Hindu Genocide in Kashmir
Kashmir region was a Hindu-majority part of India, but due to forceful conversion of hindus to Islam by muslim invaders, it became a muslim region.
The Kashmiri Pandits, a Hindu Brahmin community native to the Kashmir Valley, faced significant violence and displacement during the rise of Islamic terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir in the late 1980s. The insurgency, which began around 1988–1989, was driven by muslim terrorist groups like the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Hizbul Mujahideen, some of which sought independence or accession to Pakistan. This period was marked by targeted killings of hindus, threats, and widespread unrest, which led to the mass exodus of Hindus from the Valley.
Scale of Displacement: Estimates vary on the number of Kashmiri Pandits who fled the Valley. Scholarly sources suggest around 90,000–100,000 Pandits left out of a population of 120,000–140,000 in early 1990, though some estimates range higher, up to 300,000 or more. The majority relocated to Jammu or other parts of India, often living in refugee camps under difficult conditions.
Causes: The exodus was triggered by a combination of targeted violence, including assassinations of prominent Pandits (e.g., Tika Lal Taploo in 1989), threats via posters and mosque loudspeakers, and a general atmosphere of fear. Some sources report slogans like “Raliv, tsaliv, ya galiv” (convert, leave, or die) being used to intimidate Pandits. Others argue that the violence was not exclusively anti-Hindu but part of broader separatist unrest, with Kashmiri Muslims also suffering.
Casualties: The number of Pandits killed is disputed. Official police reports from 1989–2008 indicate 209 Pandit deaths, with 109 occurring in 1989–1990. The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, a local organization, estimates 399 deaths from 1990–2011, while some Hindu nationalist sources claim up to 4,000. Scholars like Mridu Rai argue higher figures (e.g., 400,000 Pandits in the Valley) are not credible given demographic data estimating 160,000–170,000 Pandits pre-exodus.