Adil Lateef
Srinagar, Nov 16: Opposition National Conference (NC) patron, Dr Farooq Abdullah, today said Kashmir ‘will never become part of Pakistan’ but castigated Central Government for not granting internal autonomy to the State.
Addressing youth workers of NC here at party’s Nawai-e-Subh headquarters, Farooq said even today the autocratic rule still exists in Pakistan and people of Kashmir would never like to become slaves of Pakistan. “I am telling you clearly: Whether people like it or dislike it but Pakistan will not become here. Get this written with my blood. This (Kashmir) won’t become Pakistan”.
“I am telling you with honesty. Why? We don’t want to become their slaves… We don’t want to get buried under autocratic rule. Today also, there are same landlords who are owners. The poor are not,” he said. Farooq said when Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah assumed power, he ended autocracy in Kashmir and thus the poor became the owner of land here who earlier, however, were not getting single penny.
“With one mark, he (Sheikh) gave land ownership to the poor. In Pakistan, there is same situation, what it was earlier, even today. Now what is the way out? There is only one way and that is: the part which is with them is Pakistan and the part which is lies here is India,” he said. The NC president reiterated that the J-K will remain with India ‘only when it returns us our right which they snatched from us in year 1953’.
The NC patron, who is also State’s former Chief Minister, said they are not asking for someone’s house or property ‘but we are asking for our right which was snatched from us and our men were used to sell that right who for the power sacrificed Article 370’. “Now, we are asking you to return us our right which is in Indian Constitution. We are not asking anything separate from Indian Constitution,” he said.
Farooq recalled ‘Sky is the limit as far as the autonomy goes but not independence’ promise of former Prime Minister Narsimha Rao to him and other NC leaders in year 1996 when Kashmir was heavily affected by militancy. “We never asked for independence. We asked for our right on what we acceded to India. Give it back to us but everyone although showed us stars, showed us moon’s journey but when we came down on earth, nothing was done,” he said.
The NC patron also recalled how the autonomy document was rejected by Centre when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of the country. He said Bhartiya Janata Party wants abrogation of Article 370 and slammed Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for allying with the saffron party.
Referring to the ongoing unrest in the Kashmir valley, Farooq asked State and Centre to come out of the ‘misconception’ that situation has normalized in the region with the conduct of Board examinations and massive participation of students as well as due to demonetization. “I want to tell them from this stage that don’t be in this misconception. The fire here will not douse until you do justice with the people here.
“If you think that you will suppress people here by power, then I want to tell you that no nation will be suppressed by power. We are not going to cow down. God willing, we will achieve our goal and we will not hesitate even if we have to sacrifice our lives for this,” he said.
Farooq regretted the statement of Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, with regard to end of stone-pelting and stoppage of hawala funds in Kashmir after demonetization and said ‘he has given a very wrong statement’.
“There is no doubt that children appeared in the examinations because they got a concession of 50 per cent (in the syllabus). Who gives 50 per cent concession? They thought they will pass (the examination) because of the concession. If the Defence Minister thinks that by examination and change in currency (demonetization), the storm, which has erupted here, will die down, then he has a misconception. This storm will not die down. Whatever they do, this storm is there and after examinations, they will see that the storm will rise once again,” he said.
Blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government at Centre and his predecessors for ‘injustice with Kashmiris’, Farooq said: “Today the children here say is ‘we want freedom’. They are not asking for India and Pakistan but they say we want full independence. This has come into their blood today. Modi ji, please answer this. Answer these children. Have you done justice with this State?
“Did you or the Governments before have done justice with these children or betrayed them? You will have to decide this because one day you will have to stand before God. No one will escape there, nor you nor Farooq Abdullah. You will be asked whether you did justice with this oppressed nation. We don’t want any project but we want our right… you cannot suppress us but remember Newton’s third law of motion which ‘to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction’.”
Farooq Abdullah stressed for dialogue with Pakistan and said gun is no solution to any issue. “Like in the past, the youth today have stood up and are fighting and are unable to control. They (Government) are claiming that we did (brought situation under control) but nothing. But remember, only solution to this issue (Kashmir) is talks.
“They will have to talk to Pakistan because we cannot change neighbours. We can change friends and humans but we cannot change neighbours. Either we will remain in war with the neighbour and will create destruction likewise today is happening. Who is dying today? Innocent here and innocent there. Both are residents of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The NC patron said solution to Kashmir is not blazing gun and added that there is no other way then talks and without talks no solution will come out. “The innocents are dying here and the innocents are dying there as well. And, our destruction will not stop till they talk,” he said.
Strongly rejecting the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat of India being a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, Farooq asked national leaders to speak over the issue and reject it in one voice.
“I am not ready to listen if Bhagwat says this is Hindu Rashtra then I want to tell him that Kashmir will not remain India’s part. Kashmir is with that India where every religion has equal right, be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist or he is irreligious which we call secular India… If this Constitution is eroded, then be ready for a revolution which you would not be able to control,” he said.
Farooq added that time has come when national leaders must speak and speak in one voice and say RSS propaganda is not acceptable to any party. “According to the Constitution, India is a secular nation and not a Hindu-rashtra. If he says that it is a ‘Hindu-rashtra’, then he is talking against the Constitution of India and Government of India should take action against him because every religion has an equal opportunity according to the Constitution.
“If they want to keep saying this, then unfortunately, those people who were against the two-nation theory of Quaid-i-Azam Ali Mohammad Jinnah, this will breed doubts in people that perhaps Quaid-iAzam was right and others were wrong,” the NC patron added.
On scrapping of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes, Farooq said as far as the Prime Minister’s aim is concerned, it is to bury the number two currency. “But the Government did not think about the problems to the poorest of the poor. Today, the poor people have to stand in queues for 24 hours and even then they do not get money as banks close down telling them they have no money.
“They should have thought over it before taking such a step so that people should not have faced these difficulties. They have created a tsunami in front of the people and you are seeing the result of that. I am hopeful that its result will be bad for them in the coming elections,” he added.
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