Why are Kashmiris treated differently, asks Omar
16 Aug 2013 5:53 AM IST
Pained by the criticism over the communal violence in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday demanded to know why Kashmiris were treated differently.
After taking the salute and hoisting the tricolour at the Bakshi Stadium here amid tight security, Abdullah praised Kashmiris for not letting the communal trouble to take a far more serious shape. ‘I want to salute the people of the state for defeating forces who wanted to spread the tensions and vitiate peace and harmony in the state,’ he said.
‘I am often asked why you (Kashmiris) consider yourselves separate from the country’s mainstream. I have thought over this question, but an answer was difficult to find. ‘When I found how the Kishtwar incident was exploited, I got the answer to the question. ‘We are treated differently like we are not part of the mainstream,’ he added.
Abdullah made it clear that the Hindu-Muslim clashes in Kishtwar, which claimed three lives, deserved the ‘strongest condemnation’. He said it was sad this incident took place during his administration. ‘But this is the first happening of a communal nature during the last four years I have been in power.
‘Is it for the first time such a thing has happened in India? I do not want to say what happened in Kishtwar can be justified because of what happened elsewhere in the country,’ he said.
After taking the salute and hoisting the tricolour at the Bakshi Stadium here amid tight security, Abdullah praised Kashmiris for not letting the communal trouble to take a far more serious shape. ‘I want to salute the people of the state for defeating forces who wanted to spread the tensions and vitiate peace and harmony in the state,’ he said.
‘I am often asked why you (Kashmiris) consider yourselves separate from the country’s mainstream. I have thought over this question, but an answer was difficult to find. ‘When I found how the Kishtwar incident was exploited, I got the answer to the question. ‘We are treated differently like we are not part of the mainstream,’ he added.
Abdullah made it clear that the Hindu-Muslim clashes in Kishtwar, which claimed three lives, deserved the ‘strongest condemnation’. He said it was sad this incident took place during his administration. ‘But this is the first happening of a communal nature during the last four years I have been in power.
‘Is it for the first time such a thing has happened in India? I do not want to say what happened in Kishtwar can be justified because of what happened elsewhere in the country,’ he said.
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