Panun Kashmir bats for homeland with UT status within valley

Jammu, December 23

Panun Kashmir, an organisation advocating the cause of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, Sunday reiterated its demand to carve out a separate homeland for the community in the valley with union territory status.

The organisation's chairman Ajay Chrungoo told reporters here that restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir was an "imperative necessity" to defeat Pakistan which was waging a "religious, fascist war" in the state.

"We are completing 30 years of displacement in January next year and demand division of Kashmir province to create a centrally administered union territory, north and east of the river Jhelum for the rehabilitation of internally displaced Hindus of Kashmir," Chrungoo said.

"Time has come for division of the valley along with restructuring of the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir. We support the demand for union territory status for Ladakh and separate statehood for Jammu," he added.

Stressing that the security situation in the valley was getting worse, Chrungoo said the participation of thousands of people in the funerals of terrorists indicated that the situation in Kashmir had not changed much since 1990 when the pandits were driven out.

"From a Muslim majority state, Jammu and Kashmir is fast becoming an Islamic state. We want the government to open its eyes to the stark reality and pay heed to our voice which is the voice of secularism, democracy and in real sense pro-India," he said.

Chrungoo said the opposition to giving Ladakh province a divisional status and building of a university in Leh proved that the polity in Kashmir had shunned even symbolic commitment to secularism, equality of opportunity and development.

"Any effort to correct the present situation of Jammu and Kashmir, behaving as a Muslim state on the territory of India, is being opposed tooth and nail by the Muslim leadership of Kashmir which is acting as a Muslim monolith," he said.

"Jammu and Kashmir has to cease to be a Muslim state if India has to survive as a secular nation," he added.

The 'Jihadi mindset' has penetrated deep into the folk psyche and has polluted the minds of even women and children, Chrungoo said, adding that the recent events showing links between Kashmiri terrorists and separatists sympathizers in Punjab should serve as an eye opener for the Centre.

"The mass mobilization in Kashmir to disrupt actions of security forces against terrorists is actually mass fidayeen (suicide) murder campaigns. Kashmir is in the grip of life hating forces who are promoting a totalitarian way of life," he claimed.

"Separatist establishment is spreading its subversive tentacles across India and to believe that trouble in Kashmir is an isolated and localised phenomenon will prove to be fatal for the nation," he added. — PTI