Displaced Kashmiri Pandits seek structured engagement, genocide recognition and property restoration

People take part in a protest and raise slogans during a protest against various demands of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu. File | Photo credit: PTI

Displaced from their homes in the valley, Kashmiri Pandits have been touring the state to gauge whether conditions are right for the community to return.

On Monday (June 15, 2026), they called for a “structured phase of engagement” and demanded a commission of inquiry for “formal recognition of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide as part of public policy”.

“The week-long heritage tour and the two-day Pragaash (first light of dawn) international conference in Srinagar expressed a deep desire to return to our homeland. Pragaash is not a celebration – it is a declaration. We walked our own land, visited our own temples and told the world: we are here, we will return and we will not just be erased, Dr. Surder first, Koul, but this is victory first. Koul. global Kashmiri pandit diasporas.

A number of Pandit organizations adopted a joint resolution on Monday after a two-day conclave in Srinagar. Groups that participated included Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD), Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM), US-based Kashmiri Overseas Association, Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj, Sanjeevani Shardha Kendra Kashmiri Pandits’ Association, Mumbai and AIl Minority Employees of Kashmiri Association of Kashmiri Samaj.

The joint resolution called on both the Center and the Union Territory Government of J&K to “formalize community engagement through official mechanisms at the highest levels with broad, representative and accountable participation of Kashmiri Pandits worldwide”.

It also urged formal recognition of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide in public policy and urged the establishment of a suitable commission of inquiry. “The term ‘genocide’ is increasingly entering public discourse and is now used by public representatives and government officials. Delegates stressed that recognition must go beyond rhetoric and be reflected in official policy, institutional actions and historical documentation,” it added.

It also suggested the establishment of a Kashmiri Pandit Welfare Board “embedded under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the framework of the J&K Reorganization Act to coordinate welfare, housing, rehabilitation and property restoration”.

The Pandits who remained

The Pandit authorities also appealed to the Pandits who remained in Kashmir and urged them to “receive welfare benefits” as well as employees working under the Prime Minister’s special package. “We called for improvements in their safety, housing, service conditions, family well-being, mobility and mental well-being – recognizing their resilience as a foundation for the eventual return of the wider community,” the joint resolution said.

According to the resolution, during 1989-1990, approximately 3.50 million members of the community were “forced to flee the Kashmir Valley amid violence and persecution, scattered across Jammu, Delhi and countries around the world”.

These displaced Pandits also demanded a township in Srinagar’s Rainawari and urged the community to “start investing more in Kashmir”.

Meanwhile, two organisations, Roots in Kashmir and Youth for Panun Kashmir, distanced themselves from the conclave, calling it “an attempt to undermine the long-standing demand for a separate homeland”.

Published – 15 Jun 2026 23:26 IST