Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir in 1989 was their seventh such exodus since the arrival of Islam in Kashmir in the fourteenth century. This was precipitated by the outbreak of Pakistan-sponsored insurgency across Kashmir Valley in 1989. The radical Islamists targeted Pandits - a minuscule community in Muslim dominated society creating enormous fear, panic and grave sense of insecurity. In the face of ruthless atrocities inflicted on them, the Pandits’ sole concern was ensuring their own physical safety and their resolve not to convert to Islam. Over 350,000 Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee en masse leaving their home and hearth. This was the single largest forced displacement of people of a particular ethnicity after partition of India. Pandits’ travails did not end with the exodus. The obstructive and intimidating attitude of the State administration towards the Pandit refugees made their post-exodus existence even more miserable. The Government at the Centre too remained indifferent to their plight. This book traces the Pandits’ economic and political marginalization in the State over the past six decades and covers in detail the events that led to their eventual exodus. In the light of ethnic cleansing of Pandits from the Valley, the book also examines some critical issues so crucial to India’s survival as a multi-cultural, liberal and secular democracy.

The Panun Kashmir Movement Has Made Several Presentations At National And International Levels About The Plight Of Kashmir And Kashmiri Pandits. These Presentations Are Now Documented For Reference Purposes.

The advent of Islam in medieval Kashmir gave birth to a narrative that describes forcible mass conversion of Hindus, eviction of local people and wanton demolition of religious symbols. A minority of Kashmiri Brahmans and their progeny who did not convert to Islam built and successfully perpetuated this narrative over the centuries. Following the eruption of armed insurgency in Kashmir and mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, this community narrative has turned into the Indian mainstream view on Kashmiri Pandits. Kashmir: Exposing the Myth behind the Narrative challenges the existing narrative. It exposes many fallacies used to uphold this narrative and dissects the work of historians that has sustained ahistorical perceptions over a long period of time. By linking history to the present, the book facilitates an understanding of the situation today.

An insight into many untold facts describing the position of Kashmiri Pandits since the pre-independence era, the subsequent developments that shaped the socio - cultural and political environment in J&K, the sowing of the seeds of terrorism much before they showed up and the factors that led to the world’s largest mass exodus of people in their own country, the book charts the role of Shri Amarnath Vaishnavi who was a social activist at the grass root and was at the helm of various historic events pertaining to Kashmiri Pandits that shaped its history and influenced the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. While describing his activism, this biography chronicles historic events witnessed and led by him dating back to 1947 up to the year 2012. This is the revised edition of the book which was first published in 2021. The reader reviews reveal that this first hand account of events, from the diary of Pandit Vaishnavi, serve as a treasure trove of information for the researchers. This book includes a narrative which has long been suppressed. A man who was so influential was never tempted to accumulate wealth or use power to help himself or his close family members. He lived a down to earth life in one of the Kashmiri refugee colonies in Jammu and was honoured with the title, “Father of the Kashmiri Pandit Community.”

The unique cultures of minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide – spanning a wide variety of customs and practices – are under threat. This year’s edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights the impact of land dispossession, forced assimilation and other forms of discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of their identity, including language, art, traditional knowledge and spirituality. But while the effects of this attrition can be devastating, minority and indigenous cultures have also been critical in strengthening communities and providing activists with a platform to fight for their rights. As this volume illustrates, ensuring that the cultural freedoms of minorities and indigenous peoples are protected is essential if their other rights are also to be respected.

Freedom in the World contains both comparative ratings and written narratives and is now the standard reference work for measuring the progress and decline in political rights and civil liberties on a global basis.

The seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute and the fate of Kashmiris throughout South Asia and beyond are the twin themes in Snedden's meticulously researched book.