Panun Kashmir stages protest in Delhi
Links justice for displaced community to JK statehood
New Delhi: Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, on Monday staged a protest here demanding justice for the community, and asserted that the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood should not proceed without addressing their long-pending concerns.
The protest was led by Panun Kashmir chairman Tito Ganju and convener Agnishekhar, who later headed a delegation that submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office highlighting the organisation’s demands.
The demands include recognition of alleged genocide, accountability for the perpetrators, and the creation of a constitutionally protected Homeland in the valley, among others.
The protest by Panun Kashmir coincided with a National Conference-led protest in the national capital in support of the demand for restoration of the statehood to the Union Territory.
A Panun Kashmir spokesman claimed that its activists confronted leaders and supporters of the National Conference near Ashoka Road, raising slogans and maintaining that political demands for statehood cannot supersede the unresolved issues arising from the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus.
Ganju launched a strong attack on the National Conference’s campaign for the restoration of statehood.
“It was both morally indefensible and constitutionally unacceptable to seek the restoration of political privileges while the victims of genocide and forced displacement continue to await justice after nearly four decades,” the Panun Kashmir leader said, addressing the gathering.
In an apparent reference to National Conference leadership, he said “those who remained silent when Kashmiri Hindus were driven out of their homeland, and those who have never accepted responsibility for that historic tragedy, have no moral authority to speak of restoring political structures before ensuring justice for the victims. Justice cannot be made subordinate to power.”
He asserted that Panun Kashmir was not seeking charity or concessions but demanding the constitutional rights of a community that had suffered one of the gravest civilizational tragedies of the twentieth century.
Ganju reiterated that the organisation’s core demands include recognition of the alleged genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, acknowledgement of the forced exodus, accountability for the perpetrators, and the creation of a constitutionally protected homeland in Kashmir where the community can live with security, dignity and equal citizenship.
He said “justice before statehood” is not merely a slogan but a constitutional principle, and that Panun Kashmir would continue to pursue its demands peacefully, democratically and constitutionally until justice is secured.
Agnishekhar said the debate on Jammu and Kashmir cannot be confined merely to questions of governance or administrative arrangements while the most fundamental issue of justice for Kashmiri Pandits remains unresolved.
He said Panun Kashmir’s demand for a separate Homeland is neither a temporary political slogan nor a reaction to contemporary events, but the outcome of decades of reflection and the collective experience of a community that lost its homeland, civilizational institutions and political agency.
He said the Margdarshan Resolution of 1991 continues to provide the only viable constitutional framework for ensuring the secure and dignified return of Kashmiri Hindus to Kashmir with full constitutional guarantees.
Several other Kashmiri Pandit groups including Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC) and All India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) also participated in the protest and expressed solidarity with the demands raised by Panun Kashmir.
