It was a protest with a difference as people from different parts of Kashmir Valley on Sunday converged at Lal Chowk in the heart of the city to register their opposition to continuing strike calls given by the separatists.
The protesters belonging to Jammu and Kashmir NGO Forum assembled at the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) and moved in a convoy towards clock tower located at Lal Chowk where they hoisted a white flag — a symbol of peace. The rally was staged in protest against the continuous strikes called by separatist groups over the past few months which had brought normal life including education activities to a standstill in the Valley.
The participants, who held placards denouncing the frequent strikes, were attacked by a few stone-pelting miscreants who were chased away by police using batons and tear gas shells at some places.
***
‘No alternative to peaceful co-existence’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi
Nov. 7: Noting that China’s “expansionist” statements such as those on Arunachal Pradesh and its “tacit support” to Pakistan’s “hostile” attitude towards India are “stumbling blocks in the way of restoring normalcy between India and China, BJP parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani on Sunday said there is “no alternative to peaceful coexistence” between the two countries.
Writing on the issue in his blog, Mr Advani claimed relationship between the two countries will be one of the key determinants of the course of world history in the 21st century.
Mr Advani has mentioned that despite India’s acute sense of betrayal by China in 1962, Atal Behari Vajpayee, first as external affairs minister and later as Prime Minister, “consciously exerted” towards achieving this end.
Referring to Tibet and its exiled leader Dalai Lama, Mr Advani said even though a lot of atrocities have been committed, Tibet continues to be the holy land of the Tibetan people.
“I do hope and pray that a day will come soon when His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan people living in forced exile are able to go back to their Home Land in an honourable and dignified way, and thereafter be able to build the future destiny of Tibet,” Mr Advani has mentioned in the latest post in his blog.