As the 35th anniversary of the brutal Khmiri Hindu exodus approaches, there is a renewed sense of urgency to address the community’s suffering and seek justice.
According to estimates, roughly 100,000 of the valley’s total 140,000 Kashmiri Pandit inhabitants migrated between February and March 1990. More of them fled in the years that followed until just about 3,000 families remained in the valley by 2011.
Truescoop journalist Khushboo had the opportunity to engage in an insightful conversation with Lalit Ambardar ji, a prominent Kashmiri activist and outspoken advocate for the rights of Kashmiri Hindus. Their candid conversation revolved around the events of 1990, the ongoing struggles faced by the community, and the promises made by the Indian government for their rehabilitation.
Here’s an unfiltered account of the conversation that shed light on the pain, progress, and hope for the Kashmiri Hindu community:
Q1. What happened in the valley on January 19, 1990? How do you view the events of 1990? Would you classify them as genocide, and what internal support exists for this classification?
Lalit Ambardar: “Before answering what happened in the valley, it’s important to understand who the victims were. The victims were the Kashmiri Hindus. Why were only Kashmiri Hindus targeted? Because they were the original natives of Kashmiri, whose presence has been documented as an integral part of the land of Kashmir since ancient times. The Kashmiri language itself has a close connection with Sanskrit. While the world may recall the loss of the Hindu community as a tragedy that happened in a single day, it was a process that took years. The first religious persecution of Hindus is mentioned in the Rajtarangini as “jatiye nar sangar” which means ethnic genocide, that occurred in the 14th century.
The events of 1990 were not the first genocide; attempt against the Hindus, but rather the culmination of repeated attempts by barbaric invaders to eradicate the natives of Kashmir. The process of genocide follows stages, such as limiting a community’s freedom based on their religious identity, alienating their religious symbols, restricting them from admission into institutions, and blocking their access to job opportunities. Over time the identity of Hindus in Kashmir was gradually replaced. It was not the Jhelum, it was the holy river Vitasta.
The 1990 event marks the 8th attempt. The systematic targeting of Kashmiri Hindus, the forced migration, the destruction of our temples, and the cultural erasure cannot be dismissed as a mere political conflict. Even the government of that time did not deliberately acknowledge the full extent of the loss, where the actual number of atrocities exceeded 2,000. The government reduced it to around 250, claiming that the victims had merely ‘disappeared.’
Today, the demographic makeup of Kashmir has completely changed, with shrines being built on the debris of our temples. While till my generation we were taught that okay once in the same place our temple was structured used to stand, we used to bow our heads to a shrine because we knew that it was built on our religious place. Though we were uprooted from our homelands we did not detach ourselves from our culture, we still worked on the western wall of the shrine. But this is limited to our generation only because unfortunately the community did not get the opportunity to take this to the next generation.
Talking about the support to classify the atrocities endured as genocide the world has failed to acknowledge the pain of the community. Unfortunately, the international community’s response has been lukewarm.
Q2. Have the Kashmiri Hindus who suffered the atrocities received any justice? It’s been 35 years, doesn’t the saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ apply perfectly here?
Lalit Ambardar: "The first form of justice that any government or individual can provide to us is the acknowledgment of the loss of our community. ironically, no person who committed the crimes, those who raped, looted, and murdered has been held accountable. Similarly, no tribunal has been criminally penalized for the atrocities we suffered.
The Hindus who escaped, who survived ‘the survivors of the genocide’ who fled to other states of India, were labeled as ‘migrants.’ Migrants are individuals who voluntarily move to other states for better opportunities. So means the Kashmiri Hindu survivors were migrants!
And people talk about providing us justice? The first step is to legally acknowledge that we the hinuds, have suffered an enormous loss.
What happened in the valley on January 19, 1990, was brutal, but the ignorance surrounding the fact that Kashmiri Hindus endured such atrocities may be the worst hardship our community has faced."
Q3. After the abrogation of Article 370, the central government promised to rehabilitate Kashmiri Hindus in their homeland. What flights were explicitly promised, and how much progress has been made?
Lalit Ambardar: “The government promised jobs, housing, and security to Kashmiri Hindus who were willing to return. They also promised to restore our lost heritage and protect our religious and cultural identity. But the question is to whom is the government planning to rehabilitate? To the people who have escaped lives from hell to the place where the females of the families were rapped, or the place where their family members were shot entering their homes and working places. The scene cast in the movie Kashmir Files where the Hindu hiding inside the rice store truck is based on the real incident. He was BK Ganjoo, a Kashmiri Pandit who hid in the rice bin but was shot to death by militants after Ganjoo's non-Hindu neighbors shared his whereabouts. BK Ganjoow was a telecom engineer, stationed in Kashmir. The militants had pumped him with bullets and left him bleeding on the rice, while the family of Ganjoow was forced to eat those blood-soaked rice. The scene in the film where a Hindu woman was molested by militants and was cut alive with a carpenter saw, is based on the real incident. Her name was Girija Tickoo, a Hindu. She was a librarian at a University. On the fateful day, she went to collect her paycheck and boarded a bus on her way back home. The bus was stopped by the militants who dragged her out and threw her into a taxi. She was molested and gang raped later she was cut into two with a mechanical saw by the militants. These are the one or two incidents that the movie could cover but there were such endless heinous atrocities that the community endured.
There was this real-life incident where the mother and daughter who were Hindu were brutally rapped and the militants hit them with bullets inside their private parts. The daughter had died on the spot, and the mother how had survived. Someone managed to call the loacal police for help. When that lady, the mother of that daughter was taken to the hospital in an unconscious state, the only thing she asked, was whether her daughter was alive or not. And the irony is that they suffered the worst and we and the media could not even openly talk about it, in the name of secularity.
So there aren't any survivors left who voluntarily want to go back to Kashmir. However, we the community are very thankful for the people of Jammu who have welcomed us with open arms. Today around 4000 survivor families of Kashmiri Hindu genocide reside in the place Jugti in Kasmir.
Although the government has made certain promises they are yet to be fulfilled.”
Q4. The movie, The Kashmir Files has successfully brought attention to the issue, but still, it was criticized why? How much progress have you and your entire team made in your activism to highlight the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus?
Lalit Ambardar: “Many of us have spent the last 35 years protesting in cities like Delhi, Jammu, and Pune. I’m grateful to the Kashmiri Hindus who have kept the community’s existence alive. Kashmiri Hindus were targeted because they preserved the identity and heritage of the Hindu community. The Kashmir files have indeed shed light on the issue, but as with any film, it couldn’t paint the complete picture. Despite that, it’s disheartening to witness the backlash the movie received, with allegations that it carried a political narrative. it was criticized by the section which did not want Kashmir to be part of India. And this intentional act of not letting the reality come out is itself a heinous crime. They had a different agenda and critising the movie was just a part. However, somewhere in the political discourse, the true suffering of the Hindus went largely unacknowledged.”
Q3. What are the key demands and challenges in securing justice for Kashmiri Hindu survivors?
Lalit Ambardar: “Kashmiri Hindu survivors demand recognition of their suffering and the establishment of a tribunal to investigate the 1990 atrocities. Pannu Kashmir, an organization working for the rights of Kashmiri Hindu survivors, proposed the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Bill 2020, seeking to officially recognize and penalize genocide, cultural and economic erasure, and economic erasure and related crimes. The bill also suggests documenting religious sites and forming a Genocide Commission, with the Supreme Court overseeing the case. Despite the detailed framework, the bill remains unpassed, leaving survivors without formal acknowledgment or justice."
Altogether this is a sincere effort by Truescoop to shed light on the issue and delve into the complexities surrounding this tragic event.
In conclusion, the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Hindus remains a poignant reminder of one of India's darkest chapters, defined by persecution, violence, and forced displacement. Even after decades, the community continues to seek justice, dignity, and the long-awaited hope of returning to their ancestral homeland.