To mark the 30th anniversary of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir, members of the community took to social media to post video of themselves by narrating ‘Hum Aayenge Apna Watan’ dialogue from the upcoming flick ‘Shikara’, penning hope to return to their homeland one day. As many as five lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave Jammu and Kashmir on January 9, 1990 following a genocidal campaign unleashed by the militants.
Noted Kashmiri Pandits, including author Rahul Pandita, actor Chandan Sadhu, radio personality Khushboo Mattoo and writer Akhilesh Raina, posted videos of themselves “pledging to return home.”
30 lost years. Eight rented places.
None of the walls to be called my own
None of the gates to be called my home
Hiding bones of Kashmir in the skins of our hearts
None of the lanes familiar, all unknown.
30 lost years. Eight rented places#HumWapasAayenge— Khushboo Mattoo (@MattLaemon) January 18, 2020
I don’t have many pictures left of my childhood. Choosing between life and family albums is really no choice at all. When lives were rescued, family albums got left behind. 30 years have passed. Resolve to go back home has only strengthened. #HumWapasAayenge pic.twitter.com/mZr14n95a8
— Sunanda Vashisht (@sunandavashisht) January 18, 2020
This is the ticket to exile. Bus ticket bought by my family on 19th January 1990 to escape the Islamist terror and threats from mosques in Kashmir against the Kashmir Pandits. Today it's been three decades. There has been no Justice. Just whitewashing of truth. #HumWapasAayenge pic.twitter.com/nnPp9xwguw
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) January 18, 2020
Me with my mum at our home in Wazirbagh Srinagar, I must have been 3-4 years old I guess, a year before we had to flee Kashmir. #KashmiriPandits #30YearsInExile #HumWapasAayenge pic.twitter.com/bwhc6VieE9
— Sidharth Bhat (@SidharthBhat) January 19, 2020
This is the story of the time I went back home in Kashmir. In tears to see Habba Kadal where my family stayed for years until they were forced to leave by terrorists. #HumWapasAayenge #KashmiriPanditsGenocide #KashmiriHinduExodus #Justice4KashmiriHindus pic.twitter.com/Ou3GjcOOdi
— Chandan Sadhu (@chandansadhu) January 19, 2020
Kashmiri Pandits' were driven out in Democratic Republic of India.
No Dharna /slogans by them even when they lost everything
The most resilient tolerant community .
My generation didn't pick bombs guns /stones
Remember That #HumWapasAayenge— Sakal Bhatt (@BhatSakal) January 19, 2020
Meanwhile, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday said that the Centre is committed to ensuring the return of the community to their homeland.
“The injustice meted out to our Kashmiri Pandit brother and sisters, the dent on their pride can never be forgotten. We also cannot wipe away the pain of becoming refugees in their own country, but we (Kashmiri pandits) will be back (to the motherland), is a promise of our government and it will be fulfilled,: Chouhan’s tweet, roughly translate in English from Hindi read.
हमारे कश्मीरी पंडित भाई-बहनों के साथ आज से तीस साल पहले जो अन्याय हुआ, सम्मान के साथ खिलवाड़ हुआ, वह कभी भुलाया नहीं जा सकता है।अपने ही देश में शरणार्थी बन जाने के उस दर्द को हम मिटा नहीं सकते हैं, लेकिन #HumWapasAayenge, यह हमारी सरकार का संकल्प है और इसे पूरा करेंगे।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) January 18, 2020
