Vivek Koul

The Prime Minister’s Employment Package for displaced Kashmiri Pandits, launched in 2009 and implemented in 2010 with the promise of 6,000 jobs, was conceived as a landmark initiative aimed at facilitating the dignified return and rehabilitation of the exiled community to their homeland. It was seen as a symbol of hope – a bridge between exile and return, between loss and renewal. Yet, more than a decade later, what was envisioned as a measure of reintegration has, for many, tragically turned into a package of separation and alienation. When the scheme was announced, its intent was clear: to restore a sense of belonging to the Kashmiri Pandits displaced from the Valley in the 1990s, and to anchor them back in the socio-economic landscape of Kashmir. In its initial phase, 3,000

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