Activist Sidarth Ambardar recalled Father George Shanks’s account of murder of nuns by the invading Kabali militia in October 1947, and desecration of the Chatti Padhshahi Gurdwara. He said: “Pakistani invaders in 1947 terrorised, looted and killed the locals and Zanana, Zar and Jehad (women, booty and holy war) motivated them.” Swapna Raina, another rally participant and a Kashmiri Hindu community activist, said: “We will keep seeking justice and not let the world forget the massacre of indigenous Kashmiris by Islamic terrorists.”

Utsav Chakrabarti, a local community activist, said: “There is so little that is known about the dark days of October 22, 1947. Every Indian should remember to share this with the wipes, so it’s never repeated again.” Journalist and local Pashtun resident Pir Zubair said: “Pakistan had brainwashed and seduced tribesmen into invading and committing atrocities on Kashmiris in the name of jihad. And what Pakistan did to Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs in 1947, it is now doing the same to the tribesmen in Waziristan and other Pashtun-populated territories. Pakistan’s role in using others to either perpetuate terror or as targets of terror is the real cause of geopolitical problems in the region.”