NEW DELHI: Members of the Kashmiri Pandit community on Saturday staged a sit-in at Jantar Mantar to observe the ‘Martyrs Day’ and reiterated their demand for a homeland for the exiled community.
Every year, the community across India and around the world observes September 14 as ‘Martyrs Day’ to remember the violent events that led to the exodus of the Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Prime Minister Modi who on Saturday addressed a public rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda, also remembered Tika Lal Taploo, a BJP leader who was gunned down by terrorists on this day in 1989.
The Pandits raised slogans ‘We want justice’ and demanded the formation of a SIT to investigate the atrocities committed against their community from 1990 onwards. Kashmiri Samiti president Sameer Chrungoo questioned the Central government’s actions over the past 11 years to alleviate the suffering caused by “forced migration.”
The gathering unanimously passed several resolutions, including the one on the genocide bill in the coming Parliament session. The protesters highlighted the need for a comprehensive return and rehabilitation policy that encompasses the entire Kashmiri Pandit community and not just the younger generation seeking employment.