National President of All India People’s National Party Mudasir Tantary said that Kashmir is incomplete without Kashmir Pandits during a media interaction. Tantary said they would like to see an end to the divide-and-rule politics played by the regional parties.
The displaced Kashmiri Pandits observe January 19 as “holocaust day” as they were removed out of Kashmir in 1990 after terrorist attacks and killings, now few Muslim politicians are encouraging them to return to the valley.
“We want peace in Kashmir, without the return of Kashmir’s Pandits, the blot on Kashmir’s history can’t be cleared”, added. Tantary. Kashmiri Muslims are peace lovers, and they will always stand up for Pandits’ security, mentioned Tantary.
Syed Abdul Latief Bukhari Mirwaiz Central Kashmir said that Kashmiri Pandits’ community is an integral part of the culture of the Valley. “Kashmiriyat has suffered due to their exodus,” he said.
Several programs were held on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims of the exodus. By migrant organisations including Kashmir Pandit Sabha (KPS), Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS), Panun Kashmir, Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD), Save Sharda Committee (SSC), and All-State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC).
These organisations have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to settle the Kashmir Pandits in the valley who have been living as refugees for over 30 years in their own nation.
A Panun Kashmir leader described how an entire community was forcibly removed from Kashmir on January 19, 1990, amid calls of “cheliv galiv ya raliv (leave, die, or mix)”. The day marks the beginning of ethnic cleansing and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits on a mass scale, he added.
Ravinder Pandita, the head of the Save Sharda Committee Kashmir organised and led the protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi wherein pandits from Delhi and NCR participated.
Ravindra Pandita said that the government should take practical steps in consultation with the community to ensure its safe return to Kashmir.
