Three Lives Lost, A Community Wounded
Introduction
On the evening of 4 February 2000, armed militants attacked the homes of the remaining Kashmiri Pandit families in Telwani village, Achabal, Anantnag District, Jammu & Kashmir.
The attack claimed the lives of three innocent civilians:
Shri Ashok Kumar Raina
Kumari Anshu Raina (7 years old)
Shri Veer Ji Pandita
The killings occurred nearly a decade after the large-scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. Unlike many others who had left, a small number of families in Telwani had chosen to remain in their ancestral village despite years of violence, uncertainty, and fear.
The Telwani massacre stands as a reminder that even those who stayed behind were not spared from targeted militant violence.
Telwani Before the Attack
Telwani was a small village in the Achabal area of South Kashmir.
By the year 2000, most Kashmiri Pandit families had already left the Valley following the upheaval and violence of the early 1990s. A few families, however, continued to live in Telwani.
Many remained because of deep attachment to their ancestral homes, agricultural lands, temples, memories, and generations of family history.
For years they attempted to continue ordinary life despite extraordinary circumstances.
The events of 4 February 2000 shattered that hope.
The Attack
According to contemporary reports and survivor accounts, armed militants entered Telwani during the evening hours of 4 February 2000.
The attackers first targeted the residence of Ashok Kumar Raina, opening fire at close range.
His young daughter, Anshu Raina, was also struck by gunfire and killed.
The attackers then moved to the nearby residence of Veer Ji Pandita, where they again opened fire, killing him.
A third Kashmiri Pandit household was attacked, leaving at least one resident injured.
Reports from the period indicate that the assault occurred despite security presence in the broader area. The attack generated widespread fear among the remaining Kashmiri Pandit families of South Kashmir and contributed further to the migration of those who had continued to live in the Valley.
The Victims Remembered
Shri Ashok Kumar Raina
Ashok Kumar Raina was among the Kashmiri Pandits who chose to remain in Telwani despite the difficult circumstances of the 1990s.
Remembered by family members as a devoted son, husband, and father, he continued to live in the village of his ancestors when many others had already left.
His life was cut short during the attack on 4 February 2000.
Kumari Anshu Raina (Age 7)
Anshu Raina was only seven years old.
She was a child whose future had barely begun when violence entered her home.
Her death remains one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Telwani massacre and serves as a reminder that terrorism often claims the lives of those least able to understand the hatred directed toward them.
Shri Veer Ji Pandita
Veer Ji Pandita was a neighbour and member of the small Kashmiri Pandit community that remained in Telwani.
When militants moved from one house to another during the attack, he too became a victim.
His death reflected the indiscriminate nature of the violence directed against the remaining Pandit families of the village.
Survivor Testimony
Through the Eyes of Sunny Raina
Among the most important accounts of the massacre is the testimony of Sunny Raina, son of Ashok Kumar Raina, who witnessed the attack as a child.
In a published recollection years later, he described sitting with his sisters and cousin in a common room when gunfire suddenly erupted.
He recalled hearing bullets enter the house, seeing his father struck by gunfire, and hearing cries of pain in the darkness.
One of the most haunting moments in his testimony concerns his younger sister, Anshu.
After the attackers left, Sunny described noticing something sticky on the floor. When he looked more closely, he realised it was his sister’s blood. She had been struck in the forehead.
The memory remained with him long after the attack and became one of the defining images of that night.
His testimony is not merely a record of violence. It is the account of a child whose life was permanently changed in a matter of minutes.
It reminds future generations that behind every statistic is a family, a home, and a story that can never be fully repaired.
Why Telwani Matters
The Telwani massacre occupies an important place in the history of the Kashmiri Pandit tragedy.
It demonstrated that the danger faced by Kashmiri Pandits did not end with the migration of the early 1990s. Even families who remained in their ancestral villages continued to face targeted attacks.
The victims of Telwani were not public figures, politicians, or security personnel.
They were ordinary civilians.
Their memory deserves preservation not because of how they died, but because of how they lived—as members of a community deeply rooted in Kashmir’s history and culture.
Remembrance
Today, the names of Ashok Kumar Raina, Anshu Raina, and Veer Ji Pandita form part of the larger story of the Kashmiri Pandit community’s suffering during the years of militancy.
Their lives remain remembered by family members, survivors, and all those committed to preserving an accurate historical record of the period.
May their memory endure.
Historical Note
This memorial page has been prepared using survivor testimony, contemporary news reports, community records, and publicly available historical sources. Where accounts differ, efforts have been made to present the information in a factual and balanced manner.
Corrections and Additional Information
This memorial page has been prepared using publicly available records, published accounts, community archives, and historical sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, historical records from this period are sometimes incomplete, inconsistent, or unavailable. If you are a family member, witness, researcher, or member of the community and believe that any information on this page requires correction, clarification, or additional context, we respectfully invite you to contact us.
Our objective is to preserve memory with accuracy, dignity, and respect. Verified corrections and additional information will be carefully reviewed and incorporated where appropriate.
Please write to us at: kashmiripanditmemorial@gmail.com
Ashok Kumar Raina, Anshu Raina (7), and Veer Ji Pandita — murdered in Telwani, Anantnag, on 4 February 2000. They remained in their ancestral village when many had already fled. Their lives were taken, but their memory remains part of Kashmir’s unfinished story.