We are sitting ducks, say government employees from Hindu community in Kashmir

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, June 2

Employees from the Hindu community say they feel like a sitting duck during their stay in the Valley. Amid spurt in targeted killings, most of them have refused to return to work in Kashmir. Dalit employees say they are living in fear since the killing of Rajni Bala, a schoolteacher in Gopalpora, Kulgam.

This correspondent contacted two Dalit teachers in Baramulla and Anantnag districts. They requested not to pinpoint their exact location in this report. “Working in Baramulla for years, I have felt no threat. Muslim teachers are cooperative. Now, the atmosphere has changed and I can sense it,” said a woman teacher. “My husband also works in the district and children are studying in a local school. The government must act soon before the situation snowballs into what happened in 1990s,” she added.

The teacher from Anantnag said, “I feel I am a sitting duck and can be killed anytime. I live in a rented accommodation with my wife and a daughter. SC employees must be brought to Jammu,” he pleaded.

In 2010, the erstwhile state of J&K had banned inter-district recruitment but allowed youth from the SC community to apply in any district of the state. There are at least 2,500 Dalit employees from Jammu working in Kashmir. Rajni Bala was one of them.

As there was no SC population in Muslim-dominated Valley, a large number of youth from Jammu have got jobs in all 22 districts of J&K and Ladakh.

Atmosphere changed

Working in Baramulla for years, I have felt no threat. Now, the Valley’s atmosphere has changed. — A teacher in Baramulla

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