This young rebellious Kashmiri Muslim woman from the downtown Srinagar in Kashmir has a mission — very different from that of most of her political peers.
Dr Darakshan Andrabi, who heads the Socialist Democratic Party, is working relentlessly in the Kashmiri migrant camps here to motivate the young Kashmiri Pandit youths to fight for their rights and seek employment in their respective districts in the Kashmir Valley.
And it is not surprising today she successfully flagged off a second group of 36 Pandit boys, who will take part in the recruitment drive in the Territorial Army in Anantanag tomorrow, which is being specially held to meet the aspirations of the local populace in the Kashmir Valley. In the first batch which left some days ago, 38 Pandit boys had participated in a similar recruitment drive in the Baramullla-Kupwara region. Many of those Pandit boys have already been taken in.
Darakshan said that she is not guaranteeing jobs to the Pandit youths, but she is motivating them to fight for their rights besides guiding them to get their share in government jobs in the state.
Talking to The Indian Express, Darakshan said that she was fed up with the lip-service of most of leaders who were practically doing nothing at the ground level to better the lot of the Pandit youths who have been languishing due to unemployment.
Asked what inspired her to help the displaced Pandit youths in Jammu, she said, ‘‘I just listened to the voice of my conscience and felt I should help my brothers in distress here. And I am just doing that,’’ she says with pride beaming in her eyes.
Pointing out that there were a number of parties such as the All Party Hurriyat Conference, JKLF and PDP, who had been making tall claims of bringing Pandits back to their homes and hearths, Darakshan alleged that there was no seriousness in their cause. Taking a dig at the Hurrriyat, she further alleged that the Mirwaiz Umer Farooq’s recent visit to Jammu was a mere political gimmick to garner support of the Kashmiri Pandits here.
She also said that it was blasphemous on the part of some parties to propagate the ideas of self-rule and three different autonomous regions in the state as the state already has a democratically elected government.
Darakshan’s efforts have been lauded by the Pandit community, especially in the migrant camps here. Agrees Pandit leader S.N.Dhar from the Muthi Migrant camp, ‘‘Darakshan has been working with absolute devotion for their cause and we in the camps have reposed our faith in this young Muslim lady who sees us as a part and parcel of the secular Kashmiri ethos.’’
RSS
Feeds 
