The authorities, on Thursday, directed the Kashmiri activists who were protesting in front of Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding the restoration of the special status of Jammu Kashmir region which was unilaterally abrogated by the BJP-led central government, to vacate the spot.
Talking to The Kashmiriyat, one of the activists, Angad Singh Khalsa said, “The police asked us to leave and said that they won’t allow us to sit here after 4 p.m.”
“We were planning to sit here for long but they’re not allowing us to sit here. So we’ve written a letter, mentioned all of our demands and signed it with our blood. We’re handing over the letter to them and leaving,” he added.
Pertinently, some Kashmiri activists on Thursday started a hunger strike at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand the restoration of the special status of the region.
Later, they were also joined by non-Kashmiris, who sat besides them and protested demanding fair trials for incarcerated journalists Fahad Shah, Asif Sultan and Sajad Gul, and other demands.
In the letter addressed to ‘The People of India and The Supreme Court of India,’ that the activists handed over to the authorities, they said that the social and human rights activists from J-K had started a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, which was only allowed by the authorities between 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The letter says that their motive behind the hunger strike was:
-Restoration of basic human rights in J-K
-To request to the Supreme Court of India to hear us and return the 4th August, 2019 status to the people of J-K
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-Release of all political prisoners who are falsely incarcerated in different jails under draconian laws like PSA and UAPA
-To request to the people of India to visit J-K and listen to the pain of people of J-K
-To put a stop to the killings of civilians in J-K
The letter was signed in blood by three Kashmiri activists including Angad Singh Khalsa, Waqar H. Bhatti and Adil Nazir Khan.
“We request the Honourable Supreme Court of India to hear us and return back 4th August 2019 status to the People of J&K, Angad said flanked by activists from Chenab valley, Jammu and Kashmir regions as well,” one of the activists said.
“We are here on the behalf of all Kashmiri people since silence has become the order there. We have come to New Delhi to be heard and to be able to speak,” Angad said.
“Before we came here, we consulted with cross sections of the society,” they told The Kashmiriyat.
“It is our request to prime institutions of India. We are here to highlight the ongoing situation in Kashmir. We people are witnessing loss of human life. We condemn all killings. We are here to tell you of the pain we undergo every day in Naya Kashmir,” they said.