Miami, FL, USA: A recent protest in Miami urged global leaders to recognize and respond to the ongoing erasure of Kashmiri Hindu culture.
South Florida's Hindu residents, particularly those with Kashmiri roots who have personally endured or inherited the trauma of religious persecution, assembled in downtown Miami to denounce the recent killings of Hindu tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region.
Protesters claimed that non-Muslim visitors were deliberately singled out and killed after being asked about their identity—a haunting reminder of the violence suffered by Kashmiri Pandits during the exodus of 1989-90.
Participants emphasized that these incidents should not be dismissed as isolated terrorist attacks, but rather seen as part of a systematic effort to uproot the native Hindu population from the region.
Deepak Ganju, who leads the Kashmir Hindu Foundation, asserted that the world must acknowledge the organized campaign to wipe out Hindu cultural and religious identity in Kashmir. “No tourism campaign can hide the harsh truth of what’s happening on the ground,” he said.
Chants like “Stop Hindu Genocide in Kashmir” echoed through the protest as demonstrators held placards and demanded accountability from local sympathizers and Pakistan, which they accused of aiding terror outfits.
Ganju further condemned the ideological radicalization among certain sections of the Kashmiri Muslim community, warning that the region’s hostility toward non-Muslims is only kept in check due to the strong presence of Indian security forces.
Florida Republican Congressional candidate Joe Kaufman joined the protest, calling for firm measures against extremist groups Hizbul Mujahideen and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), labeling both as supporters of terrorism.
He criticized ICNA’s narrative a, accusing India of “state terrorism” in Kashmir, pointing out that the organization itself has documented links to terror networks.
Similar demonstrations occurred in other parts of the U.S., such as California, where Ankit Monga, President of the Kashmir Hindu Foundation, advocated for meaningful constitutional reforms. “Cosmetic reconciliation efforts won’t resolve this crisis,” Monga declared.
