LG Sinha Brings Hope to J&K’s Forgotten Terror Victims
Suhail Mir
Baramulla: For over three decades, the stories of thousands of terror victims in Jammu and Kashmir were buried under silence, neglect, and political indifference. Families who lost loved ones to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism were left to suffer in isolation, until now. In a historic move, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has stepped forward to acknowledge their agony, offering not just empathy but tangible justice: jobs, rehabilitation, and a long-denied recognition of their sacrifices.
Suhail Yusuf Shah from Kupwara still remembers the day his mother was mercilessly gunned down by terrorists. “My family kept asking what happened, and I kept saying, ‘She will be okay.’ But she wasn’t. She was gone,” he recalls, his voice trembling. “From 2002 till now, no government ever cared to ask about our pain.”
His anguish is echoed by Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh from Sheeri Baramulla, whose father was killed by terrorists. “No one can imagine our suffering,” he says, slamming past governments for “mocking victims with false promises and endless verifications.”
Then there is the grieving mother from Old Town (once a hotbed of terrorism), Baramulla, her voice breaking as she narrates her ordeal to LG Sinha, “My husband is gone. My son was martyred. I am left alone to raise two grandchildren in poverty.”
For years, these voices were stifled, their pleas for justice ignored. Political regimes, instead of standing with the victims, allegedly played into the hands of Pakistan’s ISI, emboldening terrorists while leaving survivors to rot. The change began when young activists Wajahat Farooq Bhat, Mudasir Dar and Anika Nazir, founders of the NGO ‘Save Youth Save Future Foundation,’ decided to break the cycle of neglect. “We asked a simple question: Why is no one listening to the victims?” says Wajahat.
Their journey was not easy. Moving from village to village, they documented harrowing accounts, families living in fear, some too traumatized to speak. “Many had lost faith in the system. We had to convince them that this time, someone (LG) would listen,” says Mudasir.
Their efforts revealed a staggering truth, approximately 11,000 terror victim families exist across Jammu and Kashmir UT, with over 2,000 identified and 400 personally interviewed so far.
When Wajahat and Mudasir approached LG Sinha with these findings, they found a leader who listened, and acted. “I will go meet them at their homes. I want to hear their stories in their own words,” Sinha told them.
True to his word, on June 29, 2025, he visited terror victims in Anantnag, promising jobs and other help. The administration delivered even sooner, handing out appointment letters in a deeply emotional ceremony in Baramulla.
At the Baramulla event, LG Sinha made it clear that the era of ignoring victims, while tolerating terror apologists, was over. “The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but glorifying terrorism will not be tolerated. Those who do so for political gains will pay the price,” he declared. “Kashmir has seen enough bloodshed. Now is the time to wipe tears, not fuel more violence.”
The Baramulla event was charged with raw emotion. Mothers kissed Sinha’s forehead in gratitude, daughters knelt in respect, and survivors, many speaking for the first time, wept as they received job letters. Breaking protocol, Sinha walked among the crowd, bowing to elders and comforting children with paternal affection. “Your sacrifices were ignored, but no more,” he told them.
For terror victims, this is more than just employment, it’s validation. “Since the 1990s, we lived in silence, pain, and hopelessness,” said one victim. “Today, LG Sinha has lit a lamp of hope in our homes.” As the administration vows to reach every affected family, Kashmir’s forgotten victims finally see a glimmer of justice, one that had been denied for far too long.
While 60 families have received jobs so far, thousands more await. The LG’s office has assured that the process will continue until all families are rehabilitated.
