With separatists beginning to grab attention again in Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah blamed "elements" in Delhi for the present turmoil in the valley.
NEW DELHI: With separatists beginning to grab attention again in Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday blamed "elements" in Delhi for the present turmoil in the valley and demanded corrective steps.
"One day India may lose Kashmir. The separatists active in the valley cannot be blamed alone but elements in Delhi are equally responsible for this. They are pushing people to the wall," Abdullah said at a function here organised to release a
book -- Tragic Hero of Kashmir - Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah.
Abdullah alleged there was politics against the people of Kashmir during the rule of erstwhile Maharaja Hari Singh and the same tendency persists even today.
"Unless we realise the situation and take corrective steps things may go out of hands," he warned.
The National Conference Patron also expressed his concern over the "growth" of both Hindu and Muslim fundamentalism in the country.
Abdullah accused "half of the Congress leaders" of being communal and said he did not see any ray of hope if the present situation continues.
"We may be Hindu, Muslim or Christian. But I visualise an India which has no religion. If the present religious intolerance keeps going on, it would be very difficult to keep India united," he said.
Describing Sheikh Abdullah as the "tragic hero", he said his father was always misunderstood outside Kashmir and was a victim of New Delhi's politics.
While releasing the book, Vice President Hamid Ansari said two factors mentioned in the book are critical to the understanding of the approaches of different players in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The first relates to the pre-August 1947 period in which the focus of the struggle of people of the valley was not against the British but against the Maharaja's rule.
"The second is the impact on the Jammu region of the land reforms implemented by the National Conference government," he said.
Describing the book authored by veteran journalist Ajit Bhattacharya as living history at its best, Ansari said it is the record of happening of a generation that is all but gone and for this reason alone it is invaluable.
"It is also a profoundly disturbing book. It reinforces the view that we are still in the process of learning about the momentous events relating to Jammu and Kashmir in the early years of our independence," he said.
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