Political orphans, untouchables: Kashmiri Pandits accuse parties of using suffering

Published 9 August 2026 · india

Hundreds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in Jagti township and nearby camps in Jammu have accused political parties of using their suffering only in election

Hundreds of displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in Jagti township and nearby camps in Jammu have accused political parties of using their suffering only in election manifestos while failing to address their problems. Describing themselves as “political orphans” and the “new untouchables”, they demanded steps to ensure a dignified life as guaranteed by the Constitution. Residents said they remain caught between near non-functional civic representation, failing infrastructure and long-pending rehabilitation promises. They said their concerns are raised during elections, but disappear afterwards, leaving many in the community feeling neglected and pushed to the margins of the political process. Read Full Story Advocate Vishva Ranjan Pandita, a resident of the Jagti camp, said, “Used by everyone, represented by none, this is the real tragedy,” adding, “the hardest exile is the one imposed by our own country.” Residents across camps for the displaced community, which left Kashmir in the 1990s after the outbreak of militancy, said this neglect had deepened over time, with some even threatening to take “drastic measures” to end their miseries. Tito Ganju, chairman of Panun Kashmir, which has been raising issues faced by migrants in the camps, said the core grievance was that the community was remembered by political parties only during election cycles.

“Kashmiri Pandits may have been made political orphans, but we are not destined to remain political orphans. We are the indigenous bearers of Kashmir's civilisational memory and one of the most enduring expressions of Indianness in the Valley,” he said. Ganju said that while governments over the years may ignore them or try to speak about Kashmir without the community, “history and geopolitics will not permit that fiction to last”. Speaking about what he called decades of administrative neglect, community members expressed anger over crumbling infrastructure and unfulfilled rehabilitation promises. Ganju added, “We are not the discarded chapter of Kashmir's story. We are its unfinished chapter, and we intend to write the next one,” and said no durable solution to Kashmir was possible without the community. Election data shows changing trends in Kashmiri Pandit voting patterns over the years. While many voters have gradually shifted their votes to their present places of residence in Jammu, recent years have seen more migrants registering as voters in the Valley again. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 1,13,873 Kashmiri migrant electors were registered across Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituencies. The total included 56,290 men, 57,582 women and one transgender voter.