By Chasfeeda Shah
In a powerful and poignant moment for Jammu and Kashmir, the administration has finally taken a significant step towards acknowledging and supporting the silent sufferers of the region’s decades-long insurgency. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s recent gesture of handing over appointment letters to the next of kin (NoKs) of civilians killed in terror attacks is not just administrative—it is deeply symbolic. It marks the beginning of a long-overdue moral correction in the narrative of Kashmir’s victims.
For years, the stories of those killed by Pakistan-sponsored terror remained buried beneath the noise of political rhetoric and selective outrage. Entire families, many from remote districts, lived in the shadows—grieving in silence, struggling economically, and worst of all, forgotten by the very state that was meant to protect them. Their cries for justice were drowned in the geopolitics of the Valley. FIRs were never filed, lands were grabbed, and their trauma remained undocumented.
By directly confronting this painful legacy, Lt Governor Sinha has initiated a necessary course correction. His words—“Truth about these families was deliberately suppressed”—ring with a rare honesty that has been missing from past administrations. The establishment of district-level helplines to gather complaints, including cases dating back to the 1990s, is a bold signal that the administration is finally willing to unearth uncomfortable truths and act upon them.
This is not merely about jobs or compensation. It is about restoring dignity, acknowledging suffering, and making the state accountable. A democratic society must not only mourn its victims but also offer them restitution and remembrance. These appointment letters, along with promises of sustainable livelihood support and rehabilitation, suggest a model that could be emulated elsewhere in conflict zones.
That said, this initiative must go beyond symbolism. The real test lies in implementation. Every complaint must be verified fairly, every promise followed through sincerely. The administration must not allow this momentum to be diluted by bureaucracy or political distraction.
Jammu and Kashmir’s pain is layered and complex. But justice cannot be selective. This move sets a precedent—that the state will no longer forget its dead, nor abandon their families. It is, perhaps, the beginning of a more inclusive and truthful reckoning. One that the people of Jammu and Kashmir—and the idea of India itself—so desperately need.
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