Hundreds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits have been demanding immediate rehabilitation and are seeking restoration of their property in the State.
New Delhi, Aug 16 : Hundreds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits have been demanding immediate rehabilitation and are seeking restoration of their property in the State.
Holding Indian flags and with their mouths covered, the protesters held a sit-in at the India Gate here on Wednesday.
"India gained independence on August 15, but we are still not free to go back to our homes in Kashmir, where we can live in peace," said Rashni Kher, a protestor.
The protesters had gathered under "Roots In Kashmir-A Kashmir Youth initiative", and slammed the government for failing to provide relief to the displaced community.
"It is high time the State Government and the Central Government wake to the cries and the woes of the Kashmiri Pandits, which is scattered all over the globe," said Aditya Raj Kaul, a protestor.
A working group set up by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to resolve the Kashmir issue had suggested that the resettlement of Pandits should be made a part of government policy.
Kashmiri Pandits fled the Kashmir Valley following the rise in insurgency in the State in 1989.
According to the National Human Rights Commission, about 300,000 Kashmiriandits were forced to leave the state.
A majority of the Kashmiri migrants are staying in dilapidated camps in Jammu, Delhi and other cities. Though the Central and the State Governments have tried to repatriate them to the Kashmir Valley, they have refused to go citing security reasons.
ANI