J&K parties accuse Mohan Bhagwat of trying to divide state on communal lines
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s main opposition party National Conference (NC) and some other political groups and also separatists have reacted strongly to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that the Hindu refugees from erstwhile West Pakistan should be granted the State citizenship rights. They have also objected to the State government’s allowing the cadres of the right-wing organisation to hold parades through sensitive Chenab valley of the Jammu region on Tuesday.
Mr. Bhagwat had while speaking at a Dussehra rally in Nagpur, however, termed these refugees as residents of PoK uprooted during the first Kashmir war in 1947-48 which led to the division of the Himalayan state and during later conflicts with Pakistan. He also asked for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits who, he said, were forced to leave the Valley due to militancy and also said that the State Government should work with the Centre to pursue one policy and move in one direction, noting that the nationalist forces should be strengthened and “undesirable” activities be rooted out in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the situation in the State is a matter of concern. He further spoke about “discrimination” having been meted out to the Jammu and Ladakh regions of the State by successive governments.
Lashing out at him for his “uninformed rhetoric on J&K”, the NC said his designs were communal and divisive aimed at creating religious and regional animosity within the State. The party spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu said that the RSS chief was clearly unacquainted with the State’s deep and glorious history of secularism and brotherhood and that any nefarious attempts by it (RSS) and BJP to spread communal and regional strife in the State would be defeated and exposed.
“We don’t need lectures about equity and equality in J&K from those who planned, patronized and led the communal genocide of Muslims in Jammu in 1947 at a time when the State was seen as the only ray of hope in the subcontinent by virtue of its secular ethos and values. All three regions of the State have the same constitutional rights and political representation and people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have always worked together for the welfare and prosperity of the entire State. Mr. Bhagwat should introspect about the role of his organization in persecuting Muslims and other minorities in the rest of the country instead of maligning the people of J&K”, he said.
The NC also came down heavily on the State government for its “unquestionable political and administrative patronage” to armed marches being carried out by RSS in various areas of the State and said this was an alarming trend. “These marches are getting police protection at a time when Muharram processions are being showered with teargas shells in Kashmir. There is a clear attempt to harass and intimidate Muslims in various areas of Jammu region and it is tragic that the Chief Minister is a part and parcel of this intimidation exercise,” the party spokesman alleged. He added that the administration should not violate its constitutional duties and responsibilities and ensure people are not intimidated by the RSS under their protection and patronage.
Independent MLA and leader of regional Awami Itehad Party (AIP), Engineer Sheikh Abdur Rashid while reacting sharply to the RSS chief’s assertion that the people of Jammu and Ladakh face discrimination at the hands of Kashmiris said that he challenges him to prove the same on basis of facts and figures. “By batting for a particular region, RSS and other parties of Sang Parivar have been promoting regionalism and communalism and the basic purpose is to avoid resolution of Kashmir dispute and create confusion,” he said in a statement here. He added, “Mr. Bhagwat must know that despite being just 27 percent of total population of State, the Hindu community has got proportionately beyond lines share in top rank bureaucracy and political establishment. He should know that both heads of civil and police administration which include Chief Secretary and DGP, are from Jammu region or and of Hindu community. Similarly from commissioner secretaries to district SPs, presence of Muslim officers has been reduced to nominal figures”.
He asked the RSS chief “to forget about giving citizenship rights to erstwhile West Pakistani refugees” and said “they will always remain refugees, unless they either go back to their native places or are settled elsewhere in India”. He said, “It is a universal law that refugees in any part of the world have to go back to their native places, once situation is normal and the West Pakistani refugees should be sent to Pakistan and those Muslims forced to migrate from Jammu should be allowed to resettle in Jammu.”
Jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a statement while expressing strong resentment over the rallies taken out by RSS in Jammu and Chenab valley said the move is aimed at nothing but to create a sense of fear and terror among the Muslims of the regions. “It is extremely unfortunate that, on one hand, the organizers of such rallies are getting support of the government and the (security) forces including J&K police and, on the other hand, pellets are being showered upon the people holding peaceful protests in Kashmir. This is a sheer hypocrisy on part of the so-called government.”
