(1/n) The woman's voice quivered with fear and she refused to give her name.
"They'll know me," she said, a look of terror in her eyes. "If they ever hear of this, they will know who I am. They are going to kill me."
"They'll know me," she said, a look of terror in her eyes. "If they ever hear of this, they will know who I am. They are going to kill me."
(2/n) "We left everything in Kashmir," she said. "Everything. We just came in our car with two suitcases. That's it. Our furniture, our home, everything we left behind."
(3/n) At the hospital walls where she worked as a senior admin, Muslim co-workers had scrawled warnings "Indian Dogs Go Back!"
"Early mornings, there was a poster on the front door," she said.
"We have decided to marry your daughter," it said. "We will come to take her away."
"Early mornings, there was a poster on the front door," she said.
"We have decided to marry your daughter," it said. "We will come to take her away."
(4/n) At night, Muslim mosques broadcast messages from loudspeakers telling all Hindus to leave Kashmir.
"Leave your ladies here," the broadcasts ordered. "We want Kashmir without you but leave your ladies here."
"Leave your ladies here," the broadcasts ordered. "We want Kashmir without you but leave your ladies here."
(5/n) "The night before we left, my neighbor was killed," the woman said. "He was hauled out of his house. We heard the sound of blasts, but no one had the guts to go out to see.
"They had guns and everything. They could have killed any number of people."
"They had guns and everything. They could have killed any number of people."
(6/n) Tears welled up in the woman's eyes.
"Most of our friends have left," she said. "We don't know where they are. They are scattered all over."
"Most of our friends have left," she said. "We don't know where they are. They are scattered all over."
(7/n) At a Community Centre in Delhi, Gopi Krishan, a 35-year-old teacher, said he would never return to Kashmir.
"My neighbors advised me to go," he says. "I was in danger. They said there were 6,000 youths crossing over from Pakistan and they were going to attack the Hindus.
"My neighbors advised me to go," he says. "I was in danger. They said there were 6,000 youths crossing over from Pakistan and they were going to attack the Hindus.
(8/n) "It was terrible," he added. "For days we lived with the curfew. We ran out of food and all the time we heard gunshots firing. We heard blasts. We heard messages from the mosques telling Hindus to leave."
(9/n) "In the market, they no longer use Indian money," he said. "If you buy vegetables, they give you your change in Pakistani money. They watch to see if you will take it. If you refuse, you might die.
(10/n) "In the street, we are forced to shout pro-Pakistan slogans," Ramish Kumar, a civil servant, said. "When someone is murdered for being an informer, we're told we will be killed if we go to the funeral."
(11/n) "The Muslims don't want India," says Ashoke Kaul, a Hindu tax collector who fled Kashmir.
"All they want is Islam. They are killing Hindus. They are killing Sikhs. The point is just to kill. To eliminate. They are destroyers of civilization."
"All they want is Islam. They are killing Hindus. They are killing Sikhs. The point is just to kill. To eliminate. They are destroyers of civilization."
(12/12) All quotes taken from Toronto Star coverage dated 14 May 1990. My compliments to the team of #TheKashmirFiles for narrating this tale honestly without fear 🙏 May it be the first of many such films that need to be made and consumed by the mainstream.
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