Delhi advocacy group 'regrets' perception gap between Kashmiris, rest of India

By Our Representative
In a representation, prepared for forwarding it to the President of India, a Delhi-based advocacy group, Sadbhav Mission, has regretted that the Government of India's "perceptions" Kashmiris and the rest of the country are very different.
Seeking activists' signature across the country, it notes, "Complete lock down in Kashmir under heavy army deployment indicates a deep uneasiness of the Kashmiri people while there are provocative jubilations in other parts of the country.
Pointing out that "grievances as well as local aspirations of any people should find expression through their political representatives and elected bodies such as panchayats and assemblies, the draft representation says, "Reducing the status of J&K Assembly to two Union Territories is a serious curtailment of political rights of local populace, something unheard of in free India."
The civil rights group asserts, "Article 370 was introduced as a protection against encroachment on the character of J&K, considering its special and historical position and circumstances", the representation insists, the "Presidential order on Kashmir under Article 370 be kept in abeyance until a duly elected Assembly of J&K discusses it and the procedure specified under Article 370 (1) (b) (ii) is followed."
Also wanting the lock out of the state to end, it wants the President to ensure that political detenues should be released, internet, telephone and all essential services be restored, the status of J&K as a full-fledged state should be upheld, and the army should be refrained from taking up internal responsibilities.

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