Discussing the Kashmiri Hindu Persecution with Kids
Why Parents Should Inform Their Kids About the Persecution of Hindus in Kashmir
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What this article covers
- Presents historical events in a thoughtful, age-appropriate way.
- Explains the context of displacement and lived experiences with sensitivity.
- Helps parents navigate difficult conversations with care and clarity.
- Acknowledges and supports the emotions children may experience.
Why it matters
- Helps parents explain difficult truths with clarity and care.
- Allows children to understand serious topics without feeling overwhelmed.
- Reduces confusion from misinformation or fragmented narratives.
- Builds emotional maturity, empathy, and awareness.
Critical understanding of history helps shape our worldview. It is true for our children as well. In recent times, unfortunately, we are repeatedly coming across cases where young Hindus, including the bright ones with stellar academic credentials, have gotten into trouble because of their problematic world view, which is increasingly driven by biases, misinformation, and disinformation. The problem is aggravated by algorithm-accelerated social media content peddled by vested interests. Many are alienated from their own heritage and family, some are facing expulsion or suspension from universities. Teaching them about consequential episodes in our history before they fall prey to misinformation /disinformation will help them develop a critical understanding of the complex realities of the world and biases in their environment, including hostile media and academia.
Rather than fostering division, this approach empowers our children to understand the world through honest engagement with history and current challenges, giving them the tools to act with awareness and purpose.
One such episode is Kashmir. Teaching kids about the real story of Hindus in Kashmir, their prolonged and bloody persecution, genocide, and eventual ethenic cleansing, is an absolute need of the hour in light of the most recent attacks on Hindus in Pahalgam, Kashmir. As expected, there is a deluge of misinformation and anti-Hindu propaganda around us downplaying and erasing Hindus out of the heinous attack and the story of Kashmiri Hindus themselves. On this day, the punya tithi of the Pahalgam victims, let’s pray for their sadgati and have a candid conversation with our kids, so our kids learn to participate in a collective expression of grief, the Hindu way, as well as learn about important issues, cultivate critical thinking, and discernment.
Also, the terror attack on Hindus in Kashmir and the systematic dehumanization of Hindus in Pakistan are interconnected and go back in history. It is important to analyze the ideology and historical data to understand this long-festering problem. Though some of the historical events are extremely disturbing, they offer an important opportunity to instill empathy, strength, critical thinking and the ability to connect the dots. With age-appropriate guidance, children can learn to process today’s propagandized media landscape with more objectivity and learn to discern real injustice from manufactured victimhood. After all, Hindu children deserve to know the violence their co-religionists are being subjected to, much like their ancestors’, their resilience and determination to protect their way of life.
With age-appropriate guidance, children can be taught to think critically about today’s often biased media landscape, helping them distinguish genuine injustice from emotional manipulation and malicious propaganda by vested interests.
What Happened in Pahalgam, Kashmir on April 22, 2025?
On April 22, 2025, Pakistan-backed terrorists infiltrated the picturesque Baisaran valley where tourists, many of them families with young children, were vacationing. They targeted men, asked them for their names / IDs. They were repeatedly asked if they were Muslims, then asked to recite the Islamic prayer Kalma to confirm their identity. Some were also asked to remove their pants to check for signs of circumcision as an additional assertion of their religious identity before shooting them dead at close range. In many cases, victims were shot dead right in front of their young children, spouses. Among the victims were a father-son duo, three cousins vacationing with their extended families, beloved grandfathers, and honeymooning newlyweds. A Hindu man who was able to recite the Islamic prayer Kalma was spared by the terrorists, revealing the unmistakable religious nature of the attack.
This attack came after an incendiary speech by the chief of army staff and the de facto leader of Pakistan Asim Munir, where he unequivocally declared that Pakistanis were of a ‘superior ideology, superior culture’, and that they ‘were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life’. Also, the bellicose rhetoric and veiled threats of unleashing violence in Kashmir was immediately called out, yet it is too late to stop the terror attacks.
A Brief Historical Timeline: Seven Exoduses of Kashmiri Hindus
6th–8th century CE
Nīlamata Purāṇa describes Kashmir’s creation by Sage Kashyapa.
Kashmir develops into a center of Hindu and Buddhist learning.
8th–10th century CE
Flourishing of Sanskrit learning; Abhinavagupta (950–1025 CE) advances Kashmir Shaivism.
Kalhaṇa (12th century CE) writes the Rājataraṅgiṇī, chronicling Kashmir’s rulers.
1339 CE
Islamic rule was imposed under the Shah Mir dynasty, the Persian, Central Asian, or Turkic -essentially foreign invaders colonised Kashmir.
1389–1413 CE: First Exodus
Under Islamist king Sikandar Butshikan, temples were destroyed; Hindus faced forced conversions or death.
1506–1585 CE: Second & Third Exodus
Under Mir Shamsuddin Iraqi and the Chak rulers, forced Shia conversion campaigns targeted Hindus.
1586–1752 CE: Fourth Exodus
Under Mughal and later Afghan Durrani rule, Hindus suffered religious persecution, temple desecrations, and heavy taxation (jizya).
1819 CE
The Sikh Empire defeated the Afghans; relative stability returned, but scars remained.
1931 CE: Fifth Exodus
Anti-Hindu riots broke out under British-era princely rule.
1947: Fall of Mirpur
In November 1947, between 10,000 and 22,000 Hindus and Sikhs were brutally slaughtered by Pakistani Army-backed tribal forces following a 20-day siege of Mirpur town. Hundreds of women were raped, abducted, and taken as slaves.
Note: Though this massacre occurred in the broader context of the Partition of India at the end of British rule and violence is document on both sides of the border, Hindus and Sikhs were subjected an unimaginable scale of sexual violence. Abduction of Hindu and Sikh women was carried out systematically and with impunity and these hapless women were sold openly in slave markets.
1986 CE: Sixth Exodus
Widespread anti-Hindu violence during Gul Shah’s rule; temples desecrated.
January 19, 1990: Seventh Exodus
Amid a coordinated campaign of terror, Islamist mobs and loudspeakers from mosques issued chilling ultimatums to Kashmiri Hindus: “Convert, leave, or die.”
Over 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus were forced into exile following a wave of targeted killings, rapes, and intimidation, marking one of the darkest chapters in post-independence India.
March 21, 2000: Islamist terrorists opened fire on unarmed Hindu pilgrims at the Amarnath Yatra, killing 30 and injuring dozens, targeting a sacred site and religious gathering.
August 2000: Thirty-two people, including two dozen Hindu pilgrims, were killed in a terror attack at the Nunwan base camp.
July 2001: Amarnath Hindu pilgrims were again targeted, this time at the Sheshnag base camp in Anantnag, killing 13.
2002: Terror struck at Chandanwari base camp, and 11 Amarnath Hindu pilgrims were killed.
2003 Nadimarg Massacre: 24 Kashmiri Hindus, including women and children, were lined up and brutally shot dead by Islamist terrorists in Nadimarg, marking one of the most chilling targeted killings of Hindus in post-exodus Kashmir.
- June 12, 2006: Nine Nepali and Bihari labourers were killed in Kulgam.
July 10, 2017: Attack on Amarnath Hindu pilgrims bus in Kulgam, 8 killed.
Recent Development / Incidents
2019
- Article 370 abrogated; Jammu & Kashmir’s special status revoked. This enabled Jammu and Kashmir’s full integration with the rest of India, allowing progressive laws to take effect and development to accelerate. It also corrected historical injustices and expanded equal rights and opportunities for all residents.
- Hopes rise for safe return of Kashmiri Hindus, but security challenges persist.
2020–2022
- Targeted killings of Kashmiri Hindu employees, teachers, and workers (e.g., Rahul Bhat murder in 2022).
2023–2024
- Posters and threats re-emerge: Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs warned to leave or die.
- 9 June 2024: Attacks continue on Hindu pilgrims.
April 2025
- Pahalgam Massacre: 28 tourists killed, majority Hindus.
- Islamist Terrorists openly call for preventing exiled Hindus from returning back to their homeland.
Today
- Fear persists among returning Hindus.
- Pakistan is unwilling to let Kashmir return to normalcy.
Role of Pakistan to Enable the Most Recent Kashmiri Hindu Genocides
1. Ideological Roots of Dehumanization of Hindus and Other Minorities
The othering and dehumanization of Hindus in the context of Kashmir can be traced back to the Islamist supremacist Two Nation theory that led to the creation of Pakistan. Ideologues of the times like Iqbal propagated the idea that Hindus were not one of them, as did Jinnah. This othering of Hindus has thrived in Pakistan for almost a century well into present times. Recently, the chief of army staff and the de facto leader of Pakistan, Asim Munir, unequivocally declared that Pakistanis were of a ‘superior ideology, superior culture’, and that they ‘were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life’, and issued veiled threats of unleashing violence in Kashmir.
The ideological hatred toward Hindus that underpins Pakistan’s foundation is evident in how it names its missiles after foreign invaders like Ghori and Ghaznavi —figures who unleashed terror on Hindus and their temples. For example, Mahmud of Ghazni is infamous for attacking and desecrating the sacred Hindu temple at Somnath 17 times.
2. Institutionalized Discrimination and Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan
As an Islamist supremacist construct built on religious exclusivity, Pakistan consistently pursues policies that undermine pluralism and target all other religious identities except a very specific sectarian Muslim identity, endangering the lives of not only Pakistani Hindus but also fueling the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus.
Given the systemic othering and dehumanization, Pakistani Hindus are prepped for a choice between conversion and persecution.
This institutionalized dehumanization of Hindus has meant that parents of Hindu children, some as young as 10, who are routinely kidnapped and forced into sexual enslavement, have no judicial recourse. Typically, police refuse to register such cases, and courts rule against Hindu parents who lose their precious children forever.
3. Other Forms of Religious Discrimination
Other forms of systemic discrimination against Hindus include the destruction of Hindu temples and places of worship and the weaponization of “blasphemy” law to target Hindu lives and properties. Also, religious discrimination is enshrined in their constitution, where a Pakistani Hindu can never become the head of the state. Generations of young Pakistanis have also been radicalized against Hindus via school textbooks.
4. Exporting the Ideology to Kashmir
Pakistan has been exporting this highly problematic radical Islamist supremacist Two Nation ideology of othering / dehumanizing Hindus, to Kashmir where Hindus were a small minority since its inception.
The industrial scale persecution of Kashmiri Hindus begun, much like that of the Bengali Hindus during Pakistan’s infamous operation search light. Pakistan’s relentless state-sponsored terrorism, which includes ideological, logistical, mujahids (mercenaries) and material terror infrastructure, has wreaked havoc in Kashmir. It should be remembered that this very Pakistani terror infrastructure provided a safe haven to internationally notorious terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Sayeed.
5. Radicalization and Ethnic Cleansing in Kashmir
Once Pakistan became successful in radicalizing a section of Kashmiris, Kashmir started to simmer. Pakistan backed terrorists tried to impose a Taliban like Islamic dress code on Kashmiri women even though it was culturally alien to Kashmir. Girls who refused to comply were attacked violently. Bar, cinemas were closed and a sinister targeted killings of Kashmiri Hindus unfolded.
Despite being indigenous to the land and kinship ties with muslim Kashmiris going back only to a few generations, they were conveniently othered. On 19, January,1990, mosques made a chilling announcement “Tchaliv, raliv, galiv” (flee, convert or die) following which most Kashmiri Hindus fled the valley abandoning their homes and the lives they had built for themselves.
6. Pakistan’s Settler-Colonial Agenda
These actions were not isolated terrorism but a calculated extension of Pakistan’s broader settler-colonial mindset, seeking to Islamize the Kashmir Valley by violently purging its indigenous Hindu & Sikh population, much like the demographic erasures carried out within its own borders since 1947.
Bias in Western Media Coverage
1. Selective Framing of Victimhood
Western media is replete with anti-Hindu biases. The truth is often whitewashed or erased, especially when the victims are Hindus.
Western media downplay or ignore the targeted violence against Hindus. This is true for the 1990 ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus as well as the ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Western media, unfortunately, has erased the Kashmiri Hindus out of the Kashmir story and has subscribed to Pakistan’s insidious manipulation to frame the Kashmir problem as one of militarisation. Reportage on the Pahalgam incident too erased the targeted victimisation of Hindus and the religious motivation behind the violence, despite a plethora of witnesses and evidence.
2. Language That Softens Terrorism
A recurring pattern in international reporting is the use of euphemisms like “gunmen” or “militants” instead of “terrorists” when describing attacks on Hindus, evidence notwithstanding. This selective vocabulary minimizes the ideological and religious nature of the violence and shields perpetrators from full accountability in the global narrative.
3. Erasure of Kashmir’s Indigenous History
Western coverage of the Kashmir issue often begins its timeline in 1947, erasing Kashmir’s pre-Islamic identity as a vibrant Hindu and Buddhist cultural and spiritual center.
By ignoring centuries of civilizational heritage and the region’s transformation through Islamic conquest, the media conceals the indigenous status of Kashmiri Hindus and the long arc of religious persecution they have faced.
4. Postcolonial Inversion and the Myth of Settler-Colonialism
Western academic and media narratives often rely on a postcolonial framework that casts the modern Indian state as an occupying force in Kashmir, while portraying Islamist militancy as indigenous resistance. This lens distorts the reality of the conflict, erasing the agency of non-Muslim communities and justifying Islamist violence as political rebellion.
More recently, this narrative has taken the form of accusing displaced Kashmiri Hindus of being “settlers” if they return to their ancestral homeland. Such framing flips the truth: it is not the Hindus who are settler-colonists, but rather the ideological project of Islamist supremacism that drove them out and seeks to erase their historical roots.
By misapplying the settler-colonialism label, these narratives not only obscure centuries of indigenous Hindu presence but also silence the lived trauma of communities who were ethnically cleansed.
Talking Points for Ages 6–11
(Parental discretion advised)
- Use Simple Language: Focus on kindness, fairness, and standing up for what’s right.
“Sometimes people are forced to leave their homes because others don’t respect their beliefs. It happened to Hindus in Kashmir.” - Introduce Topic Through Activities: Use art and storytelling to discuss home, safety, and courage.
- Focus on Values: Resilience, kindness, and standing up for what’s right.
- Explain ‘Exile’ Gently: Use examples like having to leave a home suddenly due to danger.
- Explain “Genocide”: “Genocide is when a big group hurts another group of people just because of who they are or what they believe in. This is very wrong.”
- Use a Map: Show Kashmir on a map. Explain that many Hindu families used to live there, but had to leave because others hurt them.
- Family Strength: Talk about how families stayed strong through tough times, supported one another, and rebuilt their lives.
- Recent Events: Share gently that some Hindu families who tried to return were hurt again, and this is why remembering and learning from the past is important.
- Follow-Up: Reassure your child and check in later about how they felt after your conversation.
Resources for Ages 6-11
- Draw a home, a temple, or a peaceful valley, and discuss the importance of safe homes for everyone.
- Read the Amar Chitra Katha story of King Lalitaditya and the Last Queen of Kashmir (Refer to the Ages 12+ resource section for the link.)
- Color the Map of India: Mark Kashmir in red and explain that Hindus once lived there peacefully but had to flee because of violence.
- Coloring Pages:
Print and color the following slogans:
Talking Points for Ages 12 and Above
(Parental discretion advised)
Historical Context
In 1990, over 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus were forced to flee the Valley under threats of rape, murder, and forced conversion. Their temples were desecrated, homes were seized or destroyed, and thousands were killed in cold blood. This was a deliberate ethnic cleansing by Islamist extremists who chanted for a Hindu-free Kashmir.
Refer to the ‘Brief Historical Timeline’, ‘Role of Pakistan’, ‘Bias in Western Media’ and ‘Recent Development’ sections to describe the centuries of Hindu Persecution at the hands of Islamist colonial settlers.
Recent Violence
Even today, returning Hindus face new threats. Hindu workers have been assassinated. Families live in fear. Posters warning “leave or die” resurface year after year. These attacks follow the same patterns of religious hate and intolerance, proving that the genocide mindset still exists.
Understanding Religious Hate
Kashmiri Hindus were targeted solely for being Hindu. A massacre refers to the deliberate and brutal killing of a large number of unarmed people, often to instill fear or eliminate a community. A genocide is the intentional effort to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Both genocide and masscre differ from communal clashes—they are systematic, targeted, and ideologically driven. Other examples of large scale massacre and genocides of Hindus include:
- Moplah Massacre (1921)
- Direct Action Day related Massacre (1946)
- Hazratbal-related Massacre (1964)
- The Bangladesh Hindu Genocide (1971)
Media Bias and Hypocrisy
Despite this, the Western and some Indian media often ignore or misrepresent the plight of Kashmiri Hindus. While other communities’ grievances get amplified, Hindu suffering is either downplayed, denied, or gaslit as political. Outlets like Scroll, Al Jazeera, and The Wire have justified or whitewashed this violence, refusing to acknowledge its religious nature.
Misguided Activism Can Backfire
Caution young adults against blindly joining deceptive “resistance” protests, especially on university campuses. In Kashmir, even well-meaning Hindu youths who sought peace were betrayed and killed. Stay informed, stay alert, and understand the history before aligning with slogans that may carry dangerous agendas.
The Hypocrisy of South Asian & “Dalit” Organizations
Many Kashmiri Hindus & Sikhs belong to marginalized castes or poor families, yet so-called Dalit and South Asian rights groups remain silent. Their selective outrage exposes an ideological bias—they ignore persecution of Hindus if it doesn’t align with their narrative.
Ever Shrinking Safe Spaces for Hindus in the Subcontinent
Across the subcontinent, safe spaces for Hindus are shrinking. In Kashmir, Pakistan, and parts of Bangladesh, the indigenous Hindu population is near extinction. History must be carefully studied and acknowledged. Historical knowledge and culture should be preserved, so it isn’t repeated.
Spot Your Allies
Talk to your non-Hindu friends. Who among them can empathise with the plight of Hindus and willing to stand up against Hindu persecution? This is a test of fairness. Find allies who understand the value of justice, not just selective empathy.
Engage in Advocacy and Empathy
Encourage teens to volunteer at awareness events or support peaceful Hindu rallies. This builds empathy and educates them about human rights, truth, and resilience.
Resources for Ages 12 and Above
(Parental discretion advised)
Short Videos (<10 mins):
- History of Kashmir – 180 Seconds Explainer – Hindu Parents Network
- Kashmir – Young Hindus Demand Justice– Hindu on Campus
- Explained: Kashmir and Beyond: The Long History of India-Pakistan Conflict | Terrorism
- Debunking the “Hindus are Outsiders in Kashmir” Narrative! – The Sham Sharma Show (Parental guidance: language)
- Targeted Killings of Hindus on the Rise in Kashmir (2022)- Wion, Palki Sharma
Long Videos/ Documentary/ Movie (20+ mins):
- Kashmiri Hindu Documentary (30 mins)
- First-hand accounts of the Kashmir Hindu Exodus of 1990 (62 mins)
- Sadhguru On Kashmiri Pandit Genocide (27 mins)
- Kashmir Files by Vivek Agnihotri (170 mins)
- Pakistan – Army, Terrorism, Geo politics by Sushant Sareen (71 mins)
Articles:
- The Plight of Kashmiri Pandits
- Kashmir Witnessed ISIS-level horror by Sunanda Vashisht
- Proxy War in Kashmir: Jehad or State-Sponsored Terrorism?
- Reversal of Settler Colonialism
- First-hand Accounts of Atrocities on Kashmiri Hindus
- How Global Media Whitewashed The Pahalgam Hindu Massacre
- Why Western Media Loves to Whitewash Atrocities against Hindus
- What happened on January 19, 26 years ago?
- ICHRRF officially recognises the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide, 1989-1991
- Jammu & Kashmir After Removal of Article 370
- A Kashmiri Girl Remembers
Books:
- Kashmir Conflict – Priyanka Bakaya and Sumeet Bhatti
- The Infidel Next Door – Rajat Mitra
- Our Moon Has Blood Clots – Rahul Pandita
- Kashmir: The Land of Kashyapa The Saga of the Kashmiri Pandits – C.K. Gariyali
- My Frozen Turbulence In Kashmir – Jagmohan
- The Future of Pakistan by Stephen P. Cohen
- Forgotten Atrocities: Memoirs of a Survivor of the 1947 Partition of India – Bal K. Gupta
- The Last Queen of Kashmir – Rakesh Kaul
- King Lalitadiya Amar Chitra Katha by Uncle Pai
Empower Your Child: How Families Can Take Action
- Educate: Share age-appropriate history and stories of struggles, survival, and resilience.
- Encourage Connection: Celebrate Kashmir’s contributions to philosophy like Shaivism, Sanskrit language, literature as well as a range of sciences and arts.
- Spot Bias: Teach kids to identify erasure, misinformation, and disinformation in media and textbooks.
- Advocate: Support awareness initiatives and education campaigns. Participates in vigils.
- Empathize with Survivors: Attend Kashmiri Hindu community events, talk to Kashmiri Hindus and hear their personal stories, and never forget their history because it is our collective civilizational history.
Final Thought:
Silence enables erasure.
Memories build resilience.
Let’s help the next generation remember.