Panun Kashmir today urged the state government to declare October 26 or 27 as the 'State Day' as it was on these dates that Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India.
We demand that October 26 or 27 be declared as the 'State Day' by the J&K Government as it was on this day that the state of J&K acceded to the Union of India legally and constitutionally, said Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, President of Panun Kashmir, an organisation of displaced Kashmir Pandits.
Panun Kashmir has been at the forefront of the awareness campaign in this regard for the last more than two decades at the state and national level, he said.
"It was on 26-27 October 1947 that the state was saved from the Pakistan army regulars by the valiant forces of the Indian army led by Brig Rajinder Singh."
"The day should be observed with great fanfare across the state so as to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the brave Indian forces," Chrungoo said.
"There is also a need to send a message about the facts of the history to the younger generations by observance of this day in an appropriate manner," he added.
On Chief Minister Abdullah's remark that Britain's Northern Ireland peace process and devolution in Scotland could "inspire" a future settlement of the Kashmir issue, Chrungoo said, "The Chief Minister should avoid giving such statements that have a tendency to give fillip to fissiparous tendencies in the state."
"The time has come when sensitive state matters need to be delinked from the expression of 'populist sentiments' and vote-bank politics," he added.
