Displaced Kashmiri Pandits to observe 19th January as holocaust day

Jammu, January 16 (Vijay Kumar) –   Various displaced Kashmiri Pandit organizations will observe the holocaust day jointly and hold protest demonstrations on January 19.

H.L. Chatta, General secretary, All state Kashmiri Pandit Conferece, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, president Panun Kashmir and Dr. R. L. Bhat, Senior Vice President, Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch in a joint press conference in Jammu on Saturday said that the Exodus forced upon the minority Kashmiri Pandit community of the is a great blot upon the democratic polity of India as well as the J&K state especially the Valley of Kashmir.

Other KP leaders present at the joint press conference were D. N. Kissu, Chairman, Non-camp Migrant Coordination Committee, P. L. Raina, Camp Representative and Member Apex Committee and Vinod Pandit, Chairman APMCC and Member Apex Committee.

H.L. Chatta,General secretary, All state Kashmiri Pandit Conferece,said that one thousand killings of community members in less than three months made the entire minority community to flee their five thousand year old abode.
He said against this forced exodus the Kashmiri Pandit migrants have been observing Holocaust day for the last 19 years on January 19 every year adding that as part of the this year’s program a joint protest demonstration is being organized on January 19 outside the Raj Bhawan, Jammu at 11 AM. He appealed the masses to join this programme and register their protest on this 20th Holocaust Day.

Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, President, Panun Kashmir said “It is well established that the special character and autonomy of Kashmir have encouraged and bolstered the separatist tendencies in the Valley. He said our exile from the Valley is a direct result of that mentality. As it is, J&K, which practically means Kashmir, enjoys more powers than any other state of India. Though Kashmiri leadership, like the recent statement of the NC leader Farooq Abdullah, keep on saying that autonomy is necessary for peace in Kashmir, it is a fact that the huge quantum of autonomy enjoyed by Kashmir did not lead to peace. It led to promotion of the secessionist tendencies and dilution of the Indian nation in the valley, he added. He said demand for more autonomy would make Kashmiri centric polity a dictator which can only result in greater deprivation of the minorities of Kashmir and would subject the people in other regions to more discrimination. ‘We reject Farooq Abdullah’s statement on autonomy and also reject the theory on Autonomy in all its forms and contours’, he maintained.

Dr R. L. Bhat, Senior Vice President, Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch and Member Apex Committee while disproving the secular credentials of Kashmir said that tall claims of secular accommodation and tolerance of Kashmir were brushed aside by the majority community itself in denying the minority Pandits any space within the valley. When we were being forced out through killings, the killers were actively aided and shielded openly. Canards were spread to justify the actions of the killers. Today they are mute spectators while the leaders of Kashmir deny us dignified return under one pretext or the other, he said and added that our exile is a big question mark on the sincerity and intents of the Kashmiri majority community.

Vinod Pandit, APMCC president said,"Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits has disproved the secular credentials of Kashmir. The tall claims of secular accommodation and tolerance of Kashmir were brushed aside by the majority community itself in denying the minority Pandits any space within the valley.""When we were being forced out through killings, the killers were actively aided and shielded openly. Canards were spread to justify the actions of the killers", he added.



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