Kashmir: Manushi Citizens' First Forum meets Sonia Gandhi
To express solidarity with the people of J&K, Manushi Citizen's First Forum' headed by social activist Madhu Kishwar submitted a memorandum on September 3, 2010 to Sonia Gandhi over the tragic state of affairs in the state.
KASHMIR HAS been a state which has rarely been at peace, ever since it acceded to India in 1947. The 63 years of independence have seen turmoil after turmoil in the state as well as the birth of terrorism/cross-border terrorism. There have been unfortunate incidents after the parents of these killed boys raised alarm that they were not Pakistani youth but very much the sons of Indian Kashmiri soil. The bodies of the killed youth were exhumed and the parents’ claims verified after DNA tests. A woman Parveena Ahangar's son Javed was picked by securitymen on August, 19, 1990 and he never returned home. To give voice to this unending agony of such hapless parents, an organisation APDP (Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons) was formed but with no fruits to count. Authors like Zahir ud Din authored books such as 'Did They Vanish in Thin Air' questioning the powers about where these hapless youth had vanished. Their mothers faced psychiatric problems in hopeless search of their lost sons. Journalist Humra Qureshi has given a very touching account of the condition of such people suffering from psychiatric diseases in her book on Kashmir. But people of Kashmir continue till date to be the fittest example of wronged people against whom a maximum number of human rights violations can be counted. They range from rapes of innocent Kashmiri women to brutal beatings of even young boys over minor traffic violations. After the end of Amarnath land agitation in 2008, there seemed to be a course of peaceful return to normalcy and the centre was basking in the pride of its achievements. But suddenly in June this year, an innocent schoolboy Tufail Ahmed Matto was killed which resulted in demonstrations by people, who adopted the method of throwing stones to demonstrate their grievance. To meet any such situation in the state, the Indian government have just one weapon, that of repression and violence against the aggrieved people. Since that day, more than 60 young persons have lost their lives. The central government doesn’t seem to realise that today the people of Kashmir are a crushed people between the separatists acting on prompting by Pakistan’s ISI and mischievous politicians of the state like Mehbooba Mufti. A news report during recent turmoil said that intelligence personnel tapped a phone conversation between two separatists in which one separatist was telling the other that in the next day’s demonstration, he wanted at least 15 people to be killed! This only meant that separatists too want to cash in on the martyrdom of innocent Kashmiri people. Add to this the reported snobbery of the state CM Omar Abdullah whom the bureaucrats and his own co-legislators/cabinet members started ignoring because he didn’t normally listen to anyone. His inexperience added fuel to the fire. At centre the UPA government has been playing a survivalist game, be it w.r.t. Mamta Bannerji or Sharad Pawar or Raja. In J&K too the centre lacked vision on the problem and simply reiterated support for the CM again and again. To express solidarity with the people of J&K, Manushi Citizen’s First Forum’ headed by social activist Madhu Kishwar submitted a memorandum on September 3, 2010 to Sonia Gandhi over the tragic state of affairs in the state. A resolution was passed and signed by hundreds of citizens which read as follows:
RESOLUTION We, the signatories to this resolution, wish to convey our deep concern over the worsening situation in Jammu and Kashmir and offer our sincere condolence to the families of those who have lost their dear ones in the ongoing spiral of violence in J&K. We mourn the untimely death of all the men, women and children as well as security personnel who have become victims of needless violence--a violence which is the consequence of gross political mismanagement on the one hand and the pursuit of divisive political agendas on the other. We wish to convey that we stand by our brothers and sisters in Jammu and Kashmir in their hour of grief. We believe that they are an inseparable part of the unique human tapestry of diversity and plurality that is India and we want to say as Indians that “WE CARE”.
We resolve that as citizens, we will do all that we can to create a conducive and convivial environment for restoration of normalcy in their tragically disrupted lives. We also pledge to build bridges of understanding to prevent the communalization, brutalization and militarization of state and civil society in J&K.
We wish to reach out to join hands with the people of J&K to find ways of seeking a permanent solution to the prolonged conflict in the region through the peaceful and constructive engagement of all the stakeholders.
After handing over the resolution, the citizens re-assembled at the Central Park, Rajiv Chowk New Delhi for a Candle Light Vigil programme. Many people gathered here to light candles emitting flames of hope in the dark lives of the people of J & K. Posters showing photographs of the killed youth from Tuffail Ahmed Matto to Irahad Ahmed Padar were displayed below which lay hundreds of candles paying tributes to them. Many banners too could be seen making legitimate demands on behalf of the people of J & K.
RESOLUTION We, the signatories to this resolution, wish to convey our deep concern over the worsening situation in Jammu and Kashmir and offer our sincere condolence to the families of those who have lost their dear ones in the ongoing spiral of violence in J&K. We mourn the untimely death of all the men, women and children as well as security personnel who have become victims of needless violence--a violence which is the consequence of gross political mismanagement on the one hand and the pursuit of divisive political agendas on the other. We wish to convey that we stand by our brothers and sisters in Jammu and Kashmir in their hour of grief. We believe that they are an inseparable part of the unique human tapestry of diversity and plurality that is India and we want to say as Indians that “WE CARE”.
We resolve that as citizens, we will do all that we can to create a conducive and convivial environment for restoration of normalcy in their tragically disrupted lives. We also pledge to build bridges of understanding to prevent the communalization, brutalization and militarization of state and civil society in J&K.
We wish to reach out to join hands with the people of J&K to find ways of seeking a permanent solution to the prolonged conflict in the region through the peaceful and constructive engagement of all the stakeholders.
After handing over the resolution, the citizens re-assembled at the Central Park, Rajiv Chowk New Delhi for a Candle Light Vigil programme. Many people gathered here to light candles emitting flames of hope in the dark lives of the people of J & K. Posters showing photographs of the killed youth from Tuffail Ahmed Matto to Irahad Ahmed Padar were displayed below which lay hundreds of candles paying tributes to them. Many banners too could be seen making legitimate demands on behalf of the people of J & K.
 | Previous Post |
.We are battling with words with the Kashmere people in blogs for quite sometime. I feel there is a genuine grievances as they are tortured brutally for no fault of theirs. They have so much repressed
that they feel alienation with Pakistan will be beneficial. However way we try to convince them they have become obsessed. Time has come that we Indians and politicians come forward mix with our Kashmere brethern and sooth their sorrows. 80,000 crores has been allotted every year for the welfare of kashmere. No record is available to show that this money has reached the people of Kashmir. It has been syphoned out by corrupt politician whether it is Moofti or Omar. So time has come the Center initiate welfare acts thro trusted NGO rather than government offices and make them accountable to the spending. Poverty alleviation, Education schemes need to be prioritized. Involvement of more Kashmere youth to main stream by giving them free rail pass to see suffering of the people in other states in India will open their eyes and realization thus they are not only suffering but also others. And last but not least it has become necessary to highlight the suffering people of Pakistan are going to open eyes of these youth to know that by joining Pakistan will bring more misery than they are getting here in India.
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
