National Conference leader Dr Sameer Kaul on Monday participated in the annual Mela Kheer Bhawani here and hoped the occasion further strengthens bonds between Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims.
As part of National Conference delegation led by partyPresident Dr Farooq Abdullah that visited the shrine, Dr Kaul interacted withdevotees and expressed hope that Kashmiri Pandits won’t “give up” thedecades-old bonding with the festival.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Kaul said that this annualfestival is an occasion of hope and integration.
He said that there is a need for sane voices from bothKashmiri and Pandit communities that will work to strengthen this bond ofbrotherhood and recreate the sense of belonging between the two communities,which he said was a requisite for the return of Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir.
He said that at a time when “shrill voices of hardliners aredrowning the voices of sanity”, all moderates must stand up.
“It is a day of hope and I sincerely feel that KashmiriPandit community doesn’t cut whatever thread is left in the cord. I hope thecommunity strengthens the connect with this festival since it is an age-oldsign of Kashmiriyat. Rather than allowing the few threads to snap, Panditcommunity should strengthen the attachment,” said Kaul.
He said that these events are an opportunity for both thecommunities to strengthen communal harmony and brotherhood, which have been thehallmark of the glorious pluralistic ethos of Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Kaul said that these events are the small robust bridgethat have survived huge tides of “engineered hatred”, most of the timesmanipulated.
He said that these events shouldn’t be sacrificed at thealtar of short-term politics.
“My appeal to all the political mainstream parties isto keep these events out of the political domain. I chose National Conferencebecause its leadership is broadminded and looks beyond,” Kaul said.
Kaul said a “campaign of hatred and defamation” has beenstarted against him by some vested interests within his community, but “Iwill continue to work for the welfare and betterment of the community inparticular”.
“Some fanatics and fascist forces within my communitydo not like my opinions and a few of them get manipulated by vested intereststo shout inanities in TV studios and widen these rifts between the twocommunities,” he added.
“Many people in my community believe that Kashmiriyatdied the day they were forced to leave their homeland. But when I tell themthat Kashmiri people also suffer in all this and they too got threats theydisagree and create a wedge between the two communities,” Kaul said.