news details |
|
|
| Ban on J&K Jamaat-e-Islami irks separatists, 'mainstream' leaders | | Kashmiri unity? | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 2: The Union Home Ministry on February 28 declared J&K Jamaat-e-Islami an unlawful outfit and banned it for a period of five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Jamaat was banned on the ground that it allegedly had links with terror outfits, that its activities were against national unity and that it had been indulging in subversive activities.
Earlier, the J&K Government arrested hundreds of Jamaatis in Kashmir and over ground workers of terrorist outfits seemingly on the ground that they could disrupt the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Jamaat has millions of members and it runs many schools. According to one report, there are 300-Fat-run schools and Jammu-run schools have 10,000 teachers and one lakh students.
The ban on Jamaat has evoked a strong reaction in Kashmir. The separatists SA Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik have all in one voice opposed the ban and commended the activities it had been indulging in since its inception years ago. That these separatists will oppose the ban on Jamaat was on expected lines. After all, all the three were, and are, known for what they stand for, work for and advocate. Everything concerning them is in public domain.
However, what was somewhat unexpected was the kind of response the ban on Jamaat evoked from those in Kashmir who call them "mainstream and secular" politicians. The National Conference condemned the ban and commended the activities of the Jamaat. The PDP did the same and condemned the government for banning what it called a Jamaat that had been playing a very important role in Kashmir since decades and asserted that the ban will further alienate the people of Kashmir. Mehbooba Mufti today even went to the extent of saying that "banning Jamaat can have dangerous consequences". The Congress also didn't lag behind. It, like the PDP and the NC, question the intentions of the government behind the ban on the Jamaat.
Others who condemned the ban on Jamaat included the BJP's former ally Sajad Lone, CPI-M state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, former MLA Er Rashid, PDF leader Hakeem Yaseen, members of the Kashmir Bar and business leaders in the Valley.
The manner in which the separatists and "mainstream" Kashmiri leaders reacted to the government's decision to impose ban on Jamaat once again established that there is hardly any difference between them and that they work in unison using different platforms. This should be a cause of concern. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
