‘I feel ashamed as an Indian’, says Kerala Guv Arif Mohammad Khan on killings of Pandits in Kashmir

BULANDSHAHR: There cannot be a more heinous crime than the killing of innocents and as an Indian he feels ashamed, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said on Tuesday, reacting to the targeted killings of Kashmiri pandits by terrorists in the Valley.

Khan was here to unveil the statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar at Bangar village.

“There can be no greater crime than a murder, the killing of an innocent. I feel ashamed as an Indian,” he said when asked about the killings of pandits in Kashmir.

“If a single person from my country has to leave his home and become a refugee, no amount of shame will suffice it,” he said.

Khan said it was reassuring that the administration in Jammu and Kashmir is trying its best to prevent the targeting of the community.

To a question about the statement of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on the killings, he said he will not comment on any political subject keeping in view the dignity of his post.

After the killing of Kashmiri pandit Puran Krishan Bhat by terrorists in Shopian district on Saturday, Abdullah had told the media that “this is not going to stop, it will continue till justice is done”.

The Kerala Governor also said everyone knows that B R Ambedkar framed the Constitution, but there is not enough discussion on the fact that the situation of women in the country changed because of the laws brought by him.

To a question on the alleged worsening condition of women in the country, he said, “It is not what it should be, but calling it worse will not be right.”

Awareness among women has increased. Earlier, a girl of 12-13 years could not step out of home but in the last few years, girls from villages travel seven kilometers on bicycle to get education, Khan said. These are girls belonging to religions wherein after the age of 12-13 years, they could not step outside their homes without their mothers and elder sisters accompanying them, he added. (PTI)