1995 06 Kashmiri Samiti, Delhi (Regd) Sunil Shakdher General Secretarys Report for the period, April 1 to May 31, 1995

The Samiti continued its activities for the wel- fare of the community in social, cultural, educa- tional, relief and rehabilitation fields, as also on the front. The Samiti executive met twice during the period formally, and three times infor- mally.

In the meanwhile, the recent developments in Kashmir following the burning of Charar-e-Sharif by terrorists caused grave concern. This made the Samiti react immediately, and press conferences were held on May 9 and 19, 1995, to project this concern

9th May 1995

This was to oppose the proposed elections in J&K without taking the into confidence The Press Conference led by the Samiti President, Shri N.N Kaul, was covered by the media including AIR. A copy of the press release issued on the occasion was also sent to the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, the J&K Governor, and the Chief Election Commissioner of India to inform them that no decision about elections in J&K should be taken without consulting us.

19th May, 1995

This press conference concentrated on destruc- tion of more than fifty temples and over one thou- sand houses of Hindus in Kashmir after the de- struction at Charar-e-Sharif, The Press release is- sued at the time finds place elsewhere in this is- sue. I had the privilege of announcing the follow- ing programme of direct action between May 25 and June 15, 1995 to make the presence of KPs, as an important party to the Kashmir issue, felt..

(a) Demonstration outside the residence of Home Secretary, etc. (b) Gherao of Chief Justice of India, Chief Election Commissioner, Speaker (Lok Sabha), Chairman (Rajya Sabha), Chairman (Human Rights Commission).

(c) Meetings with Chief Ministers of West Ben- gal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat for intervention in our problem and eco- nomic, social, political and moral support to us to fight for our constitutional rights.

(d) threat of self-immolation by our boys and girls if equal status is not given to the com- munity in any confabulations about the fu- ture of Kashmir.

(e) holding of an all-party meet to which all KP organisations in India and abroad would be invited.

The event was well covered by media, as a result of which Shri Ashwani Kumar, Convenor, Panun Kashmir Movement, requested the Samiti telegraphically from Jammu not to go in for the drastic step of self-immolation, and assured PKM support for the Samiti programmes.

25th May, 1995

Demonstration outside the Union Secretary's residence leading to the Home Secretary inviting a delegation of the Samiti to meet him at his home, and later, on May 28, 1995, at his office. The delegation included S/Shri C.L. Gadoo and R.P. Raina. The Home Secretary assured the del- egation that he would recommend to the Govern- ment to take KPs into confidence in every matter relating to Kashmir. The press release issued on the day is published elsewhere in this issue.

th May, 1995

Relief, education of children, problems of mi- grant employees, settlement of insurance claims and problems of business and other classes of the KP community came up for discussion at the meet- ing of a KP delegation with the Home Secretary and senior officers of the Department of J&K Affairs. The memorandum submitted to the Home Secretary on the occasion finds place elsewhere in this issue.

May 30, 1995

Memorandum submitted to the Chairman, Na- tional Human Rights Commission by a delegation comprising office-bearers of the Samiti and 28 other people respresenting Teh-Bazari allottees, migrant employees, farmers, pensioners, and ca- sual employees of Centaur Hotel and Telecom- munications Department. The memorandum is published elsewhere in this issue.

The Chairman assured the delegation that he would take up all the issues presented by the del- egation. He also desired that we should meet him three times a week to have all the problems settled on spot.

A result-oriented report about the Samiti ac- tivities during the two months would be published in the next issue of 'Koshur Samachar'.

Sunil Shakdher General Secretary

DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy: June 1995 Kosher Samachar