‘A home of their own’: Kashmiri Pandit employees get early Diwali gift as 16-year wait ends

For hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Valley, Diwali has arrived early this year. After years of waiting, uncertainty and living in rented accommodation, receiving the keys to their own homes has brought them something more valuable than four walls and a roof, a sense of security, peace and belonging.

For a community whose relationship with its homeland has been scarred by decades of displacement, the allotment of transit accommodation to hundreds of employees has renewed hopes of a homecoming, even as the larger journey towards a dignified and lasting return remains unfinished.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated 1,416 transit accommodation flats across Srinagar, Budgam and Kupwara, taking the total number of PM Package employees allotted accommodation to around 3,900 out of the 6,000 working in different districts of the Kashmir Valley.

For many employees, the allotment marks the end of a long wait. Those who joined government service in 2010 have received accommodation after nearly 16 years, while employees who joined in 2017-18 had to wait seven to eight years.

The relief was evident among the employees, many of whom said having a home of their own would allow them to live with greater peace of mind and bring their families together.

Ashish, a Kashmiri Pandit employee, credited the media for consistently raising their concerns and said the allotment had brought much-needed relief.

"I will say this: first of all, the credit goes to the media fraternity, the people who raised our voice. It wasn't that work wasn't happening, but the pace at which it should have come wasn't there. So, when month after month was passing by, we used to feel when we would get it. Now those things have been fulfilled and are flourishing, and you all are seeing that the process has started, and slowly people will also start shifting," he said.

Describing the feeling of having a place to call his own, Ashish said even though the accommodation was transit housing, it offered a sense of comfort and stability that employees had been waiting for.

"Right now, an atmosphere of celebration is visible here. When a person has to do a job, there is always a dilemma that there should be a place where they can live in peace. People are happy today because there were many conditions; somewhere landlords were very good, somewhere bad, but everyone has rules and regulations which we must follow. Now, somewhere there are children, they will make noise; somewhere there is an issue. I feel that one segment which was a bit tight, mentally disturbed, will flourish today. I am very happy too. If you have your own roof, then there is no unhappiness," he said.

He also referred to the Lieutenant Governor's recent statement that the Valley was incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits, saying communities had an important role in each other's progress.

"Whenever we live in a society, community has a role to play, and if we have to uplift and progress each other, definitely, like us, we are teaching our children, and we also expect that our children will study here too. It is a give-and-take relation. Whenever we live in a particular area or society, it is also our responsibility to respect their values and expect that our needs are also understood. I feel that what has happened is somewhere a great step in the history of Kashmir," he added.

Another employee, Manish Dhar, described the allotment as the end of a 16-year exile from stable housing and thanked the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Lieutenant Governor for the initiative.

"I am extremely happy and first of all I wanted to thank the Honourable Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the LG for ending our 16-year exile so that we could now start living together in one place," he said.

Dhar said employees had spent years living in rented accommodation, particularly in Srinagar, where suitable housing had not been available.

"For 16 years we had been living on rent because Srinagar was a district where there was no accommodation available, and today for the first time accommodation had been built for the people of Srinagar, in which all the people of our community, including some from the Muslim community, would live together in a spirit of brotherhood. This is a matter of great joy," he said.

He added that having a common residential space would allow families to stay together, preserve their cultural traditions and build a sense of community.

"Everyone is happy because when someone gets a home it is special, and for them it's their home. As long as we are in service, we would at least have one family and one society of our own and could preserve many aspects of their culture. Otherwise, everyone was scattered in different places," he said.

Dhar also said the improving atmosphere in the Valley had given employees hope, although they remained mindful of security concerns and would watch how the situation developed.

The relief was particularly visible among women employees and family members, who said a common residential space would give their children an opportunity to grow up in a community environment and celebrate festivals together.

Priya, a Kashmiri Pandit woman, said the families had struggled for years to secure accommodation but were now looking forward to living together.

"We have done a lot of penance for this, meaning we have struggled a lot to get here. Until now we were on rent. It is not that we faced any problems there, but there is a feeling of one's own when the entire community is together, which feels nice. Although the people here also treated us very well, it feels nice if all of us are here together," she said.

She said having a permanent-feeling residential space would bring greater freedom and comfort to families, particularly children who had not experienced living in such a close-knit community.

"Our children haven't seen such an environment yet, so it is very good for them that all our brothers and sisters stay together here. We have our festivals, a lot happens, so all of us together will enjoy it nicely," she said.

Priya also said the new accommodation would send a positive message to Kashmiri Pandits living outside the Valley and encourage them to consider returning.

"Our other brothers and sisters who are living outside Kashmir will also get a positive message that there is nothing like that here anymore. They can easily come here and settle down here just like we have. It has been a long time for us here too, but we never felt anything like that here. So, we will also request them to come and settle down here," she added.

Housing initiative follows years of delay

The latest allotment comes against the backdrop of prolonged delays in providing secure accommodation to PM Package employees. The government had identified 20 locations across Kashmir for transit housing, but construction and allotment moved slowly, leaving many employees dependent on rented homes.

Living in different localities also created practical difficulties related to commuting, coordination and security. While several landlords extended cooperation, rented accommodation did not always offer the stability and collective living environment employees had been seeking.

The wait was further complicated by security concerns. Kashmiri Pandit employees have faced terrorist attacks, threats and the circulation of threatening letters over the years, strengthening their demand for secure residential facilities.

Although a few major transit colonies were inaugurated earlier, a large number of employees continued to wait for accommodation.

Under the latest initiative, Sinha inaugurated 936 newly constructed flats spread across 39 blocks at the Transit Residential Complex in Zewan, Srinagar. He also virtually inaugurated 192 flats across 12 blocks at Kakan Maran in Budgam and 288 flats across 18 blocks at Kulangam Bagh in Kupwara.

All 1,416 flats have been allotted to employees. The authorities have assured residents of uninterrupted electricity and water supply, robust security arrangements and prompt grievance redressal.

The return of Kashmiri Pandit families remains an important part of preserving the Valley's cultural, spiritual and civilisational heritage. The community's displacement has left a lasting gap in Kashmir's shared history and social fabric.

For many in the Valley, the hope is that Kashmiri Pandits will once again become an integral part of its social and cultural life. The latest housing initiative may not mark the completion of that journey, but for hundreds of employees and their families, it has brought them a step closer to a place they can finally call home.