Panun Kashmir


Panun Kashmir is a proposed union territory of India in the Kashmir Valley, which is intended to be a homeland for Kashmiri Hindus..

Origin and etymology

Panun Kashmir means our own Kashmir in Kashmiri. The Panun Kashmir organization was founded in 1990 after the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir, under threat from Islamic terrorists sponsored by Pakistan's intelligence services. Approximately 300,000 to 600,000 Kashmiri Hindus fled Kashmir due to rising Islamic terrorism in Kashmir. However, Panun Kashmir estimates nearly 700,000 refugees.

Proposed union territory of Panun Kashmir

The organization passed a resolution in 1991 demanding that:

the establishment of a Homeland for the Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley of Kashmir comprising the regions of the Valley to the East and North of river Jhelum.
that the Constitution of India be made applicable in letter and spirit in this Homeland in order to ensure right to life, liberty, freedom of expression and faith, equality and rule of law.
that the Homeland be placed under the Central administration with a Union Territory status; and
that all the seven hundred thousand Kashmiri Hindus, including those who have been driven out of Kashmir in the past and yearn to return to their homeland and those who were forced to leave on account of terrorist violence in Kashmir, be settled in the homeland on an equitable basis with dignity and honor.

Some advocates for Panun Kashmir wish that the majority of the valley of Kashmir and cities such as Srinagar, Anantnag, Sopore, Baramulla and Awantipora be included in the proposed union territory. However, the organization claims that it in fact does not seek a Hindu homeland. Rather, it seeks a homeland for Kashmiri Hindus who are ready to live peacefully with their Muslim neighbours assuming the conditions are met for resettlement.