Sent on behalf of: Krishna Bhan: President of the Indo European Kashmiri Forum (IEKF), Executive Representative of the Kashmiri Pandit Association Europe (KPAE) & Director of Education at Hindu Council UK (HCUK).
Twenty six years ago on 19th January 1990, Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus were given 24 hours eviction notice by Islamic terrorists to leave their homes, with threats to convert, die or escape. People recall the horror of waking up to hear this command which put the fear of death into their hearts. In order to safeguard their lives they had no choice but to leave their homeland. Over half a million innocent people abandoned their homes and belongings and headed outside the Valley of Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus lost their most precious possession; – they lost their homeland, the place of their birth.
This day is recognized as the beginning of the process of ethnic cleansing in which Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus were massacred and hounded out of the Kashmir Valley. As a result, the rich cultural heritage of Kashmiri Pandits/ Hindus is in decline; Hindu places of worship in the Valley have been burnt down, vandalized and damaged.
Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus are among the original inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley, with a recorded history of over 5,000 years. Over the millennia, the Kashmiri Pandit/Hindu community has been integral not only to the cultural and intellectual life of this region, but the administration and economic development as well.
Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus have been the target and victim of one of the most successful, though little-known, campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the World. Similar programmes of a far lesser magnitude in other parts of the World have attracted international attention, censure and action in support of the victim communities……..but this is an insidious campaign that has passed virtually unnoticed, and on which the World remains silent!!!
Kashmir has been the highest learning centre of Sanaskrit and Persian languages as the Indo-Aryanic civilizations has originated and flourished here. Nilmatpurana and Pandit Kalhan’s Rajatarangini are the oldest books on Kashmir history.
Displaced Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus now live as refugees in camps in Jammu, in Udhampore and in Delhi. The rich cultural heritage of Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus is in decline; Hindu places of worship in the Valley have been burnt down, vandalized and damaged. There has been a complete lack of prosecution of terrorists and militants, including those who openly admitted to the killing of Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus. Such terrorists should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus have a rightful and natural claim in the territory of Kashmir and their resettlement in Kashmir is a genuine political issue.
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The Indo European Kashmiri Forum (IEKF) & the Kashmiri Pandit Association Europe (KPAE), in association with Hindu Council UK (HCUK) are holding a special meeting to raise awareness of the Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus’ Holocaust Day and Genocide of the Kashmiri Hindu displaced community:
ON: Tuesday 19th January 2016
AT: The High Commission of India, Aldwych, London WC2B 4NA
TIME: 10.30 am till 11.45am
We have great pleasure in inviting you to join us and be part of this commemoration of Kashmiri Pandits/Hindus’ Genocide.
Spaces for this meeting are very limited – Please RSVP your attendance by emailing: Krishna Bhan, Tel: 07886439506
Email: bhank193@hotmail.com
I was a Kashmiri Pandit..
I was Secular to the Core..
I believed in Democracy..
I shunned Casteism..
Inspite of Persecution at all levels..
I never became a Terrorist..
I nourished Indian ethos with blood..
I was Mukhabir..
(An Indian Agent..)
I was KILLED..
WORLD Remained Silent..!
I have my brothers still alive..
Internally displaced..
Refugees..
Not born in kashmir..
But still have the connection..
A hope for homeland..
Nobody raises voice for our tiny community..
With no Votebank, nobody bothers..
PITY THE NATION..!!
PITY SECULARISM..!!
– Unknown
Sanjay Jagatia
Director/Secretary General
Hindu Council UK