Terrified by Civilian Killings in Srinagar, My Family and I Moved to Jammu

The security in my colony was tightened and authorities are trying to provide essential items to our doorsteps.

After last week's killings in Srinagar, many Kashmiri Pandits have moved out of the valley.

Illustration by Erum Gour

Once again, we, the Kashmiri pandits in the valley, have been jolted by the selective killings in Srinagar. The killings, which began on 5 October, has created a sense of panic across the community.

Amongst the seven killed includes a teacher, and a principal of a government school in Srinagar. As a government employee, the fear gripped me. For three days, we didn’t go out of our house thinking we could be the next.

The security in my colony in Srinagar is tightened and authorities are trying to provide essential items at our doorsteps, but what happened with the school teacher, principal, chemist, and a cab driver among others, is something I have not been able to erase out of my mind.

I continued to feel unsafe so, on 9 October, I decided to move out of the valley with my family and shift to Jammu. I am lucky to have a house in Jammu, but I am very worried about others left behind in Kashmir.

Though the government has increased the security in the region, I have little faith in their words. Kashmiri pandits have been targeted several times in over three decades. Earlier, there was an excuse of Article 370 by the centre, but now even that has been scrapped. So, what excuse does the government want to give this time on the killings? Without any hesitation, I would say that every government failed to give protection to the minorities in the valley.

I was four-years-old when the Kashmiri pandits were thrown out of Kashmir in 1990, so I don’t know what the situation was back then but when my elders recall, they often say that the city was in utter chaos and people were helpless. I pray to god that the same situation doesn't arise ever again.

For over three decades now, I have been living with the tag of a migrant. We did return to the valley in 2010, and when we were trying to forget our past, these killings have rubbed our wounds.

(The author is a government employee in Srinagar. For security reasons, his identity has been concealed. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)