The Union Government must treat them as victims of religious persecution in Jammu and Kashmir, a platform of Kashmiri Pandits has demanded. This means the government must set up a tribunal to find out those guilty of the barbaric act of cleansing the Kashmir Valley of Pandits and get them punished on the pattern of what happened in Gujarat in 2002 and after. Also, such a tribunal should find out the exact number of deaths that happened due to such persecution.
Kashmiri Pandits were hounded out because they belonged to a minority community in the Valley, most members of the community that met in New Delhi to formulate the much talked about rehabilitation promise of the Modi Government.
Members of erstwhile Panun Kashmir and various other organisations met in Delhi on 28 June to band together and better present their case before the Union Government. More than 75 members from the community from across the country met to discuss the situation.
Most members felt that Panun Kashmir had failed to emerge as the sole voice of the community and various fringe organisations had tried to pitch in to fill the vacuum. More meetings of various representatives are likely in coming days to bring all the organisations together on one platform.
Among those who attended the day-long meeting included Dr Agnishekhar, Dr Ajay Chrangoo, Manvati, Captain Tikoo, Vijay Tikoo, YN Trisal and Utpal Kaul. The meeting on Saturday that took place in Samavar Hall at Pomposh Enclave was organised by Sunil Shakdar.
The meeting also discussed whether the community should bargain for a separate enclave in the Valley for resettlement to ensure safety of the community’s life and property. The land they owned before getting dispossessed should be identified and a proper rehabilitation package should be framed, they demanded. The meeting overwhelmingly argued that the place of their resettlement should not have provisions such as Article 370 that separated the State from the Indian Union.
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