Much has changed in Jammu and Kashmir. Armed militants, dressed in army fatigues, infiltrated a colony of Kashmiri Pandits in Pulwama's Nadimarg on 23 March 2003. It is an undeniable fact that the same sentiments that led to the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus are very much alive and thriving today. Without going into the complexities of power, politics, hatred, vendetta, agendas, and political priorities, I would like to opine that the governm At that time, Mr Chowdhury said, the then Congress president and Leader of Opposition Rajiv Gandhi had raised his voice against the exodus of people from Kashmir, and asked the then government to stop it "anyhow", warning that people of the country would not accept it. Some built new homes and or moved into rented places. Log in to edit articles at Historical India. In his address to celebrate the 104th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Yoon Suk-yeol said Japan has transformed into a partner sharing common values. On May 12, a gunman walked into a government office in central Kashmirs Chadoora town. While India would like the current phase of stability at the LoC to continue, it has little incentive to try to make a grand gesture toward peace with Pakistan. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group[8] from the Kashmir Valley,[9][10] a mountainous region located within the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. On January 21, the CRPF gunned down 160 Kashmiri Muslim protesters at the Gawkadal Bridge, which has come to be known as the worst massacre in the long history of the conflict in Kashmir. Asia, Asia "Kashmiri Pandits responsible for duress against Muslims should leave the Valley within two days," read a headline of a local Urdu newspaper, Al-Safa, on 14 April 1990. The efforts to resettle Pandits in the Valley in the last two decades have seen ghetto-like structures come up in various parts of Kashmir, ringed by concertina wire with heavy security, underlining that normal life is impossible. Vivek Agnihotri's film, The Kashmir Files, explores the tragic history of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, positing itself as an account of the events that transpired in the Valley in the early 1990s. WebThe Exodus It was 19 th of January, 1990 and days were cold and nights bitter, though there was no snow on the ground. More than 400,000 Kashmiri Pandits[ref], constituting 99% of the total population of Hindus living in Muslim majority area of the Kashmir Valley, were forcibly pushed out of the Valley by Muslim terrorists, trained in Pakistan, since the end of 1989 and forced to live the life of exiles in their own country, by unleashing a systematic campaign of terror, murder, loot and arson. Sun hid behind the clouds and the darkness found its way throughout the daylight. Join us to create the encyclopedia of Indian history Copyright2021 All Rights Reserved by Historical India, Since late 1989, the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been in the grip of a vicious movement of Islamist extremist terrorism. Kashmiri Pandits observe Holocaust Day to mark 30 years of mass exodus from Valley. [ref] Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits has reached its climax with Muslim terrorism succeeding in 'CLEANSING' the valley of this ancient ethno-religious community. This article is protected. What is the truth of the 1990s Kashmiri Pandit migration? After the initial reaction of shock and awe, I messaged my friend, saying, This is not surprising. The first day of the governor's rule, 19 January 1990, saw the darkest night in the history of the Kashmiri Pandit Exodus. In 1986, as opposition to the Shah government grew, Rajiv Gandhi resurrected Farooq Abdullah, who became CM once again. WebThe Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, is their early-1990 migration, or flight, from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir following rising violence in an insurgency.Of a total Pandit population of 120,000140,000 some 90,000100,000 left the valley or felt compelled to leave, and about 30 were killed. There is an acute realisation in the community that the Valley is no longer the same that they left behind in 1990. [30] Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150,000,[31] to 190,000 of a total Pandit population of 200,000,[32] to a number as high as 800,000. The lead up to the Kashmiri Hindu exodus In 1989, the then J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had ordered the release of around 70 terrorists between July (Or if they're ordered by the regime to create intentional tension/chaos. Journalist-lawyer Prem Nath Bhat was shot dead near his house in Anantnag shortly after. A large number of Hindu houses were attacked, shops looted, and temples vandalised in Vanpoh, Anantnag, and Sopore, among others. Following the communal riots, Governor Jagmohan dismissed the Gul Shah government; Farooq Abdullah was subsequently re-installed as chief minister. Speaking at the programme 'Global Kashmiri Pandit Conclave: A powerful anti-India militancy rattled the Indian state. VP Singh government was in power during genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Home Minister with BJP's help: Pawar The then Singh to appoint Jagmohan as the governor of the state. [69], Kshemendra's detailed records from the eleventh century describe many items of which the precise nature is unknown. Asia, South for Us, opposition to such Pandit-only settlements. According to a J&K government report, 219 members of the community had been killed in the region between 1989 and 2004 but none thereafter. Approximately 2,17,000 Pandits still live in abysmal conditions in Jammu with families of five to six people often huddled into a small room. They wanted sharia rule in Kashmir, Dhar said, adding that the Pandits had no choice but to leave their homes. The KPSS has placed the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed by militants from 1990 to 2011 at 399, the majority during Those who had means rebuilt their lives elsewhere in the country Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad have Pandit populations, also Jaipur and Lucknow or went abroad. Lalitaditya's predecessor, Ranaditya, is said to have built the first sun temple. WebIt clearly says that the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits started in late 1989. Tens of thousands of Kashmiris and Indian security personnel have lost their The fleeing Pandits did not think they would never return to the Valley. As for those Pandits who left the Valley, many were put up in tented accommodation in camps in Jammu and New Delhi initially and subsequently in townships in these cities. Instead, the notorious governor said that if the Pandits decided to leave, refugee camps had been set up for them and the departing civil servants would be continued to be paid their salaries. Click here to subscribe for full access. The Kashmiri Pandit community decided to leave. It was replaced by Urdu in 1889 during the Dogra rule. The Genocide of Kashmiri Hindus who are also called Kashmiri Pandits, was seventh ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits by radical Islamists in Kashmir Valley. I've heard cases. The year 1984 also saw another crucial event that contributed significantly to the rise of separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir: the hanging Maqbool Bhat, JKLF co-founder and a pioneer of the secessionist movement. Asia, Southeast Why this hindu escape from tthier.brith Places or home land. What is the reason Ifound..One is no unity of hindu socity..still and yesterday also.. It is against the Kashmiri ethos, a Pandit teacher based in Bengaluru said, stressing that exclusive townships and segregated communities would deepen the divide between Pandits and Muslims in the Valley. In Anantnag, the constituency of then Congress leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, there was a series of attacks on Hindu temples, and shops and properties of Kashmiri Pandits, blamed on separatist and secessionists. What was the UN event representatives of Kailasa attended? [ref][ref][ref] Events were also held at Jagti and Muthi migrant camps. No police commission, special investigation team (SIT), or judicial panel was constituted to probe the genocide-triggered exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. According to P.K.Verma, "Education was a common thread that bound together this pan Indian elite" and almost all the members of these communities could read and write English and were educated beyond school. For instance, it suggests that a threat asking Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Valley was issued in Al-Safa before the exodus, thereby contributing to the forced migration. In 1989, Neelkanth Ganjoo, the judge who had sentenced the JLKF's Maqbool Bhat to death, was killed in a market near the Srinagar High Court in broad daylight. PTI Vivek Agnihotris The Kashmir Files, a movie that delves into the 1990 exodus of lakhs of Advertisement. However, respect for the Pandits (many of whom were teachers) and a shared Kashmiri identity that held Pandits and Muslims together prevented differences from erupting into conflict. [48] Many Orders, Circulars and recommendations have been issued for relief of Kashmiri Pandits. 22 Mar 2022. On the day of 8 December 1989, the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed was carried out by members of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a Kashmiri terrorist separatist organisation, in Jammu and Kashmir. The majority of Kashmiri Brahmins are Krkuns, and this is likely due to the conversion of the majority of Kashmiris to Islam, which led to a decrease in demand for Hindu priests, which led most Kashmiri Brahmins to seek secular employment. With the completion of fifth year of their forced exile, this peace loving, culturally rich community with a history of more than 5000 years, is fighting a grim battle to save itself from becoming extinct as a distinct race and culture. Major media outlets have that the kidnapping was a fake one as the kidnapping took place just after 5 days Sayeed took the office. She writes on South Asian political and security issues. Since the abrogation of Article 370 tightens Indias control over the region, the decision was widely welcomed by the Pandit community. Many scholars and media houses have compared the genocide with that of Holocaust. [61] Scholar Alexander Evans estimates by 1990, there would have been 160,000170,000 Pandits in the Kashmir Valley. By 2011, only an estimated 2,700-3,400 Pandits remained in the Kashmir Valley. He operated a meritocracy and both Brahmins and Buddhists were among his closest advisors. [54] Ikkjutt Jammu, a political party in Jammu and Kashmir, advocates for two Union Territories in Kashmir, one being Panun Kashmir for Kashmiri Hindus. Journalist-lawyer Prem Nath Bhat was shot dead in Anantnag on December 27. [17], The Brahmins had something to be particularly unhappy about during the reign of the last Lohara king, for Shadeva chose to include them in his system of onerous taxation, whereas previously they appear to have been exempted. "We cannot go back in the conditions prevailing in Kashmir. A governor of this administration was ruling in Jammu and Kashmir. [71] Frederick J. Simoons says that according to some reports, Kashmiri Pandits also consume fish as part of their diet. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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