TCN News
Even before the bill was tabled on Monday, there was growing anxiety among the people of Kashmir valley as they read the signs of some major occurrence when thousands of troops were deployed, prominent leaders house-arrested and shut down of educational institutes.
And their worst fears came true when yesterday the bill revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was tabled in the parliament.
After the immediate response from the citizens of Delhi who staged a protest yesterday, the same day the bill was proposed revoking Article 370 of the constitution of India. Other places in India have also begun staging protests since yesterday.
Protests through social media are still trending under the hash tags #Kashmirbleeds; UNsleepskashmirbleeds are still on with demands to restore the articles 35 and 370.
Many congress leaders expressed their dissent and displeasure yesterday itself through their tweets and address to the media.
Some details of the protests taking place in different places:
Political parties such as PDPI, DFYI, Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi , Welfare party of India and various other organizations participated in the protest in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states.
Non political parties, associations, activists, journalists, students, academicians have all begun to agitate against the sudden move by the BJP government to scrap article 370 without consenting the people of Kashmir who are the ones who will be affected by the revocation of the article.
The welfare party of India criticized the other political parties like AAP, AIADMK, BSP and YSRCP for supporting BJP and enabling them to pass this bill.
The left parties in West Bengal hit the streets on 5th August in Kolkata saying that revoking the article as “attack on the country’s integrity, democracy and federal structure” as they took out a rally here accusing the Centre of “further complicating” the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The network of women in media in India, an association of more than 500 media women across India condemned the revocation and released a statement to the press saying that this move takes away the original promise of a special status made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir when they agreed to be part of the Indian Union at the time of Independence. This move has ‘disenfranchised an already disenchanted people’ they said in their statement.
There have been protests in Pakistan occupied Kashmir yesterday wherein thousands people were seen waving black flags and burning effigies on the streets. They expressed their anger over the change in Kashmir’s status and for keeping the residents of Kashmir in their homes by imposing curfew and tight security.
Protests by Kashmiris living in UK and USA have also been carried out demanding to restore Article 370.
Students’ Union of AMU have issued press statement condemning the move to repeal the Article quoting P Chidambaram who said yesterday that “this is truly the darkest day in the constitutional history of India’
Even the spiritual head and successor of the shrine of hazrath Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti at Ajmer released a press statement condemning the bill to revoke the said article and expressing solidarity to the people of Kashmir.
Meanwhile in Punjab state, the government has banned both protests and celebrations of the article being scraped. The Chief Minister has issued orders to the police to thwart attempts to either celebrate or protest.
In Telangana, the government who had supported in favour of the revocation of the article has also issued orders banning public gatherings imposing section 144 in public and also in Hyderabad central University.
The left parties have also planned to have country wide protests tomorrow 7th August.