There was though silent but serious in home debates among victim Kashmiri Pandit community on recent discourse surrounding the return of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) to their ancestors land which has taken a dangerous and misleading turn.

A narrative—created either deliberately or unknowingly—suggests that Kashmiri Pandits can return to the Valley only when the Muslim majority “accepts” them back. This notion is not only flawed but also an insult to the pain, suffering, and sacrifices of the displaced community.

The question is not whether Kashmiri Muslims will accept the Pandits; the real question is whether the Kashmiri Pandit community is willing to accept the very society, culture, and people who either directly or indirectly enabled their genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced exile.

Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of Kashmir, have contributed immensely to the region’s culture, economy, and knowledge systems for centuries. Yet, in 1990, we were forced out in an organized campaign of terror, killings, threats, and destruction. The horror of those nights still haunts the community—how targeted assassinations, brutal massacres, and calls for Pandits to “leave or die” echoed through the land we once called home.

Many among the Kashmiri Muslim majority either remained silent or, in some cases, covertly or overtly supported the radical and separatist elements. While there were a few who sympathized, their voices were drowned in the larger tide of extremism and betrayal. The bond of coexistence, built over generations, was shattered, and trust was broken beyond repair.

For communities to live together peacefully, there must be mutual trust, matual respect, and mutual acceptance. However, the majority community of Kashmir failed to uphold these principles when it mattered the most. Today, the onus is not on them to “accept” us back. Instead, it is the Kashmiri Pandit community that must decide whether to accept a society that allowed its systematic destruction.

Can we accept a culture that tolerated our exodus? Can we accept an atmosphere that once encouraged our elimination? Can we trust those who remained silent when our homes were burnt, our temples desecrated, and our loved ones murdered?

While some among the Kashmiri Muslim community expressed regret or sympathy, the overwhelming majority either remained silent or actively participated in this ethnic cleansing. Our neighbors, whom we trusted for generations, silently stood by as mobs ransacked our properties, looted our businesses, and celebrated our exodus.

Many even seized the opportunity to grab our homes and land, purchasing them at throwaway prices in distress sales, ensuring that the displaced community could never return. Opportunism thrived where humanity failed. Today, those who benefited from our exile conveniently talk about “brotherhood” and “reconciliation,” as if history can be erased by mere words.

There is an attempt to paint a false picture that Kashmiri Pandits are reluctant to return because of fear alone. Fear is a reality, but beyond fear lies a deeper question of trust. Can we ever trust a society that allowed our destruction?

Can we accept a culture that stood by when our mothers wept, when our fathers were gunned down, when our sisters were dishonored? Can we believe in a people who took advantage of our pain, who occupied our homes, who desecrated our sacred places?

Rebuilding a home is one thing, but rebuilding trust in a society that failed us is an entirely different challenge. Our return will not be dictated by those who abandoned us. It will not be based on hollow assurances or superficial gestures of goodwill. If we return, it will be on our own terms, under a structured and secured rehabilitation plan that ensures our safety, dignity, and political rights.

Our return is not about seeking permission or waiting for an invitation. It is about reclaiming what is rightfully ours, ensuring that history does not repeat itself, and securing justice that has been denied for decades. Reconciliation is possible only when there is acknowledgment, accountability, and genuine remorse from those who failed us. Until that happens, the debate over our return remains hollow.

The Kashmiri Pandit community does not need validation or approval to return to its land of Kashyap .It is not the Muslim majority of Kashmir who will decide our return. It is we who will decide whether we can ever trust them again. Our exile was forced upon us, but our return will be defined by our own will, on our own terms, in a manner that guarantees that no power can uproot us again.

We demand a dedicated settlement, where we are protected under the full writ of the Indian Constitution, insulated from the forces that once drove us out. Our properties, which were snatched away through coercion, distress sales, or draconian state policies, must either be restored or fairly compensated. Our political representation, long denied, must be guaranteed to prevent another betrayal.

That is why our leadership of the victim Kashmiri Pandit community has already made it clear: our return will not be dictated by those who abandoned us. If we return, it will only be under our own terms—at a single, secured settlement under the full writ of the Indian Constitution. We demand constitutional and institutional guarantees for our safety, dignity, and political rights. Moreover, the properties we lost—either through force, distress sales, or draconian laws—must be restored or fairly compensated.

[Kundan Kashmiri]
Community Sevak & President, Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC)—Mobile: 8802167955 —Email: kundankashmiri@gmail.com