Kashmiri Pandits mark Balidan Diwas, demand genocide recognition, homeland

Displaced Kashmiri Pandits observed the 36th "Balidan Diwas" in Jammu, paying homage to members of the community and security personnel who lost their lives to violence and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The community reiterated its demand for legal recognition of the violence against and displacement of Kashmiri Pandits as "genocide" and called for a separate homeland in the Valley under direct Union protection. Panun Kashmir chairman Tito Ganju said the community was not only paying homage to those who lost their lives to terrorism after 1990, but also remembering those who suffered during seven waves of persecution in Kashmir over the past 700 years. The community's struggle is also about safeguarding constitutional rights, particularly the rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, and 21.