Srinagar
Expressing solidarity with the Sikh community on the anniversary of the ‘Operation Blue Star’, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani on Monday said that the wounds inflicted on this minority by Indian military might 34 years ago are not only fresh but continue to be painful and agonizing for our Sikh brothers.
“The so-called world’s largest democracy has never tolerated the existence of minorities. Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits, and Christians continue to be harassed, killed and humiliated in length and breadth of India,” Geelani said in a statement.
He said that Operation Blue Star was a “brutal and brazen massacre, where hundreds of Sikhs were butchered mercilessly in a span of just a few days”. “Minorities were never safe in India and every regime, be it secular clad Congress or hyper-nationalist Hindutwa Parcharks, Saffron Brigade, all pushed them to the wall,” he said.
Hurriyat (G) chairman cautioned the government that the deprivation and ill-treatment meted out to minorities is not a good omen for the “so-called” democratic fabric of India.
Recalling the unfortunate and “arrogant show of muscle power” in 1984, Geelani said, “These tragic incidents can never weaken the resolve for basic and fundamental rights of the oppressed people and those fighting for their sacred cause get encouraged and empowered by such undemocratic and unethical actions.”
“We share the pain and agony of our Sikh brothers as we too are the worst sufferers of this Indian hegemony, for last 7 decades,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat Conference (G) convened a meeting of its Majlis Shoora which was presided over by general secretary Gh. Nabi Sumji. The meeting was attended by Feroz Ahmad Khan, Hakeem Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Saleem Zargar, Mohammad Yousuf Naqash, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Mohammad Yaseen Aataie, Advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi, Gh. Mohammad Nagoo, Syed Mohammad Shafi, Zamrooda Habib, Gulshan Abas, Mohammad Iqbal Shaheen, Yasmeen Raja, Peer Abdul Rashid, Imtiyaz Ahmad Shah and Syed Mohammad Yasoof Qumi.
The meeting took stock of the prevailing political situation of the state and also deliberated on the various issues pertaining to activate the different departments of the forum, to have more and more contacts with the people, who vehemently support the legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination.
The meeting condemned the recent increase in the civilian killings, incarceration of youth and ill-treatment meted out to detainees in and outside jails of Jammu and Kashmir.
It also condemned the “gross violation of human rights at the hands of forces and resolved that it has been a routine matter for India that as and when they face a tough situation related to human rights violations at international level, they start parroting of dialogue and ceasefire”.
The meeting termed these “Indian postures” as a “farce” just to hoodwink the international community.
Hurriyat (G) general secretary appealed people and especially well-off persons to donate their alms and Zakat to Hurriyat (G) against the proper receipts.
