At a recent all-party delegation outreach event in the UK, Ashish Bhatt, a Kashmiri Pandit, gave an emotional and powerful statement about the suffering of his community, their forced migration, and the resilience shown in the wake of Pakistan-backed drone attacks following Operation Sindoor. His words highlighted both the personal cost of cross-border aggression and his gratitude toward India’s defence forces.
#WATCH | London, UK | " I'm a Kashmiri Pandit. The world knows how we migrated. The whole of India knows how we migrated… And what happened after the Operation Sindoor, how Pakistan stormed the cities in India with the drones, my parents over there in Jammu suffered. They had… pic.twitter.com/sJF2QrmTEN
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2025
Speaking from a place of deep personal experience and national concern, Ashish Bhatt recounted the trauma of displacement that still defines the memory of many Kashmiri Pandit families. “The world knows how we migrated,” he began, referencing the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the peak of militancy in the early 1990s.
With recent events still fresh in his mind, Bhatt turned his attention to Operation Sindoor, India’s surgical response to terror camps in Pakistan-occupied J&K. He described how, in retaliation, drones and missiles from across the border began entering Indian cities—including J&K, where his parents still reside. “They had to stay covered,” he said, explaining how their lives were upended by the constant threat of aerial attacks.
Bhatt painted a vivid picture of the fear that gripped his hometown. “Just five minutes from our house is the Shambhu Temple,” he noted, referencing footage widely circulated on social media that showed the extent of damage caused by an incoming missile. It wasn’t just about destruction, he said, but about the psychological toll it took on ordinary citizens—especially those already living with the generational trauma of displacement.
Despite the devastation, his message was not one of helplessness, but of defiance and gratitude. He thanked India’s armed forces for their swift and robust response to the attacks. “I want to say big thanks to our defence forces,” he emphasised, acknowledging their efforts in neutralizing the threats posed by drones and cross-border missiles.
The platform provided by the all-party outreach event gave Bhatt and other members of the diaspora an opportunity to present a ground-level view of the conflict. His testimony was not only a personal reflection but a call for continued vigilance, unity, and support for those affected by cross-border terrorism.
Ashish Bhatt’s statement underscored the interconnected realities of past and present traumas faced by Kashmiri Pandits and reflected the enduring hope and strength that continues to define their community.
