Congressional Statements

Human Rights in Kashmir: The plight of Kashmiri Pandits

Statement by Congressman Joe Wilson, Co-Chair Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness and the House Committee on Government Reform
May 12, 2004

Mr. Chairman,

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to address my concerns regarding human rights abuses in Kashmir.

When we speak of human rights abuses, we speak of the deprivation of rights we consider fundamental in American society. Depriving people of their life, liberty, and property through means of intimidation, torture, or rape, occurs in many parts of the world.

When we speak of human rights abuses, too often we are critical of the way Indian security forces treat suspected militants. We overlook the abuses committed by these very militants on the civilian population in Kashmir, most notably the acts of violence committed against Kashmiri Hindus.

Victor Gobarev noted in a CATO publication that few U.S. policymakers or American media outlets discussed the violence unleashed upon Kashmiri Hindus, known as Pandits, which included murder, rape, and the destruction of homes and businesses:

Indians were surprised to find almost no sympathy in the West for the plight of Hindu and other non-Muslim populations of Kashmir. Few people in America are aware that most of the Hindu population of Jammu and Kashmir has been forced into exile by a terror campaign conducted by Pakistani-based Muslim guerrillas who systematically kill non-Muslims for the purposes of "cleansing Kashmir from infidels." In another part of the world, such tactics are called "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing."

Beginning in 1989, mosques in Kashmir blared warnings from loudspeakers to Hindus that they were infidels and had to leave Kashmir. From 1989-1990, Islamists began a terror campaign to drive Hindus from Kashmir. The following is a typical story of a Kashmiri Pandit as reported in the Associated Press:

Pinni Suri remembers the scene exactly though 11 years have passed. Dawn had just broken when two teenagers knocked on the front door of her home in the Kashmir Valley, where her Hindu ancestors had lived for centuries among the majority Muslims. Two minutes later, one of the young men shot Suri's husband in the chest. The attackers disappeared into the narrow lanes of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital. Muslim neighbors, watching from their window, turned away as she begged for help. "They shot my husband on Aug 1. 1990, and I left Srinagar the same day. I haven't gone back since," said Suri. An uncle of her husband was killed weeks later. It was a time of terrible fear among Kashmiri Pandits, Hindus indigenous to the beautiful Himalayan valley. They and Hindu settlers were being killed, kidnapped and robbed by Islamic militant groups demanding independence from India or to unite with Muslim-majority Pakistan. . . . [T]he Pandits are raising anew their demand for a homeland, which they say must be separate because of fears they will be targeted again. "They wanted to Islamize Kashmir and they wanted us out. It was ethnic cleansing," said Ramesh Manavati, spokesman for Our Own Kashmir, an organization that says it represents more than 700,000 Kashmiri Pandits and demands an enclave in the Kashmir valley.

This campaign of terror drove hundreds of thousands of Hindus from Kashmir, and they have not returned. When we speak of human rights, we cannot ignore the plight of Kashmir Pandits, and the violence directed against them from Islamist militant groups. We should also recognize that dozens of terrorist attacks have targeted Muslims as well in Kashmir and innocent civilians have been attacked in public places such as bus stops or market areas. The State Department notes "terrorists killed and otherwise attacked hundreds of Hindu and Muslim civilians in 2001 and 2002."

Our own State Department noted in its 2003 country report on human rights practices in India:

Terrorist attacks remained problems. The concerted campaign of execution-style killings of civilians by Kashmiri and foreign-based militant groups continued and included several killings of political leaders and party workers. Separatist militants were responsible for numerous, serious abuses, including killing of armed forces personnel, police, government officials, and civilians; torture; rape; and other forms of brutality. Separatist militants also were responsible for kidnapping and extortion in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states. The Government accused the terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) and Jaish-e-Muhammad of responsibility for carrying out many of the attacks on civilians and military personnel.

Mohammed Ayoob noted in a Washington Times editorial:

India has been a victim of intense cross-border terrorism, especially during the past decade. It has become increasingly clear that the sources of material support and training for terrorists infiltrated into the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir are the same that brought the Taliban to power in Afghanistan and patronized the activities of the Osama bin Laden network. Evidence from both the 1998 American bombings of terrorist bases and from current campaigns against the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan have clearly revealed the presence of recruits from Pakistani-sponsored groups that are routinely trained for infiltration into Kashmir....

India has suffered from cross border terrorism for more than a decade. An example of how India has suffered from this terrorism occurred on December 13, 2001, when 5 Pakistani nationals committed a suicide attack on India's Parliament, resulting in a 90-minute gun battle between the militants and New Delhi police, which ended in 14 deaths. On October 1, 2001, the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the Kashmir State Legislature, which killed 38 people and critically injured fifty more.

India has suffered extensively from these terrorist attacks, and Kashmiri Pandits have been exiled from their ancestral home to refugee camps. We cannot and should not ignore the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits. When we talk about human rights abuses in Kashmir, let us not forget the acts of terror unleashed upon the Kashmiri Pandits and the human rights abuses they have faced at the hands of unrelenting Islamist militants.

I am hopeful that as the Composite Dialogue between India and Pakistan continues, the human rights abuses will end and peace can return to the Kashmir valley. The people of Kashmir, of many different faiths, with a centuries-long tradition of tolerance, are waiting for the peace process to take root in Kashmir.

Thank you Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to address you and your subcommittee on this important issue.

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Timeline of attacks on religious minorities in Kashmir: 1998-2001

in April 1998, Islamic militants massacred 13 Hindus in a Kashmiri village

on June 19, 1998, 25 Hindus were massacred at a wedding party in Kashmir

on July 28, 1998, Islamic militants killed 16 Hindus in two attacks, one of which occurred when the militants burst into the home of a Hindu family in a remote village in Kashmir and gunned down 8 people

on February 20, 1999, Islamic militants massacred 20 Hindus, including 7 women

on June 30, 1999, 12 Hindu laborers were killed in their sleep

on July 2, 1999, 9 Hindus including 2 children were killed in a remote Kashmiri village

in late December 1999, an assassination attempt was thwarted against the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah

on February 29, 2000, a convoy of trucks was stopped in Kashmir and 5 Hindu drivers were killed

in March 2000, 35 Sikhs were massacred upon the arrival of President Clinton in India

in May 2000, the Hizbul Mujahideen assassinated Ghulam Hasan, Kashmir's Minister of Power

in June 2000, the Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the landmine explosion that killed 11 Shia Muslims, and for the assassination attempt against Shia Muslim cleric Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari

in July 2000, 3 Buddhist monks were shot dead by Islamic militants

in July 2000, 15 Hindus were shot dead by Islamic militants

in August 2000, nearly 100 Hindus on a religious pilgrimage were massacred by Islamic militants

in August 2000, Islamic militants approached a remote village in Kashmir in the middle of the night, shot and killed 4 Hindu men, and critically wounded a Hindu woman

in November 2000, pro-India Shia Muslim politician Aga Syed Mehdi was assassinated in a landmine explosion; 30,000 people attended his funeral

in November 2000, 5 Hindu and 5 Sikh truck drivers were shot dead

in November 2000, 6 Hindus were kidnapped from a bus stop and shot dead

in December 2000, Islamic militants shot and killed 4 Hindus inside their home

in January 2001, the Hizbul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt against Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah

in January 2001, 3 members of a Muslim family were shot dead in a village where elections were about to take place

in February 2001, 6 Sikhs were killed in a drive-by shooting

in May 2001, a suicide attack killed 2 terrorists and 6 civilians, and injured 6 civilians and 11 Indian soldiers

in May 2001, 11 Hindu villagers tending cattle were confronted by Islamic militants; 6 villagers were beheaded, 3 were admitted to a hospital with deep throat wounds, and 2 were missing

in May 2001, Islamic militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen tried to assassinate Omar Abdullah, India's Minister of State for Industries and Commerce after he inaugurated a computer center at a school in Srinagar

in July 2001, Islamic militants attacked Hindu devotees on an annual religious pilgrimage in Kashmir by throwing hand grenades at them and killed 14

in July 2001, 15 Hindu villagers were massacred by Islamic militants

in August 2001, 17 Hindu shepherds were kidnapped and killed by Islamic militants

in August 2001, 3 Islamic militants opened fire at a railroad station in Kashmir, killing 11 and wounding 23
a bomb that exploded at the same station a few months earlier wounded more than 40 passengers

on August 15, 2001, India's Independence Day, 4 Hindus and 2 Muslims were killed in a Kashmiri village; 18 people including schoolchildren were injured in a grenade attack; and 9 police officers were injured in a landmine explosion

on September 6, 2001, Islamic militants killed 5 Indian soldiers and wounded 20 in two separate land mine explosions

on September 9, 2001, 5 Indian soldiers were killed, and 10 people, including 5 civilians, were wounded in land mine explosions in Kashmir

on October 1, 2001, the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the Kashmir State Legislature which killed 38 people and critically injured dozens more

on November 14, 2001, Kashmiri Minister for State Works Ali Mohammed Sagar survived an assassination attempt

on December 1, 2001, 4 Hindu and 2 Muslim civilians were gunned down by militants

on December 1, 2001, at least 41 people were injured when militants threw grenades at Indian soldiers near a bus stand which missed their target, and instead hit nearby passengers including 8 women and 5 children

on December 5, 2001, a judge and 3 companions were ambushed and gunned down by militants with automatic weapons

on December 22, 2001, Islamic militants killed 2 Hindu women, and gunned down 3 teenaged Sikh girls while they were sleeping in their home

on December 31, 2001, Islamic militants shot dead a Hindu family of 6, including an infant and 8-year-old boy at pointblank range; 6 policemen, 3 civilians, and 4 soldiers were also killed in separate incidents