With its president Mehbooba Mufti behind bars, the Peoples Democratic Party observed its 21st foundation day on Tuesday.
“August 5 marks a black day in the constitutional history of J&K, when the solemn commitments made by Parliament and in the Constitution were annulled for a majoritarian goal of bulldozing the country into one saffron colour,” said a joint statement by PDP leaders. “We reiterate [our resolve] to fight for the restoration of honour and dignity of people of J&K.”
Remembering the party founder Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on the occasion, the leaders said the party was floated with the idea of bringing J&K out of the morass of uncertainty, violence and lawlessness. “Our founding principle is that Kashmir, a bone of contention between India and Pakistan, should be converted into a bridge of understanding.”
The PDP said the August 5 decision was an attempt to erase the timeline from 1931 to 2019, without recognising the history that saw people of J&K withstanding and surviving the worst historical episodes to end our distinct identity, traditions, culture and languages, irrespective of the religious backgrounds the rulers came from.
“J&K is at the cusp of making a choice that determines the future and safety of our future generations. All stakeholders need to rise to the occasion and in unison demand the rightful, rather than being boxed in small-time demands and short gains. History may not be kind if we fail to rise to the occasion,” they said.
The party said J&K was dragged to a crossroads, where the world powers see it as nothing but a battleground and a tinderbox. “The PDP will, however, push for making J&K an abode of confluence of civilisations rather than confrontation of civilisations,” the party said.
The PDP called for the time-honoured mechanism of dialogue and engagement with all the stakeholders. “Enforcing the peace of a graveyard and calling it normalcy is an illusion,” it said.
The party also demanded the release of Ms. Mufti, who is behind bars since August 5, 2019.
