Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 29: The J&K Civil Society released the “Interim Report on Kishtwar Violence”at a press conference here, today.
The Report was jointly be released by Ashwani Sharma MLA, Dr. Jitendra Singh, noted intellectual and columnist, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, Human Rights activist, Dineshwar Singh Jamwal, Civil Rights activist and Sardar KCS Mehta, educationist.
Releasing the report Ashwani Sharma who was the chairman of the Committee said that he will also raise the issue in State Assembly whose autumn session is beginning at Summer Capital from tomorrow.
He said the final report will be released later.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while commenting on the report said, this is perhaps for the first time in the history of independent India that a phenomenon of “state sponsored communal violence “ has been witnessed in the form of Kishtwar riots where the administration remained a mute spectator when the minority community was being systematically targetted for as long as eight to nine hours. This is a case of “connivance through indifference”, he alleged and therefore, a matter of concern for the whole nation.
Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo said the findings of the report indicate that Kishtwar is on the brink of ethnic cleansing. He further said this threat will spread to other areas of the district as a conspiracy has been hatched to force ethnic cleansing in these districts.
The report will provide an opportunity to the intellectuals of the country to ponder over the issue, he said and took those organizations to task who demand disbanding of VDCs.
Chrungoo said that instead of disbanding the VDCs they should be strengthened further and the VDCs be set up in the districts of Kathua Samba and other border areas also.
The team, which was constituted on August 25 visited Kishtwar to make an on the spot assessment and prepare an interim report on the situation.
Later Mr Chrungoo along with Virender Raina called on visiting RSS chief Dr Mohan Rao Bhagwat and presented a copy of report to him also.
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