Beyond the Miasma: The Plight of Kashmiri Pandits

Revisiting a 2016 Kashmir Times essay, this piece examines how the unresolved crisis of Kashmiri Pandits has deepened over a decade. It contrasts contested narratives and inflated figures promoted by right‐wing groups with more grounded data, and argues that ill‐designed rehabilitation packages, political apathy, and the intrusion of Hindutva politics have widened the trust deficit. The article insists that any sustainable return of Pandits requires community‐level reconciliation, protection of those who stayed, and policies that reject segregation while reviving plural Kashmiri culture.