Sacred Memorial · Kashmir History Project
In Eternal Remembrance
of the Kashmiri Pandit Martyrs
They were teachers, lawyers, nurses, poets, judges and children. They were killed for one reason alone — their identity. This page exists so that their names are never forgotten, their stories never erased, and their cases never quietly closed.
Read the Full Exodus History →The campaign began by targeting the most visible voices — to silence leadership and signal to the community that no one was safe. These were the first to fall.
Martyred · 14 Sept 1989
Shot dead outside his home in Srinagar in broad daylight. The first high-profile targeted killing — a deliberate act to silence Kashmiri Pandit political leadership. September 14 is now observed as Martyrs' Day by the Kashmiri Pandit community.
Martyred · 13 Feb 1990
Shot dead by JKLF terrorists outside his home in Bhan Mohalla, Srinagar. He had used his position to relay factual, anti-militancy news. He was killed for reporting the truth. His colleague at All India Radio could not even attend his cremation for fear.
Martyred · 2 Feb 1990
Ambushed and shot during a curfew break by Bitta Karate — a JKLF operative who later admitted on television to killing over 20 Kashmiri Pandits. Satish was 22 years old. His father has spent decades holding up his photograph demanding justice. His case is still pending before the Sessions Court.
Martyred · 30 April 1990
Abducted from their home in Kokernag, Anantnag. Sarvanand was a beloved poet, teacher and freedom fighter influenced by Gandhian principles. Two days later, their bodies were found hanging — limbs broken, skin slit and burned. A plaque in their honour now stands at Barakhamba Metro Station, New Delhi.
Women were not collateral damage. The slogan broadcast from mosques on the night of 19 January 1990 was explicit: "Asi gachhay panunuy Pakistan, batav rostuy ta batanyen saan" — "We want our Pakistan, without Pandit men but with their women." These are three of their names.
Martyred · April 1990
Dragged from her hostel at SKIMS by JKLF militants. She had dedicated her life to caring for the sick — Hindu and Muslim alike. Her mutilated body was thrown onto the Habbakadal thoroughfare. In 2025, the State Investigation Agency reopened her case and conducted raids on former JKLF operatives — 35 years after her murder.
Martyred · 25 June 1990
She had already fled to Jammu. A false promise of safe passage — to return briefly to collect her salary — lured her back to Bandipora. It was a trap. She was abducted, subjected to unspeakable violence, and her body was desecrated. Her story was brought to mainstream awareness by the film The Kashmir Files.
Martyred · 1990
Abducted with her husband Prof. K.L. Ganjoo in broad daylight. Prof. Ganjoo was shot and his body thrown into the Jhelum River. Prana was subjected to sustained torture before being killed. Details of their fate remain partly unclear to this day — a further indignity compounding the grief of their surviving family.
Even after the mass exodus of 1990, the few Pandits who remained were systematically hunted. These massacres confirmed that the killing would not stop until none remained.
Also Remembered — Names From the Record
These names appear across the documented historical record of the Kashmiri Pandit Exodus. Each represents a life ended by targeted violence. Many have no dedicated memorial. Many cases were never investigated. This list is not complete — it cannot be — but every name here was a person.
"Every Indian who walks on Kashmiri soil walks on land that was defended at extraordinary cost. The least we owe to those who defended it is the truth, told plainly and without apology."— Rohit Tikoo
🙏 May their souls rest in peace. May justice find their names.
Continue Exploring the Record
Every section of this project exists to ensure the history of Kashmir's people is never reduced to a footnote.
What actually happened in the winter of 1989–90, when the aboriginal people of Kashmir were driven from their homeland.
Read the Full Account →The single night that changed everything — documented in full with sources, testimony and chronology.
Read the Exodus Story →A forensic account of how Pakistan planned and executed the 1947 tribal invasion while publicly denying involvement.
Read the Research →The full documented record — from ancient civilisation through Partition, insurgency, and the present day.
Explore the History →Six published works on the Kashmiri Pandit exodus, Indian philosophy, and the forces that shaped modern Kashmir.
View All Books →Long-form essays, archival research, and community testimony updated regularly across 7 pages of documented history.
Read the Blogs →A documented examination of the political decisions and failures of will in 1990 that allowed the exodus to happen.
Read the Analysis →An independent researcher, author, and Kashmiri Pandit documenting the exodus through primary archives, memoirs, and oral history.
Read the Biography →