Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on Wednesday said pluralism was the only option before India for achieving the goals it has set out to achieve.
Apparently referring to the recent incidents of communal attacks, Sayeed said that it was not in the interests of the country which had a history of composite civilisation.
"Pluralism is the only option. We have to take everyone along. Some unfortunate incidents have taken place in the country. It is not in our interest. This (country has) a composite culture. We have to keep this civilization alive. If we get derailed, then we can not achieve what we have set out,” Sayeed said addressing the Police Martyr’s Commemorative day at Zewan, 15 kilometer from Srinagar.
Sayeed also said that the acts of intolerance and hate are hitting at India’s core values and posing a grave threat to the country’s plurality and inclusiveness.
He cited the example of Pakistan, which was still in search of a political model that matches one which has been perfected by India.
“I compliment the opposition in piloting a resolution which was unanimously passed by the state legislature that conveyed the message of peace and communal harmony to the rest of the country,” he added.
Sayeed recalled the events of 1947 when Kashmir became a torchbearer of peace and communal harmony for the country in the midst of communal frenzy that led to the partition of the country.
Quoting former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statement “friends can be changed, not neighbours”, Sayeed said that if India has to become a world power, it will have to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours.
He believed that the uncertainty and violence on the borders impact the local population the most and derails the government’s efforts to conduct a new era of development in the state.
Sayeed further added that the state will always remember those police personnel who have fallen in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives for safeguarding the future of our citizens.
“We can never repay the debt of our police martyrs. We salute our heroes and pray for their eternal peace and highest place in heaven,” he stated.
Referring to the supreme sacrifice of 10 gallant Central Reserve Police Force personnel at Hot Springs, Ladakh, in 1959 while repulsing Chinese aggression, in whose memory the Police Commemoration day is observed every year, Sayeed commended the J-K police for exercising restraint and minimising collateral damage on the law-and-order front.
Laying stress on the noble message of peace preached by Islam, Sayeed reiterated that the gun will never be a solution to any problem.
“Na Bandook Se Na Goli Se, Baat Banegi Boli Se, (Talks, not guns and bullets, will resolve things). I feel pain when I see Islam’s message of peace being distorted,” he stated.
