The Kashmiri Pandit organisation Youth 4 Panun Kashmir filed a police complaint against Peoples Democratic Party leader and daughter of former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, on Monday over alleged derogatory remarks.
In a statement, Youth 4 Panun Kashmir said the comments of Iltija Mufti were offensive and designed at communal dis-harmony.
The organization accused Mufti of derogatory remarks with respect to Lord Rama, the Hindu faith, and its followers. The complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell, Delhi, mentioned that the statement made by Mufti has attracted Sections 302, 325, 323 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
RIK, another leading Kashmiri Pandit organisation, backed Youth 4 Panun Kashmir’s act, citing Mufti for having a history of using such statements. RIK also extended its support for ensuring legal consequences for Mufti over her statement.
Youths for Panun Kashmir have written to the authorities seeking action; they have demanded an inquiry, blocking of contents under section 69A of IT Act, and stringent legal action against Mufti. Again, the group along with all its alliance partners, like RIK, has vowed that an unstoppable fight for justice and sanctity of every religious belief in the country would continue.
It is to be noted here that Panun Kashmir, the parent body of Youth 4 Panun Kashmir, has long been in the forefront to demand carving out a homeland in the Kashmir Valley for the minority Kashmiri Pandit community, which was forced to leave the valley in the 1990s.
Iltija Mufti explained herself after her controversial comment against Hindutva sparked a controversy. She clarified that she spoke against ‘Hindutva’ ideology, not against ‘Hinduism’. “Hinduism is a religion which propagates peace and compassion” she said as she took the criticism of the ‘Hindutva’ philosophy a step ahead, arguing that this school of thought speaks of an India only meant for Hindus.
She further said, “This is the India of Mahatma Gandhi. I have spoken against Hindutva, not Hinduism. I have spoken against Veer Savarkar’s philosophy that India is only for Hindus. I know Hinduism is a religion that preaches peace and compassion. I am against Hindutva because it is a disease that needs to be weeded out,” Mufti said.
What did Mufti say? On Saturday, her controversial post created a row where she had said that Hindutva is a disease that has “afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a God’s name.” Reacting to a purported video, she went on to say, “Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name.”
Distinguishing Hinduism from Hindutva, Mufti said the former was a religion that preached all attributes of secularism besides love and compassion, just as in Islam. “There is a lot of difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is a philosophy of hate which Veer Savarkar spread in India in the 1940s with the aim to bring hegemony of Hindus, and the philosophy was that India belongs to Hindus and is for Hindus. Like Islam, Hinduism is also a religion that preaches secularism, love, and compassion. So, let’s not distort it deliberately,” she said.
Speaking on the Jai Shri Ram slogan, Mufti said, “The slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has nothing to do with the ‘Ramrajya.’ But it is being merely linked to lynching. It is very shameful to see how Hinduism was being distorted. I criticised the Hindutva as it is illness,” she added.
