Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 4: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference today paid glowing tribute to the legendary leader and party’s founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his 118th birth anniversary, terming him a man of iron determination.
While paying rich tribute to Sheikh Abdullah, the party’s rank and file called him “a father figure and political colossus who helped change Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh from a feudal and colonial society to a free, democratic and secular one”.
An inspiring political stalwart, the functionaries said that throughout his political career, Late Abdullah symbolised the aspirations of the Kashmiri people as no single individual could have even dreamt of doing. Although rooted in Kashmir, he had attained a national standing with his name becoming synonymous in the minds of countrymen with the socialism, humanism, pluralism, and democracy, the party leaders said.
His political direction to the state in the shape of the ‘Naya Kashmir’ manifesto had an unmistakably socialistic stamp that guaranteed freedom of press, freedom of assembly and meetings, the party said. The vision of Late Sheikh Sahib , the functionaries held espoused to provide a reasonable standard of living for all people in the state irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and region. The basic agricultural and economic plan would be the abolition of landlordism, land to tiller and people’s control over the resources of the state.
“The spirit of secularism and tolerance possessed by Sheikh Sahib was the cumulative effect of the environment which generation after generation has fine-tuned the psyche of Kashmiris, Sheikh Sahib was not any different, he also exhibited the spirit of tolerance, mutual respect and camaraderie towards all sects and creeds. A mass movement organizer, Sheikh Sahib’s struggle was never aimed to alleviate the suffering of particular followers of a faith.
“He worked tirelessly and suffered incarcerations throughout for the total redemption of the people in Jammu and Kashmir from abject poverty. He gave a new lease of life to the fear paralysed people of all the regions of J&K. The first cabinet he headed was insightful of his secular temperament. People like GL Dogra, S Budh Singh, Kushak Bakula and DP Dhar were given important portfolios in the cabinet he headed,” the functionaries said.
Senior paerty leaders present on the occasion included- Ali Mohd Sagar, Shammi Oberoi, Ajay Sadhotra, Qamar Ali Akhoon, Nasir Aslam Wani, Rattan Lal Gupta, Tanvir Sadiq, Akbar Lone, Hasnain Masoodi, Sharif- Ud- Din Shariq, Ch Mohd Ramzan, Abdul Rahim Rather, Mohammad Shafi Uri, Mian Altaf, Mubarak Gul, Sakina Itoo, Shameema Firdous, Nazir Gurezi, Mir Saifullah, Irfan Shah, Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardhy, Mushtaq Guroo, Mudassar Shahmiri, Syed Tauqeer Ahmed, Ali Mohammad Dar, Javed Dar, Javed Rana, Imran Nabi Dar, Aijaz Jan, Salman Sagar, Syed Akhoon, Dr Bashir Veeri and others.
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