New Delhi, April 20 : It's happening again before our very eyes. The only difference is that my story is 35 years old, and this person's is just a few days old," said Rajni Dhar, a Kashmiri Hindu, after watching videos of the wailing woman from Murshidabad.

She says her community's story is no different from what is now happening to Hindus in certain pockets of West Bengal. Targeted attacks, indifferent administration, apathetic police, and biased, uncaring politicians -- this was what she and her community endured in the late 1980s and 1990s, ultimately leading to the exodus of over 7,00,000 Hindus from Kashmir.

Thirty-five years later and more than 2,000 km away from Kashmir, hundreds of Hindu families have fled Murshidabad and other parts of West Bengal, where violent Muslim mobs attacked them. The violence erupted unexpectedly during protests against the Waqf Act.

For the Hindus of Murshidabad, it was a horrifying experience. Mobs ran riot, attacking homes, looting property, and setting fire to vehicles and buildings, including government establishments. The crowds were in a frenzy, uncontrolled and unchallenged.

The accounts of these forcibly displaced people are chilling and heart-wrenching. Homes and businesses -- some within metres of police stations -- were torched. SOS calls to the police and fire brigade allegedly went unanswered. Victims say they were left to fend for themselves, at the mercy of the mobs. All they could do was escape. Men, women, children, and the elderly ran for miles, crossing rivers to find safety.

For them, April 11 will remain etched in memory -- the day the state abandoned them. Even more painful, they say, is the apathy of those in power. The Chief Minister had no words for them, not even the time to meet them. But she did make time for those whose speeches allegedly incited the unrest. She met with them in Kolkata to express solidarity, but did nothing for the Hindus who had lost their homes, livelihoods, and trust in the system.