Find out who all were responsible for the ‘exodus’ of Kashmiri Pandits: Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants

An organisation championing the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants on Thursday demanded an SIT probe into the killings of Pandits in the Valley since 1989.

The organisation – Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants – asked the Union Government to form an Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a retired Judge of Supreme Court to probe the massacre.

They further demanded that the probe's term of reference must include finding out who all were responsible for the "exodus" of Kashmiri Pandits.

"It is a pity that till date no Commission of Inquiry or SIT has been formed to investigate the exodus of the Pandits," said Satish Mahaldar, chairman of the Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants.

"We see the exodus as a conspiracy. The then state government and Central Government did not make any efforts to protect Kashmiri Pandits."

Mahaldar alleged that all political parties ignored the plight displaced Pandits. He was critical of the succeeding Union Governments, including the current BJP-led dispensation, for not fulfilling its promise to rehabilitate them.

He demanded a “meaningful resettlement” of Pandits as well as other Hindus, Sikhs and Muslim migrants in the Valley.

Mahaldar also demanded that the delimitation process in J&K be based on the 2021 Census as names of Kashmiri Pandits had been illegally deleted from the electoral rolls of the Valley.

His other demands include protection of human rights and land for rehabilitation of the Pandits.

Courtesy: Daily Tribune: 22nd October 2020