Jammu: Several organisations of Kashmiri Pandits observed Martyr’s day here and in Delhi on Monday, demanding their rehabilitation in the Valley and setting up of a panel to probe the “genocide” the community was allegedly subjected to.
The Kashmiri Pandits have been observing ‘Balidan Divas’ (Martyr’s day) since 1990 to pay homage to the community members and security forces who laid down their lives fighting terrorism in the Union Territory.
Several organisations including the Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj (YAIKS), the Panun Kashmir, the All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), the All Party Kashmiri Pandit Conference (APMCC) and the All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) observed Martyr’s day in Jammu and Delhi.
YAIKS activists, led by president R K Bhat, put up pictures of slain community members on a wall near the Raj Bhawan here, raised slogans and offered floral tributes.
“Today, we are paying tributes to Kashmiri Pandit members who were killed brutally by the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. They killed the cream of this community in the initial phase of terrorism in 1990. They threatened people to leave or be killed,” Bhat told reporters.
APMCC president Vinood Pandit claimed the government has “failed” to return and rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
The All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) and its affiliated units in the country and abroad paid rich tributes to slain members of the community through a webinar.