| News Details |
| Panun Kashmir submits memorandum to PM | | seeks recognition of genocide, Genocide Law and establishment of Panun Kashmir | 
Jammu, September 18 (Scoop News)-Panun Kashmir has submitted a detailed memorandum-cum-reminder to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reiterating that the unresolved question of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community requires a political, constitutional and legal response.
The memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister through Panun Kashmir General Secretary Kuldeep Raina, on behalf of the organisation, It follows the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office after Panun Kashmir’s protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on July 20, 2026.
The latest memorandum places three issues at the centre of the organisation’s political demands: recognition of the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, enactment of a comprehensive Genocide Law, and establishment of Panun Kashmir as a separate, secure and constitutionally protected Homeland for the Kashmiri Pandit community in the Valley.
Panun Kashmir has urged the Government of India to formally recognise the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits and the consequent forced displacement of the community. The memorandum states that recognition is fundamental to addressing questions of accountability, restitution, reparation, rehabilitation and guarantees against recurrence.
The organisation has simultaneously reiterated its demand for enactment of the Genocide Bill proposed by Panun Kashmir in 2020, stating that the absence of a comprehensive domestic legal framework has resulted in the Kashmiri Pandit experience being dealt with largely through administrative terminology such as migration, relief and rehabilitation.
The third and central political demand is the establishment of Panun Kashmir. The memorandum describes this as a national imperative and argues that the issue cannot be reduced to accommodation, employment, financial assistance or administrative rehabilitation.
According to the memorandum, any durable political resolution must address security, political empowerment, constitutional guarantees, demographic viability and the community’s long-term civilisational continuity. It refers to the Margdarshan Resolution as the political framework articulated by the community and calls for a structured national process to examine the territorial, constitutional, administrative, security and representational dimensions of Panun Kashmir.
“Panun Kashmir is not a substitute for return. It is the constitutional architecture that Panun Kashmir believes is necessary to make a secure, dignified and irreversible return possible,” the memorandum states.
Pending these three fundamental objectives, Panun Kashmir has placed before the Government a series of immediate and consequential measures.
A major demand concerns the unpaid ex-gratia relating to houses and properties burnt or destroyed during the period of turmoil. The organisation states that only approximately 50 per cent of the announced ex-gratia has effectively been paid in the affected cases, while the balance remains unpaid for more than three decades.
Panun Kashmir has sought a comprehensive audit of all sanctioned claims, determination of the amounts paid and outstanding, release of the unpaid balance to legitimate claimants and a transparent mechanism for resolving disputed or pending claims.
The memorandum also calls for a comprehensive review and protection of Kashmiri Pandit properties, including properties subjected to distress sales, alleged fraudulent transfers, encroachment or unauthorised occupation. It seeks a consolidated status report covering ownership, pending cases and action taken for restoration and protection of such properties.
The security concerns of all Kashmiri Pandit employees appointed under the Prime Minister’s Package and presently serving in Kashmir have also been highlighted.
Panun Kashmir has clarified that the Prime Minister’s Package was essentially an economic package and that its employment component was accepted by displaced Kashmiri Pandit youth and families against adverse economic conditions and the prolonged economic consequences of displacement. Its acceptance, the memorandum states, cannot be construed to mean that conditions for return had become suitable or that the underlying issues of displacement had been resolved.
The organisation has called for an immediate comprehensive security assessment of all such employees and their relocation outside the Valley as a class, with complete protection of salary, seniority, pensionary benefits, promotional prospects and other service entitlements.
It has stressed that such relocation should be treated as a protective and humanitarian measure and not as another form of displacement, nor as abandonment of the community’s right to return to its homeland.
Panun Kashmir has further demanded creation of an authoritative and continuously updated database of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, recording their original places of residence, present residence, family composition, displacement history, property ownership, casualties, relief received, employment status and other demographic and socio-economic particulars.
The organisation has linked the demand to the forthcoming Census exercise and reiterated that displaced Kashmiri Pandits should not be reduced to the generic administrative category of “migrants” in a manner that obscures the circumstances and continuing consequences of their displacement. Panun Kashmir had earlier raised similar concerns with Census authorities regarding distinct enumeration and preservation of the community’s territorial linkage with its original places of residence.
The memorandum also reiterates the demand for 15,000 posts in Central Government departments and government migrant schools in Jammu for unemployed and over-aged Kashmiri Pandit youth, describing this as an interim corrective measure necessitated by the prolonged consequences of displacement.
It seeks a substantial enhancement of monthly relief, taking into account the economic realities of 2026 and the fact that displaced families have remained in exile for more than three decades.
Relief-cum-ex-gratia assistance shall be extended to all registered relief-holder families at the rate of ₹25,000 per month per family, with retrospective effect, as a measure of justice, dignity and sustained support for the hardships endured by these families.
Another significant demand is the replacement of the existing Relief Commissioner’s Office with an autonomous Kashmiri Pandit Welfare Board, supported by a dedicated and adequate budgetary allocation from the Government. The proposed Board, according to the memorandum, should possess appropriate statutory and administrative powers to address relief, welfare, rehabilitation, property, education, employment, social security and other matters concerning the displaced community.
Panun Kashmir has also taken note of recent government measures concerning migrant relief, accommodation and camp assets, but has called for definite decisions, transparent implementation and time-bound execution.
The organisation has sought the constitution of an appropriate high-level mechanism under the Government of India to examine the issues raised in the memorandum and formulate a time-bound framework for action. It has also requested the Government to communicate the action proposed on each of the issues raised.
The memorandum states that while the immediate measures can address long-pending administrative and humanitarian concerns, they cannot substitute the larger political resolution sought by Panun Kashmir.
“Nearly four decades of displacement have transformed a generation’s exile into an inter-generational condition,” the memorandum states, calling for a shift from the management of displacement towards its political resolution.
Panun Kashmir has reiterated that it will pursue its stated objectives through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means.
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