The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sangh Parivar to protest autonomy move in state RSS chief Bhagwat to reach Jammu on Sept 22 to plan agitation Dinesh Manhotra/TNS Jammu, September 4 Even as the three interlocutors appointed by the Centre have denied preparing their final report, the Sangh Parivar, including the BJP, has decided to oppose any move to grant further autonomy to the state. Taking a serious note of the reports in a few sections of media that the interlocutors have recommended restoration of pre-1953 status in the state, the Saffron brigade has finalised a week-long programme of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Jammu to “guide” the cadre on opposing any move to “weaken” the relations of the state with India. Although Bhagwat’s programme was yet to be made public, sources in the Sangh Parivar said the RSS chief would reach Jammu on September 22 and would hold interactions with cross-sections of society to devise a strategy for the agitation. Sources said after the media reports on the recommendations of the interlocutors came, Bhagwat’s visit was immediately finalised by the local RSS unit to boost the morale of the cadre. Instead of depending upon the BJP, the RSS has decided to spearhead the agitation by its own cadre to avoid any “sell-out” or “sabotage”. “A 60-day-long agitation on the Amarnath land row has given us enough experience, as it was led by non-political people,” a senior RSS leader said. He added that a committee comprising various social, religious and business organisations would be formed soon to oppose the recommendations of the interlocutors. Sources in the Sangh Parivar said various organisations of the Saffron brigade had opposed giving command to the BJP to lead the agitation, as according to them, a few leaders of the party had cordial relations with the ruling National Conference and they could sabotage the stir at any crucial time. However, a meeting of various social, political and religious organisations was held here yesterday to devise a strategy to oppose any move of the government to grant further autonomy to the state. Representatives of various organisations suggested that the move to oppose autonomy should purely be apolitical and all the political groups, which were opposed to the autonomy, should be involved. It was also decided that political, cultural and social organisations of Ladakh would also be convinced to form a joint front to oppose the move. Besides preparing local cadre for the stir, the Sangh Parivar has also decided to start awareness throughout the country against the move of the government to grant more autonomy to the state. Panthers Party activists hold demonstration Activists of youth wing of the Panthers Party today held a demonstration against the reported recommendations of the interlocutors to restore pre-1953 position in Jammu and Kashmir. The Panthers Party vowed to oppose any move to grant autonomy or to restore pre-1953 position in the state. Party activists raised slogans in favour of the total integration of the state and opposed the demand of the restoration of pre-1953 position. General secretary Anita Thakur sought support of the people against any such move to grant autonomy to the state. She said Jammu and Kashmir was very much like other parts of the country but some elements have been trying to weaken the state’s relations with India. She vowed that their party would strongly oppose any such move. ‘We are still drafting recommendations’ Eminent academician and one of the members of the team of the three interlocutors, Radha Kumar, refuted the reports that their panel had recommended autonomy or restoration of the pre-1953 status in Jammu and Kashmir for the resolution of the vexed problem. “What to say of submitting our suggestions, we are still on the drafting stage,” Radha Kumar told The Tribune over the phone from Delhi. “I will not disclose what will be in our recommendations, but one thing is clear that we have not given our final report so far,” she added.
	Kashmiri Samaj wants Hindu temples & shrines Bill passed Tribune News Service Jammu, September 4 Dispelling notions being created by the government that the recent employment of few youths was the starting point of the return of the Kashmiri Pandit community, president of the All-India Kashmiri Samaj (AIKS) Moti Kaul today said such expressions from the government were unfortunate. “The employment to our youths, which has been denied to us for the last 22 years, is our right and it has no link and meaning whatsoever with the return,” Kaul said while addressing a press conference here today. Kaul added, “During the deliberations in the apex meeting, all the Pandit representatives unanimously demanded the passing of the Kashmiri Hindu Temples and Shrines Bill in the state Legislative Assembly as they constitute the only living civilisation symbols of the displaced community.” “Before we talk of the return, we stand for setting up of a truth finding inquiry commission, chaired by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to bring to the world the conditions and the circumstances that led to the tragic exodus,” he said. He also said the Kashmiri Pandits, being a religious minority should be politically empowered without which their survival was not possible. Giving strong signal to the Centre and the state governments, Kaul said there were reports that the interlocutors had recommended a pre-1953 status to Jammu and Kashmir and such a recommendation would be disastrous for both the state and the country as a whole. “There is no issue other than addressing the legitimate aspirations of the exiled community. The appeasement policy cannot be tolerated at all. The Kashmiri Pandit community will not allow the state to loose its knot with India, which is absolute and final,” he cautioned. Kaul demanded the recruitment of all the remaining posts under the Prime Minister’s Relief and Rehabilitation plan and age relaxation so that the community youth, who were over-aged due to the long delay by the government, could be given employment. He also demanded that the Jagti Township was becoming a sore point on various accounts and it should be made functional without delay. Kaul added that there was a huge trust deficit between the government and the Pandit community, in terms of addressing their concerns. Usha Tickoo convener of the women wing and Aryan Ramesh secretary AIKS, Jammu, also spoke on the occasion.
	Jammu varsity students to hold protest today Archit Watts/TNS Jammu, September 4 On Teachers’ Day, a majority of students of the University of Jammu (JU) have decided to go on an indefinite strike and boycott classes against the alleged favouritism and nepotism in the university. The National Secular Forum (NSF), which is supported by a large number of students, in a move to apprise the authorities of their stand against “favouritism and nepotism”, have asked the students to join them in a large number for the protest. Vikas Sharma, state president of the NSF, said, “There will be a complete boycott of classes by the students to show resentment against the Vice-Chancellor of the university.” “Almost three years have passed since the Vice-Chancellor took over the charge, but hardly anything has been done for the betterment of the university and to bring transparency in the system,” Sharma added. “Corruption is increasing day-by-day and there is no control over it,” he said, adding that the students were facing a lot of problems. He also highlighted several other issues claiming that he had sufficient documents to “expose” the authorities, which he would show to media in the coming days. “We appeal to the Governor, who is the Chancellor of the university, to look into the matter,” said Sharma.
	Roemer cautioned US govt against Kashmir ‘activism’ New Delhi, September 4 The US embassy here had cautioned its government against any “activism” in Kashmir saying even a hint of it can prove counter-productive in view of India’s hypersensitivity to third party involvement on the issue, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. “Any hint of USG (United States Government) activism in Kashmir, however helpful the intentions behind it, will prove counterproductive because of the Government of India’s hypersensitivity to third party involvement in Kashmir,” US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer had said in a secret cable to Washington in 2009. The leaked cable is one of the over 250,000 such communication released by WikiLeaks this week. “In order for the Government of India’s efforts to restore sustainable peace and stability in Kashmir to succeed, its engagement with the separatists and with the Kashmiri people must be free of any perception of outside influence,” the Ambassador said. Roemer had outlined a slew of measures that Indian government should take to make forward movement on resolution of Kashmir issue, particularly the internal dimensions, but warned against making these “prescriptive” in nature. In the list of 20 suggestions, he had said the Centre should ensure that dialogue with separatists achieves results and the generous development spending in Jammu and Kashmir should continue. Roemer had also outlined the importance of holding panchayat elections in the state at the earliest saying “the record turnout in the assembly and parliamentary elections shows that Kashmiris want to participate in the democratic process.” He also suggested that the government should release selected prisoners who were not hardcore militants and do not pose any serious threat but had been incarcerated for years. “Release prisoners who have been incarcerated longer than the court-directed sentences, discontinue the practice of re-arresting accused militants who have been released by courts and stop the misuse of the Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows the government to detain anyone for two years without trial,” Roemer said in the cable. — PTI
	Mirwaiz was ‘against’ issuing passport to Geelani Srinagar, September 4 The turf war between rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference had reached a point where moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq counselled against issuing a passport to hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani for seeking treatment in the United States saying he would “stir up trouble”, according to American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. “When we met Mirwaiz in February, he said it would be a big mistake for the Government of India to issue Geelani a passport to travel, because he would stir up trouble,” a March 2007 US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks said. The cable with a subject title “Kashmiri rejectionist hardliner Geelani seeks US visa” was written by Pyatt-apparently the then US Charge d’Affaires Geoffrey Pyatt. Geelani had applied for a visa to travel to the US for medical treatment for cancer in his remaining kidney. The US had later denied visa to Geelani. While making a cost-benefit analysis of issuing a visa, the US official had believed Geelani’s travel to their country will “physically” take him out of the political picture in India. “Mirwaiz will not have Geelani breathing down his neck in a delicate political moment in the Valley,” the diplomatic cable said referring to the Indo-Pak dialogue process which was believed to have thrashed out a solution to Kashmir issue. One of the diplomatic cables had quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying New Delhi and Islamabad had in principle agreed on a solution to Kashmir. — PTI
	Gargi’s ‘Chakku’ shows young man’s dilemma Tribune News Service Jammu, September 4 In its Sunday theatre series, Natrang today staged a dramatic action play, “Chakku”, written by Balwant Gargi and directed by Neeraj Kant at its studio here. The play opened at seashore where a young man was shown in a disillusioned and frustrated state. He had come to Mumbai to become a hero, but after a tiring struggle got nothing. Afraid of what the people would say if he goes back, he decides to end his life in the waves of the sea. When he is about to jump, an old woman stops him and motivates him to live. The sympathy generates a feeling of love in his heart for the lady, who appears double his age. He asserts that he was never attracted to girls as they sans experience and are very strange in their ways. He longs for emotional and spiritual love, which he may get from the elderly woman. At this statement, the woman removes her disguise, as she is an actress and appears before him as a beautiful young girl, which she actually is and admits that his non-materialistic thoughts had kindred love for him in her heart. But to her surprise, he is turned off as soon as she unveils her beauty and he starts negating her. The girl gets offended and leaves him to save her real lover, who is annoyed to see her with the young man on a lonely beach. Frustrated, he tries to end his life again, but this time he is saved by the mother of the same girl, who appears exactly as her daughter, when she was in the guise of an old woman. This time he is certain that this is the true love he was longing for. He purposes to her, which she cannot resist, even knowing that he is of the age of her son. But the moment she knows he had also proposed her daughter, her heart turns to practicality and she along with her daughter scolds him badly. He is left there at the beach with the same dilemma from where the play had started. Knife (Chakku), though hasn’t done any cutting or stabbing in the play, but was very beautifully used as a metaphor. All the actors, Rahul Singh, Sajra Qadir, Sakshi Parkash and Balwinder Singh did well and put emotions in their respective characters.
	Militant hideout busted; huge cache of arms seized Srinagar, September 4 Security forces today busted a militant hideout and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition in Baramulla district of north Kashmir. Two rocket propelled grenades, five AK magazines, 120 AK rounds, one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL), 14 UBGL grenades, 26 high explosive grenades, four antennae radio sets and two electric detonators were recovered from the hideout, the police said. The hideout was located in Lamblan forest of Baramulla district, 60-km from here, the police said. — PTI
	Omar dares BJP to file case against him over Afzal tweet Srinagar, September 4 Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today dared the party to file a case against him, if he had said anything illegal in his comment on the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. “They are no one to silence me. I am a citizen of this country and I have every right to comment. If I have said anything illegal, let them file a case against me,” Omar told reporters here on the sidelines of a function. He said no one can silence him other than the people, who have elected him. The BJP had criticised Omar for raising questions about the “muted” response to the Tamil Nadu Assembly passing a resolution seeking clemency for the killers of Rajiv Gandhi. The Chief Minister had asked if the reaction would have been the same in case of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passing a similar resolution, seeking amnesty for Guru. When asked if the NC would support the resolution submitted by an independent MLA seeking clemency for Guru, the Chief Minister said a legislature party meeting would be held to discuss the strategy. “The National Conference will hold a legislature party meeting before the Assembly session to devise a strategy. Why do you want me to divulge the strategy here?” he said. In an interview to a New Delhi-based private TV news channel, Omar said he had no regrets over his tweet on Guru. He also said there seemed to be double standards in reactions to events in Kashmir and the rest of the country. — PTI
	Solution to political issue of state on the anvil: CM Srinagar, September 4 Asserting that the solution to political issue of the state is on the anvil, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today asked the political leadership of all shades of opinion to join hands and contribute positively and sincerely in this pursuit. “The solution to political issue of the state is on the anvil,” Omar said after laying the foundation stone of mega tourist circuit “Naagar Nagar” at Kathi Darwaza in downtown Srinagar. “The political leadership of all shades of opinion need to join hands and contribute positively and sincerely in this pursuit,” he said. Omar said he would continue to advocate that the basic political issues of the state could not be resolved by economic measures or progress on development front. — PTI