At Haal cluster, barbed wire and bunker give ‘sense of separation’

A huge concrete wall with spools of concertina wire atop it demarcate the boundary of the cluster colony, established years back for migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees working (or those who returned to work) in the Valley.

Few cops of J&K police, and some paramilitary CRPF men, according to locals, guard the cluster colony round-the-clock. And these “security measures”, the local residents of Haal bluntly say, “have only given us a sense of separation, a sense of them and us, over the years which otherwise would never be the case when Kashmiri Pandits would live in villages with us.”

“This big boundary wall, barbed wire, bunkers and policemen on duty separate us completely. Ever since the establishment of the cluster colony, we many a time wished to send vegetables, fruits and other things to Kashmiri Pandits there, but these barricades are giving us a sense of difference which was never the case in relation between the two communities prior to migration of KPs from Kashmir,” said a group of locals, who were discussing the “composite township” issue, on a shop-front here.

“The move of separate colonies is completely wrong. It would only make Pandits live like paying guests and nothing else. And then, it would only add these so-called security barriers which are only an eyesore,” said Ali Muhammad, a resident of Haal.

The cluster colony presently houses some 60 families in which 120 Kashmiri Pandit employees put up. Most of them have their parents with them.

But the “security grid around it”, the locals say, “gives an eerie sense of separation where we don’t really know who goes inside the colony and who comes out. And the situation is so sad that we hesitate to go there because there seems to be nothing similar, in terms of the environmental setting, inside and outside. It seems they are not Kashmiri Pandits but employees of other states residing there. And it is in total contrast to what the relationship between Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims would be before their migration.”

The group of locals referred above said “while these quarters are located in our village (Haal), there is nothing to suggest that our traditional relation with KPs (living in the colony), love and sympathy (for each other) exists, though it continues to exist in our hearts.”

The recent talk of “composite townships” has only worsened their apprehensions. “We are very apprehensive that establishing new separate colonies and settling migrant Pandits there can have adverse results, leading to destroying the relation between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims,” they said.
Ali Muhammad said there are scores of people living in the colony “but they are only known to two shopkeepers who have their grocery outlets outside it.”
“The Pandits living in this colony are mainly from villages of Pulwama and Shopian. But I have never seen Muslims from any of these villages entering the colony. And I feel the boundary walling and separate clusters should be squarely blamed for this difference,” he said.

The locals, however, mince no words in saying that the migrant Pandits can freely come and reside in their villages.

“Most of Kashmiri Pandits have their ancestral houses and land in Shopian and Pulwama villages. They can come and live with us. If anyone has sold his property, he can be provided land by the government, but in their native villages only,” said Shabir Ahmad, a local resident.

‘GENERATION GAP’

Inside the Colony, there seems to be a clash of opinion between the old and young generation of migrant Pandits.

Talking to this reporter inside his Haal quarter, a young Kashmiri Pandit, working in Education department, said: “We are here as employees staying in government quarters. We have a house in Jammu and another in our ancestral village. Most of KPs have sold their property and are living in different states of India. An important thing is my father was known to everybody in my village and he also knows everyone there. He is linked to the village emotionally. As against this, I know only a few people in my village and my son will not know anyone there tomorrow. So what is the fun and benefit of staying in villages? Our style of living and working has changed. There is no attraction for us to live in the villages,” he said, after making a request not to be identified in this story.

But this man’s father has a different take on the issue.

Sitting in a shop outside the cluster, he said “only those people are talking about separate colonies who have sold their property and want new quarters.”

“I was today in my village where I have a small apple orchard and two residential houses. I was there to spray pesticides on apple trees. But the locals snatched the spray gun from me and did the job themselves. This is the relations we had when we were living in composite culture. My property is safe there,” he said.

“If I am asked where to live, I will definitely prefer my ancestral village. Only those Pandits are talking about separate colonies who have sold their property and now want new land with quarters having all the facilities,” he said.