Kashmiri Pandits and anti-CAA protesters clashed at Shaheen Bagh on Saturday on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley. The anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh, who have chanted slogans such as ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi‘ in the past, had organized a ‘Jashn-e-Shaheen’ programme on the day which marks one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the country.
Upon hearing about the programme, Kashmiri Pandits had made up their minds to visit the site in order to demand that they support their right to return as well. Satish Mahaldar, a Kashmiri activist, had said, “The protestors at Shaheen Bagh announced to celebrate Jash-e-Shaheen, on a day when the Kashmiri Pandits faced exodus from the Valley. We will make sure that does not happen. We will visit the protest site at 5 p.m. to observe the exodus day.”
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When Kashmiri Pandits reached the place and started raising slogans of ‘Justice for Kashmiri Pandits’, clashes erupted between the Muslim protesters at Shaheen Bagh and them. The Muslim protesters were reportedly upset with the slogans chanted by the Pandits and argument erupted between the groups which soon escalated into a fisticuff. One Muslim protester told the other group that ‘the entire country wants justice, why only for Kashmiri Pandits?’
Earlier today, it was reported that the protesters at Shaheen Bagh had expressed their solidarity with the Kashmiri Pandits. But the clash in the evening completely exposes the hollowness of this ‘solidarity’.
Meanwhile, usual suspects are continuing to assert on social media that the Shaheen Bagh protesters stand by the Kashmiri Pandits. The scuffle between the two groups appears to have been ignored entirely by the online faces of the Shaheen Bagh protests.