Kashmiri Pandit Laid Foundation Of New House In Balhama

Kashmiri Pandit laid the foundation of a new house in Balhama. The ‘foundation stone’ for the return of Kashmiri Pandits; Kaka Ji Butt is building a new house in Balhama, Srinagar.

The seed planted on 5th August 2019 is now sprouting as a seedling. The fear of fanatic jihadis is no longer visible in the heart of Kashmir.

But a new sense of security and trust is seen, that is why on Tuesday, a Kashmiri Pandit laid the foundation of a new house for himself in his native village amidst new hopes and Vedic chants.

This house in Balhama, about 20 km from Lal Chowk, will create an atmosphere for the return of the Kashmiri Pandits.

Kashmiri Pandit laid the foundation of a new house: This is being made without the amount of package announced for Kashmiri Pandits.

Engineer Ejaz Hussain, BJP leader representing Khiryu-Balhama in Zilla Vikas Parishad, Srinagar, said that those who started building this house, we call them Kaka Ji Butt.

He is working in the Department of Geology and Mining. He did not sell his ancestral property. He maintained his ties with Balahama.

Many members of his family migrated, yet he did not break ties with his soil. Today he has started building a new house in place of his old house.

I hope to see him, other Kashmiri Pandits who have fled from here will return.

Now the situation is changing:

Chunni Lal, press secretary of Hindu Welfare Society, who has himself migrated from South Kashmir and is living in Srinagar, said that to live in any place you should have a sense of security and trust.

There are many Kashmiri Pandit families here, who did not migrate.

Many of these have remained in their ancestral homes and if you see, they even get these houses repaired occasionally.

No one wants to build a new house, because there is fear in the heart, but now the situation is changing. Today in Balhama one of our Kashmiri Pandit brothers has started the construction of the house.

A new sense of security and trust has arisen:

Sanjay Tikku, chairman of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, said that the Kashmiri Pandits who did not leave Kashmir, are in their homes.

Yes, it must be said that there is a new sense of security and confidence among the people, inspired by which many Kashmiri Pandits have started building their new houses again.

A new house is also being built in Balhama. It is not just about the house, if the house is built then people will also settle down.

Three thousand Pandit families once lived in Balhama:

There is a temple of Bala Devi about five thousand years old in Balahama village. It is said that the name of the village is Balhama due to the temple of Bala Devi.

Before 1990, about two to three thousand families of Kashmiri Pandits lived in Balhama and its adjoining areas.

Today there are only about six families in Balhama, all others have migrated. Maybe now the situation will change.

Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits had migrated:

Till 30 years ago, there was hardly any city, town, street, or locality in Kashmir where Kashmiri Pandits did not live.

Fanatic jihadis started expelling Kashmiri Pandits as well as the entire Hindu community from the valley.

Fearing terrorists, thousands of Kashmiri Pandits left their ancestral homes and went to different parts of the country including Jammu.

Non-Kashmiri Pandit Hindus also had to leave Kashmir and only a few survived in the valley.

There were only about 700 families of Kashmiri Pandits in the entire valley, who did not migrate despite all the difficulties. However, most of them settled in Srinagar or in nearby towns.

Pandit families living in transit colonies:

There have been continuous efforts for the last three decades for the return of Kashmiri Pandits, but never any attempt has been completely successful.

Even Kashmiri Pandits, who got jobs in Kashmir under the employment package, could not muster the courage to settle down in their old and ancestral homes.

These people have been confined to transit residential facilities set up by the government in district headquarters or in colonies set up in Budgam, Mattan.

The so-called 3500 families have returned to Kashmir in the name of jobs and are living in transit colonies.