The villages of Tangdhar and Tribhoni in Kashmir are home to ninety Sikh houses, where approximately 500-600 Sikh people reside. After the execution of Operation Sindoor by India, these two villages remained targeted by profuse Pakistani shelling, and during this time, the village dwellers had to spend four long nights inside bunkers.
Due to Pakistan’s military action, people’s houses in Tangdhar and Tribhoni sustained damages, including 6 houses, owned by Jatinder Singh, Charan Singh, Amarjeet Singh, Gurdev Singh, Ranjeet Singh, and Babu Singh, which were completely destroyed.
One of the residents, Jagbir Singh, who is pursuing MBBS from the Government Medical College, Handwara, said how all of his study material was destroyed because of the shelling and he is now left with only a college jersey and a book. Another resident, Jaspreet Singh, a UPSC aspirant, said how his room was destroyed and he is now left with nothing but a few notes he made for preparation. His elder sister’s marriage is scheduled to be organized next month.
Sharing the ordeal, Jaspreet stated, ‘The shelling started at around 1 AM on 6 May, at first, we thought it was routine shelling, and like every time, we got into bunkers as a precautionary measure. But it was only around 7 AM in the morning that we were able to get out of them. All of the houses in our village have incurred damages and 5 houses out of them have been severely damaged, and one has turned into ashes.’
‘Even now, there is fear lingering around and there is no mental peace for us residents. There was a marriage scheduled to take place next month in our home. Now, we do not know whether we should go ahead with the marriage or revamp our house. Apart from this, all my study material, my hard-work spanning the last 1-2 years, has been destroyed. I look forward to resuming my studies soon’, Jaspreet added.
Targeted during the shelling, a recently developed cremation ground has also incurred damages.
Along with this, interestingly, a village Gurudwara was the main target of the shelling but the triple-storey house of local Muslim resident Javid Ahmed bore the brunt because it is situated right in front of the Gurudwara.
A house’s damaged roof
Further, Jagbir Singh said, ‘When the shelling started, I was not at home but in college, and while shelling like this is common for us living in the border areas, that night, the shelling continued unabated, and my family members went into bunkers, like every other time. Once inside the bunkers, all my family members could hear was loud noises from all directions, a result of Pakistani shelling and Indian retaliation. They were inside the bunkers till 6 AM.’
‘Roofs of all the houses in our village have been damaged, and Javid Ahmed’s house in front of the gurudwara was burnt completely, along with two other houses near the gurudwara which were badly damaged. Till now, there is no normalcy around and people are fearful and nervous. The rear sides of our house and that of our relatives living nearby have been destroyed. I hope everything goes back to normal soon’, he stated.
Joginder Singh said, ‘Every house in the village has been affected by the shelling and damage has been caused. The Gurudwara has been damaged as well. People are still scared the same way they were trepid when the actual military action was taking place. There is no sense of peace or security around the village.’
The complete destruction of a house
Makhan Singh, member, Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Kupwara, said, ‘6 houses of our village have been destroyed completely, and while the government considers them to be “partially damaged”, they have been rendered inhabitable. The shell that burnt down the house of Javid was actually meant to hit the Gurudwara, and every house has faced damages.’
‘What we need right now are safe bunkers to be provided for us, and not only this, we also need a discrimination-free employing milieu for our youth, who, even though are highly educated, are discriminated against, and hence, our population is facing financial crises’, he stated.
Makhan Singh further added that even though the situation has now improved as compared to when the shelling was going on, and even though tension still lingers in the villages, the residents have the support of the army and the government.
