[Assam] New in Kashmir

[Dilip/Dil Deka]

Now it is Jammu and Kashmir's turn to throw out Biharis and Punjabis to protect the locals. I was under the impression that the militants had pretty much cleaned out the state of Indians with Hindu names. It appears I was wrong. Earlier the Bihar chief minister spoke out against the eviction of Biharis from Assam. I have not heard anything against J&K. Have you?
  Dilip Deka
   
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Now, ‘outsiders’ being driven out of Kashmir   News of two migrant workers’ involvement in a local girl’s rape and murder triggers an assault on non-Kashmiris. They are fleeing the Valley 

        Peerzada Arshad Hamid
Srinagar    Migrant workers from north Indian states are leaving the Valley in large numbers following a public outcry over the involvement of two non-locals in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in north Kashmir’s Langate village. Most of the residents of the Hawal locality in Srinagar, until now home to a large number of migrants from Bihar and its adjoining areas, have already left, leaving behind an eerie silence.
              EXODUS: migrant labourers wait to board a bus at the inter-state depot in Srinagar
  Anger erupted against non-locals after the police revealed that two migrant labourers were among four men who raped and killed the teenage girl, Tabinda Gani, on July 20. Veteran separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and later the Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad, issued public calls for non-locals to leave the Valley within a week’s time. The ultimatum created panic and fear among thousands of non-Kashmiri labourers, many of whom were seen packing their bags and vacating their rental houses. 
  The “quit Kashmir” call came after four persons were arrested by the police in connection with the rape and murder of Gani, a class VIII student who was kidnapped by four men when she was coming back from school. The men raped the teenager and later killed her by slitting her throat. 
  No sooner than the news of arrest and involvement of non-local workers was made public that ire was directed against migrants in the village and soon spread to other areas. However, following public criticism, particularly by newspapers through their editorials condemning the threat issued by Geelani, the hardliner was forced to soften his stand saying only persons with criminal background should be seen off. Geelani’s retraction was followed by that of the Hizbul Mujahideen, which said the organisation does not believe in punishing the majority for the crimes of a few. The Hizb appealed to all non-Kashmiri people to continue with their work in the Valley without fear. 
  However, non-locals continue to flee the Valley despite assurances. “They have taken the call back but who will be responsible if something untoward happens?” said Satish Yadav, a small-time painter from Bihar who was leaving the Valley for good. “To hell with the money that has life as its stake. I am going back to my village and will take some job there. Even the policemen are not ready to protect us,” he said. 
  Hundreds of workers have booked their seats for a journey back home and beelines of them can be seen at state road transport as well as private bus depots. “It was a hectic week and we were forced to press additional buses into service. The process seems unending,” said a J & K srtc official pointing to the long queue outside the ticket counter. The transport department is now plying 18 buses daily in place of the usual 10 to meet the rush. 
  Abdul Halim, who lived in the Hawal locality, was asked by his house owner to leave. “For 10 years none of us was ever harassed or targeted by any Kashmiri. I fail to understand what has happened suddenly. If someone among us has committed a mistake let the police punish him, why should others suffer?” he asks.
  Landlords who have rented their houses to non-locals have grown apprehensive and are asking them to leave. “I have asked my tenants to vacate my house to avoid any untoward incident. If tomorrow someone targets them in my house who will be held responsible?” said a landlord at Hawal, pleading not to be named. 
  Kuljeet, a carpenter from Punjab, was living in Kashmir for the past three years. “Wherever we go people ask us why we haven’t left. Some of us were beaten up by people asking us to leave, so why should we stay put?” Kuljeet said. 
  The call for non-Kashmiris to leave the Valley also came from the Srinagar-based Jammu and Kashmir Joint Workers and Labourers Union, as well as from the Kashmir Bar Association. 

The large number of outsiders in the Valley’s work force has long been a concern among the state’s people. Locals also blame outsiders for spoiling the Islamic nature of the society by consuming alcohol and drugs and running brothels. For now, only a pall of fear hangs over those who are firm on fighting the undercurrent of hostility.


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