Killing of Kashmir goldsmith attack on concept on ‘One India, One Nation': JK BJP

The J&K BJP Saturday condemned the killing of a Hindu goldsmith in Srinagar days after he got his domicile certificate, terming it an assault on the 'One India One Nation' concept and a result of some parties raising the bogey of "demographic change" after the withdrawal the erstwhile state's special status.

J&K BJP Spokesperson Brig (R) Anil Gupta also said apart from gross human rights violation of the minorities in Kashmir, the dastardly act of the terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF) is a challenge to the idea of India symbolised by Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava, the tenet of secularism in India.

In a press release issued here, Brig (R) Gupta said, "In India, we embrace all religions but it is a matter of concern and shame that the leaders of self-proclaimed secular parties in Kashmir have once again failed to condemn Pakistan and its proxy TRF," he said.

On December 31, militants shot dead the goldsmith named Satpal Singh, believed to be 62, at a busy Srinagar market. Obtaining the domicile certificate granted him the right to own land and property in Jammu and Kashmir.

Brig (R) Gupta Saturday said the larger concern of "demographic change" highlighted by the terror outfit is same as what Kashmiri leaders have been using to "emotionally exploit" the locals by terming all other than the Kashmiri Muslims as "outsiders".

The killing appears to have been motivated by such utterances and needs thorough investigation, he added.

India cannot afford a third division on the basis of religion and succumb to the pressure groups in Kashmir promoting exclusivist-supremacist doctrine of "only my way is the right way" and those who do not subscribe to "my way" do not deserve to live here, Brig (R) Gupta said.

"The killing is a warning to those original inhabitants of the Valley who want to return to their homeland but also to those who may be wanting to settle here post abrogation of 370-35A. It is a direct challenge and warning to the reported efforts of the government to establish a Sainik Colony in Kashmir," he said.

"The terror act is an open threat to Kashmir's total integration with India. If Gupkaris (parties who have formed an alliance for restoration of Art 370) can shout at the top of their voices and blame the army of a fake encounter, though unsubstantiated, why are they scared to name and shame the terror group and its mentors in Pakistan? "Does the demand of restoration of 370 not smack of sub-nationalism that has no relevance in One India concept?" he asked.