The first prime minister of our country Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a Kashmiri Pandit still his tribe never got the respect they deserved.
The Kashmiri Pandits had been a favoured section of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947). 20 per cent of them left the valley as a consequence of the 1950 land reforms,and by 1981 the Pandit population amounted to 5 per cent of the total.
They began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s during the eruption of militancy, following persecution and threats by radical Islamists and militants. The events of 19 January 1990 were particularly vicious. On that day, mosques issued declarations that the Kashmiri Pandits were Kafirs and that the males had to leave Kashmir, convert to Islam or be killed. Those who chose to the first of these were told to leave their women behind. The Kashmiri Muslims were instructed to identify Pandit homes so they could be systematically targeted for conversion or killing.
According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during the 1990s. Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150,000, to 190,000 of a total Pandit population of 200,000, to a number as high as 800,000.The nature of the planned exodus has remain controversial, with the involvement of then Governor Jagmohan in organising a clandestine exodus been a subject of controversy.Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu. The government has reported on the terrorist threats to Pandits still living in the Kashmir region.
Some Hindus across India tried to help the Pandits. Bal Thackeray from Maharashtra got seats reserved in engineering colleges for the children of these Pandits. He was one of the first persons to help them after which Punjab also followed suit.
In 2009 the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to recognise 14 September 2007, as Martyrs Day to acknowledge ethnic cleansing and campaigns of terror inflicted on non-Muslim minorities of Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists seeking to establish an Islamic state.
In 2010, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir noted that 808 Pandit families, comprising 3,445 people, were still living in the Valley and that financial and other incentives put in place to encourage others to return there had been unsuccessful. 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.The local organisation of pandits in Kashmir, Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti after carrying out a survey in 2008 and 2009, said that 399 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by insurgents from 1990 to 2011 with 75% of them being killed during the first year of the Kashmiri insurgency.
JAMMU, ju The exiled community had hoped to return after the situation improved. They have not done so because the situation in the Valley remains unstable and they fear a risk to their lives.
As of October 2015, only 1 Kashmiri Pandit family returned to the Kashmir valley since 1990 according to the Jammu & Kashmir government despite the financial assistance being given for rehabilitation. As of 2016, a total of 1,800 Kashmiri Pandit youths have returned to the valley since the announcing of Rs. 1,168-crore package in 2008 by the UPA government.ne 12: More than 5,000 people, mostly members of the Kashmiri Pandit community, started their journey from here this morning for the annual Kheer Bhawani Mela in the Kashmir Valley amid tight security, officials said.
The Kheer Bhawani Mela, celebrated on Zeisht Ashtami, will take place on June 14 at the shrines of Tulmulla in Ganderbal, Tikker in Kupwara, Laktipora Aishmuqam in Anantnag, Mata Tripursundri Devsar in Kulgam, and Mata Kheer Bhawani in Manzgam.
The four-day pilgrimage started on Wednesday with Divisional Commissioner ( Jammu) Ramesh Kumar, Relief Commissioner, Dr Arvind Karwani, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, DIG Trafic, SSP Jammu, Deputy Director Tourism, Rajesh Gupta, VHP president, Prem Sharma, Mata Kheer Bhawani Dogra Asthapan Jammu and Suresh Gupta secretary besides the prominent Kashmiri Pandit leaders including Kiran Wattal president, Mata Kheer Bhawaniji Yatra Welfare Society were present during flagging off the journey from Nagrota in the outskirts of Jammu city.
Singing devotional songs and chanting mantras, the devotees left in 176 buses for the five renowned shrines in the Kashmir Valley.
The Divisional Commissioner while flagging off the yatra said that all the necessary arrangements have been put in place en-route the Yatra by the concerned district administrations and stakeholder departments. The arrangements include busses for transportation, security, accommodation, langar and other facilities for the devotees.
The main congregation will be held at Tulmulla (Ganderbal) on the auspicious occasion of Zyesht Ashtami on June 14, 2024. Relief Organisation, in collaboration with concerned district administration has made all the necessary arrangements for the convenience of the pilgrimage of the devotees of Mata Kheer Bhawani. Yatra shall return back on June 15, 2024, it was informed.
“Over 5,000 Kashmiri Pandits left for Kashmir to take part in Kheer Bhawani Mela. They have left Nagrota early today in 176 buses amid tight security arrangements,” Relief Commissioner, Dr Arvind Karwani said.
He said the pilgrims would halt at Ramban for lunch and asserted that strict security measures have been taken for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.
This year, an estimated 80,000 migrant Kashmiri Pandits from various parts of India and abroad are expected to visit the five renowned temples in the Valley during the annual fair.
The members of MKBJWS later themselves joined pilgrims to Kashmir. The MKBJYWS has been playing an important role in becoming a bridge between the officials and public not only to promote the yatra but also make sure arrangements are monitored and followed up with the official machinery.
The Society has arranged the dinner and tea on for 6000 Yatries/ pilgrims at Central University complex Tulmulla Kheerbhawani Kashmir.
