SRINAGAR, Feb 13: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to address alarming assertions by a prominent Kashmiri Pandit leader alleging a deliberate Centre-backed plan to alter the Valley’s demographics through mass Hindu settlements.
The controversy erupted after BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo claimed in a national daily that the Union government is engineering a demographic shift by relocating lakhs of Hindus from outside into Kashmir. Chrungoo’s remarks spotlighted proposed “40 townships” ostensibly to decongest urban areas, but framed them as a strategic move for Hindu resettlement—a narrative that has ignited fierce political debate amid lingering sensitivities over Article 370’s abrogation and regional identity.
In a pointed X post, Mufti questioned the intent: “Forty townships in Kashmir to decongest cities? Sounds progressive until the BJP voices call it a demography plan for Hindu settlement. Coincidence? Or deliberate state engineering? Jammu and Kashmir government must clarify before it is too late. Valley demography plan, hear it from the BJP as Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo cites Hindu settlement.”
Mufti’s intervention taps into deep-rooted anxieties in the Valley, where proposals for satellite townships and rehabilitation clusters for migrant Pandits have long fueled accusations of engineered population changes. Proponents argue these secure enclaves aid Pandit returnees displaced since the 1990s exodus, while critics decry them as tools to dilute Kashmiri Muslim majority, echoing broader national discourses on citizenship and belonging.
The PDP chief’s call places the Omar Abdullah-led government in a bind: endorsing townships risks alienating Valley residents, while dismissing them could strain Centre-state ties. As J&K navigates post-election stability, this flare-up risks polarizing communities further, demanding transparent policy disclosure to quell speculation.
Political observers note Chrungoo’s history as a vocal Kashmiri Pandit advocate, whose statements often amplify rehabilitation demands but here cross into BJP’s larger Hindutva lens. With elections fresh and assembly debates heating up, Mufti’s demand could catalyze opposition unity against perceived “outsider” influxes.
The government has yet to respond, but silence may amplify distrust in a region scarred by militancy, migration, and constitutional upheaval.
