Kashmir Hindu Foundation- KHF welcomes the statement by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh that a debate be held on whether Article 370, which grants Jammu & Kashmir special autonomous status, be revoked?
Kashmiri Hindus as the primary stake holders in this matter welcome this bold initiative by the new Government
Time has come when Article 370 needs to be revoked, thus doing away with the special status to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 has been the biggest impediment to integration of the Jammu & Kashmir State into Indian Union. It is imperative to understand that the mass extirpation of Kashmiri Hindus in 1989-90 was not a chance happening. It was the result of a calculated conspiracy, initiated, sponsored, aided, abetted and mentored by the State of Pakistan in collaborations with some elements in the then ruling government of the State. Hindus in the state were targeted selectively and brutally killed individually as well as massacred collectively.
Such acts of genocide and massive exodus of minority Hindu Community of the state has changed the demographics of the state and it has led to irrelevance of Aricle 370, which was included in the Constitution as a temporary provision. It should have been abrogated since but it has has not happened in sixty years.
Whenever there is a mention of its abrogation, anti-national interests raise an outcry that legitimate rights of Kashmiris are being trampled upon. Why should a state of Indian Union have a special status? It is not a private property of any one in Kashmir, however mighty they may consider themselves to be.
The very existence of Article 370 conveys a wrong signal not only to Kashmiris but also to the separatists that Kashmir is still to become an integral part of India.
Let it be known to one and all that Kashmir forms an inseparable part of India. Therefore, the sooner Article 370 is revoked, the better it will be for India as a Nation.
Deepak Ganju,
Kashmir Hindu Foundation, Inc (KHF)
Non-profit/tax exempt organization registered in USA