GANDERBAL

Buoyed by the improvement in the security situation, a record number of displaced Kashmiri Pandits converged on the Kheer Bhawani temple in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal on Monday (June 22, 2026). They were welcomed by local Muslims and regional parties, including the ruling National Conference (NC) and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Pandits have pledged to return every year and continue the tradition.

Over 214 buses ferried the displaced Kashmiri Pandits to the temple over the past few days. Most devotees said the security situation had changed for the better: Kashmir was “free of fear” and “it was possible to travel even at night”. The Mata Kheer Bhawani Ji Yatra Welfare Society served over 10,000 devotees at its langar a day before the festival on Sunday. “A record number of devotees participated in this year’s pilgrimage,” said M.K. Yogi, general secretary of the society.

A special puja was held at the tree lined temple on the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtam. “It’s Mata’s birthday today. Tulmullah is her seat. She grants all wishes,” said Beenu Zutshi, who migrated from Budgam to Jammu after militancy broke out in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s.

For once many of the visiting Pandits were young and travelling to the Valley for the first time. “It’s my first visit to Kashmir. I got to meet many relatives whom I have never met before. It felt like home. We are eager to return to Kashmir and settle here,” said 17-year-old Anuja Kaul, who currently lives in Delhi.

Other temples

The Pandits also visited temples at Anantnag, Kulgam and Kupwara, which were out-of-bounds during the militancy. The upturn in the number of devotees came after the Pahalgam attack in April last year cast its shadow on the annual mela last year.

Displaced Pandits also uploaded videos of their visits to their abandoned homes in the Valley. One such video, of an aged Pandit lady visiting her home at Danew village in Bogund, Kulgam after 36 years, has gone viral. The elderly woman, hands trembling, touched the trees she once played under. “Do you still remember me?” she said.

An NC legislator from Devsar, Peerzada Feroze Ahmad, joined the devotees in reciting verses by local poets. Meanwhile, local Muslims, keeping with tradition, set up stalls of puja paraphernalia at Tulmulla in Ganderbal.

“The wait is over. For the first time, thousands of Pandits have turned up for the festival. Muslims opened their arms. Kashmir remains incomplete without Pandits. I urge the Lieutenant Governor to take concrete measures for the return of Kashmiri Pandits,” said Bilal Bhat, a local.

Varsity welcome wagon

Several Kashmir-based varsities had also set up stalls for the Pandits. The Department of Students’ Welfare, University of Kashmir, served refreshments, drinking water, juice and sherbet to devotees. 

“The warmth shown by local communities inspires hope that past wounds will be healed through understanding, compassion and reconciliation. There is a need to ensure the dignified return, rehabilitation and reintegration of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in their ancestral homeland,” said Ashok Bhan, convenor of the Kashmir Policy & Strategy Group (KPSG).

PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, who also joined Pandit devotees at the temple, said, “”It is time we stop being prisoners of the past and invest in a shared future. Countless Kashmiris seeking treatment outside the Valley are welcomed and cared for by Kashmiri Pandit doctors. Their work is not just healing bodies; it is helping heal old wounds and rebuilding bonds between communities. More young doctors should take inspiration from them, reconnect with their roots, and visit Kashmir.”

NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah, while pressing for “the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits”, said, “The annual mela is a symbol of Kashmir’s age-old tradition of communal harmony and brotherhood. I pray for the restoration of coexistence and strengthening of social bonds among all the communities.”

Mirwaiz’s message

The chief cleric of Kashmir, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also welcomed the Pandits. “May this day renew the spirit of mutual respect, brotherhood and the shared heritage of Kashmir that we inherited,” the Mirwaiz said.

BJP J&K general secretary Ashok Koul, however, blamed the NC and the PDP for the migration of Pandits in the 1990s. “They are responsible for the genocide and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. The pain and struggle of the Kashmiri Pandit community cannot be ignored and accountability must be ensured,” said Mr. Koul. 

Meanwhile, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also greeted the Pandits on the occasion.