‘Time Will Come When Kashmiri Pandits Will Be Offering Prayers At Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple’: HM Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday (1 July) said that the central government is committed to bringing Kashmiri Pandits and Sufis back to the Kashmir valley. He said that a time will come when the Kashmiri Pandits will be offering prayers at the famous Kheer Bhawani temple, reports Asian News International (ANI).

"Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave Kashmir. Many of their shrines were demolished,” Shah said while adding that Sufism was also targeted in the state of Jammu and Kashmir as they used to talk about unity and harmony.

“No voice was raised in favour of Kashmiri Pandits and Sufis when they were brutally attacked,” Shah said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is committed to bringing back Kashmiri Pandits, he said.

The Home Minister was responding to a debate in the House on the extension of President's rule in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and the bill providing job and educational reservation for those living along the international borders in Jammu region on the same lines as the facility enjoyed by those living along the Line of Control (LoC).

"We will be the ones protecting the culture of Kashmir. A time will come when Kashmiri pandits will be seen offering prayers at Mata Kheer Bhawani temple and Sufis will also be seen alongside them. Modi government is committed to retaining the culture of Kashmir," the Home Minister said.

Located about 14 km east of Srinagar, Mata Kheer Bhawani temple is one of the holiest shrines of Kashmiri Pandits,

It should be noted that even more than two decades after their exodus as a result of being targeted by Islamist insurgents in the 1989 and early 1990, the Kashmiri Hindus have still not been able to return to their ancestral land.