Khushoo Verma, Jadetimes Staff

Khushboo Verma is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Asia News

As the 35th anniversary of the forced exodus of Kashmiri Hindus approaches, activist Lalit Ambardar reflects on the pain, the persecution, and the long quest for justice. A key figure in advocating for the rights and recognition of Kashmiri Hindus, Ambardar shares his thoughts on why the community was targeted, the truth behind the stories depicted in The Kashmir Files, the ongoing rehabilitation efforts, and the deep scars that persist within the community.

The mass migration of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990 remains one of the darkest chapters in India’s history. As the remembrance of this exodus looms, there is a renewed urgency for addressing the injustices faced by the community. 

The Exodus: A Tragedy Not of a Single Day, but of Years

Estimates suggest that approximately 100,000 of the 140,000 Kashmiri Pandits in the region fled the valley between February and March 1990. The exodus was not a one-time event but a gradual and traumatic process that stretched over months and even years. By 2011, only about 3,000 families remained in the valley, and many survivors had found refuge in states like Jammu, Delhi, and Pune.

In an exclusive interview with Jadetimes staff,  Khushboo Verma (Journalist), made a meaningful discussion with Lalit Ambardar—an outspoken activist from India and a key voice for Kashmiri Hindu. He shared poignant insights into the long-standing struggle for justice and recognition. Their candid conversation delves into the horrific events of 1990, the atrocities faced by the community, and the promises of rehabilitation that remain largely unfulfilled. This interview sheds light on the collective pain, the ongoing fight for justice, and the hope for a return to a homeland that has been lost to them for over three decades.

The Tragedy of January 19, 1990: A Day of Horror and Persecution

Q1. What happened in the valley on January 19, 1990? How do you view the events of 1990? Would you classify them as genocide, and what internal support exists for this classification?

Lalit Ambardar: “Before we discuss the events of January 19, 1990, we need to understand who the victims were. The victims were the Kashmiri Hindus—natives of Kashmir who had been an integral part of the land for centuries. The Kashmiri language itself is rooted in Sanskrit, which reflects the deep cultural connection between Kashmiri Hindus and the land. While the world may focus on the exodus as a tragedy of a single day, the truth is that it was the culmination of years of persecution.

In the Rajtarangini, an ancient text chronicling Kashmir’s history, the first mention of religious persecution is referred to as jatiye nar sangar, meaning ethnic genocide. This persecution of Hindus dates back to the 14th century. So, the 1990 event was not the first attempt to annihilate the Hindu community in Kashmir. Instead, it was the eighth attempt, a culmination of centuries of efforts to rid the valley of its original inhabitants.

Genocide is a process. It follows stages, including the systematic limitation of a community’s rights based on its religious identity, the alienation of its symbols, and the deliberate exclusion from social, educational, and economic opportunities. Over time, the identity of Kashmiri Hindus was gradually erased, with the Jhelum being replaced as the sacred river Vitasta in our minds. The 1990 tragedy marked the eighth major attempt to wipe us out.

It was a brutal, organized campaign that targeted Kashmiri Hindus specifically. We were forced to flee our homes, temples were destroyed, and our cultural heritage was shattered. The government of that time did not even fully acknowledge the scale of this loss. While we know that over 2,000 Hindus were killed, the government only reported 250 victims, stating that they ‘disappeared’ without giving any further explanation. 

The aftermath has been just as painful. The demographic shift in Kashmir is stark. New shrines have been erected on the ruins of our temples. I, along with my generation, remember the places where our temples once stood, and we were made to bow our heads in silence at the shrines built on these sacred sites. Though we were displaced, we never forgot our cultural ties. We continued to preserve our traditions, but sadly, this memory is not being passed on to the next generation.”

Kashmir Files and the Struggle for Recognition 

Q2. Is the movie Kashmir Files based on real instances? However, some critics argue that the film could not fully capture the grim reality. What progress have you and your team made in your activism to highlight the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus?

Lalit Ambardar: “Many of us, including survivors of the genocide, have spent the last 35 years protesting in different cities like Delhi, Jammu, and Pune. It is thanks to these tireless efforts that the identity and existence of the Kashmiri Hindu community have been kept alive. Yes, The Kashmir Files by Vivek Agnihotri has done a lot to shed light on the suffering of our people, but as with any film, it can only capture so much. The atrocities depicted in the film are real, but the scale of the violence, the pain, and the sheer number of crimes committed could not possibly be captured in a film format. 

The scene cast in the movie Kashmir Files where the Hindu hiding inside the rice store truck is based on the real incident. He was BK Ganjoo, a Kashmiri Pandit who hid in the rice bin but was shot to death by militants after Ganjoo's non-Hindu neighbors shared his whereabouts. BK Ganjoow was a telecom engineer, stationed in Kashmir. The militants had pumped him with bullets and left him bleeding on the rice, while the family of Ganjoow was forced to eat those blood-soaked rice.

The scene in the film where a Hindu woman was molested by militants and was cut alive with a carpenter saw, is based on the real incident. Her name was Girija Tickoo, a Hindu. She was a librarian at a University. On the fateful day, she went to collect her paycheck and boarded a bus on her way back home. The bus was stopped by the militants who dragged her out and threw her into a taxi. She was molested and gang raped later she was cut into two with a mechanical saw by the militants. These are the one or two incidents that the movie could cover but there were such endless heinous atrocities that the community endured. 

There was this real-life incident where the mother and daughter who were Hindu were brutally rapped and the militants hit them with bullets inside their private parts. The daughter had died on the spot, and the mother how had survived. Someone managed to call the loacal police for help. When that lady, the mother of that daughter was taken to the hospital in an unconscious state, the only thing she asked, was whether her daughter was alive or not. And the irony is that they suffered the worst and we and the media could not even openly talk about it, in the name of secularity. 

The real-life stories are far too numerous and horrific to fit into any single narrative.

It is disappointing, though, to see the backlash the film received, with accusations that it was politically motivated. The real tragedy, however, lies in how the suffering of the Kashmiri Hindus has been largely ignored in political discourse. There has been little effort to acknowledge the community's pain, and that is the most painful aspect of the ongoing struggle for justice.”

Survivors and the Quest for Justice: The Unfulfilled Promises

Q3. Has the Kashmiri Hindu community received any justice after all these years? It's been 35 years, doesn’t the saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ apply here?

Lalit Ambardar: “The first step towards justice is acknowledgment. Unfortunately, no one responsible for the crimes—those who committed rape, murder, looting—has been held accountable. To make matters worse, the survivors of this genocide, those who fled Kashmir to other parts of India, were simply labeled as ‘migrants.’ This label suggests that they moved voluntarily as if they had chosen to leave their homeland for better opportunities. In reality, we were forced to flee for our lives. Yet, the government refuses to legally acknowledge the magnitude of the loss that we endured.

What happened on January 19, 1990, was horrific. But the real tragedy is the continued ignorance about the scale of the suffering we face. Our cries for justice have been met with indifference, both by the Indian state and the international community.”

Rehabilitation: The Unkept Promises

Q4. After the revocation of Article 370, the government promised to rehabilitate Kashmiri Hindus in their homeland. What promises were made, and what progress has been made?

Lalit Ambardar: “The Indian government promised us jobs, housing, and security in our homeland. They also promised to restore our cultural heritage and protect our religious identity. But the question remains: to whom will they offer rehabilitation? Will they ask those who fled a place of such violence, where our women were raped and our family members were murdered, to return? Many of us have been forced to rebuild our lives elsewhere, and no survivor wants to return to the land that once was home but now holds nothing but pain.

The promises of the government remain unfulfilled. However, we are thankful to the people of Jammu who have welcomed us with open arms. Today, approximately 4,000 survivor families reside in the town of Jammu in India. which has become a new home for us. But the rehabilitation promises made by the government are still pending.”

The Demand for Recognition and Justice: Legal and Political Challenges

Q5. What are the main demands of the Kashmiri Hindu survivors, and what challenges do they face in securing justice?

Lalit Ambardar: “Our demands are simple but critical. We seek official recognition of our suffering, and we call for the establishment of a tribunal to investigate the atrocities of 1990. The organization Pannu Kashmir has proposed the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Bill 2020, which seeks to recognize and penalize genocide and cultural erasure. The bill calls for the documentation of religious sites and the formation of a Genocide Commission, overseen by the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, despite the efforts made, this bill has yet to be passed. This leaves survivors without formal recognition or any measure of justice. The challenges are enormous. There is still a long way to go before justice is served, and the community’s pain is acknowledged.”

Conclusion: The Long Road to Justice

In conclusion, the tragedy of the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Hindus remains one of India’s most painful and underreported historical events. The community continues to suffer from the scars of violence, displacement, and loss of identity. Despite years of protests, activism, and efforts to highlight the atrocities, justice remains elusive. 

Even after more than three decades, the survivors continue to fight for recognition, dignity, and a return to their ancestral homeland—a homeland that has become a distant dream for those who were forced to leave. The pain of the Kashmiri Hindus remains unresolved, and the struggle for justice is far from over.