JammuRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday that Kashmiri Pandits will soon be able to return to their homes in the Valley. He emphasized that work is being done to create a conducive environment so that they are never displaced again.
Digitally addressing the members of the Kashmiri Pandit community on the last day of the three-day ‘Navreh’ festival, the RSS chief said that if anyone has the wrong intention to drive the community out of Kashmir again, he will have to face dire consequences,’ Bhagwat said. Praising the film ‘The Kashmir Files’, he said that it has created public awareness across the country and outside about the reality behind the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief said that the time has come to fulfill the promise of bringing back Kashmiri Pandits to the Kashmir Valley. “The time has come for you to return to the valley as Hindus and ‘Bharat Bhakts’ are coming to you… You suffered displacement in the past but this should not happen to you in the future,” he said. “Work is on to create such an environment in which you will feel safe and live peacefully with your neighbors as you used to live earlier and no one will be able to displace you again,” Bhagwat said.
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He said, “If someone has bad intentions, he will have to face the fatal consequences. There are people (in the Muslim community) with whom you used to enjoy a good relationship. We have to defeat fundamentalism and be peaceful with all.” Referring to his participation in the ‘Herath’ (Shivratri) festival of Kashmiri Pandits in Delhi in 2011, Bhagwat said the community had made a pledge on the occasion that they would return to their motherland.
Bhagwat, in his over half-an-hour speech, said, “Our resolve to return to the Valley will not take long to be fulfilled. This will come true very soon and we will have to continue our efforts in this direction. Our history and our great leaders will be a guide and inspiration for all of us.” He said the removal of Article 370 opened the way for the return of Pandits to the Kashmir Valley. The RSS chief said, “There are challenges in everyone’s life… We are in a situation where three-four decades ago we were displaced in our own country. What is the solution?” At the same time, he said, “We will not give up and will return to our homes to see the fulfillment of our promise.”
He referred to Israel and said that the Jews fought for their homeland for 1800 years. Bhagwat said, “In the 1700 years, not much was done by them for their pledge, but the history of Israel in the last 100 years has seen it achieve its goal and become one of the leading countries in the world. ”
“We (Kashmiri Pandits) have had to live in different parts of the world, despite the fact that Kashmir is an integral part of India. We can live anywhere, but we cannot forget our motherland.” Bhagwat said though it would take some time, Kashmiri Pandits would be able to return to their native land on their own terms. (agency)