Panun Kashmir ( en, Our Kashmir) is a proposed union territory of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the Kashmir Valley, which is intended to be a homeland for Kashmiri Hindus. The demand arose after the

Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus The Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, is their early-1990 forced * * * * * * * * * migration, or flight, from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir following rising violence in an insurgency. Of a total Pan ...

in 1990. The vision of the homeland was elucidated in the Margdarshan Resolution of 1991. Panun Kashmir is also the name of an eponymously named organisation.

Origin and etymology

Panun Kashir is derived from Kashmiri , which means "our own Kashmir". The Panun Kashmir organisation was founded by Kashmiris, including Kashmiri Hindu writer and activist Agnishekhar, in 1990 after the

exodus of Kashmiri Hindus The Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, is their early-1990 forced * * * * * * * * * migration, or flight, from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir following rising violence in an insurgency. Of a total Pan ...

from Kashmir, under threat from militants. Approximately 300,000 to 600,000 Kashmiri Hindus fled Kashmir due to rising armed rebellion in Kashmir. However, Panun Kashmir estimates nearly 700,000 refugees.

Proposed union territory of Panun Kashmir

The organisation passed a resolution, known as the Margdarshan Resolution, in Jammu in December 1991 demanding:

(a) the establishment of a Homeland for the Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley of Kashmir comprising the regions of the Valley to the East and North of
Jhelum River The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...
. (b) that the Constitution of India be made applicable in letter and spirit in this Homeland in order to ensure right to life, liberty, freedom of expression and faith, equality and rule of law. (c) that the Homeland be placed under the Central administration with a Union Territory status; and (d) that all the seven hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus, including those who have been driven out of Kashmir in the past and yearn to return to their homeland and those who were forced to leave on account of terrorist violence in Kashmir, be settled in the homeland on an equitable basis with dignity and honour.

Some advocates for Panun Kashmir wish that the majority of the valley of Kashmir and cities such as Srinagar,

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the u ...

Sopore Sopore, known as Suyyapur in antiquity, is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east from the city of Baramulla. Sopore Town has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale ...

Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a town and a municipality in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district. It is on the ...

and

Awantipora Awantipora () or Avantipur or Aavantipur, known as Woontpor () in Kashmiri, is a town, just opposite of Pulwama city, on the banks of the river Jhelum in the Pulwama district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on the J ...

be included in the proposed union territory. However, the organisation claims that it in fact does not seek a Hindu homeland. Rather, it seeks a homeland for Kashmiri Hindus who are ready to live peacefully with their Muslim neighbours assuming the conditions are met for resettlement.

Support

The Panun Kashmir organisation has consistently pushed for a separate UT. The organisation also strongly supported the abrogation of

Article 370 Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pa ...

and Article 35a.

Ikkjutt Jammu Ikkjutt Jammu (also stylised as IkkJutt Jammu) is a party based in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It advocates for the creation of a separate Jammu state out of the Dogri speaking districts of Jammu Division and for the reorgani ...

, a political party in Jammu and Kashmir, openly advocates for a separate Panun Kashmir, as well as the separation of

Jammu Division The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division within Jammu and Kashmir, a union territory of India. It consists of the districts of Jammu, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba. Mos ...

from Kashmir.

Opposition

On 28 November 2019, India's consul-general in New York proposed an " Israeli model" on Kashmir to help the Kashmiri Pandits return to their homeland. His hour-long video sparked outrage. Muslim Kashmiri activists and some Hindu Kashmiris feared that this will lead to worsening military control, losing their jobs to outsiders, and the loss of their identity by causing Hindus to replace the Muslim majority. This proposition has been compared to a "settler-colonial project", and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the proposal as reflecting "the fascist mindset of the Indian government". After the murder of Rakesh Pandit by unidentified militants in June 2021, several members of the Panun Kashmir group proposed a military campaign to establish a separate Hindu region, where Kashmiri Pandits would be armed against local militants. That meeting and their proposed Union Territory has been opposed by Muslim activists, who compared the proposal to Israeli actions against the Palestinians.

References

External links