Mass protests against Pahalgam killings rare occurrence: Sajad Lone

Srinagar, Apr 27: People’s Conference (PC) President Sajad Gani Lone today  said that the mass protests against the Pahalgam killings was a rare occurrence, a first of its kind in the last 78 years.

He posted on X, “It showed a shift in mindset from a society in which some significant sections may have accorded social sanctity to the concept of violence —— to a society which matched in thousands across villages and towns condemning violence thereby signifying the social stigmatisation of violence. This a monumental shift, a milestone. But at the same time, a fragile shift.”

He added , “I hope those in charge of law and order do understand the significance of the shift and don’t do anything erroneously which impedes the shift or facilitates a return to the earlier mindset. “

Lone stated that there is a general feeling across the valley that whole family is being punished for the actions of one person. “We approached the court also and termed it as a form of collective punishment, inspired by the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, where the British were convinced of their criminality and and attributed it to their ancestry. Using collectiveness to define criminality or terrorism is a curse and will never allow reconciliation and social introspection.  I hope what has been achieved in the aftermath of the heinous carnage in Pahalgam, is understood by those at the helm.  And these precious gains are not frittered away,”he wrote on X.