Save Kashmir Front - Challenge in Kashmir- Litmus Test of India's Unity

From Our Correspondent

Following on their first symposium on the "growth and implications of terrorism in Kashmir, the Save Kashmir Front organised another successful symposium on meeting the challenge, on October 31 last.

This time it was Shri L K Advani who stole the limelight by a gripping exposition of the situation prevailing and how the problem could be solved. He laid the greatest emphasis on the deplorable conditions of living of the displaced people of the Valley Raising his voice he said it is not as much Ayodhya as Kashmir which forms the real test of the unity of India. We have to see how soon the Kashmiri Pandit refugees can be sent back home!! He urged the government to take stern steps, even if that meant waging a war, to bring the State back to normal. He strongly criticised the former governments for weak-kneed policies, for releasing terrorists in exchange for hostages or otherwise as a conciliatory move Indecisiveness, he said, would make the situation worse.

Shri Jagmohan spoke of the need for taking hard decisions together with some fruitful positive policies to bring peace in the turmoil-ridden Valley He gave many examples of how much the people had been alienated from the rest of the country because of the special status under Article 370. He criticised the human rights activists in India for one-sided and baseless reports on the violation of the rights The real violations, he said, had been made in respect of Kashmiri Pandits who had been forced out of their homes and properties for no fault of theirs and with inhuman cruelty.

The former Governor who had gained enormous popularity during his first term as Governor of the State and had saved the country from a very dangerous situation in the early days of January 1990, said that guerilla tactics must be organised to bring the guerilla terrorists to book in the Valley.

Prof Rajendra Singh captivated the huge audience in the spacious Mavlankar Hall which was full to overflowing, by his scholarly and soft speech exposing the double standards of India's rulers from time to time. He moved the people at once to mirth and anger when he said that Mufti Sayeed had asked the fleeing Hindus of the Valley to be brave but had buckled under terrorist pressure and released five hard core terrorists to get back his kidnapped daughter. Nothing but a strong policy and attitude could solve the problem, he said.

The symposium was presided over by Shri Sham Lal Shakdhar, former Chief Election Commissioner. He spoke with feeling about the fate of the migrants. Giving an overall view he quoted Sardar Patel as saying "I might integrate 564 princely States faster than Panditji integrates one". Shri Shakdhar praised the organisers for the exemplary discipline and efficiency with which the Front had organised the symposium and helped throw much needed light on the darkness that envelopes the turbulent Valley and its tragedy

Earlier, the Front Convener, Shri DN. Munshi set the tone and purpose of the symposium in his brief crisp opening address, which is being reproduced below in full.

We are meeting on an auspicious day, the birth anniversary of one of the greatest sons of are meeting on an auspicious day, the birth India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The very mention of his name sends a thrill and vibrations coursing through the veins. And we feel proud and privileged to belong to this country which was welded by him, at a most vulnerable point of time, into the great Indian nation, with an ease and neatness that will ever remain a shining example as an unmatched event in the history of the evolution of the world's nations. On this day and on every moment of our achievements and difficulties we remember him with utmost reverence, and draw inspiration and a bit of steel from his indomitable character and selfless service in the cause of the Indian people of all faiths and persuasions.

Misfortune

It was, however, a misfortune of great magnitude that the Sardar should have been kept out of just one related matter of integration of the Jammu & Kashmir State Had that not been so, India would have been spared the agony and constant irritation on that issue. And we would have come here today for happier discussions and certainly not on the terrorist challenge in Kashmir.

Now, turning to our business today, ladies and gentlemen, I must on behalf of the Save Kashmir Front, and on your and my own behalf welcome our most distinguished guests here this afternoon. They are all men of national and international renown. Each one of them has enlarged our Bharat's pride and prestige in his own sterling way.

Here is Shri Jagmohan, the builder of modern Delhi, the two-time Governor of J&K State, the saviour of that luckless land which he pulled back from the edge of disaster at a very critical time. He has recently presented to the country and the world an incisive and priceless record and analysis of what went wrong and how that could have been prevented.

And we have the honour and the privilege to have amongst us no less a personality than Shri L.K.

Advani. I would be reflecting your own emotions when I say that he represents and powerfully recalls to our minds the noble mission of the Sardar and fills us with the hope of the nation's future being in his safe hands.

Prof. Rajendra Singh needs no introduction. He is a patriot extraordinary, exuding and radiating a special confidence and steeled will and discipline.

Presiding over this function is Shri S.L. Shakhdar, formerly Chief Election Commissioner, who always imparted dignity and prestige to the several important offices he held. A man of deep wisdom, wide experience and exemplary fairness and objectivity, he represents all that is good and beautiful which is matched only by his utterly loveable humility.

We are beholden to them all for having spared time for this symposium.

This is the second in the series organised by the Save Kashmir Front. The first, which was the inaugural of the Front was on "Terrorism, Its Growth and Implications" held on 27th August last.

Today's session will analyse the all important question of how to meet the challenge in Kashmir.

In the interregnum between the two, much has happened that is heartening and pointer to the accomplishments to be made by the Front. I will give you a brief outline,

Public Awareness Campaign

A campaign of spreading public consciousness and participation was launched on 12th October last. In Delhi alone we organised 435 street corner meetings, 207 seminars and symposia and four exclusively women's meetings on that single day. Over three hundred fifty thousand copies of pamphlets and literature were distributed in the city.

The campaign continues, prominent people dedicated to the cause of Kashmir, such as Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, former Comptroller and Auditor General, and Shri Arun Shourie, the famous journalists, among others, are moving around the country spreading the message through meetings and symposia.

An appeal was issued over the signatures of many eminent citizens, members of the Front, exhorting the people to rise and lift the nation from the morass in which it has been pushed.

And only the other day a two-day conference was held in London to focus world attention on Kashmir and the perfidy and betrayal of our enemies within and across the border.

Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, before I hand it over to our honourable speakers I would like to raise a couple of points on the subject of discussion-the challenges and how to meet them.

The Challenges

Obviously, the challenges are Islamic fundamentalism, secessionism and the stark and naked communalism which underpins it all in a society and the country that prides on secularism as its basic creed.

In another context and place, a few years ago today, 31st October, saw similar forces of blind bigotry lamentably blow up a dynamic Prime Minister of our country Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

Secondly a foremost challenge is to get the Government policy, I mean all the successive Governments, out of the rut of appeasement, of turning away from facts and their practical lessons, in which they are stuck from the day of Independence. How should the people infuse in the Government the will and courage and responsibility to govern with wisdom and confidence and not by political gimmicks alone.

And finally, above all, is the challenge the most human and urgent, the most painful and critical, potentially the most explosive of all-that is....

What does the Nation have for the three hundred thousand Hindus tortured out of their flourishing homes and vocations, from their peaceful and serene living in the valley, and torn away from their culture, identity, ethos and their ancient and revered places of religious importance and worship?

How do we meet all these challenges of now and the future? We seek answers to them all.

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Courtesy:  1991 December Koshur Samachar