Ref. No.: KPC/06/2025
Dated: 02-06-2025
To
Ms. Mehbooba Mufti Ji,
Former Chief Minister, J&K
President, People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Subject:
Response to Your Letter Dated 26-05-2025 on the “Return and Rehabilitation of Displaced Kashmiri Pandits”
Respected Madam,
We have taken serious note of your letter dated 26-05-2025, addressed to the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, regarding the proposed dignified return and rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community, now in exile for more than 36 long years.
Madam, while your concern is appreciated, we the victimized Kashmiri Pandit community under the banner of the Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC) , other organisations and well meaning people of the community wish to place on record certain vital and non-negotiable truths, clarifications, and standpoints founded upon our historic pain, moral legitimacy, and fundamental rights.
Madam , Kashmiri Pandits are the primary stakeholders, hence no Decisions about Kashmiri Pandits without Kashmiri Pandits. Your initiative, though appearing empathetic on paper, lacks legitimacy, as it neither arises from our consent nor involves our trusted representatives. Who has authorised you or your party now to speak on behalf of a persecuted community when you were supposed to do so in power,refused, or avoided or ignored..
We firmly reiterate that any return proposal must originate from and be negotiated with the joint authentic leadership of the displaced KP community, including the Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC), ASKPC, KSD, Panun Kashmir, Jagti and camp leaders and other similar bodies that genuinely represent the voice, pain, and vision of our community.
Madam, return Is not possible without Truth, Justice, and Accountability.
Your letter overlooks the real roots of our forced exodus, namely, genocide, targeted killings, massacres,systemic terror, mass looting, burning of homes, land grab, and destruction of temples. Before discussing any proposal for return, the community demands full-scale, impartial judicial or CBI/SIT probes into the killings, massacres, forced displacement, and decades-long denial of justice. We demand to know the killers, the conspirators, and the collaborators and we demand accountability.Hence we have asked for genocide bill to be passed in the parliament to be taken further with priority.
Madam, One-Place Settlement ( Home land ) with Constitutional and Institutional Guarantees is paramount as our return cannot be safe in scattered pockets or hostile old neighbourhoods. We demand one-place settlement in the Kashmir Valley,the land of Kashyap fully secured, self-sufficient, and backed by constitutional protections, institutional guarantees, and central administration oversight.
Madam ,further, your recent public suggestion that the Government should allocate “half a kanal of land per family at district headquarters” is not only deeply flawed but also insulting to the dignity and rightful claims of the aboriginal Kashmiri Pandits. Is this how you envision justice by proposing that the original inhabitants of Kashmir, who were forced to abandon lakhs of kanals of land, ancestral homes, temples, businesses, and properties, should now be accommodated like nomads or cattle in confined patches of land?
Your proposal trivializes the enormity of our displacement, and appears more like a cattle-settlement plan than a dignified return policy. Why did neither you nor your late father, when in power, take any steps to restore the lands, properties, and institutions snatched from us? Why is there no mention in your letter of compensation at current market value for illegally occupied land or destroyed properties?
Madam, this recent half-hearted and token proposal, submitted to the Lieutenant Governor and Government of India, reflects neither sincerity nor seriousness, and is unacceptable in its current form.
Madam, restoration of Property, Land, and Rights should have been also one of the important points of your return proposal mentioning that our lands, homes, businesses, jobs, temples, and cultural institutions must be restored or adequately compensated. Many of these have been either encroached upon or transferred illegally during our absence. The first step towards this should have been restitution, not symbolic half kannal of land allocation that ignore our actual losses.
Madam, political empowerment cannot be cosmetic, as your suggestion of two reserved constituencies for Kashmiri Pandits is not enough. We demand direct, elected, constitutional representation in the J&K Assembly,and parliament and not mere tokenism or bureaucratic nominations. Political empowerment must guarantee voice, veto, and visibility.proper share in Bureaucracy ,think tank and decision making bodies.
Madam, what was you and your Party’s( PDP ) role during the Exodus,let us remind you that our pain did not begin yesterday. During the most critical moments of our genocide, the state machinery failed us, and unfortunately, those in the power corridors then and after failed to protect, punish, or even prosecute. Where was your voice during our killings and massacres? What actions were taken by your party when you were in power to ensure justice.
Madam ,therefore, with utmost responsibility and humility, we say this: you are not the proper messenger or medium through whom the return of Kashmiri Pandits can be envisioned or negotiated.
Secondly,our dialogue Is only with the Government of India
The Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC) and some other organisations asserts that any roadmap or proposal for return must be discussed directly with the Union Government, in consultation with the displaced community’s joint leadership.
The Centre is the only legitimate party for structured dialogue and implementation of rehabilitation for which the victim community has requested and demanded a ” Rehabilitation Bill ” for displaced Kashmiri pandit community to be passed in Parliament/ JK Assembly.
Madam , We are awaiting very coolly and patiently for real Justice, not for Political Tokenism.We have waited for three and a half decades. We have suffered psychological trauma, economic loss, social dislocation, and identity erosion. And yet, we have remained peaceful, democratic, and committed to India.
Madam with great regards, We victim Kashmiri pandits do not want false promises, we want justice, we want security., we want a future with dignity. and we want it on our terms and conditions,on the terms of the victims, not those of the bystanders or political opportunists.
Madam, this response is being marked also to the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Home Minister, and the Prime Minister’s Office, and Chief Minister, Jammu and Kashmir for their immediate attention and necessary action.
With solemn resolve, and great regards
[ Kundan Kashmiri]
President, Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC)–Representative Organization of Displaced Kashmiri Pandit Community.
Email: kundankashmiri@gmail.com
Mobile: 8802167955
Copy to
1.Shri Manoj Sinha Sahab, Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir
Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Government of India.
2.Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Government of India,for favour of
- Hon’ble Chief Minister, Jammu & Kashmir (UT) for information and further favourable necessary action please
[ Kundan Kashmiri]
President, Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC)–Representative Organization of Displaced Kashmiri Pandit Community.
Email: kundankashmiri@gmail.com
Mobile: 8802167955