Departure of Kashmiri pundits crushed spirit of Kashmiriyat: Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 20 (ANI): With the departure of Kashmiri pundits from the Valley, a portion of the soul of Kashmir left and the spirit of Kashmiriyat was crushed, said Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh.
Speaking at an event Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh said, "In any conflict or any disagreement in any area, where ideas do not match, there is the percentage of the population which has acted against and another percentage which acts against the population. They are in single digit. The single-digit population has been conducting the atrocities. Now, the 85-90 percent so-called silent majority, where are they?"
"Where were they on January 19, 1990? Where were they in 2010? Where were they in 2016? And, where were they in the month of October 2021? They are silent majority; otherwise, they are very loud at times. We condemn them. But where were they in the history of Kashmir? Who suffered? The Kashmiri Pundits were made to leave that state. It is not the Kashmiri Pundits who left. A portion of the soul of Kashmir left."
Lieutenant General Singh said Kashmiri Pundits were the mainstay of the education system in the valley. He alleged that the perpetrators of terrorism wanted to disrupt the education system of Kashmir.
"Kashmiri Pundits were the mainstay of the education system in Kashmir. And, we all know it. Starting from the primary teachers to deans...vice-chancellors, professors everyone in the education system were mainly Kashmiri Pundits. In many societies where education gets disrupted the future of the society, the future of the generation breaks down. When terrorism started in 1989-90, first, the schools were burnt down in Kashmir. The people who were doing this (terrorism)wanted education does not to come into the Kashmiri society. They wanted to crush the spirit of Kashmiriyat," added Lieutenant General Singh. (ANI)