Thread by @AnObserversView

1. It was #Holi on 11th March 1990 when I travelled from Jammu to Delhi. I’d unfamiliar faces, smells, sights, behaviours, language&environment around me.

I was traveling but I was not on a vacation. This was the second phase in my #Exodus journey #KashmiriHindu #MyStory

2. As we neared Delhi, some people started to lower the glass windows which I found puzzling as the weather was nice and breezy. But I soon realised it when I saw water balloons bursting on the window with coloured water designing the glass temporarily.
#Memories #LostChildhood

3. This was my 1st tryst with Holi celebrations. It was celebrated in Jammu but never in #Kashmir & it seemed fascinating to me as a kid. Since Jan 1990, we like lakhs of #Hindus from Kashmir had undergone immense mental, financial&psychological turmoil due to #IslamicTerrorism

4. Seeing this festivity brought some momentary respite to us. With our hearts broken, finances lost, future uncertain & identity snatched we de-boarded at Ajmeri Gate train station & hopped on a tonga yes a horse cart which had the 4 of us and all our luggage. #Survivors #India

5. That’s how we started our journey in #Delhi, the capital which seemed totally unaware of the plight of lakhs of its own fellow citizens. The natives of “Jannat” on Earth had been driven away from there because they refused to #convert
#HinduLivesMatter

6. We’ve immense gratitude for those near&distant relatives who gave us shelter till we found our own nest in this seemingly alien place. The weather was harsh, food diff, the pace, the sounds, the population, the way of life, everything was new for old & young! #33YearsOfExile

7. Schools asked for exorbitant donation and given our resources it was impossible to pay it. My father said we’d all eat 1 meal a day but won’t compromise on education. Starting life from scratch as adults is harder than as kids. #Choices #LifeLessons

8. Talking of weather, my ma often said Kashmiris were like “pani ke muragbiyan” thrown in a hot furnace. It wasn’t easy to adjust to all the hardships here but God was kind as we met many people who helped us in our state of exile. Some were neighbours&some strangers. #Bharat

9. Not all were lucky. Thousands of our elderly lost their mind, died due to heat stroke, snake bites in camps. Our language, customs, cuisine, traditions, places of worship &values have been destroyed. Kashmiris even today are displaced and uprooted. #WeWantJustice #HumDekhenge

10. What I find incredible is that despite what #IslamicJihad did to us we never harboured hatred toward #KashmiriMuslims and I think it’s only because of #SanatanaDharma & its value system that we didn’t become bitter but got busy with becoming better #Joy #Life #Samaskara

11. We’ve forgiven but not forgotten and we never will. We don’t want anyone’s sympathy. We’re the children of #Mahadev #MaSharda &we want to tell you our story. It’s not propaganda, it’s our #RightToJustice
@kp_global @vivekagnihotri @MinOfCultureGoI @jsaideepak #HappyHoli