Kashmiri Pandits Demand Creation Of Separate Township Within Kashmir For Themselves

In observation of the 29th anniversary of the forced exile of Kashmiri Pandits from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, some members belonging to the community gathered at Raj Ghat on 19 January and took certain resolutions, reports The Indian Express.

They took a vow to return to Kashmir Valley and appealed to the government to fulfil its duty by facilitating their return and also demanded the creation of a separate township in the valley for them.

“More than 50,000 Pandits died at the hostile camps due to snake and scorpion bites. A refugee camp in Jammu still harbours more than 25,000 people, and it is no better than a concentration camp,” Vivek Raina, a young student, was quoted as saying by IE.

Thousands of Islamic armed militants had occupied the streets of Kashmir shouting slogans against the community, which eventually led to their departure from the valley on this day in 1990.

“Many Kashmiri Pandits got killed, raped and tortured before and after 19 January 1990 in a series of targeted killings of minority Pandits,” the group said in a statement.

“Mobs occupied every road in Kashmir. They shouted slogans against the Pandits, asking us to either convert or leave the valley,” Mona Razdan, one among the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, was quoted as saying by Indian Express.