Mehbooba Mufti Asks Kashmiri Pandits to 'Forget the Past,' Urges Dignified Return at Kheer Bhawani Mela

New Delhi: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said Kashmiri Pandits should move on and stop being prisoners of the past by investing in a shared future in the valley, as she visited the Kheer Bhawani temple in Ganderbal district on the occasion of the annual mela.

Mufti, a former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, interacted with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community at the shrine and said a huge number of Pandits had arrived for the mela, adding that the people of Kashmir welcome them wholeheartedly. "We want our Kashmiri Pandit brothers and sisters to forget what happened in the past and look forward to the future," she told reporters.

In a post on social media, Mufti said the scenes at the Kheer Bhawani mela were heartwarming beyond words, and that the warmth and affection between Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims had transcended the walls of mistrust and division that some have sought to build for their own agendas. She said the community should not look into the past but look forward, and added that those who seek to use Kashmiri Pandits "as a weapon" should be isolated by the community, which should instead build direct connections with Kashmiris.

This year's mela, observed on the occasion of Jyeshta Ashtami, saw hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits throng the Ragnya Devi temple in Tulmulla, with a multi-layer security ring placed around the temple complex and the route leading to the shrine. The temple complex, set among chinar trees in the central Kashmir village, wore a festive look as devotees from across the country gathered for the occasion.

Mufti's remarks echo previous appeals made at the same shrine. Addressing the community in Kashmiri at last year's mela, she had said, "God willing, you will return. I have prayed for your honourable return. Together, we will restore peace. Nothing is possible without you," and said lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir is not possible unless Pandits return and live there with dignity.

The Kheer Bhawani mela, held annually at the Ragnya Devi temple in Tulmulla, is regarded as one of the most significant occasions for the Kashmiri Pandit community, drawing pilgrims from Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country where most displaced families have lived since the 1990 exodus.

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