Mark Ulyseas – PM Modi: Help Kashmiri Pandits and victims of anti-Sikh riots get justice

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An open letter to the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Damodardas Modi – Please help Kashmiri Pandits and survivors of Sikh riots get justice.

January 2017

Namasker Pradhanmantriji,

I am writing this letter of appeal to you on two issues that remain bloodstains on the national flag of India:

1.   The slaughter and ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir.
2.   The slaughter of thousands of innocent Sikhs in New Delhi and across the rest of India in the aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Kashmiri Pandits From the Valley of Death:                                             Victims of ethnic and religious cleansing…

Twenty six years ago (1990) the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits began in the Kashmir valley. Tens of thousands of Hindus were slaughtered whilst others were driven from their ancient homeland by people hell bent on the Islamisation of Kashmir. The systematic slaughter of these Hindus has been, in more ways than one, glossed over by the killings committed by present day terrorists who are well equipped mercenaries from Pakistan screaming Allahu Akbar; and the omissions and commissions by elements of the Indian State. It is as if there is a deliberate attempt to delete the memory of the Kashmiri Pandits plight.

Why were successive governments (in the past) unable to stand with the Kashmiri Pandits?

The following is an excerpt about the Kashmiri Pandits that is known to the outside world:

They began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s during the eruption of militancy, following persecution and threats by radical Islamists and militants. The events of 19 January 1990 were particularly vicious. On that day, mosques issued declarations that the Kashmiri Pandits were Kafirs and that the males had to leave Kashmir, convert to Islam or be killed. Those who chose to the first of these were told to leave their women behind. The Kashmiri Muslims were instructed to identify Pandit homes so they could be systematically targeted for conversion or killing.

According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during the 1990s. Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150,000, to 190,000 of a total Pandit population of 200,000, to a number as high as 800,000. The nature of the planned exodus was controversial, with the involvement of then Governor Jagmohan in organizing a clandestine exodus. Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu. The government has reported on the terrorist threats to Pandits still living in the Kashmir region – LINK

I am sure you have the present updates on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits.

A wide section of the Indian media appears to be tripping over their own self-importance while breathlessly reporting present day violence in Kashmir, while clearly ignoring the elephant in the room – the Kashmiri Pandits. Are journalists afraid to be seen as supporters of the Kashmir Pandits’ cause… because they (Pandits) are Hindus or are they succumbing to political pressure from politicians pandering to a section of society?

The Kashmiri Pandits must get justice because they hold the key to the future of this State. No peace, no deal can ever be achieved without their active involvement because this is their home land for thousands of years.

Anti-Sikh riots in India – The slaughter of thousands of Sikhs post assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Thirty two years later (1984) the Sikhs wait for justice. Thousands were beaten to death by rampaging mobs, their houses burnt and women raped.

Many commissions were ordered by past governments. The result?

In 2014 Cobrapost conducted a sting operation in which it reported that the then government did not permit the Delhi Police from carrying out its duties of protecting the Sikhs.

“Messages were broadcast directing police to not take action against rioters who were shouting slogans of ‘Indira Gandhi zindabad”,” LINK

From evidence given to various commissions instituted by past governments it was not “Hindus killing Sikhs” but, as many claimed, politicians and their followers carrying out the carnage. Claims and counter claims have obfuscated the truth. The relatives of those Sikhs killed must get justice.

This letter, Pradhanmantriji, is an earnest appeal. An appeal to you to help the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs in getting justice and compensation.

India is a land that gave the world Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism…and offered shelter to Jews, Tibetans, Iranians, Armenians, etc. Remind the people of India that it is still the same country. A country that is the largest democracy in the world and that every citizen has a right to protection by the State.

Your wisdom, your leadership in these two matters which are legacies of past governments, is required now to show the world that India can and will get itself out of the ‘old ways of functioning’. More importantly politicians must be made accountable for their actions. The recent blockading of parliament’s winter session by self-serving politicians who did not permit the house to conduct the business of running the country is an insult to those that voted them into power. It prompted even the President of India to show his displeasure. India cannot afford to be held to ransom by such self-serving politicians.

2017 belongs to you. Let the world know this by doing what is just for the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs. You have the power of hundreds of millions of Indians behind you who believe that the ‘old manner of functioning’ must be done away with, that the mindset must change for a brave new India to emerge.

Dhaniyavad

Mark Ulyseas

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