The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) while condemning the newly released controversial Bollywood movie, The Kashmir Files, has termed it a plain lie and a ‘poisonous propaganda’ of the Indian government against Muslims of Jammu Kashmir.
The freshly released Bollywood film is based on the story of the forced exodus of Kashmiri non-Muslims from the valley.
A statement issued by the JKLF stated that ‘the movement for the independence of Jammu Kashmir pioneered by the JKLF in 1988-89 was the biggest people’s revolution in the history of the state of Jammu Kashmir.’
It said the role played by the JKLF leader Yasin Malik, for the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to their native land was not only commendable but undeniable too.
‘We are appreciative of those Kashmiri Pandits and Indian civil society members who on merit opposed the film’ it read.
Amid the controversy stirred by the release of the movie, some analysts have pointed out that India wanted to hoodwink the world on Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom by using such tactics.
In this regard, the statement issued by JKLF read that ‘destroying the centuries old brotherhood between the Muslim majority and the Non-Muslim minorities of the State of Jammu and Kashmir has always been the goal of the Indian government and the people working at its payroll.’
‘Yasin Malik’s cordial relations with Kashmiri Pandit community and his numerous efforts for their rehabilitation at their ancestral and native land are a part of history that cannot be ignored, the statement read.
Reacting to the fresh controversy, the special representative of Muhammad Yasin Malik and chief spokesman of the JKLF, Muhammad Rafiq Dar said that ‘the independence movement that started in 1988 under the banner of the JKLF was the biggest people’s revolution of 500 years of Kashmir history.’
‘This movement was aimed to achieve independence, sovereignty and unification of the divided State of Jammu Kashmir through attainment of the internationally recognized fundamental right to self-determination’ for all its inhabitants without prejudices of color, caste, creed, region and religion.’
The spokesperson said that the migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley was in fact a plan of the Indian rulers and its agencies, which was implemented immediately after the appointment of Jagmohan as the governor of the State in early January 1990.
‘JKLF does not hesitate to admit that the wrongdoings of some blacksheeps in the freedom movement camp made it easier for India to put blame on the freedom fighters. But JKLF as a party and the Kashmiri people as a nation have always been depressed and regretful for the unfortunate circumstances and difficulties that have befallen Kashmiri Pandit community’, he said.
He said that today RSS backed handful of inimical elements especially the Pandit elite residing in Delhi and other metropolitan cities of India, who were actually the product of intelligence agencies. On the behest of Indian establishment efforts were being made to strengthen the walls of hatred between Pandits and Muslims. These elements are the ones who have in the past conspired against the efforts of JKLF, Kashmiri freedom camp and especially of Muhammad Yasin Malik for the rehabilitation and repatriation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, he said.
According to the JKLF spokesperson, distorting the image of Kashmiri freedom camp at the behest of the Indian government has been a long failed effort of the Indian media. They have been reporting biasedly on Jammu Kashmir and unfortunately toeing the government line. Thus committing journalistic dishonesty by denying the Indian people their right to know about the realities.
The spokesman said that our religion interprets the killing of any innocent human being as killing the whole of humanity and our Kashmiri culture was based on the principles of tolerance and humanitarianism.
However, to put the record straight, according to police records, about 90 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in the year 1990 which was termed by Indian media, and these few elite pandits as genocide and holocaust. But when it comes to Kashmiri Muslims, only in the first few months of 1990 the Indian forces massacred more than 500 unarmed Kashmiri Muslims during the massacres of Gawkdal, Handwara, Kupwara, Sopore, Tengpura bypass and Zakura and most unfortunate part of it is that these hypocrites have remained silent about this.
With the increase in massacres the number of killings at the hands of Indian forces in Jammu Kashmir has by now risen to more than 125000 but the world has witnessed that still the slogan of freedom remains alive. Have these ‘The Kashmir files’ film makers and the Indian media lost every sight of humanity, decency, and did not they feel any shame on their hypocrisy and ignorance, asked the Spokesman.
The JKLF spokesman further said that the story of Vivek Agnihotri’s newly directed film “The Kashmir Files”, which was believed to highlight and portray the miseries of displaced Kashmiri Pandits living in the migrant camps, has termed to be one sided, biased and far from the ground realities. The film in no way achieved the said goal instead it created more wedge between the two communities as the story turned to be fabricated and a poisonous propaganda against Kashmiri Muslims in general and the freedom camp in particular. He said that the Kashmiri people think that the script of the film is based on the false material provided to the director by the Indian intelligence agencies as it is politically motivated suiting the polity of RSS and therefore it has no locus standi.
According to the spokesperson, JKLF did not start the armed struggle in the 1989 as a matter of choice but it was imposed on them by the state. The aim of this movement was not to kill humanity but to draw the attention of the international community, including India, Pakistan, and the United Nations, for the immediate resolution of the Kashmir issue. This was why after the removal of dust from the files of the Kashmir dispute at the international arena especially the UN, JKLF changed the mode of struggle and started a peaceful resistance movement to find a just solution to the Kashmir issue through dialogue and also did whatever possible to promote a non-violent, peaceful freedom movement in Jammu Kashmir.
Mohammad Rafiq Dar lauded those Kashmiri Pandit brethren and sisters, and also those humanitarians in Indian civil society who opposed the said film on the grounds that it was filmed for political purposes to achieve.