Some J-K students at Jamia refuse lunch meeting with Centre's representative

A section of Kashmiri students at Jamia Millia Islamia said here on Monday that they will not be part of a lunch meeting with a Central government officer on August 14 to protest the ending of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and its bifurcation.

In a statement, they said they have been intimated by university authorities about the proposed lunch with the liaison officer of government at the university guest house, for which Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has sanctioned Rs 1 lakh.

A Raj Bhawan spokesman had said on Friday that the governor sanctioned Rs 1 lakh each to liaison officers to organise Eid festivities for students from the state who are unable to go home on the occasion.

 

However, the Jamia students told media in a statement, "In the interest of justice, we seek to inform you that we not only reject this supposed lunch offer in toto but also refuse to be part of any such state-sponsored gatherings in the future as well."

"We deem participating in such a lunch event as an act of betrayal and a flagrant disregard towards our people's legitimate rights," they said.

"We unanimously reject this exceptionalism and expansionism...," the statement added.

They said the state has been rendered incommunicado and is "under total siege".

"Emergency orders have been issued, landline and cellphone connectivity has been shut down, internet has been completely snapped and with a complete media gag," the statement alleged.

The state is reeling under a "relentless curfew" while more than 35,000 soldiers have been flown to the state in addition to already half a million soldiers present there, it stated.

"Given this context," the statement said, "we have every reason to believe that this lunch offer is aimed at seeking our legitimacy for the anti-Kashmir policies and approaches pursued by Indian government."

"The proposed offer is a cunning statist claptrap, whose only objective is to project the humane face of an otherwise perpetual war, unleashed on the people of our state," the staement added.