Col Tej K Tikoo

Due to the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits at the hands of many Muslim rulers after the arrival of Islam in Kashmir in the fourteenth century, Kashmiri Pandits had witnessed six exoduses from Kashmir before India’s independence in 1947. By the time the last exodus of Hindus of Kashmir took place in 1989-1990, there were approximately half a million Pandits left in the Valley.

After India gained independence from Britain, Kashmiri Pandits could not be faulted for thinking that ‘exoduses’ were now a thing of the past. They assessed that being part of democratic, multi-ethnic, and secular India, was guarantee enough of their safety and security. Even after witnessing the large-scale violence perpetrated against them in Anantnag district and in some other areas of the valley

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