The Pahalgam killings have triggered fresh panic among thousands of Kashmiri Pandit employees working in the Valley, reportedly forcing them not to report for duty and prompting the government’s education department to issue directions to them to work from home.
The Kashmir Pandit Sangarsh Samiti, a group representing Pandits who never migrated, accused the majority Muslim community of expressing selective outrage over killings.
A Pandit employee’s union leader based in south Kashmir said they did not report for work in the last two days because of palpable fear in the community. “All of us decided not to report for duty. Obviously, there is fear. We are expecting all government departments to issue orders asking us to work from home,” he told The Telegraph.
Around 6,000 displaced Pandits, appointed under the Prime Minister’s Relief and Rehabilitation policy, are working in different departments in Kashmir. They were recruited as part of a special package during the last decade and a half as part of an initiative to bring Pandits back.
The Pahalgam killings have forced the chief education officers in Baramulla and Anantnag districts to issue directives asking Pandits to work from home. The decision was taken for the safety of the community.
“All employees engaged under the PM package are hereby directed to work from home for the duration of this week with immediate effect up to Sunday (i.e. 27-05-2025). All concerned employees shall remain available to carry out their duties and responsibilities,” an order by the Baramulla chief education officer said.
A similar directive, titled “work from home”, was issued by the chief education officer of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday, asking all minority community employees to work from home “till further orders”.
Soon, the government attached the two officers — Bashir Ahmad Shah, the Anantnag chief education officer, and Baramulla CEO Tariq Hussain Tarra. They were replaced by Kishore Kumar and Ashok K. Raina.
The migrant employees had staged a 10-month-long strike in 2022 and 2023, seeking relocation to Jammu after militants killed a Pandit employee in a targeted attack.
The employees were forced to call off their strike after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration refused to relent and their salaries were stopped. The militants had also killed several non-local workers, who largely stayed back despite the threats.
The Kashmir Pandit Sangarsh Samiti claimed Kashmiri Muslims were expressing selective outrage over killings after hundreds of locals joined protests on Wednesday against the attack on tourists.
The group claimed there was a glaring absence of protests and condemnation when Pandits were killed.
“This apathy stands in stark contrast to the widespread outrage following the Pahalgam massacre, where the victims were primarily tourists,” the group leader, Sanjay Tickoo, said in a statement, suggesting these protests were held because of economic considerations.
Sections of Kashmiri Muslims have, however, in the past staged protests over Pandit killings.