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Fear Returns to the Valley: Kashmiri Pandit Staff Ordered Home After Pahalgam Attack

April 24, 2025, 1:34 pm

Following the ghastly terror strike in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead, the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered minority Kashmiri Pandit employees, who are employed under the Prime Minister’s Special Rehabilitation Package, to report to work from home. The decision comes against the backdrop of growing security concerns in the Kashmir Valley.

The chief education officers (CEO) of north Kashmir’s Baramulla and south Kashmir’s Anantnag districts separately issued orders on Wednesday, directing the minority community employees of the education department to stay off-campus until further notice.

All employees who are working under the PM Package are hereby asked to work from home during the course of this week with immediate effect upto Sunday (i.e. 27-05-2025). All such employees concerned will remain available to perform their duties and responsibilities,” was the order of Baramulla district.

Anantnag’s education department issued a similar order called ‘Work From Home’, instructing all minority staff to work from home “till further orders.” Interestingly, the orders did not state the cause of the abrupt decision, although the timing has a strong correlation with the recent terror attack.

5,500 Employees Under the PM Package Affected

Official statistics say about 5,500 employees have been appointed under the special rehabilitation policy initiated by the UPA government in 2008-09 to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits back in the Valley. They have been deployed primarily in the education, revenue, and finance wings.

After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, several of these employees and other non-local workers were targeted by a series of terror attacks attributed to The Resistance Front, a subsidiary of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba. The organization has also taken responsibility for the Pahalgam attack.

Strikes, Protests, and Security Alert After Pahalgam Attack

The spate of attacks had previously compelled many Pandit workers to leave the Valley and migrate to Jammu or other Indian territories. During 2021–22, such workers had organised a strike of one year’s duration and insisted on their shifting outside Kashmir to ensure safety.

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam bloodshed, civil society activists, traders, and students organized candlelight protests throughout Kashmir. There was a complete shutdown in both divisions of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Schools and some government offices were closed, and public transport was thin.

Security forces are now on high alert as search operations are ongoing in the Lidder Valley district to identify the militants who carried out the attack.

All-Party Meetings in Delhi, Srinagar

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will likely preside over an all-party meeting in Delhi on Thursday, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah also set to be present. Shah had gone to the Pahalgam site of the attack on Wednesday and offered floral tributes to the martyrs at the Srinagar police headquarters.

In the meanwhile, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has summoned a similar meeting at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar to discuss the deteriorating security situation and show collective condemnation.

This attack is one of the deadliest attacks on tourists in Kashmir since the early 1990s war, creating public dismay and leading to quick administrative and political action.

Displaced Kashmiri Pandit Votes After 32 Years, Celebrates Changing Situation In Kashmir

May 25, 2024, 7:07 pm

Veer Saraf, a displaced Kashmiri Pandit, expressed his joy at casting his vote in Kashmir for the first time in 32 years. He cited the changing situation in the region as his motivation to return and participate in the democratic process.

Voting is currently underway for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir, with a large turnout at polling booths. After casting his vote in Anantnag, Saraf told ANI, “I cast my vote in Kashmir after 32 years. I am from a minority community that usually does not visit here. But the changing situation in Kashmir over the last ten years compelled us to come and vote in Kashmir.”

When asked about his feelings, he said, “It is a moment of happiness to cast your vote in your motherland, the most sacred place. We worship our motherland.”

The Election Commission had previously rescheduled the polling date for the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency from May 7 to May 25 due to logistical, communication, and connectivity challenges.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is contesting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat against National Conference (NC) candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad and Zafar Iqbal Manhas of the Apni Party.

Saraf emphasized the significance of his vote, saying, “I have cast this vote for the contentment of my soul.” He noted that not all Kashmiri Pandits returned to vote, but some of his friends preferred to vote in Kashmir rather than Jammu.

Polling has already been completed in the Jammu, Baramulla, Srinagar, and Udhampur constituencies. This election marks the first general election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

In the fifth phase, the Baramulla parliamentary constituency recorded a voter turnout of 55.79%, the highest in the last eight Lok Sabha elections over 35 years. Similarly, the Srinagar constituency saw its highest turnout since 1999, with over 38%.

Voting in Jammu and Kashmir is being conducted in five phases. The counting of votes for all Lok Sabha seats in the region, along with the rest of the country, is scheduled for June 4.

J&K: Terrorist who shot dead Kashmiri Pandit eliminated in encounter

February 28, 2023, 2:12 pm

The terrorist who killed Kashmiri Pandit, Sanjay Sharma was eliminated in an encounter, Kashmir Zone Police informed on Tuesday. The terrorist is identified as Aqib Mustaq Bhat, who served as the Resistance Front, the police reported.

Earlier, he was associated with Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit. Recently, the Kashmiri zone police took to their twitter and penned, “AwantiporaEncounterUpdate: Killed #terrorist identified as Aqib Mustaq Bhat of #Pulwama (A category). He initially worked for HM #terror outfit, nowadays he had been working with TRF. #Killer of late Sanjay Sharma #neutralised: ADGP Kashmir @JmuKmrPolice.”

Notably, Sharma, served as a security guard at a bank where he was shot dead by terrorists in Achan area of Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday morning.

Kashmiri Pandit killed in Pulwama by Terrorists

February 26, 2023, 6:06 pm

A kashmiri Pandit, who was working as a security guard at a bank was shot dead by terrorists in Achan area, Pulwama district, on Sunday morning, a police officer said.

The deceased was identified as Sanjay Sharma, son of Kashinath Sharma. He was working as a security guard, the officer revealed. As per the statement given by officers, security of the area has been tightened and the entire area has been cordoned off to arrest the attackers involved in the case.

While explaining the incident, the Kashmir police stated that the terrorists opened fire on Shrama, while he was on his way to a local market in Achan. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital with the help of locals for treatment, wherein he succumbed to his injuries. The Police are still investigating the matter and further details are awaited.

Jammu: Kashmiri Pandits hold barefoot march,demand to ensure their “Right to Life”

November 27, 2022, 3:12 pm

A barefoot march held by the Kashmiri Pandit Migrant Employees in Jammu demanding the government’s address on their safety concerns while bringing out a complete roadmap to relocate them in the valley.
The march was held by the pandits on the occasion of Constitution Day on November 26 and it was intended to demand the government to safeguard their “Right to Life” provided in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. One of the protestors said, “We have spent 15 years in Kashmir. The Kashmiri Pandits and the employees are demanding a comprehensive roadmap to relocate the Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir. On the occasion of Constitution Day, we demand the lives to be saved in Kashmir.”
“The people of Kashmir are with us in this fight. Kashmiri Pandits are becoming scapegoats due to the targeted killings. The migrant workers from other states are being killed,” he added.
Another protester claimed that the recent wave of targeted killings in Kashmir violated their right to life and urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to address the issue with the staff.
“Our Right to Life in the Constitution is being violated. We demand from the government to ensure the right to education and the Right to Life which is being violated in Kashmir. Until the situation becomes good in the valley, we demand the government to relocate us to Jammu. The employees are not demanding anything but their lives. The administration should show sensitivity and come forward to talk to the employees. The L-G should take note of these things,” he said.
Since October of last year, a number of targeted killings have occurred in Kashmir.
According to an earlier NIA charge sheet, targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley were a component of a larger plot by Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists and other terrorist organisations that have been designated as being proscribed to disturb the peace and democratic process established by the Panchayati Raj System in the valley as well as to sow terror among the politically elected representatives.
The information was made public when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged six people in the deliberate killing of the Sarpanch of the Adoora village in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
The anti-terror organisation submitted the chargesheet in the matter of the targeted murder of Sarpanch Shabir Ahmad Mir by the terrorists of the outlawed terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen in a special NIA court in Jammu.
The case was re-registered by the NIA on April 8 after being initially registered on March 11 at the Kulgam police station in Jammu & Kashmir.
According to the NIA, investigations have shown that the handlers of the outlawed terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen, who are based in Pakistan, planned the targeted murder of Sarpanch Shabir Ahmad Mir in cooperation with other terrorists, Over Ground Workers, and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists active in the Kashmir Valley.

‘This will never stop until justice is served’, says Farooq Abdullah

October 17, 2022, 1:35 pm

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Monday said the incidents of killing Jammu and Kashmir people by terrorists are not going to stop “until justice is served.”

National Conference leader Abdullah said, “This will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happening due to Article370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?”

Ahead of the assembly elections, an all-party meeting is being held at the residence of Abdullah. The elections are likely to be held next year.

Earlier on Saturday, terrorists opened fire at Chowdari Gund in Kashmir’s Shopian in which one Kashmiri Pandit got injured, and later was declared dead.

Meanwhile, BJP Jammu and Kashmir chief Ravinder Raina also condemned the attack and said, “All the conspiracies of Pakistan and terrorists will be made unsuccessful. Those who conspired to target a Kashmiri Pandit will have to bear the brunt. The Army-Police have put up check nakas, and the conspiring terrorists will be turned to dust.”

Moreover, the Terror outfit Kashmir Freedom Fighters has taken the responsibility for the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit on Saturday.

“A Kashmiri Pandit Puran Ji has been murdered. We are working on the case. KFF (Kashmir-freedom-fighters) has claimed the responsibility for it. We won’t say anything for sure about it, yet. A guard was present here,” Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sujit Kumar said.

“We are ascertaining the reason, he had gone out on his scooter and had returned on it. He wasn’t alone, they were two people. If the incident occurred in presence of the guard who was deployed here, action will cover not only him but all concerned officers in the area,” DIG Kumar further said.

J&K: Terror outfit Kashmir Freedom Fighters takes responsibility for killing Kashmiri Pandit

October 15, 2022, 7:00 pm

Terror outfit Kashmir Freedom Fighters has taken the responsibility for the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit on Saturday.

Terrorists opened fire at Chowdari Gund in Kashmir’s Shopian on Saturday in which one Kashmiri Pandit got injured and later he was declared dead.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sujit Kumar said, “A Kashmiri Pandit Puran Ji has been murdered. We are working on the case. KFF (Kashmir Freedom Fighters) has claimed the responsibility for it. We won’t say anything for sure about it, yet. A guard was present here.”

“In the initial investigation, eyewitnesses say that there was only one person who had targetted him and was in front of him. Nobody has spotted anyone else who might be hiding. Things will be clear, give us some time,” Kumar said.

“We are ascertaining the reason, he had gone out on his scooter and had returned on it. He wasn’t alone, they were 2 people. If the incident occurred in presence of the guard who was deployed here, action will cover not only him but all concerned officers in the area,” DIG Kumar further stated.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the terrorist killing and assured that the accused will be severely punished.

“Attack on Puran Krishan Bhat by terrorists in Shopian is a dastardly act of cowardice. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. I assure the people that the perpetrators and those aiding and abetting terrorists will be severely punished,” Sinha tweeted.

Attack on Puran Krishan Bhat by terrorists in Shopian is a dastardly act of cowardice. My heartfelt condolences to bereaved family. I assure the people that the perpetrators and those aiding and abetting terrorists will be severely punished.
— Manoj Sinha (@manojsinha_) October 15, 2022

Moreover, the Kashmiri Pandit has been identified as Puran Krishan Bhat.

Talking about the incident the Jammu and Kashmir police said, “Terrorists fired upon a civilian (minority) Puran Krishan Bhat while he was on his way to an orchard in Chowdari Gund, Shopian. He was immediately shifted to hospital for treatment where he succumbed.”

However, the search operation in the area is going on and more details are awaited.

Kashmiri Pandit shot dead by terrorist in J&K’s Shopian

October 15, 2022, 3:21 pm

Terrorists opened fire at Chowdari Gund in Kashmir’s Shopian on Saturday in which one Kashmiri Pandit got injured and later he was declared dead.

Earlier the injured civilian has been shifted to the hospital where he was declared dead.

Meanwhile, the Kashmiri Pandit has been identified as Puran Singh Bhat.

Moreover, the search operation in the area is going on and more details are awaited.

Earlier in the morning in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bondipora district an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detected by the security forces.

However, Bomb Disposal Squad was called and vehicular movement was halted as a precautionary measure.

‘Shameful that atrocities on Kashmiri Pandits continue today’, says Anupam Kher

August 17, 2022, 12:19 pm

Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit by a terrorist in the Kashmir Valley.

“Shameful that atrocities on Kashmiri Pandits continue today. They’re killing even their own people. They are killing everyone who stands with India. This has been happening for the past 30 years. The more you condemn it, the less it’s. We’ll have to change the mindset,” Kher said.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Kashmiri Pandit was shot dead at an apple orchard in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists. In the Chotipara area, the incident took place.

Meanwhile, the deceased have been identified as Sunil Kumar Bhar and his brother Pintu who sustained injuries.

The areas have been cordoned and the injured person has been shifted to the hospital.

Moreover in June 2022, a bank manager named Vijay Kumar has shot dead and on 31 May a female Hindu teacher, Rajni Bala was shot dead by terrorists in the Kulgam district.

However, Anupam Kher a Kashmiri Pandit starred in this year’s hit movie ‘The Kashmir Files’. The movie showed the life of Kashmiri Pandits during the 1990 Kashmir insurgency.

PANUN KASHMIR: POLITICAL MOVEMENT OF KASHMIRI PANDITS IN EXILE

January 20, 2021, 2:09 am

That Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) are victims of Islamist jihad at the behest of slogans like ‘Die, Convert or Leave’ is widely known. Yet, as a KP, I am often asked: “Why did we not fight back and remain silent, doing nothing?”, accused of being “weak, cowardly and meek”.

In reality, for 31 years, KPs have been fighting relentlessly against the series of injustices inflicted on us via ‘Panun Kashmir’, a political movement that “besides being a struggle for survival as a cultural entity and an ancient race, is a movement for the political survival of over 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits in their birthland.”

The shock of the mass exodus started unravelling itself when Jammu and Delhi started seeing an influx of distressed Hindus from Kashmir. With nowhere to go, they sought refuge with their relatives or the Gita Bhavan in Jammu. A group of young KPs, Dr Agnishekhar, Dr Ajay Chrungoo and Shailender Aima, each in their twenties and thirties, organised a team of volunteers as the Jammu Kashmir Sahayata Samiti to register names of the families in crisis and seek relief measures from the state government. This nucleus of volunteers later became the present day Panun Kashmir and their efforts in the early days led to the government opening a relief department for the KP refugees.

It is noteworthy that from 1990 to 1999, almost 25,000 KPs died, in refugee camps and in changed environmental conditions, which was roughly 10% of the community living in Jammu those days—an indicator that the genocidal process continued post the forced exodus in 1990.

As displaced Pandits from the valley of Kashmir continued to be uprooted and looted, it became clear that this wasn’t a one-off incident but a planned persecution. The young volunteers supported by the Vidyarthi Parishad, Sanatan Dharma Yuvak Sabha led by Ambarnath Vaishnavi, convened the first bipartisan convention at Mahajan Bhavan in June 1990, which was attended by over 600 delegates and sought, among other key resolutions, the Removal of Article 370 from the Indian Constitution and demanded the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to a secure and separate homeland with constitutional guarantees (fourth resolution). The formal curation of Panun Kashmir as an organisation emerged in July 1990, from this fourth resolution to correct the political, human rights and strategic discourse in Kashmir.

The following year, Mohan Kishen Teng led the team and drafted the Margdarshan Resolution that was adopted at a convention on 27-28 December, 1991 in the presence of over 1000 delegates representing the entire KP community. Among the early endorsers of this resolution was senior Indian politician and RSS activist Balraj Madhok. Among a series of demands, the Margdarshan Resolution demanded the establishment of a separate homeland for Kashmiri Hindus in the Kashmir Valley and sought to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state. Since passing the resolution, PK volunteers travelled across the length and breadth of India and reached out to their diaspora, seeking their participation in these shared demands.

One must appreciate that these youngsters actively continued to also shoulder the responsibilities of taking care of their families and protecting them, and rebuilding a life in exile as they made active efforts to fight for the rights of fellow Kashmiri Pandits with the state and Central governments in India, and even the United Nations. In fact, the representation at the UNHRC in 1993 pushed Pakistan into withdrawing their anti-India resolution and censuring India on its human rights violations in Kashmir, in response to India’s efforts to control terrorism and insurgency in Kashmir.

Over the years, in an attempt to keep the exile consciousness alive among the displaced community, key dates have been commemorated as markers and reminders of the injustices inflicted on the KPs, such as 19 January as Forced Exodus Day, 14 September as Martyrdom Day and 28 December as Homeland Day.

In official gazette notifications, KPs were noted as ‘Migrants’ which Panun Kashmir objected to and sought the recognition of KPs as refugees in their own country and for their ‘genocide’ to be recognised. This struggle continues till this day as the community finds itself caught between genocide and its denial.

Survival itself was a daily challenge and the temporary tenements provided to the KPs started wearing off within a few months and admissions to the displaced children were denied in government schools. After much struggle and with support from the Jagriti Mission, classes were conducted by displaced ‘migrant’ teachers, often in the corridors of school buildings after regular school hours ended. ‘Camp schools’ were run to keep children from not missing out on their schooling—yet another passionate demand of PK activists.

Fast forward to the present day, two key measures have been welcomed by the community:

1. Banning of JKLF and Jamat-i-Islami, holding them responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits,

2. Neutering of Article 370 and removing any special privileges for the state of Jammu & Kashmir; reorganising the state into the two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.

What remains is a formal recognition of the ‘genocide’ of Kashmiri Pandits and the process of reversing the genocide. PK recently proposed the draft Genocide Crime Punishment and Atrocities Prevention Bill to be introduced and adopted in the Indian Parliament so that a mechanism of justice delivery is institutionalised via law. This is yet to be introduced in the Parliament though I understand that the Bill has wide acceptability across party lines.

An important aspect of KP genocide is the measurement of the extent of loss and destruction. PK activists have travelled across Kashmir and undertaken an extensive photo-documentation of the desecration over three years, which has been later displayed at exhibitions in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. This was needed urgently in absence of any statistical survey as the state government is not interested in mapping the extent of destruction in the absence of the recognition of genocide.

There had been, over the years, forced capturing and ‘distress sale’ of Pandit land and homes. PK campaigned actively against this, demanding legal action, and this led to the Prevention of Distress Sales Act 1997-98 in J&K. Though with this legal provision the government began recognising encroachments, they are yet to accept the genocidal dimensions of this encroachment.

Moreover, the cost of the genocide is yet to be calculated. If one were to note the thousands of insurance claims settled for the burnt houses, the hundreds of temples desecrated, properties looted and plundered, orchards, farms, land and several items from the houses lost, it would perhaps run into millions of dollars. The items of loot continued to be sold in local flea markets in downtown Kashmir years after the forced exodus!

Finally, terrorism by a Pakistan-sponsored insurgency, radicalisation and the Islamist jihadist brainwashing of youngsters converted the Valley into a ditch of death. Young Muslim boys were forcibly sent across the border to Pakistan for ‘training’ in 1988-89. The initiation of the counter insurgency process, led by Kuka Parray and the role of Panun Kashmir activists, especially Capt S.K. Tikoo, are now widely recognised by Kashmiris. Yet, one notes the many times when the same perpetrators of genocidal crimes against the Pandits, the separatists who openly admitted to these massacres, were invited to the negotiation table, while alienating the persecuted Hindus and other minorities of Kashmir!

The role of Panun Kashmir as a political movement and its many contributions and sacrifices ought to be commended. I strongly urge the Government of India to take on board the PK recommendations if there is any desire for India to retain its civilisational identity in Kashmir, and in hundreds of other mini-Kashmirs in the making, all over India.

The writer is an Indian British Kashmiri Pandit human rights campaigner based in London. The views expressed are personal.