Kashmiri Pandits perform novel yoga in protest

The Kashmiri Pandit employees on Tuesday adopted a novel way of using yoga to highlight their demand for relocation out of Kashmir in the wake of recent attacks on minorities in the valley.

The Kashmiri Pandit (KP) employees, who have been protesting since the killing of Rahul Bhat on May 12, gathered for the International Day of Yoga at their camp site at Sheikhpora Migrant Colony in Budgam.

The protesting employees performed various asanas and raised slogans like “we want justice” instead of the Vedic chants associated with the practice.

While some of these employees pasted placards in support of their demands on their torso, several others wore T-shirts bearing photographs of Bhat.

Also Read: Why Kashmiri Pandits want to flee Valley, and why this worries the Centre

“We have been sitting here in protest everyday and today through this programme, we want to convey our demand to the state government,” one of the employees said.

On Monday, the KP employees had threatened to appeal to the International Human Rights organisation for asylum if the central government failed to relocate them from the valley.
The employees, recruited under PM Package, have been protesting since the death of one of their colleagues Rahul Bhat. Bhat was killed inside his office in Chadoora area of Budgam district on May 12.

Rajni Bala, a government school teacher from the minority community, was also shot dead by terrorists at her school in Kulgam district.

(With Agency Inputs)