Nadimarg Massacre- Reactions

Governor G.C. Saxena- "It is a crime against humanity and a barbaric act of ethnic-cleansing".

Mufti Mohd. Sayeed, Chief Minister, J&K- "It is aimed at derailing our peace process but we are committed to go ahead. This is a barbaric act. I cannot be acquitted in this but such incidents have taken place in the past as well. Situation has to be made conducive before the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley. If protected people like us are not safe there, what can be the fate of the common man".

Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, State Congress Chief- "It was a security lapse as no proper security arrangements had been made. An inquiry should be ordered into the massacre. All the guilty officials should be taken to task. The government, run by PDP and the Congress, is talking about rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandit migrants but adequate security arrangements are missing for those who chose to stay back in the Valley for all these years".

Mr L.K. Advani, Union Home Minister- "Such acts which are perpetrated against one particular community can only be seen as ethnic-cleansing. Pakistan is not only responsible for violence in J&K but even in other parts of the country"

Mr Omar Abdullah, Former Minister of State for External Affairs- "The brutal massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir should be an eye-opener for the Mufti Sayeed government in the state to shelve its ill-conceived plan of bringing the minority community back to the Valley. The State government plans to rehabilitate them in Mattan and Khirbhawani places thus leaving them an easy prey for the militants. The Chief Minister had neglected the security concerns of the minority community. Our government could have also brought them back. But we have to see whether we are in a position  to provide them with cent percent security or not. While healing touch policy of the State government is well it had to see that it did not leave more deep and painful wounds on the people of J&K".

Mr M.Venkiah Naidu, BJP President- "These incidents were the handiwork of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism which are aimed at their long established agenda of ethnic-cleansing of the Kashmir valley of the heterogenous population. The Congress-PDP government in the state should immediately reassess the utility of continuing with its soft policy on terrorism. The situation in Kashmir requires a healing touch. This healing touch must heal only the victims of terror and not its perpetrators. In view of the serious situation the PDP-Congress Government will adequately respond in the national interest and review its earlier decision of disbanding the Special Operations Group (SOG). The international community must understand that Pakistan has not given up its cross border terrorism and should become aware of the evil designs of Islamabad and condemn it outright".

Prof. V.K. Malhotra senior BJP leader- "The Centre must direct the State government under Article 355 to take action against terrorism. If killings continue in state like this, there is no other alternative to imposition of Article 356 in the state".

Prof. O.P. Kohli, former BJP chief- "The spurt in terrorist activities was the direct result of the wrong policy being pursued by the State government. Terrorism cannot be curbed by showing softness to the militants but only by adopting a realistic and hard approach to them".

Mr M.Y. Tarigami (CPM), MLA- "There are no two opinions that State government should review security arrangements. The forces which say that the Pandits had migrated to Jammu for a picnic must see the realities. Even now some voices would be raised to mislead the public that the killings were executed by army".

Mr Harshdev Singh, Education Minister- "No civilised society can tolerate it How long we depend on U.S. certificate of great restrain".

Dr Mehboob Beg (NC) MLC- "There were lapses and loopholes in the security arrangements. The government examine that whether it should have given a premature statement on the Pandits return to the Valley."

Mr Jugal Kishore (BJP) MLA‑"Militancy has got a boost under new government while police and security forces were demoralised. If the government couldn't provide security cover to the Pandits putting up in the Valley, how it would take other Kashmiri migrants to the Valley? The government should not have disbanded SoG".

Mr Mohd. Khalil Naik (CPM) MLA- "The Kashmiri Pandits had approached me for security cover. I had sounded the concerned officers but no action was taken to provide them with the security cover. The state government should take strong action against the officers"

Mr Ajay Sadhotra (NC) MLA- A wave of insecurity was prevailing among the people in view of a series of militancy related incidents in the state. If the state government continued with its present polices, they day is not far when the militancy would spread to Jammu and then it would be difficult to contain it. Government should enhance ex-gratia compensation to Rs 5 lakh at par with the compensation given to the dependents of army jawans".

CPM, Polit Bureau- "This inhuman act has been deliberately done to spoil the chances of restoring peace and allowing the minority community to live peacefully in the Valley. Reports that police posted in Nadimarg village did not take action to protect the families which were targeted demand a proper inquiry into their role and prompt action".

Shabana Azami and others- "We condemn the ghastly killings of defenceless people in the strongest possible terms. The cowards behind the latest outrage are unlikely to identify themselves but the massacre is a desperate bid to communalise the Kashmir issue to sabotage any efforts towards ensuring the return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homes. We demand a thorough investigation into security lapses that turned the vulnerable Kashmiri Pandits into easy targets of mass murderers who pretend to be serving lofty causes. Our hearts go out to the survivors of the carnage in particular and Kashmiri Pandit community in general, the overwhelming majority of whom have been condemned to live the life of refugees in their own country because of Pakistan-aided terrorism in the Valley"

Mr Muzaffar Hussain Beg, Finance Minister- "Nadimarg carnage is a deep stab wound in the chest of Kashmir psyche. The repeat of such gruesome incidents will only reopen the old wounds. I wonder how would be the next bloody chapter of the state's bleeding history scripted".

Mr Shyam Khosla, veteran Journalists- "The Pulwama massacre of 24 Kashmiri Hindus is a part of Pakistan's evil conspiracy to complete the "unfinished task" of ethnic-cleansing of the Valley...No one seems to be concerned about the misery and plight of Kashmiri Hindus. They are the forgotten community...Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's much publicised plans to resettle Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley is meaningless as his police force didn't fire a single shot at the mercenaries as they went about killing innocent women and children. While any movement back to the Valley is out of question at this juncture, what appears imminent is yet another wave of migration from the Valley...Release of a large number of suspected terrorists and disbanding of Special Operations Group have sent wrong signals".

Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, President, All India Anti-Terrorist Front- "Congress should withdraw support to the Mufti government in J&K. Governor's rule must also be imposed on that state and KPS Gill should be made the Governor. This kind of steps are essential for controlling militancy in Kashmir".

Acharya Giriraj Kishore (VHP)- “Nadimarg massacre is not only a blot for the state government but also the central government. The Centre should take stern steps to protect the innocent people from falling prey to the guns of terrorists. The Centre should immediately declare J&K as a disturbed state and dismiss the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP-Congress government. The healing touch policy of the PDP-Cong government is responsible for the spurt in terrorist incidents in J&K".

Jammu Mukti Morcha- "The incidents like Nadimarg have highlighted one harsh fact that state government has failed to ensure their security. The only viable alternative to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits is to carve an area out of the Valley which will be administered by the Central government and state government having no role to play. Because of the Mufti Sayeed led government’s soft policy towards militancy there has been a spurt in the militancy in the state. Negotiations is no solution for militancy particularly when it is sponsored and supported by external forces. The militancy in J&K will not be brought under control unless security forces are given free hand to tackle the situation".

Mr Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena Chief- "The attack on Kashmiri Pandits, recent spate of blasts in Mumbai and the Akshardam incident are examples of Islamic terrorism. We all have to be together and not talk in terms of Marathi, Gujarati or Bengali...but as Hindus. And we will all have to fight Islamic terrorism. The country is passing through a critical phase. We are like orphans and we have no clear leader".

Mr Kuldeep Raina, General Secretary Panun Kashmir- "It is surprising that despite tall claims to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley the government failed to protect the one who were putting up there. Our organisation had already warned that the situation in the Valley was not conducive. The coalition government's policies are not in favour of Kashmiri Pandits".

Dr Praveen Bhai Togadia, VHP International General Secretary- "The militants have repeated Godhra in Pulwama district of J&K by mowing down 24 Kashmiri Pandits. The public faith in the system is waning in view of the rising number of attacks on the Hindus and their property in J&K and outside over the years. The soft state policy against the ultras and their patrons from across the border could lead to outbreak of another civil war. The watering down of the drive against militants by disbanding SOG of the state police and withdrawing cases against terrorists as part of the 'healing touch' policy has resulted in escalation of killings of Hindus in the state in recent months".

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