Kashmiri youth under banner of Swaraj Peeth sends recommendations to Dineshwar Sharma

Srinagar, April 13: Aimed to stop the ongoing annihilation in Valley, a Kashmir based group of Youth under the banner of Swaraj Peeth Trust (A Gandhian Center for Nonviolence and Peace) has sent a document of recommendations to Government of India’s special representative on Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma.
The document which lies with Kashmir News Bureau (KNB), has been forwarded by Rajiv Vora on behalf of Swaraj Peeth Trust with prominent young faces of Kashmir Mushtaq Ul-Haq Ahmad Sikandar, Rameez Makdoomi, Bilal Bashir Bhat and Saima Shah as its signatories. The 12 point based recommendations dealt with different contours of conflict that are resulting in uncertainty, bloodshed and violence in Kashmir.
The document has recommended the interlocutor to stop the radicalization of national media based on extremely biased, ill-informed, propagandistic nature of news items and debates related to kashmir. Besides stressing Sharma to ensure the restoration of freedom of expression and student activism in trouble torn Valley.
In the report, the Kashmir youth have also welcomed the GoI decision to defer the Panchayat elections, saying in a highly vitiated environment holding elections would have lead to bloodshed.
The youths have also expressed outrage over the repeated restriction on Internet, “let the youth pour it out there. Such ways and means are closed for the youth in Kashmir; gagged, denied catharsis pushes them towards the wall. They turn to radicalization, and motivated to take to the gun; and option easily available,” the report reads.
On police reforms the youth have urged upon Dineshwar Sharma to ensure proper implementation of SOPs while arresting, detaining and then framing charges against an individual.
“Police reforms are essential as the ground reports suggest that institution of police is responsible in many cases for driving youth towards insurgency the reasons that drive youth towards violence are the daily humiliation that they suffer at the hands of security forces and police. That needs to be minimized,” reads the report.
The document has also stressed upon Dineswar Sharma that there is a need of a process for the gradual and rational removal/dilution of AFSPA, PSA that should be initiated, along with the demilitarization of civilian areas.
Seeking attention of interlocutor towards the least concerned i.e. ‘half-widows’ the youths have said that the consequences of not attending to it are serious, and attending to it are bound to be positive.
The document has alleged that the Center sponsored schemes are mostly beneficial to the political workers and activists rather victims of violence.
The youths have warned that Kathua rape and murder of an eight year old girl has the potential of communal as well as regional polarization and divide. The culprits need to be dealt with heavy hand following the rule of law.
“Derailed peace process with Pakistan must also be resumed. If the call for resuming talks with Pakistan can come from Shri Dineshwar Sharma himself, it would be a better option as that will be taken as a goodwill gesture in Srinagar and will perhaps also raise the acceptability and credibility of the interlocutor in Jammu & Kashmir,” the report reads.
Pertinent to mention here, the Chairman of Swaraj Peeth Trust (A Gandhian Center for Nonviolence and Peace), Mr Rajiv Vora is a frequent visitor to trouble torn Kashmir Valley and have held a round of talks with several Hurriyat leaders and members of different shades of opinion. A large number of promising youth from all corners are associated with him aimed to play a role in devising a mechanism for a dialogue process between India, Pakistan and people of Kashmir.
In 2016, a maiden youth conference was held by Swaraj Peeth in New Delhi where almost 30-40 youth from all provinces of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir held threadbare discussions over the need of dialogue to settle the matters. (KNB)