Engineer Rashid to sit on two-day hunger strike in Tihar jail ahead of Gandhi Jayanti

Srinagar: Jailed Lok Sabha MP from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, said on Saturday that he would sit on a two-day hunger strike on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti to evoke the significance of the non-violence principle.

In a handwritten letter addressed to ‘Bapu’ and forwarded to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the MP, who is currently lodged in New Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case, said the entire world is in a “desperate need” for peace.

Asserting that while Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is more relevant now than ever, the MP — popularly known as Engineer Rashid — said that nations across the globe directly or indirectly continue to indulge in violence even while claiming to fight for peace.

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“Those who speak most of your message, Bapu, hardly match their words with deeds,” he wrote.

He also expressed anguish over the situation in Kashmir.

Recalling Gandhi’s role during Partition, Rashid said when the subcontinent was burning in communal flames, “you saw Kashmir as a beacon of hope and harmony”.

“But as of now, we Kashmiris are being branded anti-national, Pak proxies, communal, stone-pelters, anti-Hindu, militants, radicals, Islamists, and what not. Being Islamist is an honour for every Muslim, and no true Muslim can ever be radical,” he said.

The Baramulla MP added nobody is ready to address “our snatched legitimate political and human rights”.

“Even those who speak against UAPA terrorism prefer silence as they are scared of the law of the land. Thousands lie in graves, men in prisons lose their lives, and thousands of us are in jails because of the misdeeds of Partition, for which nobody takes responsibility,” he said.

Referring to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and border residents, Rashid said, “Kashmiri Pandits, who by your own confession were protected by Kashmiri Muslims at the cost of their own lives, are still living as refugees.”

He said Tihar jail has become a second home for all those “who want your vision of non-violence to fight for their legitimate rights”.

Condemning “divisive politics”, Rashid’s letter said that Gandhi’s vision of non-violence has been replaced by “draconian policies”.

“Our helplessness is being enjoyed by fascist forces and our commitment to non-violence is interpreted as weakness. The state, rather than introspecting its draconian policies, has converted Jammu and Kashmir into an experimental lab,” it added.

“I am sure your soul must be in a state of restlessness while watching what we Kashmiris are passing through since 1989,” the letter said.

“Instead of harmony, Muslims are branded outsiders, with terms like ‘Babar ki Aulad’ (Babar’s children) legitimising hate. I say with responsibility that the great Indian state does not need enemies from outside. The ultranationalists are doing all that what the enemies of India cannot do,” he asserted.

To remind the countrymen of the significance of Gandhi’s non-violence principle, the Lok Sabha MP said he has decided to observe two days of hunger strike in Tihar jail from 10 am on October 1 to 10 am on October 3.

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