Private Bill of Tankha for Unrepresented Community

 

On 5th December, the dislocated Kashmiri Hindus scattered across the country eagerly watched the breaking news on TV channels about the discussion of the private member's bill tabled by Vivek Tankha, a Congress party Rajya Sabha member. The bill, titled the Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement) Bill 2022, was tabled for the first time after thirtyfive years of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits minority from their native land. However, the bill was not taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha, although it was initially scheduled to be discussed on 5th December, the concluding month of the Parliament's winter session. For unknown reasons, the bill did not come up for discussion at all, and is better known to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister. Ignoring the private member's bill on the Kashmiri Pandits return and rehabilitation in the Rajya Sabha was another setback to the community, which had rebuilt its faith in its prospects of rehabilitation and justice delivery through this bill. Moreover, the disregard for the bill drafted by Vivek Tankha must have disillusioned the author of the bill. who had infused the bill with a humanist aspect through his legal expertise. If the bill had been discussed and approved, it could have beena watershed in the fight for justice for Kashmiri Pandits. It is a comprehensive bill which would grant Minority status to Kashmiri Pandits and recognition to their victimhood of genocide. The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution and Resettlement), if enacted into law, has the scope for the release of a white paper covering all events in Kashmir, about the atrocities and plight of the community from the year 1989 till the introduction of the bill. The bill is earmarked with a section which specifies the restoration of the temples and other heritage sites in the valley under the direction of an archaeologist and historian to be appointed. The bill provides for the assignment of a special officer, equipped with the power to seek documents from the Government to survey religious sites. The special officer would have the same powers as are vested in the Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure 1973. The proposed legislation of the bill entails expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, which is subject to the President's approval and recommendation. Passing a private member's bill in both Houses of Parliament is a cumbersome process that requires favourable interpretation from members and strong media coverage to generate debate nationwide. The bill has to undergo multiple layers of discussion in both Houses and secure the endorsement of a majority of members. Finally, after passing in both Houses of Parliament, the bill is presented to the President of India for his assent to become law. In the case of the Kashmiri Pandits bill, it would be hard to get it passed in both Houses of Parliament, given that the Kashmiri Pandits do not fall within the category of a vote bank constituencу, which is a pied piper for political parties throughout the country. Secondly, the permutations and combinations of the political makeup are based on the caste factor, which is detrimental to Kashmiri Hindus, being Brahmans. Even if the activists of the Kashmiri Hindu community in New Delhi were to lobby for the bill across the political structures, a sizable number of elected or nominated members would still not favour the bill. Before thinking too big, one must assess whether the community has the necessary networking within different political groups, and to what level, to create a niche for manoeuvrability, thereby turning matters to their benefit. Which seems to be of insignificant nature, so their lobbying within political parties is to find a well in the desert. A private member's bill is rarely passed. Either the bill is withdrawn without discussion. Or it is kept in abeyance until the term of the initiating member expires. Nearly 2000 private member bills have been introduced in the Parliament from 1952 onwards. Of that number, only 14 bills were enacted as laws. The fourteen private member bills enacted as laws included the Muslim Waqf Act of 1952, the Hindu Marriage Act of 1956, and the Supreme Court Bill of 1975. But the private bill tabled by Vivek Tankha, Rajya Sabha M.P, in the Rajya Sabha was substantially important because of its humanitarian aspects of four lakhs uprooted persons of a single denomination from a state who are refugees within their own country. The horrors endured by the community should not be overlooked for whatever might be the reason for the ruling party's dispensation. Kashmiri Hindus were eyewitnesses to the 1989-90 exodus, and their historical details were deliberately belittled and suppressed. The movies produced in post-exodus years, whether it was Kashmir File, Baramulla or Durander, were classified as propaganda 36 movies by a certain section purposely, to obscure the trends of radicalisation and pan- Islamic fervour that grew under regional socalled secular leadership in Kashmir. In a TV panel discussion, a section of spokespersons admitted these movies were carrying the BJP and RSS line of narration to defame Muslims in particular. The members in Parliament should understand that the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits minority from the valley had altered the demographic landscape of the valley. For the restoration of the demographic balance in the valley, the bill is of public interest and to uphold the values of the composite culture. The bill speaks for that class of the uprooted chunk of the populace, who have no political Godfather in the political arena of the country and were overshadowed by the Muslim majority in the state political sphere. The issue is not whether the bill would have been passed in Parliament to become law. The bill has generated great hope among the internally displaced community of Kashmiri Hindus, who were forced to leave their birthplace for no fault of their own. It was the constitutional obligation of the ruling dispensation to work towards peaceful rehabilitation, economic stability, and their secured return to their native land. The Indian state and the state of Jammu and Kashmir are supposed to protect the lives and property of every citizen, especially the minuscule Pandits minority in the valley. During the radical upheaval, particularly the terrorist turmoil of 1989-90, the Hindus were made the chief targets in the valley. They were forced to leave the valley under the threat of guns, and their houses were burnt. Their members were brutally killed by Pakistan-trained Kashmiri terrorists, and many were left to bleed to death. They left their landed properties and all household belongings in the name of God to flee to the safe zone in Jammu and to the adjoining states in the country. During the past thirty-five years, none of the political leadership has ever recognised the pain, agony, and suffering they have encountered or expressed public empathy for the uprooted members of the community. By the end of 2025, according to UNHRA reports, 117.3 million people will have been fleeing due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and disturbed public order. Of these, 67.8 million are internally displaced within their country. And Kashmiri Pandits fall within the internally displaced bracket, so the bill introduced by Vivek Tankha is not to be swept under the carpet. That will mark a deep substantial stigma on Indian democracy, and on the Parliamentarians. The pondering question is why the bill was not brought forward for the debate? Discussion on the bill will definitely spread awareness among the masses about the Kashmir issue. By delaying the tabling of the bill for discussion in the houses, the witnesses of the turmoil will pass away, and the responsibilities consequently shift to a new political class, and the whole issue is sure to get shelved. But it won't get washed away from the annals of history, come what may. Does that mean the ruling elite of the country is unwilling to face and confront the historical facts on the ground? How long will the Indian Government act like an ostrich? The future generation of the country will expose them in the same fashion as they are unfolding from repositories, the Nehru - Gandhi's past political misadventures to strengthen their electoral base in the country. The Modi government is claiming at the top of their voice, Vasudev Kutambum, a democratic slogan, Sub Ka Vikas Sub Ka Sath and recounting great tenets of the Hindu scripture for the common good and welfare of the Indian people. Why are the same philosophies denied to the displaced community, whose feelings were hurt when the bill did not come up for discussion?

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The views expressed in the Article above are Surinder Koul  views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy:  Surinder Koul  and Koshur Samachar- January-2026