Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir valley in 1989 /1990 was their seventh such exodus since the arrival of Islam in Kashmir in the fourteenth century. This exodus resulted from the appalling events of 1989, when Pakistan sponsored insurgency broke out at full blast across the valley. The radical Islamists targeted this miniscule community creating enormous fear, panic and terrible sense of insecurity. In the face of ruthless atrocities inflicted on them, their sole concern was their physical safety and their resolve not to convert to Islam. Pandits' travails did not end with the exodus. The obstructive and intimidating attitude of the State administration towards them as refugees in an alien environment, made their post-exodus life even more miserable. Twenty three years after their exodus, Kashmiri Pandits have not been able to return to their homes in Kashmir. Can this miniscule community survive as a distinct ethnic group outside Kashmir, of which they are the aborigines?
