JAMMU: Panun Kashmir, a body representing Kashmiri Pandits, commemorated ‘Homeland Day’ on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of Margdarshan, a resolution adopted by the community members for the creation of a separate homeland in the Valley.
“We demand homeland for displaced Kashmir Pandits in the Valley. We will continue our fight till we achieve it,” Displaced KP leader Sheela Handoo told reporters here. ‘Margdarshan (revelation)’ resolution passed in 1991 advocates a separate homeland for seven lakh displaced Kashmiri Pandits on the north and east of river Jhelum.
Meanwhile, Panun Kashmir organised a day-long photo exhibition titled ‘Exemption In Exile’ in Jammu to depict the exile and human rights violations of Kashmiri Pandits. The exhibition portrays the hardships suffered by the community of Kashmiri Pandits in their exile, Panun Kashmir president Ashwani Chrungoo said. “Resettlement in Kashmir is a political issue and can be addressed only by meeting the geo-political aspirations of the seven lakh displaced Kashmiri Pandits,” he said.
Till 1947, the former Princely State of Kashmir was ruled by the Hindu Dogra (ethnic group native to the state) Maharaja Hari Singh. Between 1989 and 1991, over 95% of the Hindu population from the Kashmir Valley were forced to leave their ancestral homes. (PTI)