Kashmiri Pandit conclave sparks rifts in community
A recent Global Kashmiri Pandit Conclave held in SKICC, Srinagar, has once again created fissures within the members of the Kashmiri Pandit community, prompting those living in different migrant camps in Jammu to question the motives behind hosting a section of overseas Kashmiri Pandits in their absence.
After the culmination of the grand conclave, members of the Panun Kashmir in Jammu launched a scathing attack on the organisers of the event, claiming such exercises have become a recurring feature over the years and have consistently failed to address the central question of the genocide and forced exile of Kashmiri Hindus.
In New Delhi, Roots in Kashmir and Youth for Panun Kashmir strongly condemned the recent conclave held in Srinagar by an unregistered organisation claiming to represent Kashmiri Pandits. Certain statements made by some of its speakers, particularly certain foreign citizens, appear to be part of a larger agenda aimed at whitewashing the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits and their forced displacement.
Referring to the SKICC gathering, Agnishekhar, Convenor, Panun Kashmir, noted that it was organised by a few overseas Kashmiri Pandits under the guise of a “heritage tour.”
He remarked that the tragedy of the Kashmiri Hindu community appears to have entered a new phase where genocide survivors are invited to celebrate heritage before the nation has even acknowledged the crime that severed them from that heritage. “The victims remain exiled, justice remains absent, rehabilitation remains elusive, yet we are repeatedly offered heritage tours as if civilizational dispossession can be cured through sightseeing,” he said. “A homeland is not a museum exhibit to be visited periodically. It is a living national space to which a people have an inalienable right.”
Agnishekhar also questioned its projected independence. He observed that when invitations are reportedly extended by a serving Government functionary, such as former Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, Rashmi Ranjan Swain, presently Chairman of the Odisha Uniformed Services Staff Selection Commission, the programme inevitably raises questions about official patronage and intent.
According to him, the State continues to suffer from policy paralysis, offering symbolic engagements while avoiding substantive solutions.
Senior members of the Panun Kashmir, PL Kaul Budgami, Chief Advisor, Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary, BL Kaul, Organising Secretary, Bebooji Zutshi, Coordinator Jammu and Archana Pandita, Coordinator, Panun Kashmir Yuva Jammu, were also present on the occasion.
