Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday said August 09, 1953, was the black day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir and a day to commemorate the struggle of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
Dr Kamal, according to the NC spokesperson, said that the unfortunate day was marked by the illegal dismissal of the popular government under a deep-rooted political intrigue to erode the special status of the State. “After the illegal overthrow of the popular National Conference Government, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was taken to Udhampur and imprisoned in Tara Niwas Palace in the scorching heat of summer while Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad was illegally and unconstitutionally sworn in as the new puppet Prime Minister of the State,” he said.
Stating that August 9th 1953 was a day when a prolonged constitutional and political assault was launched on the status and sovereignty of J&K, Kamal said that Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was the epitome of selfless nationalism, patriotism and sacrifices for the cause of his nation’s dignity.
“Sheikh Sahib chose imprisonment over toeing Delhi’s line at a time when New Delhi wanted to erode Article 370 and put in place a pliant puppet in Srinagar. Far from healing the wounds of 1953, New Delhi made an entire new generation taste the bitterness of 1953. The unconstitutional and illegal arrest of a Prime Minister inflicted a very deep wound on the psyche of Kashmiris, a wound that remains sore to this very day. Had the coup not taken place in 1953, Kashmir would not have witnessed the haunting turmoil and loss of lives that it did – a political turmoil it continues to suffer and reel under,” he added.
