By Mohd. Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
“India should give independence to Kashmir and honor its promise as it claims to be the largest democracy of the world”, reiterated Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference in Hyderabad. He was speaking in a seminar organized by the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee India (CLMCI) to protest against the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani even said, “minorities in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh don’t enjoy equal opportunities. In India 40 years of Congress rule have showed 4,000 communal riots against the minorities, and even being so called Islamic nations Pakistan and Bangladesh are no exception. But when Kashmir is going to be an independent nation its minorities will enjoy equal prospects.”
He even criticized both Pakistan and India for spending billions of rupees on defense equipments when large portion of their citizens doesn’t even have safe drinking water. Speaking to a huge gathering, he urged them to raise their voice against oppression of Indian state on Kashmiri Muslims.
Another speaker of seminar Prof. S.A.R Geelani told the audience, “The biggest tragedy of Indian masses is they are bullied by misinformation campaign on many issues and Kashmir is major one among them.” He also said, “if Kashmir issue is going to be resolved by allowing self determination, then not only kashmiris but also people of India and Pakistan will be the biggest winners.” To reflect the madness of both India and Pakistan to control Kashmir he gave the example of Siachen glacier and how annually 140 soldiers from both the countries are dying to protect an ice mountain.
The seminar was also addressed by Prof Jagmohan Singh, democratic rights activist and nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He told the audience how Indian government is continuing imperialist policies of British era. He supported the struggle and scarifies of Kashmiri people and said one day their struggle is going to be successful. Ending his speech he said today the image of Bhagat Singh is being hijacked by hindutva forces, in fact Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life fighting against imperialist forces whom the hindutva forces represent now.
Lateef Mohd Khan, general secretary of CLMCI in his presidential address said, “People of Jammu and Kashmir are the biggest victim of state terror. Even the massacre of Kashmiri pundits was done by state agencies to defame Kashmiri nationalist movement. Kashmir belongs to neither India nor Pakistan but to the people of Kashmir.”
He demanded the government of India to stop human rights violation in Kashmir and provide right to self determination to the people of Kashmir.