Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) hails Kashmir Reorganisation Bill

New Delhi, August 5, 2019 : GKPD hailed the draft bill presented by the Union Home Minister in the Upper House of the Parliament as a historic event in the post-independence history of India. August 5, 2019 will go down in the history of the country as a day which has put the lasting seal on the sovereignty of the parliament over the entire Indian Union. The bill vindicates the ideals of our great leaders like Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, Din Dayal Upadhyay, Atal Bihari Vajpai and others who dedicated or sacrificed their lives for the integrity and sovereignty of India, GKPD stated in a press release.

GKPD sincerely commends the visionary and courageous leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and astute constitutional and legal acumen of Home Minister Amit Shah that have come together to make a historic decision that cements territorial, political and cultural unity of the Indian Union.

Padma Shri, Dr. K N Pandita stated, “Today will go down as Kashmir Liberation Day. Liberation from dynastic rule, liberation from corruption, liberation from an unjust State. Liberation for every part of this diverse state. Liberation for all. First time that the exiled community has heaved a sigh of relief that its identity, culture and symbols of heritage will find full protection and perpetuation under the union territory dispensation.”

The bill meets the long-standing demand of the people of Ladakh for union territory and of the masses of the toiling people of the valley who were oppressed by seven decades of dynastic and hegemonic rule. The new dispensation will promise them fair and people-friendly administration without discrimination on any count.

The historic decision will open vast vistas of social, cultural, economic and industrial development of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh as union territories. The region will not remain confined to the tourist industry alone, but entrepreneurs will be more than willing to invest in various industries there which are bound to create employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young people groaning under discrimination and deprivation.

GKPD Chairman of Political Steering Committee, Moti Kaul ji, stated, ‘Now, BJP has fully delivered its electoral promises to the long-suffering Kashmiri Pandits specifically and the residents of Jammu and Ladakh generally.’

The GKPD organised a teleconference of some of the leading personalities of the Pandit community all over the world to assess their reaction. Those who participated in the teleconference were the heads of all major Pandit organizations in various parts of the country like All India Kashmiri Samaj, Jammu and Kashmir Vichar Manch, Kashmiri Pandit Sabha Jammu, All state Kashmiri Pandit Conference Jammu besides KP Organizations from Chandigarh, Bombay, Pune, and Bangalore. GKPD representatives in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, European Union etc, were part of the entire teleconference.

There was a unanimous appreciation by one and all of the bold step taken by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah. It was unanimously agreed to send on behalf of the Kashmir Pandit community letters of deep appreciation to the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Governor of J&K for taking the most significant decision about an issue that was hanging fire for several decades.

Rakesh Kaul, Co-founder GKPD concluded, “This is the brightest day for Kashmir in a long, long time. GKPD will extend unqualified support to the Government of India in countering any attempts by third parties to destabilize the internal situation in Kashmir which is unambiguously and irrevocably an integral part of India.”