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From Fremont, CA (USA), September, 14 2008

IKF observes Balidan Divas "Martyr's day'

he world community of Kashmiri Hindus and International Kashmir Federation (IKF) observed Balidan Divas "Martyr's day' on Sunday, September 14, 2008 to pay homage to the Martyrs

In Northern California, in the city of Fremont, USA, members of the Kashmiri Hindu community gathered in Fremont temple at 4:00 PM, displaying placards, distributing flyers, and educating others about the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits.

A roundtable conference was held inside the temple community hall to discuss the current state of affairs in Kashmir. The meeting opened with recitation of an article on Balidan Divas, which was sent for the occasion by IKF member in Delhi, Mr. T.N.Dhar 'Kundan', also a writer.

Various community members expressed concern and outrage over the recent attack by Kashmir Watch, a Pakistani media outlet, on International Kashmir Federation (IKF), calling it a hate group, even attacking Lord Shiva, calling him “a mythical Hindu character that is famous for his hate and fury.”

The report from Kashmirwatch.com said "India's two most important spy agencies Research And Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) have directed Kashmiri Pandits abroad to start a vilification campaign; the Indian government has activated militant groups around the world including Kashmiri Pandits who are being paid hefty sums to launch a propaganda campaign. Pandits, who traditionally worked in government sector including a sizeable number for the Indian security agencies as well as in the Police and Army, have been employed in large numbers by the Indian agencies throughout the world and during the last two decades of Kashmiri struggle for independence, Pandits have launched a sustained hate campaign to defame the Kashmiri movement.”

”Now as the Indian brutalities have exposed Indian behavior in Kashmir, Indian agencies are trying hard to divert the attention from its repression. As part of the policy, India's two most important spy agencies � Research And Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) have directed Kashmiri Pandits abroad to start a vilification campaign. As part of this, campaign a group of US based Pandits from a hate centre 'Fremont Hindu Temple' launched a vilification campaign under the banner of International Kashmir Federation (IKF). The members of this hate group Jeevan Zutshi, Deepak Ganju, Subash Razdan, Rakesh Kaul, Anil Wali, Kiran Kuchroo are based in India while R K Mattoo, Wing Commander Raman Sopory and Moti Kaul are based in India. Launching a scathing attack on Kashmiri Muslims, these hate-mongers claimed that 'thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were murdered in cold blood by the Islamic terrorists while 35,000 of them had to flee'. This is pertinent to mention that according to the official records, 209 Pandits were killed by militant’s, majority of them members of security agencies, while their total population was less than 100,000. However, the Kashmiri Pandits, under the guidance of Indian intelligence agencies have been carrying hate propaganda and exaggerating their sufferings and n umber of deaths.”

”The members of the Fremont Hindu Temple hate center also called for the abrogation of Article 370 and advised the Indian government to take a tough military action against the Kashmiri Muslims demanding Azaadi. Terming the mass protests of Kashmiri Muslims as 'wild' and 'illogical' the Pandits accused them of conspiring against Lord Shiva, a mythical Hindu character that is famous for his hate and fury. The Pandit hate group also called upon the Indian government to desist from any maneuvers to accord legitimacy to any form of Muslim separatism be it secession to Pakistan, Independence, shared sovereignty or autonomy. This is pertinent to mention that Kashmiri Pandits have launched this hate campaign in collaboration with militant Hindu groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (USA), Overseas Friends of BJP (USA) and Swayam Sevak Sangh (SSS).”

The members of Kashmiri Hindu community condemned this report and were outraged by the malicious lies spoken by Kashmirwatch.com. It was decided to file a lawsuit against this bogus media outlet of terrorists.

Ironically, while attacking International Kashmir Federation (IKF), the writer agreed that 209 Kashmiri Pandits were murdered by militants. The IKF advisor communicated with the gathering through an e-mail and remarked "The writer of Kashmir Watch, in writing, agrees that Terrorists in the Valley killed at least 209 Kashmiri Pandits. The names of these tragic victims are in the public domain. Given his supernatural resources inside RAW who have informed him that they are funding IKF, it should certainly be easy for him to identify which security agencies these Pandits were supposedly working for? Failing this, the writer should reflect on his own factual admission and where it positions him in civil society given that he has portrayed these innocent members of society falsely and tried to justify an unforgivable crime."

"In the last 668 years there is no historical record of Kashmiri Pandits committing acts of violence against non-Pandits. The writer should reflect on the facts as to whether the reverse is true. Once he does that then he will quickly realize where the hate springs from and towards whom. It is pretty clear that the writer is not engaged in constructive writing but instead wants to whip up his own audience. The allegation of hefty sums of money being paid to IKF (to fund what activity?) is simply a technique to drive fund raising for the writer's own causes from his captive followers."

"When it comes to Kashmiri Pandits the writer and other of his ilk are faced with very bad facts. It is best that they avoid throwing allegations at Kashmiri Pandits because it will only boomerang against them. By the same token it would be appropriate to bring this writer and the website to the attention of the anti terrorism authorities here in the US since he seems to have sympathies for terrorist acts and has taken the extra step of personally naming the members of the IKF for which intent one can only speculate at."

The members of the community decided to meet the appropriate counter terrorism people so they can put this in their files. As one of the members of IKF rightly said “I am sure that they will have more than passing interest in IKF's input and intelligence and Kashmir Watch itself may find that it is under watch.”

The meeting concluded with a prayer for the Martyr's and was over at 6:30 PM.

"For us 14th September is not a mere narrative of events but it exemplifies the collective response and resolve of the community. It symbolizes the regeneration and renaissance of our civilizational identity for it brings to the fore the ultimate quest for a dignified community life. Though the purpose also is to expose the ugly face of terrorism and its ill effects on the society, thus reveling the true survival instinct and inherent strength of the community in the process." Dr. Romesh Raina writes about the relevance of this day.

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