Kashmiri Pandits observe 'holocaust day', seek early return and rehabilitation in Valley

The 21-year-old Ritik Jotshi was among a group of Kashmiri Pandits who have joined a peaceful sit in outside Raj Bhavan here on Sunday to mark the completion of their 30 years in exile.

The protest was part of the 'holocaust day' which is being observed by the displaced community who were forced to flee from Kashmir to Jammu and other states in the early 90s soon after the outbreak of militancy.

Chanting high pitch slogans in support of the demand for their return and rehabilitation in the valley, Jotshi whose family migrated from their ancestral Brahman Mohalla village in Anantnag district of south Kashmir is hopeful of making it back to his village with dignity.

"This is for the first time that I am joining the protest here. We want the government to come out with a roadmap for our return and rehabilitation in the valley without further delay," he told PTI.

Jotshi said he had visited his ancestral village for a few days after his birth in Jammu but "the desire in my heart to live in my land remains alive."