SRINAGAR, Sept 28: Senior separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has said he believes violence was never a solution, but blamed India of continuing to resort to it in Kashmir, where tens of thousands of people have died during the 23-year-old conflict involving security forces and militants.
The chairman of the hardliner Hurriyat Conference was reacting to President Pranab Mukherjee’s speech during the 18th convocation of university of Kashmir on Thursday, where he had urged the youth for greater tolerance and said “no problems could ever be resolved through violence”.
In a strong-worded statement issued on Friday, Geelani said, “Violence is definitely not an option. But India has been using force for the last 65 years and has been trying to suppress our genuine rights through military might.”
Kashmir’s mainstream political parties have welcomed President Mukherjee’s speech, in which he asked Kashmiri youth to be part of a new dawn and take the lead in shaping the future of the country.
“The contributions of young Kashmiris are critical for India’s advancement to progress. Let a new dawn emerge. It is time to move ahead with faith in our collective future,” he told the awardees at the convocation ceremony.
“Let the dark days of violence and conflict be left behind.”
Reacting to this, the octogenarian leader said, “More than 5 lakh martyrs, around 10,000 enforced disappearances, nearly 6,000 unmarked graves, slit throats and rape case; which nation can ever forget these.”
President Mukherjee had also admitted that there were “genuine grievances” in Kashmir and that both New Delhi and the state government were determined to ensure that everyone lived with “equal dignity and rights”.
He should have talked about resolving the Kashmir problem instead, Geelani said. “There is an urgent need to resolve the dispute according to the wishes of the people. Everything else is secondary and the people can deal with them on their own.”
He said the only complaint against India is that it has never taken a realistic approach over the Kashmir issue.
The separatist leader also took a dig at the president for suggesting that ‘it was time to move ahead with faith in the largest democracy in the world’ and said it was nothing but “a joke”.
“In respect of Kashmir, India’s claims of being the largest democracy has been exposed. It is only known as an exploitative force.”
