Kashmiri Pandits today staged a protest on the occasion of their Holocaust Day in front of Raj Bhawan here and blamed the successive governments for their "failure" to punish the militants who killed hundreds of their community members in the Valley in the 1990s.
A joint protest was staged by various Kashmiri Pandits' organisations in front of Raj Bhawan here on a call of the All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC).
Displaced Kashmiri Pandits, who were forced to flee from Kashmir valley to Jammu and other states in the early 90s soon after the outbreak of militancy in the state, observe this day as their Holocaust Day.
Besides Jammu, Holocaust Day was observed at Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chandigarh etc.
Apart from the ASKPC, the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), Panun Kashmir, All Displaced KP United Forum, JK Democratic Front, Sampuran Kashmiri Sangathan, Jagti Coordination Committee, NC minority cell, BJP minority cell, Sharika Peeth Sansthan, Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch and other social organisations took part in the protest here.
ASKPC chief Ravinder Raina, in his address, demanded a white paper from the government on the reasons that had led to the forced exodus of Pandits from the Valley.
He alleged that the brutal killings of Pandits by terrorists, supported by "pan-Islamist fundamentalists" were never probed even after the culprits confessed to their crime publicly.
Holocaust Day was observed by the All Migrant Camp Coordination Committee at the Jagti township.
The APMCC observed Holocaust Day at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Led by the Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM), Kashmir Samiti Delhi, Roots in Kashmir (RIK) and Panun Kashmir, the protesters demanded that their human rights be restored as they had faced discrimination over the years.
Sanjay Ganjoo of JKVM said, "Minds were imbibed with fear and insecurity and we were forcefully made to flee our native land in the wake of a freedom movement."
"Not only were we living under the sustained threat of ethnic cleansing by terrorists, over five lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forcefully evicted, defamed, killed and the women brutally raped simply because they were Hindus and seen as symbols of India," Sumeer Chrungoo of the Kashmir Samiti Delhi said.
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Observing the day by organising a seminar with the theme 'Ek Bharat Abhiyan-Kashmir Ki Aur', the Panun Kashmir warned the Centre about Kashmir becoming like Syria or Afghanistan and passed a resolution reiterating the necessity for a separate homeland for Kashmiri Hindus.
Delegates from across the country gathered at Abhinav theatre on the occasion.
All of them unanimously endorsed the Separate Homeland Demand as envisaged in the MargadarshanResolution of 1991.
The Panun Kashmir reiterated the necessity for a separate homeland for Kashmiri Hindus to the north and east of the Vitasta river in Kashmir.
"J&K is fast turning into an ungoverned territory like Syria and Afghanistan and efforts must be made by the GoI (Government of India) to devise a mechanism to give a death knell to those who are out to dismember India," the resolution passed in this regard said.
BJP lawmaker Surinder Ambardar and Udhampur MLA Pawan Gupta, a former minister in the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir, took part in the seminar among others.
Ambardar appreciated Panun Kashmir's role in highlighting the plight and agony of Kashmiri Hindus over the last 27 years.
Later, he told reporters that the government should talk to the representatives of Panun Kashmir.
Founder of the Sri Ram Sena Pramod Muthalik talked about the "threat of growing Islamic fundamentalism" in India and claimed that there were "5,000 Kashmirs in the making".
"A serious resurgence needs to shape to thwart the designs of the forces inimical to the Sanatan Hindu Civilisation," he added.
Former DGP MM Khajooria talked about the "havoc" inflicted by the religious fanatics on the minorities of the state.
Tapan Ghosh, a nationalist ideologue from West Bengal, said the religious cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus was a "red signal" for the entire nation.
Academician Kashi Nath Pandita, Agnishekhar, convenor, Panun Kashmir, former head of the History department of Jammu University Hari Om and others spoke on the occasion.
