Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) deplores LG Manoj Sinha’s false equivalence statements seeking to dismiss Kashmiri Pandit genocide.
Aghast that LG’s injudicious statement would blatantly undercut Brand PM Modi. Will step up outreach to ensure accountability for misrepresentations.
GKPD and other NRI groups have noted with great dismay and displeasure the recent false equivalence statements by LG Manoj Sinha between Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Hindus’ killings. GKPD salutes those brave Kashmiri Muslims who while serving the country in security roles and fighting Pak terrorists have lost their lives. From the time of Maqbool Bhat, there have been Kashmiri Muslims who have been staunch nationalists.
GKPD recognizes these martyrs but asserts that Kashmiri Pandits were ethnically cleansed not because they were fighting the terrorists but because they are Hindus. For us, it was assuredly about our religion. Seventeen hundred Kashmiri Pandits would have been alive today if they had converted. Five hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus would be still living in the Valley if they had converted. LG Manoj Sinha has chosen to ignore the detailed eyewitness account of his predecessor, Governor Jagmohan of the religious terror havoc unleased in the 1990s upon the Kashmiri Pandits. Such blatant misrepresentation by the highest constitutional officer of J&K State cannot go unchallenged.
GKPD specifically and the NRI community generally have great faith in Prime Minister Modi as he steers the country on a path of inclusive progress and growth. His strong affirmative programs seek to correct historical wrongs whether at a social, economic, or cultural level.
He has been a protector of the weak and marginalized and expressed deep sympathy for the suffering of the Kashmiri Pandits. For reasons best known to him, LG Manoj Sinha’s statement has done grievous damage to the Brand Modi. It is political calculus that has placed in jeopardy a global and national brand for the sake of local opportunism. The Kashmir Files movie has not only shown the truth of what happened to the Kashmiri Pandit community but has also shown that the Global Indian community cares passionately about their cause. LG Sinha seeks to reduce the credibility of the treasured Modi brand into empty rhetoric when it comes to the case of Kashmiri Pandits. This is a catastrophic political move and needs firm, corrective action immediately by the ruling party.
GKPD Mission 2024 will go all out with a national media campaign to educate the Indian voter as to what each political party has done or not done for the Kashmiri Pandits. What happens to the Kashmiri Pandits is a litmus test for the idea of India. We have been the torch bearers of Hinduism for ten thousand years and will not capitulate. GKPD will ensure Indians will vote based on full knowledge and not hypocrisy. There will be accountability.
