Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], April 23 (ANI): The residents of Shimla took to the streets on Wednesday evening to protest the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which reportedly targeted Hindu civilians. A state-wide bandh planned for Thursday by Hindu groups including the Himachal Pradesh Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti is expected to affect normal life across Himachal Pradesh, with organizers urging citizens to join in solidarity.
The demonstration, held outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, was led by several Hindu groups. Protesters raised slogans, condemned the killings, and accused the government of inaction in the face of growing religiously motivated violence.
“This is not just a terrorist incident, it’s targeted genocide,” said Madan Thakur, a protester and leader of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti. He claimed that Hindus were deliberately identified and killed in the attack.
“The horrific news that spread across India last night confirms that Hindus were hunted down and murdered in Jammu and Kashmir. We’re told terrorism has no religion, but these were extremists who singled out Hindus and killed them. This is not new, it happened in the 1990s with the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, and it’s happening again in Pahalgam and Murshidabad,” he said.
Thakur also lashed out at the political establishment, accusing them of turning a blind eye to atrocities against Hindus while enabling extremism.
“234 MPs voted in support of the Waqf Board, empowering radical forces. When Sanatanis protested in Shimla, they were lathi-charged by police. Where is justice? Where is accountability? We have lost faith in the police and judiciary,” he said, adding, “Judges with crores of rupees recovered from their homes face no consequences. Everything is being politicized, and Hindus are being silenced,” he said.
Thakur called for a statewide bandh (shutdown) on Thursday from 12 pm to 7 pm. He also warned of more intense measures if the government failed to act.
“If the Centre doesn’t act within a month, then what are these missiles and weapons for? Use them. Strike back. We can’t keep dying every day. It’s better to die once than live in constant fear. Ask the children whose parents were killed, what justice have they received?” he questioned.
Sheetal Vyas, an advocate and Hindu leader who also joined the protest, criticised the mainstream narrative and questioned India’s secular framework.
“The biggest crime here is that Hindus were specifically targeted. Our Constitution claims to be secular, but it is only the Hindus in India who are constantly taught to be secular. Yesterday’s attack in Kashmir is not the first. Still, many so-called secular voices call The Kashmir Files a fictional story,” she said.
Vyas condemned the brutal nature of the killings, citing reports that attackers checked victims’ clothing to identify them as Hindus before shooting them.
“This wasn’t just murder, this was religious cleansing. Women whose wedding henna hadn’t even faded lost their husbands to bullets. These weren’t ordinary men firing guns, it was done by radical Islamic elements. They want to revive ‘Jazba-e-Hind,’ a call for Islamic dominance,” she said.
While acknowledging the revocation of Article 370, Vyas warned that Islamic extremism remains alive in Kashmir and across India.
“Even today, the ideology behind this attack is not dead. In Kashmir, you now see the tricolor, but the extremist mindset is intact. They teach their children that Hindus are kafirs. The attacker didn’t care whether the victim was a child, an elderly person, or a newlywed,” she added.
“If we don’t speak up today, our children will pay tomorrow. We trust our Prime Minister and Home Minister to respond as they did after the Pulwama attack. We need a decisive, long-term solution now.” Vyas said.
Protesters demanded immediate government intervention and stricter counter-terror policies to prevent similar incidents. Many also called for economic and social boycotts of communities they accuse of harboring extremist ideologies.
The protestors emphasised that their movement is not driven by any single organization but by ordinary citizens deeply disturbed by the violence. (ANI)