Shaheen Bagh protestors asked to back Kashmiri Pandits too

The move comes after protestors announced 'Jashn-e-Shaheen' -- an evening of poetry and songs -- on January 19 to celebrate the spirit of the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

A section of Twitterati and the Kashmiri Pandits equated the event as a "celebration of the genocide of the Kashmiri Hindus".

Satish Mahaldar, a Kashmiri activist, said: "The protestors at Shaheen Bagh announced to celebrate Jash-e-Shaheen, on a day when the Kashmiri Pandits faced exodus from the Valley. We will make sure that does not happen. We will visit the protest site at 5 p.m. to observe the exodus day."

The community will urge the protestors to also raise their voice for the welfare of the Kashmiri Pandits and support them.

Shaheen Bagh has become a hub of anti-CAA protest for over a month now, with protestors demanding repeal of the CAA for its alleged discrimination against a particular community.

Kashmiri Pandits stress that before voicing support for a community that is in majority in most of the countries covered under the CAA, the Shaheen Bagh protestors must voice support for a community within India that has faced trouble for so long but lacked voices of support.

Mahaldar, a part of the Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation team for Kashmiri Pandits, said: "Let us observe the exodus day at Shaheen Bagh today (Sunday), because if the protestors can raise their voice for a community left out under the CAA, they must also support our voices and for our return to our native places."

The Twitter handle of Shaheen Bagh protesters later clarified that the January 19 event had nothing do with the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Valley.

"False information is being spread to create discord and attack the spirit of fraternity that anti-CAA protests stand for," the handle tweeted.