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New Delhi: Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, which stripped occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, a coalition of Indian and Kashmiri political leaders, activists, and former bureaucrats convened in New Delhi to demand the restoration of the Article.<\/p>\n
According ot Kashmir Media Service, the meeting, organized by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, coincided with the ongoing monsoon session of Indian Parliament, aiming to push for parliamentary discussion on the issue.<\/p>\n
Former Indian government interlocutor Radha Kumar emphasized the urgency, stating, \u201cOur appeal is for a resolution to restore statehood and for parliamentarians to initiate discussions via the Business Advisory Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kashmiri leaders, including Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, and Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, alongside Congress, RJD, and Left MPs, attended the gathering. A petition signed by 122 former civil servants, including ex-Home Secretary Gopal Pillai, was submitted to lawmakers.<\/p>\n
Abdullah asserted, \u201cWe are not here to beg. It is our constitutional right. The 2019 decision was illegal\u2014reverse it.\u201d He criticized the lack of consultation with J&K\u2019s elected representatives before the abrogation.<\/p>\n
Mehdi framed the issue as a threat to India\u2019s federalism, warning, \u201cJ&K\u2019s \u2018crime\u2019 was being Muslim-majority. This template could be applied elsewhere, like Bengal or Seemanchal.\u201d<\/p>\n
RJD\u2019s Manoj Jha accused the government of treating IIOJK as a \u201cland mass for electoral gains,\u201d arguing the 2019 debate targeted the Hindi heartland, not Kashmiris.<\/p>\n
Critics also highlighted unfulfilled promises of stability, with Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary questioning, \u201cIf militancy justified revoking Article 370, why does it persist?\u201d CPI(ML)\u2019s Dipankar Bhattacharya demanded accountability for security lapses, including the recent Pahalgam attack.<\/p>\n
Radha Kumar noted Article 370 remains in the Constitution, urging MPs to restore it through legislative action and repeal the 2019 Reorganisation Act. Congress\u2019s Naseer Hussain confirmed the INDIA bloc\u2019s consensus to raise the issue in Parliament.<\/p>\n
CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said that while the wounds of Partition have gradually healed in India, Kashmir continues to suffer its painful legacy even today. In Kashmir, the pain remains fresh. Even today, Kashmiris are being punished for sins they never committed. Why?\u201d \u201cPeople must reflect on how British-era decisions during Partition created long-term suffering for regions like Kashmir. Voices raised then are still relevant today,\u201d Tarigami said.<\/p>\n
Sajjad Kargili of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) said that Ladakh has been \u201ccheated and disenfranchised.\u201d \u201cThe J&K Reorganisation Act should be reversed, our land is under threat, Kargili said.<\/p>\n
The meeting followed a Congress protest at Jantar Mantar, where leaders demanded statehood restoration. CPI(M)\u2019s Tarigami lamented Kashmir\u2019s enduring pain, while Kargil Democratic Alliance\u2019s Sajjad Kargili accused the government of \u201cdisenfranchising Ladakh.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, which stripped occupied Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, a coalition of Indian and Kashmiri political leaders, activists, and former bureaucrats convened in New Delhi to demand the restoration of the Article. According ot Kashmir Media Service, the meeting, organized by …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":179794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-179760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}