Pakistan Responsible for What Happened in J&K: Azad

‘I believe that Mahatma Gandhi was the biggest Hindu and secularist.’

SRINAGAR — Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said “Pakistan and militancy” were responsible for what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. His comments come amid the ongoing controversy over the recently released Bollywood film ‘The Kashmir Files’.

“I believe that Mahatma Gandhi was the biggest Hindu and secularist. Pakistan and militancy are responsible for what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir, it has affected all Hindus, Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims, Dogras,” the Congress veteran said in Jammu.

The movie, written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, has triggered a political furore.

“Political parties may create a divide 24×7 on basis of religion, caste, and other things… I am not forgiving any party including mine (Congress)… Civil society should stay together. Justice must be given to everyone irrespective of caste and religion,” news agency ANI quoted Azad as saying.

Several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have exempted the film from entertainment tax while the Prime Minister of India also “endorsed” the movie.

The PM had said that it is incumbent on those who “fight for the truth” to ensure that all efforts to present history in the right context are supported.

After the release of the movie, videos went viral on social networking sites calling for the “genocide of Muslims” in India. It has triggered anxieties among the minority community.

Several Opposition leaders have alleged that the government was seeking to spread hatred in society through the movie.

On Wednesday, Union home minister Amit Shah also met the crew of the film which, he said, was a “bold representation of truth”.

Opposition leaders such as former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah questioned the movie and demanded a fresh probe into the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s.