Kashmiri Pandits Hold Rally In Front Of CNN Headquarters In US To Support India’s Decision To Abrogate Article 370

Applauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, the Kashmiri Pandit community in US held a rally to support the move by the Indian government, reports The New Indian Express.

The Modi government on 5 August abrogated the provisions of the Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and also proposed the bifurcation of the state, which got approval of the Parliament on 6 August, into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh.

Expressing their support for the move by the Indian government, the Kashmiri Pandits along with other members of the Indian-American community held a rally in front of the CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

"The rally highlighted the fact that these temporary articles related to Jammu and Kashmir needed these modifications as these were highly discriminatory against almost all Kashmiri minorities (such as Shias, Dalits, Gujjars, Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Sikhs)," said Subash Razdan, Atlanta resident of Kashmir ancestry and a former president of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA).

According to the report, the Kashmiri Pandits told personal stories of their hapless exodus and expressed desire to go back to their homeland which they had to left in 1990 due to terrorism.

"All those present believed that under this new freedom courtesy of the Modi Government, India's Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities will now have a better chance to be equals before the law," Razdan said.