# After Three and a Half Decades, Kashmiri Pandits Return Home — Moved to Tears When They Couldn't Find Their Houses

> Under the 'Pragaash Heritage Tour', Kashmiri Pandits returned to Kashmir after 36 years, offering prayers at Srinagar's Ganpatyar temple and voicing hope for a homecoming. Many could not even recognise the spots where their burnt-down houses once stood.

**Category:** Jammu & Kashmir · **Published:** 2026-06-12 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/jammu-kashmir/sarhe-tina-dashaka-bada-apani-janmabhumi-laute-kashmiri-pndita-ghara-ki-jagaha-n-195

After a full 36 years, Kashmiri Pandits have shared the story of their return to Kashmir — a story difficult to put into words, yet one that conveys the pain and suffering this community and region endured during the era of terrorism three and a half decades ago. These scenes are from the Ganpatyar temple and ashram in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, where an intensely emotional moment unfolded during prayers on Friday. Under the 'Pragaash Heritage Tour' initiative, a group of Kashmiri Pandits returned to their birthplace, many of whom had been away from their native soil for the past 36 years.

The group that reached Kashmir included Pandits who had been separated from their homeland for 36 years and had settled in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of India. They visited the ancient temple complex, offered prayers and expressed deep emotion as they reconnected with the land of their ancestors.

## Childhood Spent in These Very Lanes
There was a time when this area was home to the largest population of Kashmiri Pandits — a place where millions spent their childhood and where worship and rituals took place in the temples morning and evening. Returning to those same lanes and temples after 36 years has kindled a fresh hope of homecoming among the Pandits. As they arrived today, old memories came flooding back, and their eyes welled up with tears. The Pandits sensed the silence in lanes that once echoed with slogans of 'Azadi'.

For many in this group, it was their first visit to Kashmir in more than three decades. The occasion was filled with nostalgia, reflection and a deep sense of belonging, as they revisited places tied to their childhood memories and cultural heritage.

Within this delegation we met people whose childhood had passed in these very lanes, who used to worship and bow their heads in these temples every morning and evening. Seeing Kashmir and its temples after 36 years today, they grew so emotional that the painful story on their lips could not be shaped into words.

## 'Our Homes Were Burnt, Now We Can't Even Recognise the Spot'
During the conversation, Veena Wancho recounted her ordeal. Until the 1990s she lived in Vadwan village in Handwara in north Kashmir, where her 5 houses were burnt down. Today large fountains (Tom Fountains) stand there, and she is unable to even recognise where her homes once stood. Veena said, 'Kashmir is our land. We want a small house here. We want to live here. We fought for this till our last breath, but we did not leave Kashmir.'

This anguish does not belong to Veena Wancho alone. Vijanti Thathoo, who until the 1990s ran a school named VS Public School in the Nishat area of Srinagar, also spoke up. Vijanti Thathoo said, 'Conditions have certainly improved, and this is the right time to return to Kashmir. We need everyone's support for this. We want a home in Kashmir so that we can take our last breaths here. Our house has been burnt down, but I still want to find peace by coming here.'

Veena Wancho further said that in the 1990s slogans of Nizam-e-Mustafa used to echo here, with thousands of people pouring onto the streets. She expressed the hope that today Kashmiri Muslims would support them and help make their homecoming possible.

## Organised with the Help of Various Bodies
With the aim of reconnecting the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community to its cultural, religious and historical roots, this heritage tour is being organised with the cooperation of several Hindu religious and cultural organisations. Members of the community on the journey expressed optimism about the present situation, saying conditions appear favourable for their return. However, they stressed that the success of any return process would depend largely on the support and acceptance of the Kashmir Valley's majority Muslim population.

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