IAKF expresses strong protest against Government of India’s Kashmir Policy
- 02 October 2010
The demonstration supported and attended by a large number of Indian groups and displaced Kashmiri Hindus strongly resented and protested Government of India’s soft-attitude and appeasement policies towards Kashmiri Muslim secessionists and terrorists operating in the Kashmir valley. More than 150 protestors rejected Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s overtures to grant more autonomy to the state of Jammu & Kashmir and termed it as a dangerous step towards the eventual balkanization of India. The demonstrators displayed the placards urging the Indian government to save displaced Kashmiri Hindus from extinction and condemned its apathy towards the ethnic minority now living as refugees in their own country. Many protestors had traveled from far off places like, Texas, California, Florida, Chicago and Boston. The demonstrators presented a memorandum to the Hon’ble Indian Ambassador to US, expressing concern over the recent escalation of separatist violence in Kashmir and the abject incompetent response given to that by the Indian government.
The demonstration highlighted the “soft ethnic” cleansing processes adopted by Indian government wherein nationalist and patriotic voices are choked and censored while insurgent forces are given concessions and more concessions. It highlighted the official Indian figures that indicate a whopping Rs. 94,409 Cr having been transferred to the state of Jammu & Kashmir during the last twenty years of strife there. This constitutes around 12% of total grants disbursed to the State government by the center. The bulk of this aid has been spent for the strife torn Kashmir valley, which despite being involved in violent seditious campaign for last two decades report the lowest poverty ratio of just 3.5% against the national average of 26.1%.
It also cautioned Indian government that the continuation of the government’s appeasement policies towards Kashmiri Muslim separatists is encouraging them to push their agenda of Talbanization of Kashmir which is slowly but surely extending its tentacles across the whole of India. While it is a sound policy to win hearts and minds of common people of Kashmir, Indian government needs to use all its might to crush the secessionist forces and their anti-national agenda. India as a nation cannot afford to let these secessionists and terrorists run amok and control the destiny of common Kashmiri folks. Recent evidences have clearly shown that the “stone pelters” and arsonists in the valley are encouraged by forces inimical to the unity of India and the very same forces actually plan to have a certain number of killings every day. It is a war that Indian government needs to finish once for all. India and Indians who believe in the sovereign nation of India and its sacred constitution need to be protected at every cost. The demonstrators urged the Government of India to abrogate article 370 of the Indian constitution as it had created a barrier to the total integration of the state with rest of India.
The demonstration also demanded that Government of India secures full constitutional rights of Kashmiri minorities guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. It also demanded that the minuscule minority of Kashmiri Hindus still living in the valley be provided the much needed security so that there is no repeat of Nadimarg or Sangrampora massacres. The demonstration also demanded that the Indian government immediately dispose of all the discriminatory practices and processes against Kashmiri minorities.
IAKF demanded that Kashmiri Pandit community be declared as Internally Displaced People (IDP) and the use of the insulting term ‘Migrants’ for this forcibly exiled community may be removed from all records and communications relating to this community. It also demanded to restore Kashmiri Hindus’ political and economic rights that would give them equal status rather than a second class citizenship in their native land of Kashmir. It strongly urged the government of India to carve out a separate union territory for displaced Kashmiri Hindus in the north east of Kashmir in the backdrop of their extinction.
IAKF also demanded setting up of a ‘Commission of Enquiry’ to establish the causes that led to the selective and targeted killings of Kashmiri Hindus and their subsequent forced exile from the Kashmir valley.
The protest rally was also attended by members of Association of Indian American Communities.
