|THE DEN|
‘Yes, I am a Kashmiri Muslim but i’m not a terrorist.’
Islam is the major religion which is practiced in Kashmir as of now where Muslim-majority lives in Srinagar. A perception is being created that all Kashmiri Muslims do not stand other faiths either by movies like Kashmir Files or the hate speeches by politicians, which has created a fearful situation for the islamic fundamentalists in the country
Why did the very unfortunate event “Pandit Exodus'' happen ?
Reason 1; The then Governor, Jagmohan had encouraged the Pandits to leave so as to have a free hand in more thoroughly pursuing reprisals against Muslims.
Reason 2; In 1984 When Gulam Mohammed Shah returned to Kashmir, he reacted and provoked the Kashmiri Muslims by saying Islam was in danger. As a consequence, Kashmiri Pandits came under the radar of Kashmiri Muslims and were being attacked, as per a noted Kashmiri Pandit historian.
Reason 3; As a consequence of the 1947 Jammu Massacre
Though, mainly they were militants who carried out the attacks on Kashmiri Pandits while this is also a fact that several times more Muslims were killed by militants over the same period.
Some of the horrifying memories of bloodshed in Kashmir (majorly against muslims) :
1947 Jammu massacre
An estimated 20,000 - 100,000 Muslims were massacred and Mass rapes were carried out by Dogra troops as well as Hindu and Sikh mobs and by Pakistani troops when the conflict broke out in 1947.
Gawkadal Massacre 1990
The Gawkadal massacre was named after the Gawkadal bridge in Srinagar, Kashmir, where on January 21, 1990, the Indian paramilitary troops of the Central Reserve Police Force opened fire on a group of Kashmiri protestors, killing at least 52 people and injuring 250. This has also been described by some authors as "the worst massacre in Kashmiri history".
Handwara 1990 massacre
Just after four days of Gawkadal massacre, another massacre took place which was the Handwara massacre where 21 unarmed protesters opened fire by the Border Security Force in the town of Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir on January 25, 1990. The massacre killed between 28-280 civilians. A survivor who was part of the procession narrates “It was all doomsday; bullets were being showered like rain onto the protestors.”
Kunan Poshpora Incident
The Kunan Poshspora incident was an alleged mass rape that occurred on February 23, 1991 when units of the Indian security forces, after being fired upon by militants, launched a search operation in the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora. Some of the villagers claimed that around 23 - 50 women were raped by soldiers that night.
Sopore Massacre 1993
The Sopore massacre refers to the alleged killing of at least 43 civilians by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) who were travelling on a bus from Bandipur to Sopore in Kashmir on January 6, 1993.
Bijbehara massacre 1993
The Bijbehara massacre took place when 74th Battalion Border Security Force fired upon protesters in the Anantnag district of India-administered Jammu & Kashmir on October 22, 1993; killing 51 civilians. "There was no warning, no tear gas," said Wali Mohammed, 44. "First they told us, 'go ahead,' and then they caught us in between and fired on us," said Mohmad Yousef, 20.