As the incidents of hate violence against Kashmiris still continue in parts of India, with the latest one in Delhi and Nagpur, Kashmiri leader Syed Geelani expresses gratitude to Sikhs for their kinship and love and praises their daring against Hindutva elements.

Kashmir and Kashmiris will never forget that when the dark and gloomy clouds of hyper-nationalism had overtaken sanity and the rabidly fanatic elements were baying for the blood of Kashmiris, it was the Sikh community and its brave youth who dared the Hindutva monster and extended their helping hand to the oppressed and depressed Kashmiris in various parts of India,” said Hurriyat Conference chairperson Syed Ali Shah Geelani in a statement to the media.

“I thank the Sikhs from the core of my heart for their moral, physical, financial and timely support.”

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Chairperson, Hurriyat Conference

Far away in the Northeast, to add insult to injury, the Governor of Meghalaya -Tathagata Ray, an author of a book on how imperialistic feelings killed thousands of Bengalis far away in the Northeast, even though occupying a gubernatorial post which requires neutrality, has asked people “to boycott everything Kashmiri.”

Meanwhile there are reports of Kashmiri students being attacked in the RSS-town Nagpur and forced to repeat the slogan Vande Mataram. Two poor vagabond shawl merchants were forced to jump off a running local train in Delhi to escape a mob in a local train, which was chasing them shouting, “Kashmir mein pathar faikte ho, yahan shawl bechte ho….”you are pelting stones in Kashmir and here you are selling shawls!”

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has expressed dismay at the silence of the BJP and the Congress over attacks in Kashmiris in various parts of India. Jammu Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN) president and former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir has also regretted the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Hurriyat Conference statement from Srinagar said, “I thank the Sikhs from the core of my heart for their moral, physical, financial and timely support.”  He further added that all the minorities are at the mercy of the majority and our Sikh brothers too have experienced the trauma and bruises, be it in the 1984 Sikh genocide attacks or the killing of 36 Sikhs in Chittisngpora, at the time of the visit of US President Bill Clinton in March 2000.

This gesture of humanity and universal brotherhood of the Sikh community will be ever remembered, the statement added.

Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also expressed gratitude to people, especially Khalsa Aid for helping Kashmiris, while they were being attacked.

In this entire scenario, the silence of the traditional Sikh leadership –Shiromani Akali Dal and their ilk, the Sikh faces of the AAP party, other Sikh leaders, the Jathedars and Singh Sahibans is nauseatingly painful.  Some of these have sided with the rabidly communal elements in the country and displayed their intellectual and political bankruptcy.

In a tell-tale remark about the hatred that was being aired on television, a Whatsapp creative sarcastically remarked, “Be careful, India will be caught sleeping and some day the Television channels will go ahead and attack Pakistan.”

A former high ranking official of the Indian army, boasted in a “debate” –”kill the Kashmiris in the same way as we killed the Sikhs in Punjab!”

Do we need to say more?