India's District 9

To set the context of this post, District 9 is a movie I watched yesterday (Don't ask me who was the director, the actor? blah! blah! Actually I noe I should remember their names, but then thats the way I am). Its an AMAZING movie, this term is very rarely used by me for a movie (Last time I used this term was when I watched HANGOVER).

So the story is like this, about 20 years back some alien ship lands on the earth and some of its component goes missing so the aliens can't go back and have to settle on this planet in small "temporary" houses created for them by the goverment and the place of settlement is called District 9. The place becomes a slum slowly and gradually. Crime increases and so does the violence. Humans and Alien rioting starts. Govt. after a lot of deliberation decides to move those aliens out of the place to a new location (District 10), which it says is better (Later the lead actor denies this by saying that the new location is just like a concentration camp). So govt. appoints an pvt. agency, pvt. guards to move the aliens. Aliens love "CAT FOOD" and govt. uses that to bribe them to leave. Some are forcefully made to leave and others who don't agree are beaten up. And then ! (Well its a nice movie and you should watch it).

look at a parallel one - a real one - a human one!

In 1989-90, 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits (Fig. often quoted by KP organizations) left Kashmir, due to violence that had erupted (people on the other side of Pir panjal, the terrain that seperate Jammu from Kashmir, disagree with this theory and say that Jagmohan made KPs leave Kashmir, well! THIS IS NOT TRUE). So govt. came up with a nice idea of creating a "TEMPORARY" tent-houses for Pandits because the displacement was temporary and they will move back once things get normalized. The location was selected at four places: Purkhoo, Misriwalla and Muthi (in Jammu) and Batalbali (in Udhampur).. People started to adjust to the climatic condition in Jammu (there have been more than 30000 deaths because people couldn't cope up with the hostile hot climate of Jammu, more than 1 lakh people suffer from dieseases like diabetes etc., which were not at all known in Kashmir).. Later govt. went on to build ONE ROOM (very much in literal sense, it was a 10x10 room) for each REGISTERED family (Yes! KPs had to register that they have suffered, there was a process in place when registration could be done. If you aren't registered you can't get a benefit of being displaced).. Well registration meant more corruption more delay and more problems for the displaced people.. So families which were registered got the one room quarters (there have been cases of 10 people from a family staying in one 10x8 room, howzz tat.. no less than a concentration camp).. Men had no work.. no employment so what did they do all day.. couldn't sit all day in the quarter .. so they went and sat at shops.. they started gambling with whateva money they had.. children in those camps had less hope.. survival everyday was a fight.. (it still is!).. Groups were formed like Panun Kashmir, JKVM etc. by KPs to put pressure on govt. both state and centre to allow them a honorable and safe return back to their homes! (Most of you may not have heard this story, thanks to our MEDIA.. coz this is not sensational and neither do we have enuf votes to decide the fate of this country)

So finally state govt. (outta no affection for the community, but just to hide it ineffectiveness and make money from the centre) has come up with a package. (Remember CAT FOOD!). They will provide a job to family of each person who so ever want so return. Hell ya! they are bribing people in the open to return back (the valley is still not safe to live, Nadimarg, Wandhama, Chattingspura do happen, Sorry if you don't know about these.. jus google them out..they were the most barbaric massarces that have happened... but... no one knows.. Shame on Media.. Shame on US!)..

This is not all.. New recruits in govt. departments are being deliberately askd to join in valley.. how does this help:

1. If you join, govt. can claim KPs r returning back.

2. If you don't you lose the job, and some one from THEIR VOTEBANK gets its

(Heads I win, Tails you lose!)

Anyways a few registered families have accepted govt's proposal.. but the hope to go back is still there.. We want to go back.. bt not in govt. made temporary accomodation.. bt to our homes..

Ending with a famous quote by Lal-ded (she was a lady kashmiri saint)

"Zu chum karan ghar gazach ha" (all I want is to go back HOME)

P.S. Thanks to people in Jammu.. they have accepted us with open hands.. we owe them a lot.. and yes this is only the half of the story.. there are migrants from Jammu region for whom govt. has done nothin..