Constitutionalism is fundamental jurisprudence of our country: SC Lawyer Ashok Bhan
Srinagar, Feb 5: Speaking with a group of visiting Kashmiri lawyers in Delhi,the noted senior Supreme Court lawyer and apex bar leader Ashok Bhan said that Constitutionalism is the fundamental jurisprudence of our country.
Therefore the democracy, equality before law,fundamental human rights and rule of law are the basic features, he added. He said: After more than three decades of violence and turbulence in Jammu & Kashmir region the people have rejected violence and consciously opted for democracy by massive participation in the 2025 assembly elections.Today an elected Government is in place and the political atmosphere appears to be relaxed.
Bhan said: “A very important duty is cast on the elected representatives and the people to unitedly and vigilantly fight the forces of disruption and radicalism.Let all Kashmiri work towards revival of great civilisational ethos of Kashmir that is rich , plural,democratic and respectful to mutual faiths and religious tolerance-Kashmiriyat.”
He added: “Unfortunately Kashmir Valley today is incomplete with the absence of its inseparable aborigine natives Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to exile. Since being forced from the Kashmir Valley in the insurgency-era violence of 1990, the exiled Kashmiri Pandit community has continued to grapple with deep insecurity, cultural erosion, and political marginalisation more than three decades later. Each year on January 19, the community marks Exodus Day, renewing demands for a safe, dignified return and meaningful rehabilitation — including calls for a constitutionally guaranteed homeland or demographic restoration within Kashmir to ensure permanent resettlement and protect their rights and identity.”
Bhan further said: “Community leaders and activists have called on the elected UT and central government to provide a concrete roadmap for return and establish mechanisms like a Truth and Justice Commission to officially recognise the horrors of the 1990 exodus and ensure accountability.”
Many displaced families are still in Jammu, Delhi, and other cities, often in inadequate housing conditions, and their lands/properties in Kashmir remain unsold or tied up in bureaucratic hurdles, underscoring the continuing sense of uncertainty over return and restoration of ancestral property.
Bhan added that beyond material concerns, decades of exile have also taken a cultural toll — younger generations of Pandits increasingly lose touch with the Kashmiri roots language and traditional practices, deepening fears of cultural dilution, disintegration alongside physical displacement. The whole of the exiled population roughly about more than seven hundred thousands are longing to return to their homeland. It is welcome and encouraging that the political and religious leadership of Kashmir “publicly say Kashmiri Pandits is their story and Kashmir remains incomplete without their physical presence in the Valley.”
