The Indo-European Kashmir seminar on 12^th January was attended by the British Parliamentarians and the representatives of the following Organisations:-

 

The Hindu Council UK, the Hindu Forum of Britain, the Hindu Swayamserak Sangh, the National Hindu Students Forum, the Kashmir Bhawan Centre, the IEKF , the Labour Councillors, the Nepalese Hindus UK and the Second Secretary of the Indian High Commission.

 

Bill Olner, MP and Emma Nicholson MP jointly chaired the seminar.

 

 

The agenda items tabled for discussion were:-

 

 

Bill Olner, MP, opened the seminar by extending a warm welcome to the Participants of the seminar. He stated that the Foreign Office Minister, Ivan Lewis, and the members of all Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir had been invited to the seminar .The Foreign Office Minister has been travelling and obviously out of the country. The members of the all Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir were not able to attend.

 

Krishna Bhan, IEKF President, gave a brief introduction to the IEKF and its role in highlighting the plight of Kashmiri Hindus since 1989. She stated that the diverse areas of Kashmir reflect the multi-religious, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic India. She further stated that since 1989 Kashmir became the target of a campaign of militancy by all sides in the conflict. Eventually more than 400,000 Kashmiri Hindus were forced out of the Kashmir valley through genocidal campaign unleashed by the militants, only a few thousand remaining in the valley.

The full text is available for your information.

 

Emma Nicholson, MP, gave an excellent insight in to the status of internally displaced people. Emma stated that it is the responsibility of the government concerned to provide assistance and protection for the IDPs . Refugees, too, behave like IDPs and it is a global tragedy. It is only a small number of IDPs and the older people who usually go back to their homes. Emma further mentioned that the British Kashmiri Hindus can help IDPs by targeting the young people in camps. The young people need opportunities and they want to be good members of a society. Our support and sponsorship given from here can encourage these youngsters from camps to go for higher education and professional qualifications.

Emma made a reference to the Refugees Convention of 1951.

 

Raj Pandit Sharma, Hindu Council UK, made an informative power point presentation on the Historical chronology of the Jammu and Kashmir State. Raj bagan his presentation by showing a political map of the Kashmir region districts, showing the Pir Panjal range and the vale of Kashmir. He explained the valley’s origin from the waters, how the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake and this was drained by the great rishi, Kashyapa, by cutting the gap in the hills. In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important centre of Buddhism and later of Hinduism.

The complete power point presentation is available if you wish to view it.

 

Brij Mohan Gupta, General Secretary Hindu Council UK, addressed the participants by making a powerful speech on the plight of Kashmiri Hindus and the abuse of their human rights. He stated that the Kashmiri Hindus have been intimidated and tortured and acts of violence have been committed against their human rights. He said 19 January 1990 was the day when loudspeakers from mosques in the valley blared a message –Pandits get out of the valley, leave your women here. Kashmiri Hindus have been forced to live in exile for the last 20 years and they have been turned into refugees in their own country. There has been little sympathy for Kashmiri Hindus in the west, we need to make the global community aware of dilapidated conditions of the camps that Kashmiri Hindus are forced to live in.

Brij Mohan said “Let us pass a Resolution today to awaken the Congress of India and the International Public by going in hundreds from the west and marching in front of the Parliament Square in New Delhi to show our commitment to Kashmiri Hindus in exile. We will achieve our goal and a new dawn will come and the first light will fall on the valley .We will win people’s hearts with love and peace”

 

Venilal Vaghela, Director /Treasurer Hindu Council UK, started his presentation by outlining  the main features of the first UK Conference  in 1992.He mentioned  that the worldwide campaign of Islamic fundamentalism had not only taken roots but had been growing rapidly in the Western European countries such as Britain, France and Germany. Venilalji further said that Maharaja Hari Singh, a reigning monarch of the Jammu and Kashmir State, wrote to the Governor General of India Lord Mountbatten and signed the instrument of accession to India in 1947 .The full documentation of the Conference proceedings can be obtained from Krishna Bhan.

 

Chuni Chavda,Councillor, said the valley of Kashmir is a beautiful place and the British Government has put restrictions on travelling to Kashmir. He wished to pass a resolution that the British Government to remove the travel restriction on Kashmir. He stated that the entire Kashmir is the part and parcel of India as Maharaj Hari Singh had signed the Instrument of Accession in 1947.The Pakistan –administered Northern Areas and the Azad  Kashmir provinces belong to the Indian administered State of Jammu and Kashmir. The illegal occupation of these areas by Pakistan should be made an International issue .

Chunijii said that the elections are approaching and we should extract promises from the politicians to take up the issues of Kashmiri Hindus with the Indian Government. The Hindu temples and Sikh Gurdawaras in the UK should be visited when the politicians come to these establishments during the election times. The time has come and Kashmir is for Indians.

 

Chandan Kotwal, IEKF Executive Member, stated that Kashmiri Hindus lived happily in the valley until the start of the insurgency in 1989.Now a large number of Kashmiri Hindus live as refugees in appalling conditions in the camps .He related his personal experiences as a trauma doctor in Jammu. He witnessed the terrifying incidents while treating the patients who lived in camps in Jammu.

Chandan has been co-ordinating the financial assistance educational programme for 30 primary school children in camps for the past seven years.

The full presentation text is available.

 

There was no time left for the questions and answers session. The seminar was concluded at 7.45pm.

 

Vijay Dhar, Secretary Kashmir Bhawan Centre, thanked Bill Olner

     and Emma  Nicholson  for chairing the seminar proceedings and

 for their excellent presentations. He also thanked the speakers for

  their eloquent and detailed speeches.

 

Krishna Bhan   IEKF 14.01.2010.