New Delhi: In a no-holds-barred interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah said that Kashmiris are so disillusioned with the Indian state and they would instead prefer Chinese rule. That too, despite the treatment meted out to the Uyghur Muslims there.
Pulling no punches, Abdullah stated that Kashmiris do not feel Indian considering what transpired in August 5, 2019.
“We will fight till the last breath to take back the dignity that was snatched away from us last year with Article 370’s abrogation,” said the former CM while referring to the Gupkar Declaration.
The Declaration is a pact between mainstream factions of the state to restore the special constitutional status of the state as it was on August 4 last year.
Though be it Kashmiris in the Valley or the mainstream strand of their political representation, neither have been allowed to voice their (dis)content against the revocation of the vestiges of J&K’s special status. “Even as I returned to Parliament, I was not allowed to air my grievances. I asked the speaker to let me speak on the floor but he would not let me do so.”
Abdullah also spoke about the state of Muslims in the rest of the country which has further alienated Kashmiri Muslims from India.
“Modi is definitely no Vajpayee who acknowledged our existence and we are surely not living in Gandhi’s India. The anti-farmer legislation being discussed right now is a prime example of that,” the former CM asserted.