Used by everyone, represented by none: Kashmiri Pandits demand political accountability
Displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu’s Jagti township have accused political parties of using their plight as an election issue while neglecting their rehabilitation. Community leaders demanded political accountability, improved civic facilities and a concrete, time-bound roadmap for their safe and dignified return
Jagti (Jammu): Describing themselves as “political orphans” and the “new untouchables”, hundreds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits residing in Jagti township and surrounding camps have accused political parties of exploiting their plight solely for election manifestos and demanded steps for a dignified life as enshrined in the Constitution. “Used by everyone, represented by none, this is the real tragedy,” advocate Vishva Ranjan Pandita, a resident of the Jagti camp, said, adding, “the hardest exile is the one imposed by our own country”.
He said almost all political parties, including the National Conference (NC), Congress, PDP and BJP, have repeatedly promised the safe, secure and dignified return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley in their election manifestos. However, he alleged that these commitments largely disappear once elections are over and said the community wants a clear roadmap and political accountability.
Trapped between virtually non-functional civic representation and deteriorating infrastructure, residents across camps for the displaced community that left Kashmir in the 1990s after the outbreak of militancy stated that being pushed to the margins of political discourse has led to their complete neglect, with many even threatening to take “drastic measures” to end their miseries.
Tito Ganju, the chairman of Panun Kashmir, an organisation which has been highlighting the problems faced by migrants in the camps, emphasised the core grievance of the displaced community — they are remembered by political parties only during election cycles.
“Kashmiri Pandits may have been made political orphans, but we are not destined to remain political orphans. We are the indigenous bearers of Kashmir’s civilisational memory and one of the most enduring expressions of Indianness in the Valley,” Ganju said.
He alleged that the community is facing political disenfranchisement which has rendered it “politically persona non grata” in their current places of residence. Ganju raised legal and constitutional concerns on compelling displaced community members to vote in Kashmir despite being ordinarily resident elsewhere like Jammu, Delhi or other parts of the country.
This strips them of an effective electoral voice in their present local constituencies, he contended. Ganju claimed that camp-dwelling displaced Pandits are arbitrarily treated differently from similarly situated community members living outside the camps.
“We did not abandon our constituencies; genocide drove us out,” Ganju said, adding, “The State cannot convert genocidal displacement into political erasure. Genocide cannot be allowed to win twice, first by expelling us from our homeland and then by denying us equal political citizenship where we now live.”
He said that while governments over the years may ignore them or attempt to speak about Kashmir without the community, “history and geopolitics will not permit that fiction to last”. According to election data, electoral rolls reflect shifting trends of Kashmiri Pandit voters over the decades. While the votes of many community members have gradually transferred to their current places of residence in Jammu, recent years have seen a resurgence in Valley-based voter registration among migrants.
Electoral data shows that during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a total of 1,13,873 Kashmiri migrant electors were registered across the three parliamentary constituencies of Srinagar, Baramulla, and Anantnag-Rajouri.
This voter count comprised 56,290 males, 57,582 females and one transgender voter, marking a significant increase from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when the number of registered migrant voters stood at approximately 99,000. The figure stood around 92,000 votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Some community leaders claimed that representatives of a political party had been encouraging transfer of votes to their place of birth in Kashmir Valley and termed it yet another step in making them political orphans.
Noted academician Dileep Kumar Kaul echoed these sentiments, terming the community as “real political orphans” and citing a systemic lack of intent to anchor them in the political framework.
“This is the result of the thinning of their collective agency through seven centuries and seven waves of genocide unleashed on them,” Kaul said, arguing that the political system finds it convenient to ignore the community’s historical victimhood.
Putting on a brave face, Ganju asserted that Kashmiri Pandits “are not the discarded chapter of Kashmir’s story. We are its unfinished chapter, and we intend to write the next one”, and made it clear that no durable solution to Kashmir is possible without the community.
Expressing frustration over repeated political rhetoric, Vishva Ranjan Pandita said, “Every election brings promises, manifestos and speeches in our name. Every party claims to stand with our pain of forced displacement, but once the votes are counted, our issues disappear.”
He said the issue of Kashmiri Pandits has for decades been reduced to an electoral promise, with political parties invoking their return during campaigns but failing to demonstrate the same urgency or commitment after coming to power.
“The community deserves more than assurances and manifesto declarations – it needs a concrete, time-bound and comprehensive plan for its safe, secure and dignified return, rehabilitation, livelihood, property rights and long-term integration in the Valley,” he said.
Pandita maintained that the return of Kashmiri Pandits should not be treated merely as a political slogan or a seasonal election issue. He said the successive governments and political parties must be held accountable for the promises they make to the displaced community and should clearly explain what steps they have taken and what remains to be done to make their return a practical reality.”…the Kashmiri Pandit community cannot be expected to live indefinitely on promises. What is needed now is political will, accountability and a clear roadmap for their return and rehabilitation,” he said.
Social activist Bhushan Lal Bhat emphasised that the community must cease to be viewed merely as victims awaiting rehabilitation and added that any political process seeking to determine Kashmir’s future without the community is inherently incomplete.
Academician B L Kaul pointed out that the tragedy of Kashmiri Pandits lies not just in their displacement, but in being pushed to the margins of political discourse, stating that any settlement treating their return as “charity” remains unacceptable.
Reiterating the call for political space and dignity, community leader Kuldeep Raina said that the displacement cannot be reduced to a simple humanitarian problem.
“It is a political rupture. Any serious attempt to resolve Kashmir must therefore restore the political space, security, and dignity of Kashmiri Pandits,” Raina said.
Decrying decades of “administrative neglect”, community members expressed deep frustration over crumbling infrastructure and unfulfilled rehabilitation promises. Activists also pointed to systemic delays in employment and relief measures to ensure daily livelihood.
“Lord Ram’s ‘Vanwas’ ended after 14 years, but we have been away from our homes for the past 36 years, and there seems no end to our miseries,” said activist Sunil Pandita. He noted that the government has failed to fill the 6,000 migrant posts announced in 2009, while housing for the Prime Minister’s package employees in the Valley remains incomplete.
