The first-of-its-kind Pandit Martyrs' Memorial will be established in the troubled South Kashmir region
A tragic and bloodied history will now be encapsulated in a 'Martyrs'' Memorial' for the Kashmiri pandits slain by the militants in the restive valley during the last 27 years.
The first-of-its-kind Pandit Martyrs' Memorial will be established in the troubled South Kashmir region. The Pandit Martyrs' Memorial will be akin to War Memorial of the security forces on which names and addresses of the people slain by militants will be engraved.
Leading the campaign for the Pandit Martyrs' Memorial is the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC), an apex body of the migrant Kashmiri pandits. "We are planning to set up the memorial somewhere in south Kashmir. Our volunteers are already on the job to find a suitable land for the memorial. There is a lot of land of pandits and temples available in south Kashmir and we will be zeroing in on the location soon. It will take some more months before we start the actual work", Vinod Pandit, chairman of APMCC, told DNA.
On the 26th 'holocaust' day' in January last year, APMCC held puja and laid the foundation stone for establishing the first-of-its-kind Martyrs' memorial, at the Nadimarg village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Nadimarg was chosen carefully because on the intervening night of March 22 and 23, 2003, militants mowed down 24 Kashmiri Pandits including infants in a gruesome manner in this village sending shock waves across the nation. However, the plan to erect the Memorial hit a roadblock after the summer unrest in the valley. A year later, APMCC revived the plan for establishing the memorial for the slain pandits.
"It will be a fitting tribute to the Martyrs' of Kashmiri pandits. We have been the worst victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. The memorial will symbolise our sacrifices and will be a remembrance of our martyred people," said Pandit.
Figures released by Kashmir Pandit Sangrash Simiti, an apex body of non-migrant pandits, reveal that 677 Kashmiri pandits have been killed by the militants since 1990. The figures include the mass massacres of Kashmiri pandits at different places at different times. However, the state government figures reveal that only 219 Kashmiri pandits were killed in the state since 1989.
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.
'This memorial will be built by Kashmiri pandits on our own land. There is no need for seeking any permission from the authorities. All the expenses will be borne by us", Pandit said.
The memorial is being built at a time when clamour is growing for setting up Special Crimes Tribunal (SCT) akin to the International Crimes Tribunal to probe the killings and excesses committed against the Kashmiri pandits that forced them to leave their homes and migrate to Jammu and other parts of the country 27 years ago.
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