Accession Day to be celebrated as Diwali: BJP

Press Trust Of India
Jammu, October 25, 2010
First Published: 19:18 IST(25/10/2010)
Last Updated: 19:27 IST(25/10/2010)

BJP and many other organisations and groups have said that they would celebrate the anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India on October 26 in the same way as the festival of lights. "October 26 will be celebrated like the festival of Diwali by illuminating buildings and bursting of crackers in Jammu and other district headquarters," J and K Pradesh BJP President Shamsher Singh Manhas told reporters.
BJP and its Yuva Morcha activists will organise programmes, take out rallies in each district of the state to celebrate Accession Day, he said.
Apart from BJP, other organisations which have decided to participate in the celebrations include Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), VHP, Shiv Sena, ABVP, Jammu State Morcha (JSM), Jammu Joint Peoples Front (JJPF), Sangrash Samiti, Dogra Liberation Front, Jammu Joint Students Front (JJSF), Jammu Bar Association, All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), Kranti Dal, Dogri Sanstha, Panun Kashmir.
"For us, Accession Day is like Diwali and we are going to celebrate it as Vijay Divas," MLA and JKNPP President Balwant Singh Mankotia said.
"We will celebrate it for the first time at Historical place Mubarak Mandi, which was the seat of power of the last King Maharaja Hari Singh, in Jammu at 10:30 AM by unfurling the national flag and taking out rallies amid illuminations in various JKNPP offices," he said.
JJPF, a conglomerate of trade, transport and social organisations advocating the cause of the people of Jammu region, has said it will take out rallies in Jammu city and other district headquarters.
Maharaja Hari Singh, the last ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, had signed the Instrument of Accession with Lord Mountbatten on October 26, 1947.

K.Venugopal

Celebrating accession day gives the impression that there was a time when Kashmir was not a part of India. It was the British view of history that divided our ancient nation politically. Now it appears we are also accepting the British view of history by talking about Kashmir's accession etc. In fact we should stop celebrating August 15th itself as independence day but mark it as a day of tragedy signifying partition of the nation. Article 370 must be scrapped and all vestiges of separation in Kashmir must be erased. Pakistan must be declared enemy nation.

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