19th Jan – Kashmir Holocaust Day

PANUN KASHMIR has been observing over the last some time that attempts are being made to mislead the public opinion about the issues of displacement and resettlement of the Kashmiri Hindu community in the Kashmir valley. In the recent case relating to a petition filed in the Supreme Court of India regarding the situation of Kashmiri Pandits, living in exile, the state government of Jammu and Kashmir in its affidavit has tried to misguide the honorable Supreme Court of India by stating that the Kashmiri Pandits are not interested in resettlement in the Kashmir valley. It needs to be mentioned here that the Kashmiri Pandits who are the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the valley have right from very inception of the mass exodus expressed their firm resolve to resettle in Kashmir. In this connection, a number of resolutions and charters were passed in various conferences of Kashmiri Pandits during their period of exile, expressing their firm resolve to return to Kashmir and resettle there. The Kashmiri Hindu Convention of 1990, Margdarshan Conference of 1991 and the Kashmiri Pandit Representative Assembly of 2000 unanimously asked for geo-political dispensation for Kashmiri Pandits in the form of a separate Homeland in the valley of Kashmir. This alone will meet the aspirations of the seven lakh Kashmiri Hindus. The resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits is a serious issue and it cannot be trivialized as an administrative exercise. The issue of resettlement has to be seen in the context of the historical perspective that the current exodus is the seventh one and any resettlement of the community in the valley has to ensure that there are no chances of any  refoulment in future.
            
            PANUN KASHMIR expresses dismay over the fact that the Prime Minister’s package announced four years ago for the Kashmir Pandit community has not been implemented. The State government has created conditions that are nearly unimplementable for the package to take effect. As a result, the PM’s package has not seen the light of the day and remains on the paper. The Rs.1500 crore package announced by the Prime Minister could have ameliorated some of the sufferings of the displaced community but the conditions created by the state authorities made it nearly impossible to implement. We appeal the Prime Minister to take cognizance of the matter.
         
PANUN KASHMIR, as a constituent of the Joint Forum of KP organisations would be observing Holocaust Day along with its other constituents on 19th January 2011. A joint demonstration would be organized to highlight the plight of the displaced community. We make an earnest appeal to all to join the demonstration on the said date.

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