When a Hindu is killed in Kashmir, all Kashmiri Muslims must condemn it, just as all Hindus must condemn lynching of Muslims anywhere in India - Sanjay Tickoo

By Dilip -

Ajaz Ashraf interviews Sanjay Tickoo; president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti. The KPSS was established by him in 1995 to fight, non-violently, for the rights of his community members residing in the Kashmir Valley. When the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits began in 1990 because of the rise of militancy in the Valley, Tickoo, then around 23 years old, chose to stay behind. 

Tickoo is widely respected among Kashmiris, Hindus and Muslims alike, for his formidable ability to conduct conversations with those he ideologically opposes. He is fearless in his criticism of the government for some of its flawed policies and the targeted killings undertaken by state and non-state actors in Kashmir. In this interview, Tickoo analyses the impact last week’s killing of religious minorities in Kashmir has had on religious minorities residing there.

Do you agree with those who say the situation for Kashmiri Pandits is worse than in 1990, the year they began to exit Kashmir because of the rise of militancy?

I was around 23 years old then, old enough to remember what happened in that year and thereafter. Yes, the situation today is worse in comparison to the 1990s. I say this because of the manner in which the members of minority communities were killed last week. As in 1990, so in 2021, the majority community is on the backfoot.

Backfoot?

What I mean is that when a Kashmiri Pandit is killed, the majority community consoles his or her family. They have to console and instill confidence in the [Valley’s] minority population. The last massacre of Kashmiri Pandits took place at Nandimarg village, in Pulwama district, in 2003. Twenty-four non-migrant Kashmiri Pandits (a term used to describe those who did not join the exodus) were killed. Last week, for the first time after 18 years, Kashmiri Pandits were shot dead, beginning with ML Bindroo [a reputed pharmacist].

Why do you say the current round of targeting of Kashmiri Pandits is worse than even 1990?

I say it because my dear friends in the majority community have remained silent….

https://www.newsclick.in/Some-Government-Policies-Broke-Pandit-Muslim-Relations-Kashmir-Sanjay-Tickoo


Prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman shot dead in Srinagar


P. B. Mehta: What the attacks against minorities in Kashmir reveal




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