Kashmiriayat includes both Hazratbal and Amarnath

 

New Delhi: Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch and India Policy Foundation, on July 13, organised a discussion on the return of Kashmir Pandits. Sharing his views on the topic “Reclaiming Kashmir: The Sacred Land” BJP spokesperson Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi said Kashmir has been the centre of learning since centuries. He stressed the need to find a solution on the line of Kashmiriyat, democracy and humanity. He said the Kashmiriayat includes both Hazratbal and Amarnath. Attack on Amarnath Yatra cannot be the Kashmiriyat. Any dialogue in Kashmir should be on the formula of Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaniyat, he said.

Dr Kapil Kapur, chairman of Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, stressed the need to have both the shaastras (books) and shastras (weapons). He said the present faulty education system is responsible for alienating Kashmiris from their original culture. He said the teachers in Kashmir are more in the role of clerics than the real teachers.

Major (retd) Gaurav Arya said the migration of Kashmiri Pandits was not all of a sudden; it was the outcome of the communal mindset promoted among the local Muslims there. Dr Kuldip Ratnu said when Bharat loses any match, many Indians have tears in their eyes. “But how many people had tears in their eyes when thousands of Kashmiris were forced to leave the valley or when our soldiers were killed in Kashmir, he asked.

Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch Shri Jawaharlal Kaul said Kashmir is not merely a piece of land or group of people, but a rich culture.