People's Democracy

  CPI(M) Organises Convention On Kashmir

ON July 9, the CPI(M) held a convention at Srinagar, presided over by senior CPI(M) leader O N Trisal.

Addressing the convention, CPI(M) state secretary M Y Tarigami, urged for initiating a people’s moment in Kashmir, cutting across the stated positions, to bring solace to the wounded hearts. He explained that the credit for the present thaw in the subcontinent was an outcome of people’s earnest desire for peace and not out of any miracle brought about by the politicians who have been shed crocodile tears and engaged in capitalising on the Kashmiris’ blood. He stated that the process of peace and reconciliation had become irreversible and those who wanted to put spokes in the vehicle of this process, would be thrown into the dustbin of history. He warned that the vested interests were still active and that people’s wisdom alone could remove the hurdles in the path of peace.

Recalling the centuries of Kashmir’s oppression, Tarigami stated that people had borne immense sufferings during past centuries but never bent down, because they knew that kneeling down meant surrender. He said the Kashmiris do not want surrender, nor are they for the peace of the graveyard. He stated that the process of reconciliation was hailed by the people of Kashmir who wanted that it must move forward at a greater pace. He stated that the Kashmiris had enough of dramas in the past; what they wanted today is dignity and self-reliance. He said that the two countries were punishing their own people by diverting the limited resources on arms. He said that the wounds of Kashmir had turned into a cancer that needed to be healed by taking bold initiatives, with a humane angle.

Tarigami explained that no solution could come out from anyone’s pocket. It could only evolve out of the ongoing process, in which all shades of opinions had to be carried along, including the standpoint of even those who, in a fit of passion or in desperation or helplessness, climbed the mountains and took up the gun. He said that the incarcerated youth, against whom there were no serious charges, should be handed over to their parents and elders who could chastise them.

the CPI(M) leader made a fervent appeal that the voice of Kashmir must be heard and said that the present opportunity had to be grasped and the peace mission carried to its logical conclusion.

The convention was addressed by a galaxy of speakers who dwelt on the political and economic issues confronting the state. Resolutions on human rights, Salal and Uri projects, unemployment, horticulture, corruption, free flow of people on intra-Kashmir routes and return of youth from across the LoC were moved by O N Trisal, G N Malik, M Yaqoob, Abdul Hamid Wani. M Khalil Naik, A G Hafiz and Bashir Assad. (INN)