Srinagar: Political leaders in Kashmir on Thursday expressed concern over the reports of assault on a Kashmiri trader in Uttarakhand, and urged the state administration to take legal action against the perpetrators.
National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said coercing any citizen to prove patriotism through compelled speech violates constitutional freedoms.
“Reports from Uttarakhand indicating that a Kashmiri trader was assaulted for refusing to chant a slogan on religious grounds are deeply troubling.
“Coercing any citizen to prove patriotism through compelled speech violates constitutional freedoms and human dignity,” Mehdi said in a post on X.
The alleged incident came to light after a purported video of it was shared online. The Kashmiri vendor was reportedly seen being assaulted by a group of five men who abused and thrashed him for refusing to chant “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
The Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar said national loyalty cannot be enforced through intimidation, nor can it replace accountability, governance and the rule of law.
“We urge the Uttarakhand government to ensure strict legal action against those responsible and guarantee the safety and rights of Kashmiri traders across the state,” the MP said.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti urged the Uttarakhand Police chief to ensure a case is registered so that the perpetrators are held accountable.
“Bilal Ahmad, a shawl seller, was brutally assaulted by right-wing goons in Kashipur, Uttarakhand. Despite approaching the Pratappur Goshala police station, no FIR has reportedly been registered so far.
“(I) Urge the DGP Uttarakhand to kindly intervene and ensure that an FIR is registered so that the perpetrators are held accountable, and such incidents are not repeated in the future,” Mufti said on X.
Mufti’s daughter and PDP leader, Iltija Mufti, said Mahatma Gandhi’s India “is on the verge of death”.
“Bajrang Dal workers thrashed a Kashmiri shawl trader only because he refused to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Bajrang Dal, along with RSS, is a metastatic cancer that is making India sick. Gandhi’s India is on the verge of death,” Iltija Mufti said in a post on X.
J&K Students Association said it has written to the Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, Deepam Seth, expressing deep anguish and grave concern over a deeply disturbing and chilling incident reported from Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district, where a Kashmiri shawl seller was brutally assaulted, threatened and forcibly intimidated by a group of Bajrang Dal activists, reportedly led by one of its leaders, Ankur Singh.
In its letter, the JKSA said that the victim Bilal Ahmed Ganie of Kupwara, Kashmir, a labourer and seasonal shawl vendor in Uttarakhand, is not a newcomer to the area and has been selling shawls in Udham Singh Nagar for the past 9–10 years, living peacefully within the local community and earning his livelihood with dignity and hard work.
JKSA said that despite his long-standing presence and peaceful conduct, Ganie was “brutally assaulted, his stock of shawls was looted, he was threatened with death, and was asked to vacate the area and leave the state immediately”, thereby being forced to abandon his livelihood and dignity.
JKSA said such acts have created an atmosphere of fear and terror not only for the victim but also for other Kashmiri traders who depend on seasonal work in the region.
JKSA said that the victim has already filed a complaint at Pratapur, Goshala Police Chowki. However, despite the seriousness of the matter and the vulnerability of the victim, no action has been initiated so far and no FIR has been registered. “This inaction has only emboldened the culprits and deepened the sense of insecurity and helplessness among the victim and the wider Kashmiri community.”
JKSA said Kashmiris are not outsiders in India but equal citizens and an integral part of the country, entitled to the same rights, freedoms and protections as any other Indian under the Constitution. Targeting innocent Kashmiri traders and forcing them out of cities only deepens alienation and mistrust, and plays into the hands of hostile forces that seek to sow division and weaken India’s social fabric.
“Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in Kashmir than incidents like these,” the Association said.
The Association noted that such acts of violence, intimidation and communal hatred strike at the very foundations of the rule of law and the democratic ethos of the nation. India’s strength lies in its unity in diversity, and any assault on that spirit is an assault on the nation itself.
The Association said that the rule of law must prevail and those who take it into their own hands must be dealt with strictly.
The Association requested the personal intervention of the Uttarakhand DGP to ensure that the victim’s complaint is immediately taken cognizance of, that an FIR is registered without any further delay, and a fair and impartial investigation is carried out, so that the culprits involved are promptly identified and arrested, and adequate protection is provided to the victim and other Kashmiri traders so that they may live and work without fear in Uttarakhand.
