the same sense of sentiment is expressed by everyone in our community.

Off late, I have been trying to read into most of what you have said and your party policies on your website and other forums. I must admit here that majority of your views make total sense to me. There are however few outliners that you draw which I find baffling and contrary to what works in our interest.

You talk about Referendum Politics. I fail to understand if it favors Democracy or is it completely Populist? I feel it is profoundly unsuitable way to address complex issues and it offers the illusion of a simple answer to complexity. It reintroduces the tyranny of the majority, the very thing that the modern democracy wants to abolish.

Related:  An Open Letter to PM Modi by a Kashmiri Pandit

Let’s take the example of Kashmir. The Islamic Fundamentalist ruthlessly murdered, threatened & tortured the Kashmiri Pandits class in the valley which led to our exodus in the early 1990s. If you choose to run a referenda there, am sure your Political outfit will encourage separation of Kashmir from India. However, our rich cultural traditions of Kashmir which is more than five thousand years of the history cannot be ignored.

Recently, your National Executive member Mr. Prashant Bhushan said that Kashmir should be separated from India and talked about Plebiscite. I must request you here to make your views on the policy of Kashmir clear. I would also request you to call and hear our side while drafting your Kashmir policy. As a matter of fact, as unfortunate as it gets, currently the Indian State calls us migrants and refugees in our own country. The reason is pretty simple: WE DONT REPRESENT THE VOTE BANK THEY CATER TO.

We are continued to be victimized every single day from last 23 years because of negligible representation in the State legislature and bureaucracy. Many of us continue to die and we find our race and culture being wiped out. I find this slow poison depleting us by every passing moment. The entire community is scattered all over India but unfortunate as all of us are, we DO NOT have a HOME in India. The property which I left have been captured by the locals around and article 370 ensures that I am given no rights over them (since I am outside Kashmir now).

Related:  Decolonising the Indian Mind is the need of the hour

We talk about Human Rights violation but no one talks about GROSS human right violation for Kashmiri Pandits, the original rehabilitates of Kashmir since time immemorial. How do you see this in context of Referendum Politics, I would like to know from you.

I am in pain from last 23 years and will be obliged to see a response to my letter from you. And, I will look forward to meet you either in person or through our community elders to discuss this further.

Respectfully,

A Refugee in my own country

Leave a Reply


Rohit Kachroo

Genocide Survivor | National Coordinator - India 4 Kashmir | Techie | Emcee | TV Panelist | Product Specialist | बाल्यकाल स्वयंसेवक | Strategist