Tika Lal Taploo (6 October 1930 – 14 September 1989) was an advocate and politician from Jammu and Kashmir.[3]

Tika Lal Taploo
Born6 October 1930
Died14 September 1989
Alma materPanjab University (BA)
Aligarh Muslim University (MA, LLB)
Known forPolitical activism [1]
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
SpouseSarla Taploo [2]

Early life and education

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Taploo was born in Srinagar in a Kashmiri Pandit family. He graduated from Panjab University and done his Masters in Arts and LLB from Aligarh Muslim University.

In later life, he practised as an advocate in Jammu and Kashmir High Court and engaged in political activity. He was the vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir[4] and also an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He stood for several elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, however he was never elected, reportedly due to the gerrymandering of his electoral constituency. He had a large following as a social and political activist.[5]

Death

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On 13 September 1989, Taploo was assassinated by the JKLF militants at his home in Srinagar. His funeral was held on 14 September 1989, attended by many senior leaders including BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and Kidar Nath Sahani.[6][7]

In September 2022, the Supreme Court of India declined to consider a petition requesting an investigation into the murder of Tika Lal Taploo in the Kashmir valley in 1989. The bench of Justices Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai and C. T. Ravikumar declined to hear the matter, stating that they had not entertained a similar case recently. The petition was submitted by Ashutosh Taploo, the son of Tika Lal Taploo.[8][9]

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Tika Lal Taploo's story is featured in the 2022 Hindi film The Kashmir Files directed by Vivek Agnihotri, which revisits the killings of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989.[10][11]

In March 2022, a North Delhi municipal school was renamed after Taploo. Amid raging debate across the country after the movie The Kashmir Files screening, BJP-led Delhi Municipal Corporation renamed a school as 'Shaheed Tika Lal Taploo' in the Rohini area in sector 7-B.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BJP pays tribute to Kashmiri Pandit leader Tika Lal Taploo". 13 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Sarla Taploo, wife of late Kashmiri Hindu lawyer Tikalal Taploo passes away". 30 December 2021.
  3. ^ "OPINION: Three Decades after Tika Lal Taploo was Murdered, Kashmiri Pandits Must Return". 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ "29 years of injustice: How Kashmiri Pandits were forced out of Valley on this black day". 19 January 2019.
  5. ^ "MASSACRE OF KASHMIRI PANDITS". ikashmir.net.
  6. ^ "Pt Tika Lal Taploo was first martyr of Kashmir Valley: Tarun Chugh". State Times. 15 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Who is Tika Lal Taploo after whom a school has been renamed in New Delhi?". 21 August 2022.
  8. ^ Malviya, Dipankar (19 September 2022). "Kashmiri Pandit's Killing : Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Plea Seeking Probe Into Murder Of Advocate Tika Lal Taploo In 1989". Livelaw.
  9. ^ "SC declines plea seeking probe into Kashmiri Pandit leader's murder in 1989". The Economic Times. 20 September 2022.
  10. ^ Sharma, Roopashree (21 March 2022). "Who was Tika Lal Taploo? Read Key Facts about One of the Beloved Leaders of Kashmiri Pandits". Jagranjosh.
  11. ^ "Who was Tika Lal Taploo? The "Kashmir Files" reference to Senior BJP leader". NewsroomPost. 21 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Who is Tika Lal Taploo after whom a school has been renamed in New Delhi?". Times Now. 27 March 2022.
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