Madam Mahabooba Ji,

Your statement that “Kashmir is incomplete without Kashmiri Pandits and people are eagerly awaiting their return” may appear emotionally reassuring, but for a community that has suffered genocide, forced exile, dispossession and continued insecurity for over thirty-six years, such remarks, when not supported by truth, accountability and concrete action, sound superficial and insensitive.
Kashmiri Pandits have never opposed return. What we strongly object to is the casual and politically convenient manner in which our return is spoken about, without understanding its deep sensitivity and without addressing the realities that forced us out in the first place. Our exile was not voluntary. It was the result of targeted killings, terror threats, religious cleansing and total institutional failure. Even today, there is a visible reluctance among your party and others to officially acknowledge this tragedy as genocide or to accept moral responsibility for what happened.
Suggesting that Kashmiri Pandits should simply return, contest elections and seek votes reflects a complete disconnect from ground realities. Elections are not rehabilitation, and democracy cannot be restored on the graves of victims without first ensuring security, justice and dignity. Political participation has meaning only when the right to life is guaranteed, not when fear and vulnerability continue to exist.
The debate over nominated or reserved Assembly seats is equally misplaced. Representation without safe, sustainable and dignified rehabilitation is meaningless. Token political gestures cannot replace the urgent need for a comprehensive and credible return policy. Asking why nominated members sitting outside Kashmir do not benefit the community ignores the fact that the community itself has been forced to live outside Kashmir for decades due to insecurity and abandonment.
Equally disturbing is the continued neglect of our core demands. The Kashmiri Pandit community has consistently demanded a secured One-Place Settlement, a separate Kashyap Bhoomi, not as an act of segregation but as a matter of collective survival after decades of targeted violence. This demand has been repeatedly ignored and opposed, despite the continued killings of minorities even in recent years. Along with this, our demands for official recognition of the genocide, indigenous status, full compensation or restitution of destroyed and encroached properties, time-bound justice for perpetrators, and an institutional security framework remain unanswered.
Dignity cannot be spoken of in words alone. Dignity begins with truth, justice and accountability. The same political environment that today speaks of brotherhood and togetherness largely remained silent when Kashmiri Pandits were being systematically eliminated from the Valley. That silence continues to haunt us.
Kashmiri Pandits do not need sympathy statements or emotional slogans. We seek justice, security and recognition of our suffering. Return is not a symbolic gesture, a media statement or an election narrative. It is a civilisational, humanitarian and constitutional responsibility.
Madam, the Kashmiri Pandit community will decide when, how and under what conditions it returns. That decision will be based on guarantees of safety, dignity and justice, not on assurances from those who failed us when it mattered the most.
We demand justice first. Return will follow on our terms, with dignity and security.

     SEVAK 

[ Kundan Kashmiri]
Kashmir Watcher, Senior KP leader & President KPC
Mobile No 8802167955
Email — Kundankashmiri@gmail.com