STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said the harmony among the state’s people needs to be celebrated given the strain in the social fabric all over the globe.
“People of the state have been exemplifying harmony, tolerance and brotherhood. This is something which ought to be celebrated given the acrimony that has crept in the social fabric all across the globe,” she said at a function to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas here.
[box fontsize=”14″ radius=”5″]Denounces call for separate Muslims state Jammu: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday denounced a demand to have a separate state for Muslims, in an apparent reference to a top cleric’s suggestion made on Tuesday. “J&K was neither a party to the partition of our country nor did we support division on religious lines. We as a state opted for the opposite, but unfortunately are still paying the price. I strongly condemn any statement made asking for Muslims in India to demand a separate state,” the chief minister posted on Twitter, though she did not name anyone. Yesterday, the Deputy Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Nasir-ul-Islam, had alleged that Muslims in the country were living a “pathetic” life and they should demand a separate state within India.
“Muslims are being harassed under various pretexts such as love jihad and cow vigilantism…They are being targeted.
“If it continues like this, then they should demand a separate country within India,” the cleric had told reporters.[/box]
Mehbooba specifically hailed the people living in Jammu for “upholding these egalitarian traditions with grace despite provocations”.
Paying rich tributes to the saint, the chief minister said Ravidas lived for upholding the values of brotherhood and equality in the society and urged the people to rise above the narrow barriers of caste, colour, region and religion to work for human and humanitarian values.
Asking people to follow the teachings of the saint, the chief minister said the lessons from his life are more relevant today than earlier times given the strain in the social fabric in present times.
“The best tribute to the saint is that we work dedicatedly for creating a society based on the principles of equity, equality and justice,” she said.
