The AGM was held on 26th April at Hindu Mandir, Birmingham. It was attended by the following members: Dr Sundeep Kaul ji and family, Sanjay Saproo ji and family, O’Neil Sadhu ji and family, Amit Kachroo ji and family, Sheetal Kaw ji and family, Mohit Dar ji and family, Anjan Raina ji, Kamesh Kaul ji, Nishchint Warikoo ji, Vivek Kaul ji, Kapil Dhar ji and Shipra Ogra ji. Other non paying members were also in attendance with their families.
Apologies received from: Dr Minesh Khashu, Krishna Bhan ji and Dr Mohan Kaul and family.
The outgoing President Dr Kaul welcomed all gathered, and invited outgoing Gen Secretary Kapil Dhar to lead a discussion on the preparedness of the Kashmiri Community to deal with the recent disturbing events. Gathered audience contributed via following suggestions:
- Collaborate with other organisations e.g. ISKCON to showcase regional traditions
- Work on better education about Kashmiri Hindus in schools
- Hinduphobia and Hindu persecution training given to all university Hindu societies via NHSF. ACTION: send template to KPAE
- ACTION: LLM Dissertation regarding legality of genocide, to be shared so we can promote via website and potentially through NHSF.
- Connect with Jewish community (suggestion – via Vivek Kaul ji)
- ACTION: Create a community on whatsapp – separate into different groups so people can join whichever they wish
- Continue to invite non-Kashmiris to events, to promote our culture and heritage
- Consider building social media assets from ISBUND: ACTION – Smriti ji to pursue
- ACTION: Exec Team to create space at all events for brainstorming on specific topics
Following the discussion, the formal business of the AGM continued.
Outgoing President Dr Kaul gave an overview of the activities of the year 2024-25 and highlighted the increase in online and in person activities and engagement with the community. He also highlighted the decision for KPAE to apply for charity status, as all donors and the org will benefit from tax relief. Outgoing Treasurer Shipra Ogra, gave an update on finances. She thanked and reiterated how instrumental the regular contribution from paid memberships is in enabling more events and initiatives. Over the year membership saw a 20% increase and the year ended with a small surplus.
Amit Kachroo, Election team rep gave an update on the election process. Nominations were received for all posts and Dr Sundeep Kaul, Kapil Dhar and Shipra Ogra were re-elected unopposed for President, Gen Sec a Treasurer roles for another two terms. The new team also welcomed Vidisha Handoo as Youth Rep for the term. Vidisha spoke about building stronger participation from young KPs by creating shadowing opportunities to key governance roles.
Elections for the two exec members would be held soon, as three nominations were received for two roles. It was also suggested that from next election candidates would be encouraged to share manifestos in advance, and be available for Q&A.
Finally, an update on Kashyap Bhawan was shared by Sanjay Saproo ji, wherein he invited members to contribute to the success of this initiative.
