This refers to the historical incident on August 9, 1953 when the prime minister of Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah was dismissed from power and arrested at Gulmarg by the Indian authorities. He was imprisoned under the Safety Act for six years and released in January 1958. That time people demonstrated against the Sheikh Sahib’s arrest and hundreds of people were killed by the security forces. After his release, Sheikh Sahib addressed various public gatherings. He gave a speech at Hazratbal shrine wherein he admitted that “accession to India” was his mistake and asked the historians that they should refer to him as a person who committed this mistake. (Refer to Ahad Nama Kashmir by Sanaullah Bhat). After this, the government arrested him again in April 1958 for his “hate speeches.” But one fails to understand that how a man who was dismissed from power as Prime Minister of state in 1953, and ran the Plebiscite Front for 22 years agreed to take over as chief minister of the state on 25 February 1975 with the help of Congress—which dismissed him in 1953. What happened to the Plebiscite Front? What happened to the Article 370 under which a state has its own Sadri-Riyasat, own Prime Minister, own Supreme Court and much more? What happened to the blood of those people who were killed by the Indian forces when Kashmir’s tall leader was arrested in 1953?  These are the questions which people of Kashmir should think over.
Irfan Kumar
Surtaing, Rainawari

Lastupdate on : Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:30:00 GMT
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