A group of Kashmiri Pandits has registered a housing society in Srinagar, seeking government land at nominal rates to facilitate their permanent resettlement in Kashmir.
The initiative, the first of its kind in over three decades, reflects the community's frustration with delays in rehabilitation plans by successive governments.
The Displaced Kashmiri Residents Housing Cooperative in Srinagar has been registered with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies in Jammu and Kashmir. The society comprises 11 Kashmiri Pandits and two Sikhs, all of whom fled the valley in 1989 due to militancy.
“Our goal is to integrate with the local Muslim population rather than live in exclusive townships,’’ Satish Mahaldar, secretary of the housing society told THE WEEK. “We want repatriation, not segregation.”
Mahaldar said they have been making efforts to return to Kashmir for some time and that separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also supported them. “Mirwaiz sahab supported our efforts. He wants Kashmiri Pandits to return to their roots,” he added.
In 2019, the community submitted a list of 419 families willing to return to the valley, but no progress has been made since then. Many Pandits sold their ancestral properties under duress in the 1990s and migrated to different parts of the country, mainly Jammu and Delhi.
Mahaldar said they want the government to provide them with land at nominal rates for constructing dwellings, adding that they plan to request 100 kanals (12.5 acres) in Srinagar as a starting point.
