AMRITSAR: A Sikh politico-religious party today blasted government and Sangh Parivar for setting the State of Jammu & Kashmir on fire saying the handing over of a piece of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board served as an ignition”.

“While Kashmiris in the Valley vehemently opposed the move the fascist Hindu organization RSS orchestrated violent protests in Jammu region”, Akali Dal Amritsar (Panch Pardhani) said in a statement today adding “by doing so, the latter has succeeded in completely communalizing the issue”.

”The government has utterly failed in amicably solving the issue. The state is in utter shambles,” said Akali leaders Bhai Daljit Singh, Chairman, S. Harinder Singh Khalsa, G S Bhikhiwind & Bhai Harpal Singh Cheema, member Presidium of the party.

They said, that ever since its accession to India on 20th October 1947, Kashmiris have invariably displayed a deep sense of disaffection and discontent. And at times, like at present, the feelings have turned into hatred. “The situation is alarming. It is no more the handiwork of the terrorists from across the border or the mercenaries hired by ISI as has too often been claimed by the government of India”, the statement said.

”The voices of Azadi are fast becoming the popular will. There is no denying the fact that the Kashmir valley is speaking for itself, and not a mouthpiece of neighboring Pakistan”.

 They further said that the Kashmir issue is essentially a political one; hence the solution too ought to be political. “No amount of physical force can browbeat and crush the political aspirations of people. State terrorism has never been a solution to a political problem. Encouraging communal outfits like RSS to stage-manage a parallel agitation can prove to be suicidal for the country. RSS has always played the politics of hate towards minorities in Indian. And the clichés like patriotism, nationalism, integrity etc. merely tend to serve as trump cards, a mere coating for Hindutava”.

They further said that it is time the powers that be in New Delhi wake up from its deep slumber and stop finding scapegoats and alibis. “What one witnesses in Kashmir today is not a cry for freedom backed by guns but by the power of the people.  Lackadaisical measures of the government have not yielded any tangible results in the past. What the government ought to do is to have political talks with the real leaders of Kashmiris and devise ways and means to satisfy their political aspirations. Centre-state relations have to be corrected so that a true federal structure comes into being”, the statement added.