Sagar calls for new chapter of rights restoration, primarily reinstitution of Statehood

Srinagar, Aug 8: National Conference General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar Friday termed the events of August 9, 1953 particularly the unconstitutional arrest and ouster of then Prime Minister Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as a “black day” in the history of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sagar called upon the Union Government to initiate a new chapter in the relationship between Srinagar and New Delhi one based on mutual trust and constitutional guarantees starting with the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Reflecting on the historical context, Sagar said, “August 9, 1953 marked the beginning of a prolonged constitutional and political onslaught on Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, a towering symbol of selfless nationalism and patriotism, chose incarceration over submission to the ruling establishment’s efforts to erode Article 370 and install a pliant leadership in Srinagar.”

He further added, “The illegal and unconstitutional arrest of a sitting Prime Minister left a deep scar on the collective psyche of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a wound that continues to remain unhealed. Had this political coup not taken place, the region may have been spared the decades of turmoil and loss that followed.”