Stone pelting is an old tradition in Kashmir Valley: Baig
| 28-Dec-2018 |
While speaking at a one-day conference ‘Kashmir: The Way Forward’ organised by a Delhi-based think-tank the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, the Peoples Democratic Party patron Muzaffar Hussain Baig said on Thursday that stone pelting is an old tradition in Kashmir. “But today youth and children are pelting stones (on forces) with a religious purpose and not only shallow politics. They (youth and children) and their mothers and people who come out in thousands to protest think if a youth dies in stone pelting, he is a martyr and he will go to paradise,”said Baig. He said “Today when a 14-year-old child dies, his mother thinks he will go to paradise. They don’t come out and die for the United Nations resolutions on Kashmir but they die to achieve martyrdom”. He revealed that “This is the situation in Kashmir today. Today’s youth has control of situation, whether it is hatred against India or there is ISI, whatever may be the cause, but these people are dying with a religious purpose”. He said though separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani asked the youth in 2010 not to throw stones on security forces yet they did not listen to him. Baig said “Kashmir youth would pelt Mughal soldiers with stones. It is nothing new”.
Myth of stone-pelting and separatist tendencies busted by Baig
Muzaffar Hussain Baig is one of the senior most leaders of PDP and he revealed the real reason behind stone-pelting and many people are unaware about this fact. Unfortunately, this fact is never revealed by our mainstream media in Delhi. They only presented the wrong picture and supplied incorrect information. Especially, journalists like Ravish Kumar and Barkha Dutt never wanted this reality to be revealed. In this one day conference Barkha Dutt herself was one of the speakers and the present disclosure would help her to understand the problem of stone-pelting in right perspective. We can only hope that this truth would be realized not only by media but politicians and human right organizations, who do not want to see the real intention behind the misguided youth and children throwing stones in Kashmir Valley. It is essential that religious leaders of Islam must dispel the myth among the family members of the stone-pelters that their children will not go to paradise if they die in stone-pelting rather they are converting heaven into hell by these acts of theirs. Baig made it amply clear that the youth is not dying for UN resolution but to attain paradise.
About the tradition of stone-pelting
This tradition of stone-pelting was practiced in July 13, 1931 also when Muslims resorted to stone-pelting. Stone-pelting is an age old tradition and the same is being practiced by Muslims whenever they visit Mecca that they understand as the ‘Stoning of the Devil’. The Muslim pilgrims fling pebbles at three walls (formerly pillars), called jamarāt, in the city of Mina just east of Mecca. The same tradition is followed by youth and children in Kashmir valley and unfortunately, the security forces, who are available for the safety and security of the border and the people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are equated to ‘satan’. Hence, the theory of paradise through stone-pelting in Kashmir valley gained the ground. Surprisingly, no sane person or political party in the valley or at national and international level told these gullible youth and children about the different between ‘satan’ and saviour so that they will understand that attacking security personnel with stone will not take them heaven.