Sanjay Kumar, the father of three minor children who worked as a bank security guard, was shot dead in Achan According to some estimates, notably by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), of 75,343 Kashmiri Pandit families in January 1990, more than 70,000 fled between 1990 and 1992. [59], Scholar Christopher Snedden states that the Pandits made up about 6 per cent of the Kashmir Valley's population in 1947. Indian forces are specially ordered to keep high surveillance on Kashmir and Kashmiris. Jihad, Islamisation, secession from India, merger with Pakistan, Hinduphobia, imposition of Sharia law, Murder, arson, rape, assassinations, kidnappings, riots, Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert to Islam, leave the place or die). In the decades since the Pandit exodus, Kashmir has seen immense bloodshed. [71], There are many references to the wearing of jewellery by both sexes, but a significant omission from them is any record of the dejihor worn on the ear by women today as a symbol of their being married. Men, too, might adopt stylish arrangements and wear flowers in their hair, if they had the financial means to do so. What was the UN event representatives of Kailasa attended? We will go back on our own terms," Kashmiri Samiti president Sunil Shakdher said in August 2002 in response to the then Farooq Abdullah regimes proposed rehabilitation agenda. The published threat, however, came nearly three months after one of the darkest nights in Jammu and Kashmir 19 January 1990 observed as the Exodus Day by the Kashmiri Hindu community. Advertisement. Many Pandits celebrated the Indian government move as they believe it will pave the way for their return to the Valley. An agreement, popularly known as the 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord, was signed between Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdullah and then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. [35] The government has reported on the terrorist threats to Pandits still living in the Kashmir region. Other commentary has pointed to how the government organised transport for fleeing Pandits so that they could get to Jammu. Harmukh is traditionally revered by Kashmiri Pandits and in 2009 there was an attempt by them to revive pilgrimages to the site. Besides being the right thing to do, apologies bring diplomatic and political gains in a region haunted by colonial and imperial atrocities. ad lite Experience $ 19.99 $ 19.99 /year. At the time of the carnage, People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Sayeed was the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, while an Atal Bihar Vajpayee-led BJP government was at the Centre. The Kashmiri Hindu view is that this is a disingenuous interpretation. And the Prime Minister has said that the truth is coming out. The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards. Journalist-lawyer Prem Nath Bhat was shot dead in Anantnag on December 27. "Kashmiri Pandits responsible for duress against Muslims should leave the Valley within two days," read a headline of a local Urdu newspaper, Al-Safa, on 14 April 1990. More than 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits[ref], constituting 99% of the total population of Hindus living in Muslim majority area of the Kashmir Valley, were forcibly pushed out of the Valley by Muslim terrorists, trained in Pakistan, since the end of 1989 and forced to live the life of exiles in their own country, by unleashing a systematic campaign of terror, murder, loot and arson. Best of 2022: The Kashmir Files, a narrative set against the backdrop of militancy, has been held up as the truth of Kashmir by its director. But theres just as much, if not more, tracking in the virtual world.". In 1986, after the Rajiv Gandhi government opened the Babri Masjid locks to enable Hindus to offer prayers there, ripples were felt in Kashmir too. Surinder Kaul, Co-founder of GKPD, said that Kashmiri Pandits' genocide is continuing even today and every death is bringing the community closer to extinction. WebBoth BJP and Congress enjoyed the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits because 1) they never cared about people 2) it was actually helping them to secure their vote bank. According to P.K.Verma, "Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite" and almost all the members of these communities could read and write English and were educated beyond school. It is an undeniable fact that the same sentiments that led to the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus are very much alive and thriving today. According to a J&K government report, 219 members of the community had been killed in the region between 1989 and 2004 but none thereafter. [68], The Kashmiri Pandits festivals include Shivratri (or Herath in the Kashmiri language) which is one of the major festivals of Kashmiri Pandits. [34] Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu. Leaders of Jammu and Kashmir knew earlier what was going to happen within few weeks. It was not until the fourteenth century that Muslim rule was finally established in the Valley and when this happened it did not occur primarily as a consequence of invasion so much as because of internal problems resulting from the weak rule and corruption endemic in the Hindu Lohara dynasty. A Kashmiri Pandit refugee camp in Jammu. A lot has changed since then but the more things change the more they remain the same. However, Zulju was probably not a Muslim. Power, Crossroads It was replaced by Urdu in 1889 during the Dogra rule. [56][57] They were distributed into the two districts of Valley, the Baramulla district, where Hindus constituted 2.1 percent of the population; 12,919 Hindus out of 612,428 total. [23], D.L. [70] They also wear the mekhal, which is a type of girdle. Unfortunately, no such appeal came, only an announcement that to ensure the security of Pandits, refugee camps were being set up in every district of the Valley, and Pandits who felt threatened could move to these camps rather than leave the Valley. Happy Editing! (At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. The disturbances within the social fabric of the Valley was met with some excesses from the Indian security forces. kashmiri pandit man Blogs, Comments and Archive News on Economictimes.com Muslims argue that by arranging for buses to transport Pandits out of the Valley, Jagmohan facilitated their flight, paving the way for the Indian security forces to launch an all-out military offensive against Muslims. Anantnag, the constituency of then Congress leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, bore the brunt of the violence. An eye-witness report by two investigative journalists on the ground in Prato, Italy. PTI Vivek Agnihotris The Kashmir Files, a movie that delves into the 1990 exodus of lakhs of The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins)[7] are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. The events of 19 January 1990 were particularly vicious. Tens of thousands of Kashmiris and Indian security personnel have lost their The fleeing Pandits did not think they would never return to the Valley. Around 9 PM, loud and thunderous Islamic and pro-Pakistan slogans raised collectively by a multitude of humanity and relayed through powerful loudspeakers almost pierced ear drums. It was at this meeting that pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani suddenly appeared and made a passionate plea for openly supporting jihad in Kashmir. A lot has changed since then but the more things change the more they remain the same. Yearly Plan. It has been a long time since somebody has edited this article and is pending for moderation. Even our Muslim friends were caught up in the Islamist frenzy of that period, Dhar recalled. Here's a look at the actual timeline of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, and how The Kashmir Files departs from history at certain points. They dream of returning to their old wooden homes surrounded by chinar trees and ringed by snow-capped mountains. However, Farooq Abdullah's first stint as chief minister was short-lived; he was deseated after an Indira Gandhi-led political coup in 1984. Dr. Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore, India. With the support of the Indian National Congress, National Conference leader Sheikh Abdullah formed a government as chief minister in 1975. An estimated 100,000 Kashmiri Pandits have reportedly fled the Valley. Thirty years after they fled their homes in the Valley, an older generation of Kashmiri Pandits continue to yearn for the lives they led before the exodus. Jammu, UPDATED: Oct 8, 2021 18:18 IST. In many cases, their properties were either immediately vandalised or sold quickly by the owners to Kashmiri Muslims. [38][39][40], In 2009 the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to recognise 14 September 2007, as Martyrs Day to acknowledge ethnic cleansing and campaigns of terror inflicted on non-Muslim minorities of Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists seeking to establish an Islamic state. What happened in January 1990 is bitterly contested. Defense, China According to scholar Christopher Snedden, the Pandits made up about 6 per cent of the Valley's population in 1947. Navreh or the Kashmiri lunar new year is also an important Pandit festival. [11][12] Prompted by the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley, large numbers left in the exodus of the 1990s. Log in to edit articles at Historical India. [65] The Mata Kheerbhawani[66] temple shrine in Srinagar, considered one of the holiest Hindu shrines, saw the largest gathering of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley in 2012. PM Rajiv Gandhis tenure ended on 2nd December 1989. JKLF targeted a Kashmiri Hindu for the first time on 14 September 1989, when they killed Tika Lal Taploo, a lawyer and a prominent leader of Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir, in front of several eyewitnesses. For impactful stories you just cant miss, By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy. That changed in 1989-90. What do we know about him? Journalist-lawyer Prem Nath Bhat was shot dead near his house in Anantnag shortly after. Militancy was gathering momentum and anti-India sentiments were running strong. Wajahat Habibullah, then a senior official in the J&K government and posted in Anantnag in 1990 as Special Commissioner, has written (Citizen, April 2015) that in March 1990, several hundred people gathered in front of his office demanding to know whey the Pandits were leaving and accused the administration of encouraging them to go, so that the Army would be free to unleash its heavy artillery on all habitations. kashmiri pandit man Latest Breaking News, Pictures, Videos, and Special Reports from The Economic Times. This is a difficult question. Its like asking if Tamilnadu belongs to Tamilians or India Lets in fact take the Case of Tamil Nadu Tamil nadu is a s It is high time that drastic measures are taken to redress the situation," he said. After their husbands killings, these women desperately sought to protect their sons from ongoing violence, even as they are largely shunned by society. Asia, Pacific A highly literate community, they were disproportionately represented in the Kashmir bureaucracy as well as in the teaching, legal, and medical professions, prompting resentment among other communities in the Valley, especially Muslims, who comprise over 95 percent of the population. Major media outlets have that the kidnapping was a fake one as the kidnapping took place just after 5 days Sayeed took the office. WebPersian began to be used as the court language in Kashmir during the 14th centuries, under the influence of Islam. Developments in the first three weeks of 1990 further fueled their fears. Those Pandits in service who felt threatened were free to leave their stations; they would continue to be paid salary. Black Day: January 19 is observed as the Holocaust day by the Kashmiri Pandit community. This decision had helped catalyse the Kashmir genocide's bloody 1990s chapter. Life and property were not safe, agriculture declined, and there were periods when trade came to a standstill. Another cause was communal hatred that was being fuelled by the authorities of Pakistan, hate speeches were being made to incite the people of Kashmir and to encourage them to VP Singh government was in power during genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Home Minister with BJP's help: Pawar The then Kashmiri Pandit Exodus 2022: I dont see myself going back to Valley again A number of Pandits working in Kashmir under the prime minister employment scheme have left the Valley after some of them were selectively targeted and killed by terrorists Samriddhi Sakunia June 19, 2022 07:04:54 IST They blame the then-Jammu and Kashmir governor, Jagmohan, for the Pandit exodus. The LG administration and the central government are primarily concerned with addressing security problems. Jammu and Kashmir being the only Muslim majority state in whole of India, the protection of minorities and their living peacefully, in their homeland, is crucial for India to remain as a Secular Democratic State. It laid down measures for the integration of Jammu and Kashmir to India, ensuring that it will continue to be governed under Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave the state an autonomous status as a constituent of India. Some 800 families have remained in But local politicians said the situation was far from normal, and [36][37], Some Hindus across India tried to help the Pandits. By 2011, only an estimated 2,700-3,400 Pandits remained in the Kashmir Valley. For instance, it suggests that a threat asking Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Valley was issued in Al-Safa before the exodus, thereby contributing to the forced migration. [58] and the Anantnag district, where they were 7.84 percent of the population. The crimes committed against the Kashmiri Pandits are, by any yardstick, deserving of the strongest condemnation and there can be no gainsaying the acute Singh to appoint Jagmohan as the governor of the state. The LG administration and the central government are primarily concerned with addressing security problems. Please take some time to moderate it now! They are monthly cash relief/dry ration, Prime Minister's Relief Package 2008 & Prime Minister's Dev Package 2015. Southeast China is drawing lessons from Russias invasion of Ukraine. Shortly afterwards, Amanullah Khan and Mohammad Maqbool Bhat gave birth to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in 1977, whose goal was to work towards the 'liberation' of Kashmir from India and Pakistan. As the numbers arriving in Jammu increased from thousands to tens of thousands over the first few months of 1990, a mostly middle-class community found itself living in tents in squalid, filthy camps far removed from the homes they had left behind. At the minimum level, these terms would include security to life and property and, at a broader level, a consensual rehabilitation scheme.[ref]. 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