"Won't Allah punish them?..." Kerala Guv Arif Mohammad Khan recalls Kashmiri exodus

Recalling the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley during the 1990s, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that those responsible for the mass migration would be punished by the almighty.

"In Kashmir, a section was forced to leave their homes in the middle of the night because of their religion. Won't the almighty (Allah) punish them?" Kerala Governor said.

Arif Mohammad Khan was speaking at a book launch event organized in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters later, Kerala Governor also reiterated his previous remarks that those who are born in India, eat and drink in the country should be called 'Hindu'.

Earlier in January, while inaugurating the 'Hindu conclave' organised by Malayalee Hindus settled in North America, in Thiruvananthapuram, he had said that the word 'Hindu' is a geographical term and that those who are born in India, eat and drink in the country should be called 'Hindu'.

"Sir Syed Ahmed Khan once said that I do not think Hindu is a religious term, it is a geographical term. Anyone who is born in India eats food grown in India or drinks water from Indian rivers deserves to be called a Hindu," he had said.

( With inputs from ANI )