Panun Kashmir questions the meaning of statehood and democracy
without justice for displaced Kashmiri Pandits
30/09/2026
Jammu, September 30 (KIP)-The Jammu & Kashmir Assembly has passed a resolution demanding the restoration of statehood, with political parties supporting the demand. However, **Panun Kashmir General Secretary Sh. Kuldeep Raina** has questioned whether the demand for statehood can be projected as a triumph of democracy without addressing the unresolved issues surrounding the displacement and suffering of Kashmiri Pandits.
In a strongly worded statement, Raina said that before celebrating the resolution as a victory for democracy, the political leadership must answer some fundamental questions concerning the rights, dignity, security and justice of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
“Lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of Kashmir, were hounded out of their ancestral homeland through terror, threats and targeted killings. Our homes were burned and looted, temples desecrated, properties occupied and orchards encroached upon,” Raina said.
He questioned how the restoration of statehood and the return to an elected political system could be presented as complete democratic justice when a large section of the original population was forced to flee its homeland and continues to await justice, restitution and a dignified return.
Raina further pointed out that the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits took place during a period when Jammu & Kashmir had an **elected Assembly, an elected government and an elected Chief Minister.
“The greatest indictment of the system is that this catastrophe unfolded under an elected political dispensation. The existence of an elected government did not prevent the persecution, displacement and destruction of the lives and properties of Kashmiri Pandits,” he said.
Raina maintained that any meaningful discussion on statehood and democracy must also address the plight of the displaced community, including the restoration of their rights, properties and places of worship, and the creation of conditions for their safe and dignified return to their ancestral homeland.
He said that statehood cannot become a substitute for justice, and that the restoration of political status must go hand in hand with accountability, protection of minority rights and resolution of the issues arising from the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.
Kuldeep Raina asked, "Where was this democracy when Kahmiri Pandits were being driven out? Where was the protection of the State when our homes were being burned and our temples desecrated?
Where was the rule of law when terrorists dictated who could remain in Kashmir and who had to flee?”
They are still standing at the gates of every Assembly, every government office and every institution that claims to represent democracy , Raina claimed.
He underlined the need for recognising their position in unequivocal terms.
Until the political, constitutional, security and rehabilitation demands of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits are meaningfully addressed, the demand for restoration of statehood cannot be treated as the final word on Kashmir's democratic future.
*The Union/Lieutenant Governor's administration should continue until a credible framework is established to address the rights, security and dignified political rehabilitation of the displaced Kashmiri Pandits, he asserted.
Raina said that the State must undertake a rigorous security and administrative process to identify and remove from sensitive positions individuals who are credibly established to have links with terrorist organisations, extremist networks or activities hostile to the constitutional order.
Raina said that the objective must be crystal clear:
One law.One Constitution.One standard of justice.Zero tolerance for terrorism.
The massacres of Kashmiri Hindus, attacks on pilgrims and civilians, destruction and desecration of temples, burning and looting of houses cannot be swept under the carpet in the name of “normalcy.” This is not acceptable, Raina added.