January 19, 2019 marks 29 years of Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits- a day which still haunts Kashmiri Pandit community.
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The tragedy the day brought is pretty fresh in the minds of the people even now, and still gives them goosebumps each time they think about it.
Nearly three decades back, on January 19, 1990, the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits took place, during which most of the Pandit families were forced to flee from Kashmir valley due the to outbreak of terrorism.
The estimate of Pandits having fled from Kashmir ranges from approximately 1,00,000 to as high as 8, 00,000.
Here's all you need to know about the incident.
Kashmiri Pandits had to leave their homeland
The estimate of Pandits having fled from Kashmir ranges from approximately 1,00,000 to as high as 8, 00,000. Most of them then took refuge in Jammu and elsewhere, while only a handful of them stayed back in the valley.
The day is symbolically remembered by all Kashmiri Pandits where they were forced to flee from their homeland due to violence or were given an alternative to leave their women and go. January 19, 1990, is commemorated as the day when Indian secularism was butchered in the valley of Kashmir
Anupam Kher
Actor Anupam Kher who himself is a Kashmiri Pandit had earlier expressed pain and anguish of unheard voices of Pandit community.
He had once said that as far as the future of the community is concerned, everything is in dark.
"As far as Kashmiri Pandit's future is concerned everything is in dark. I don't think even point one percent is also staying there. We need to go back but we cannot go back to an atmosphere of fear. We cannot go back to the atmosphere of false security. So we need to find a situation," he had said.
When asked as to how secure does he feel in Kashmir, the 61-year-old actor said that the removal of Article 370 is one of the solutions to make the situation better in the state.
"How can there be any safety? I have always told that may be after removal of Article 370 the situation might be better but I don't know how are these political things done. I believe if people are allowed to do business there if they are allowed to do start-ups if they are allowed to buy land then maybe the situation can be better. Also, Srinagar should be declared a smart city," he added.
The actor had also asserted that January 19, 1990, was a black day
Yet not been able to return to ancestral land
As of 2012, thousands of Pandits were languishing in refugee settlements. They were dispersed all over from Jammu to Johannesburg.
Over the years, India has seen several changes- new governments have come and gone, multiple developments have come forth nationwide, but scores of Kashmiri Pandits who were chased out of their homes in 1990 have still not been able to find a way back in the ancestral land