Jammu:
It's been 20 years ever since Kashmiri pandits migrated from the valley. Most of them are still living in transit camps in Jammu in tough conditions. The pandits are now hoping for an improvement in the security situation for their return to the valley.
Twenty years ago, when Bhaskar Nath and his family migrated from Kupwara to Jammu, they were allotted a one-room tenement in the Pirkhoo migrant camp in the outskirts of the city. It is in this one room that the family of five eats, sleeps, cooks and sits in a huddle when the winter becomes unbearable.
"We stay in a very small room. All of our family members remain huddled here and there is no sense of privacy. How can we manage to even change clothes?" said Phoola Dhar, a displaced Kashmiri pandit.
Close to four lakh Kashmiri pandits migrated after militancy erupted in the valley. Most of them are still living in migrant camps. Successive governments have promised better accommodation, but little has changed on the ground. Living in cramped transit camps, the Kashmiri pandits are today among the poorest strata in the state. They want to go back to their home in Kashmir, but are afraid.
"How much security will they give individually? All the pandits cannot return, we have migrated 20 years ago and it is but natural that there is a sense of fear," said Bhaskar Nath.
The chief minister says improving the security situation is the government's top priority.
"Kashmiri pandits left 20 years ago not for economic reasons, not for political reasons, they left because a sense of security was snatched from them, it is that sense of security that this government is working to restore," said Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of J&K.
"While Kashmiri pandits are grappling with problems like lack of accommodation facilities and harsh weather, a glimmer of hope comes from the younger generation, children born and brought up in these migrant camps, who are contributing their bit to make the atmosphere slightly more lively and bring some cheer to the displaced souls", the Chief Minister added.
In another corner of the migrant camp children sing a song for a homeland they have never seen. They have been born and brought up in Jammu camps and have only heard about the valley. So, they have formed a club called the 'Sharika Foundation', named after the Kashmiri mother goddess, to keep alive their history, culture and language.
"We want to go back to the place where our parents were born and brought up, we have never been to Kashmir", says, Shallu, a young student.
Hope rises amidst despair. Perhaps one day these children would get to return to their roots and the valley would once again resound with songs of harmony.