india

Updated: Jan 19, 2020 10:03 IST

Kashmiri students of the University of Hyderabad staged a protest on Saturday against the continued clampdown in Kashmir valley and “state repression” against Kashmiris even as the Centre launched its outreach programme with the first group of Union ministers visiting Jammu to highlight awareness about central schemes implemented after the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The protest which went on for about two hours in the late afternoon, was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association (JKSA) in the name of “Sada-e-Mazloom” (Voice of the oppressed) outside the university campus.

“It was meant for reflecting the plight of grieving widows and star-crossed orphans, of nameless graves and dark caves,” JKSA president Hadif Nissar said.

He said the students who took part in the dharna expressed their protest against “injustice being done to millions of Kashmiris, continued siege of the state, curbing the freedom of expression in the form of internet ban for more than five months and illegal detentions.”

“The protest was in the form of creative expressions, poetry reading and singing songs of revolution,” he said.

Nissar said the protest was about many injustices that have been unleashed upon Kashmiris by successive Indian governments. “The only difference is that the Congress was doing it quietly, while the BJP is very open about it,” he said.

Aakriti Suresh, member of JKSA and a Kashmiri Pandit student at the university, also highlighted the problems faced by Kashmiri Pandit community. She said the role Indian government had played in communalizing the Kashmir issue cannot be ignored.

“The way successive governments have pitched Kashmiri Pandits against Kashmiri Muslims really exposes the grand conspiracy they have hatched in turning and then keeping forever Kashmir into a warzone. They were never interested in bringing a political solution to Kashmir on to the table,” she said.

She also cautioned that it is high time that Kashmiri Pandits realize that Hindutva forces will never help them get justice.

Arman Kazmi, Gen Secretary of JKSA, in his address said the fundamental question to discuss is if India really is a democracy. ”How can the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), disappearances, tortures, massacres and the idea of democracy exist simultaneously?” he asked.

Maryam, another member of JKSA who hails from Rajori district highlighted the problems faced by students of her community because of the internet ban.

A representative from Ladakh, Sajjad Hussain, spoke about the aspirations of the people of Ladakh and said that they are worried about their land and job rights after Ladakh was turned into a UT.

The students held placards condemning the Central government’s claim that everything was normal in the valley. “People are not able to come out of their houses, children are not able to attend schools and businessmen not able to run their trade,” a student said.

Earlier this month, The Supreme Court told the government to review orders suspending internet in Jammu and Kashmir and said such suspension can only be for a limited time period and is subject to judicial review. The Kashmir valley has been under communication restrictions for the last 170 days since the Centre scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.