NC leader Farooq Abdullah: Kashmiris don't want to be Indian, would rather be ruled by Chinese

People in Kashmir do not feel and do not want to be Indian at this moment, said National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah. They would rather be ruled by the Chinese, he said.

The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir described Kashmiri people as “slaves who were being treated like second class citizens”, in an interview with The Wire.

Abdullah has been against the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that revokes Jammu and Kashmir's special status. The Centre had abrogated the special status on August 5, 2019, saying Article 370 had stalled the development of Jammu and Kashmir, prevented proper education, health care and growth of industries besides not helping in curbing terrorism.

Asked about the claims of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the people of Kashmir have accepted the August 2019 changes as there have been no protests, Abdullah denied this.

The NC chief said if the soldiers on every street and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits assembly of five or more people, were to be lifted, tens of lakhs people will come out in protest against the changes.

After the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the trust that once bound Kashmir to the rest of the country has completely “snapped”, Abdullah said as per the report. They do not trust the central government anymore, he said.

Abdullah further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “misled and deceived him” before the constitutional changes in Kashmir were announced.

Talking about the meeting to seek assurances about the continuation of Articles 370 and 35A roughly 72 hours before August 5, 2019, Abdullah said he asked the prime minister why there were so many troops in the Valley. On this, PM Modi gave him the impression that it was for security purposes.

As PM Modi did not talk about Articles 370 and 35A during the meeting, Abdullah believed that the two Articles were not in danger.