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J&K passes resolution for return of Pandits

The resolution was moved by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Working President of National Conference Omar Abdullah in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) supported the resolution.

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Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid in a verbal argument with the BJP MLAs during the budget session of J&K Legislative Assembly in Jammu on Thursday
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It took 27 long years for the Jammu and Kashmir lawmakers to rise above party lines and unanimously pass a resolution for the homecoming of the migrant Kashmiri Pandits (KPs).

The resolution was moved by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Working President of National Conference Omar Abdullah in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) supported the resolution.

"All of us should come together and pass a resolution so that Kashmiri Pandits, Sikhs and even Muslims who left Kashmir due to the turmoil can come back to their homes. It has been 27 years since they left the valley and we all should rise above politics and pass a resolution for their comeback," said Omar Abdullah.

Senior PDP leader and J&K Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri supported the resolution saying there is a need to bring the people back.

However, Awami Ittehad Party supremo and MLA Langate Engineer Rasheed opposed the resolution arguing that since no Kashmiri is opposed to the return of Pandits, there was no need to pass a resolution.

"If Omar or Mehbooba is really concerned, they should speak about those migrants also who were forced to migrate to other side of the LoC. The resolution is nothing but an act to appease Kashmiri Pandits and give a notion that the issue of return of migrant Pandits is the only burning issue," he said

The Pandits reacted guardedly to the resolution saying there is a need for political and economic rehabilitation of the exiled community before they return to their homes in the Valley.

"The resolution is better late than never. But at the same time, the government has to take the Kashmiri Pandits into confidence. When the issue of a separate colony was raised, the separatists opposed it. We need a political and economic rehabilitation," said Vinod Pandit, President of All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), an apex body of migrants.

The organisation held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to mark January 19 as the Black Day on completion of 27 years of their exodus from the Valley. The mood was belligerent at the protest rally. Hindu Raksha Dal, a right wing organisation, warned the government that the movement could turn violent if its demands were not met.

The demands include initiation of a dialogue with Kashmiri Hindus by the Centre as well as the J&K government.

Lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits left the Valley after the onset of militancy in 1990. Official figures reveal that around 41,117 migrant families from Kashmir are registered in Jammu and 21,000 others in Delhi and other states. Of the total migrant families living in Jammu, 37,128 are Hindus, 2,246 Muslims and 1,758 Sikhs.

Figures by Kashmir Pandit Sangrash Simiti (KPSS), an apex body of non migrant Pandits, reveal that there are 808 Kashmir Pandit families comprising 3451 people who did not migrate from the Valley at the onset of militancy in 1990 and live at 232 different places in Kashmir.

KPSS figures reveal that 637 pandits were killed by the militants since 1990. The figures include the mass massacres of Kashmiri pandits at different villages at different times. However the state government figures reveal that only 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the state since 1989.

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