'Where Were Human Rights When Hindus Fled Kashmir?' : Sunanda Vashisht | Master Stroke

In a strong defence of India's move to abrogate special status for Jammu and Kashmir, a representative of the Kashmiri Pandit community told a US Congressional hearing that those talking of human rights violations in Kashmir today cannot ignore the rights of the Kashmiri Hindus who were forced to flee by Islamic terrorists and radicals in 1990.

Testifying before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on Thursday, writer and political commentator Sunanda Vashisht said while the world is expressing horror at the brutality of the Islamic State (ISIS) outfit's actions in Syria and elsewhere, the Kashmiri Hindu community had witnessed it 30 years ago.

"We have seen ISIS-level of horror and brutality in Kashmir 30 years before the West was even introduced to the brutality of radical Islamic terror," Vashisht said.

"I am glad the hearings are happening, because when my family lost our homes, our livelihood and our way of life, the world remained silent.

"Where were the advocates of human rights when my rights were taken away?" she asked.