Mudassir Ahmad
Srinagar, May 6: Thirty-five years after their migration from Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits have urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to unveil a concrete roadmap for their return within the next 60 days.
Citing decades of neglect, the community has written to the Home Minister, demanding justice, restoration of faith, and an end to political posturing.
According to official figures, around 60,000 Kashmiri Pandit families fled their homes in 1989–90 following the outbreak of militancy in the Valley. While nearly three lakh Pandits lived in Kashmir before 1990, only about 3,000 remain today, with just 600 families currently residing in the Valley. The majority have settled in Jammu and Delhi, often in migrant camps with substandard living conditions.
In their letter to the Home Minister, the Kashmiri Pandit community called for the establishment of a Truth and Justice Commission to acknowledge the horrors of the 1990 exodus and ensure that historical facts are not distorted for political convenience.
“For the past 35 years, the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits has been reduced to mere rhetoric. What should have been a humanitarian priority has instead become a political gimmick,” the letter states.
“The forced exodus wasn’t just about violence. Many died due to extreme weather, snake bites, lack of healthcare facilities, and psychological trauma, reads the letter”
The letter further states that rehabilitation must go beyond slogans and hollow assurances, and instead focus on building an environment conducive to a safe and respectful return. “We don’t want symbolic gestures; we want actionable policies. We want to live without fear in our own land,” it reads.
The community’s call for justice and dignified return was echoed by Sanjay Tickoo, President of the Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), a prominent Pandit rights organisation. Tickoo, who continues to live in the Valley, said the KPSS has submitted a detailed representation to the Home Minister, outlining their demands for a sustainable and voluntary return policy. (KINS)
