128 - The Future of Jammu and Kashmir | Dr. Surinder Kaul | Shri. Virinder Kaul

Published: July 1, 2021, 12:02 p.m.

Much has changed in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. We did a podcast earlier last year featuring Sunanda Vashist and Mr. Sreemoy Talukdar detailing some of the societal changes that have happened since. In this episode, we have two prominent voices in the Kashmiri pandit community, Dr. Surinder Kaul and Shri Virinder Kaul. 

Shri. Virinder Kaul is an activist who has been involved in the Kashmiri pandit community's struggles since 1990 in Jammu. He was part of a dedicated team of volunteers who started interacting on a personal level at refugee camps in Nagrota, Muthi, Mishriwalla and Purkhoo. He also organised many protests and rallies to highlight the sub-par living conditions of their community. 

Dr. Surinder Kaul, MD is a co-founder of the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora and a board certified internist in Houston, Texas. He is currently licensed to practice medicine in Texas. He, along with others in the GKPD are working on establishing genocide of our community, bringing our perpetrators to justice, protection of our temples and shrines in the valley.

They are vocal activists from the global Kashmiri pandit diaspora focused on protecting their community’s unique culture, religious practices and literature. 

In this episode, we delved deep into the current situation in Kashmir and the significance of these events. We began by discussing the sitation in Kashmir after it's declaration as a Union Teritorry. Then, we explored the impact of the abrogation of Article 370. We then spoke about the role of the worldwide Kashmiri pandit diaspora in bringing attention to the issues faced by residents of the erstwhile state. 

We also spoke about the attitude of media towards the situation in these states. Then, we explored the political stance that the central government has taken towards J&K. We concluded by discussing the goals of the Kashmiri pandit diaspora and what it aims to achieve.