To obscure the naked truth of this ethnic cleansing, there has been a consistent effort to trivialise the persecution of Hindus by terror apologists masquerading as activists and intellectuals.
From Shah Mir's demolition of temples, innumerable murders and conversions by the widely eulogised Mughal rulers to the treacherous religious bigotry unleashed in 1990 in independent India, the history of Kashmiri Hindu suffering is centuries old, with not less than seven major accounts of genocide. The mayhem that broke out in January 1990 was the peak of ultimate indignity.
Obnoxious, bigoted slogans like "We want our Pakistan without Kashmiri Pandit men but with Kashmiri Pandit women" Raliv Galiv ya Chaliv (join us, Die or Flee) echoed in the valley as the radical majority mob took over the streets and loudspeakers repeated it on loop, but the worst was yet to come. Terror, hostility and panic engulfed the valley as armed militants aided by locals carried out targeted attacks on the Hindus. They were subjected to mass murder, arson, rape, assassinations and kidnappings.
There are countless accounts by the survivors of how the minority Hindus were ethnically profiled and killed selectively, yet believing there was no religious fanaticism fuelling this barbarism is to live in obscurantism. Even after January 1990, scattered incidents of violence against the remaining handful of Hindus continued. Incidents like the gruesome gang rape and murder of Babli Raina took place in dozens and became common news. Self-proclaimed human rights activists turned comatose and looked away from the plight of Kashmiri Hindus.
The few who survived the mayhem to tell the tales of barbarism and horror live as refugees in their motherland to date. It is estimated that around 300,000-800,000 Hindus were driven out of the valley overnight on 19th January. They left behind their ancestral homes, escaping to a future of uncertainty. They were given refugee camps to live in deplorable conditions in Jammu, which lacked the basic necessities like washrooms. These refugee camps saw several deaths because of the spread of diseases, snake bites, and unforgiving weather conditions.
When they haven't even received the displaced status, any chance of justice is an inconceivable dream. The case of Kashmiri Pandits is not a case of 'Justice delayed, Justice denied' but a case of the genocide being denied.
From Ajay Pandita to Makhan Lal Bindroo, the killings of those who stayed back have seen no end. In October 2021, the hostility in the valley's atmosphere witnessed a rapid surge, almost like a Déjà vu to the previous carnages, a fresh cycle of the same old violence model, the only difference being the drastically declined Kashmiri Hindu population. This dance of death, orchestrated by fanatic forces, will not end until they accomplish the 'ultimate goal' of taking the region from low minority to no minority.
To obscure the naked truth of this ethnic cleansing, there is a deliberate attempt to negate the religious bigotry and fanatic ideology deep-rooted amongst those who orchestrated this blood bath. But here's the thing, no narrative shield is wide enough to obliterate the reality of the Islamist menace unleashed against the minority Hindus; to say it otherwise would be a debasement of reality.
Time and again, there has been a consistent effort to trivialise the persecution of Hindus by terror apologists masquerading as activists and intellectuals. Yet again, the agony of persecuted Hindus fails to find a place in human rights advocacy in today's activism. Today's agonising reality is that despite enough evidence of such innumerable atrocities, chilling massacres, and myriad rapes being systematically unleashed against the indigenous Hindus, any talk of Hinduphobia is laughed off and dismissed largely.
