Vested interests seeking to sustain militancy: Dr Jitendra

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh addressing the inaugural function of the three-day academic cum cultural event “Jammu & Kashmir - A Cultural Prism”, at New Delhi on Saturday.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh addressing the inaugural function of the three-day academic cum cultural event “Jammu & Kashmir - A Cultural Prism”, at New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI, Feb 17: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that vested interests are seeking to sustain Kashmir militancy, even though the youth of Kashmir have moved ahead.
Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day academic-cum-cultural event “Jammu & Kashmir – A Cultural Prism”, jointly organized by Centre of Indology, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan and Millennium India Education Foundation, here today, Dr Jitendra Singh forthrightly made the point that the so-called freedom movement in Kashmir is, in fact, a mercenary movement sustained by cross-border resources, but what is alarming is that, not only the separatist lobby, but some of the so – called mainstream Kashmir-centric political groups and politicians have also developed a vested interest in the continuation of militancy.
This is so, he said, because the political agenda of these activists has, over the last two decades, mastered the art of thriving and surviving in a state of uncertainty and mayhem. There are politicians and parties who look forward to win elections under the shadow of gun with a low and dismal voting percentage and it will never suit them that the field should open up for everybody to participate in the democratic process and enable the popularly elected representatives to take over, he added.
Meanwhile, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the post-1990 and post-2000 generation of Kashmiri youth are well informed and well connected, which is increasingly making them realize that they have been held to ransom by certain vested interests.
That is the reason why, he said, the youth of Kashmir do not wish to miss the enormous opportunities made available in the country during the last over three years of the Modi Government.
To illustrate his point, he cited the example of nearly 20 youngsters from terror-stricken districts of Kashmir valley, who qualified the IIT-JEE exam in 2017 and made it to IITs and NITs in different parts of India. Not only this, for the last two years, there is invariably a topper among the first 20 merit list of annual IAS / Civil Services Examination, he added.
Referring to Kashmir’s cultural heritage depicted though an exhibition put up by the organizers, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the cultural heritage of Kashmir is essentially based on composite ethos and both, on occasions of celebration as well as mourning, the hymns and expression of the two communities are strikingly similar to each other.
Lauding the perseverance and diligence with which the youth of the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community have made it to the top in different walks of life all over the country, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the youth of the other community left behind in the Valley are also now picking up the cue and trying to make up for the time lost.
On the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh also released a book “Connect With Sharda” based on ancient Indian script written by Dr Uday Kakroo. Chairman Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan C.R. Gharekhan, Dean Dr. Shashi Bala and Director Ashok Pradhan also spoke on the occasion.

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