Dubai, Jan 19 (NationPress) The departure of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s is a significant event that must be acknowledged for both its human toll and the circumstances that initiated it. According to a report, Kashmiri Pandits did not flee due to uncertainty about their future; rather, they left because Pakistan-backed terrorism rendered their current living conditions intolerable.

As noted by Ashu Mann, an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies in his commentary for Eurasia Review, "The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is often portrayed as a tragic consequence of instability, but this view diminishes the calculated nature of this crisis. The departure was a result of a systematic campaign of violence backed by Pakistan, which included explicit threats and ongoing intimidation aimed at making life in the Valley unbearable for this community."

What unfolded from late 1989 to early 1990 was not a sudden breakdown of order, but rather a terror campaign that utilized selective killings and fear as tools of displacement. As Pakistan-sponsored terrorism surged in the Kashmir Valley, violence was strategically aimed at visible and symbolic targets such as lawyers, educators, journalists, officials, and community leaders. Many of those victimized were Kashmiri Pandits, a minority actively involved in education, governance, and public life.

The piece from Eurasia Review emphasizes, "These murders were not incidental to a larger insurgency; they were meticulously orchestrated acts of terror intended to demonstrate reach and impunity. Each killing conveyed a message that transcended the individual victim: identity itself had become a liability. This is how terrorism exerts a profound impact without widespread violence; it communicates through fear and is further amplified by open intimidation."

Threatening slogans appeared on walls, and names were circulated, while loudspeaker announcements and anonymous warnings indicated that certain communities were unwelcome. Importantly, these threats were specific to identity, not individual wrongdoing, asserting collective illegitimacy. For Kashmiri Pandits, this blurred the line between personal safety and group vulnerability. Remaining in the Valley transformed from a matter of courage or political stance to a question of survival. By January 1990, fear had become pervasive and credible.

During the 1990s, terrorist groups did not act independently; their training, arms, funding, and ideological guidance were sourced from across the Line of Control. Forcing Kashmiri Pandits out of the Valley diminished the region's pluralistic character, weakened institutions that once employed members of this community, and showcased the capacity of Pakistan-backed terror networks to reshape society through fear.

Communities do not abandon their ancestral homes due to isolated incidents; they leave when terror becomes systemic and goes unpunished. The combination of selective killings, public threats, and a lack of accountability in the early 1990s led many Kashmiri Pandit families to believe that remaining in the Valley posed too great a risk.

As they left their homes, these families took documents and keys, hoping to return after the violence subsided. However, many were unable to come back, leading to job losses, disruption in education, and living in relief camps, resulting in significant cultural dislocation.

"The displacement of Kashmiri Pandits must be remembered not just for its human cost, but for the systematic mechanisms that caused it. People did not leave due to uncertainty about the future; they left because Pakistan-backed terrorism made the present unbearable," the Eurasia Review article concluded.