Panun Kashmir Observes World Refugee Day across Jammu, Bengaluru and North America
Reaffirms Homeland Demand
21/06/2026
Jammu, June 20 (KIP)-Panun Kashmir today observed World Refugee Day with a major gathering at Invitation Hall, Roop Nagar, Jammu, alongside a parallel programme at Kashmir Bhavan, Jayanagar, Bengaluru, organized in association with the Kashmiri Hindu Cultural Welfare Trust (KHCWT). Simultaneously, Panun Kashmir activists in the United States and Canada held coordinated virtual protests, lending a global dimension to the observance. The programmes focused on the continuing displacement of Kashmiri Hindus, recognition of their genocide, and the demand for a separate. homeland in Kashmir as envisaged in the Margdarshan Resolution of 1991.
The programme commenced with a solemn tribute to eminent scholar and doyen of the Kashmiri Pandit community, Dr. Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani, whose recent demise was described as a significant loss to the intellectual and cultural life of the community. Participants also paid homage to the martyrs of the security forces and the martyrs of the Kashmiri Hindu community who sacrificed their lives in the face of terrorism and persecution. A moment of silence was observed before the proceedings formally began.
The Jammu programme was moderated by Nitin Dhar, President, Panun Kashmir Yuva, who described the Panun Kashmir movement as a civilizational struggle rooted in memory, identity and political justice. He emphasized that the younger generation must remain connected with the ideological foundations that have sustained the movement through decades of exile.
Delivering the keynote address, Behari Lal Kaul, Organizing Secretary, Panun Kashmir, examined various models of justice adopted across the world in response to historical atrocities and displacement. Rejecting restorative justice as inadequate in the context of the genocide and forced exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, he maintained that complete justice lies in the realization of Panun Kashmir, which alone addresses the questions of security, dignity, identity and political empowerment.
Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary, underscored the imperativeness of the Panun Kashmir demand and asserted that the aspirations of the displaced community cannot be reduced to administrative measures or welfare-centric approaches. Pyare Lal Raina elaborated upon the historical and political basis of the homeland demand, arguing that Panun Kashmir remains the only durable and principled solution capable of addressing the consequences of genocide and displacement.