Srinagar: National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah on Saturday led the Party functionaries, workers and delegates in offering Fateh prayers and floral wreaths at the last resting place of party founder late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah on his 115th birth anniversary.
Earlier in the morning a Majlis of Quran Khawani, led by Party Additional General Secretary Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal was also held in the reading room at Abdullah’s Mazar, Naseem Bagh. Later the party General Secretary launched the party’s membership drive for the year 2020-21 on the occasion. The first membership tickets were taken by Party President Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah. Dr. Farooq also expressed gratitude to the party functionaries, workers and scores of delegates for making it to the venue to take part in the Fateh Khawani braving the ongoing winter chill.The congregational Fateh Khwani saw huge participation of party’s parent body, YNC, Women wing leaders, workers, and delegates who had thronged the venue from across Kashmir. The functionaries also paid floral tributes at the final resting place of Sher-e-Kashmir and late Begum Akbar Jehan.
While paying tributes to late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said, “The spirit of secularism and tolerance possessed by the party’s founder was the cumulative effect of the environment which generation after generation has fine-tuned the psyche of Kashmiris. Late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah exhibited the spirit of tolerance, mutual respect and camaraderie towards all religions, sects and creeds. He made earnest efforts to strengthen it; his political struggle for the restoration of people’s rights wasn’t exclusive, on the contrary it was inclusive. A mass movement organizer, Sheikh Sahib’s struggle was never aimed to alleviate the suffering of particular followers of a faith. He worked tirelessly, suffered incarcerations throughout for the total redemption of the entire human kind living in Jammu and Kashmir from abject poverty.”
He further added, “In order to provide a joint platform to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he founded National Conference. The first cabinet he headed was insightful of his secular temperament; people like GL Dogra, Sardar Budh Singh, Kushak Bakula, and DP Dhar were given important portfolios in the cabinet he headed. He also didn’t let the communal frenzy of 1947 permeate into Kashmir; he educated his people about the merits of a progressive and a secular polity. At a time when the entire sub-continent had turned a favorite hunt of vultures in the run up for partition, it was in Kashmir that Mahatma Gandhi saw a ray of hope, and that ray of hope was none other than late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. On this day I pay my tributes to this greatest son of the soil. The best tribute to him, however, would be to follow ideals, which undoubtedly were far ahead of his and still have universal acceptance,” he said.
Party Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani in his address to the functionaries and workers said: “late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah belonged to that glorious tribe of great men, who changed the course of history. He bequeathed people with equal rights irrespective of their regional and religious affiliations. A true democratic, he ushered in grass roots level democracy in J&K much before it was even thought of in other parts of the country. His land to tiller reforms, single line administration, abolition of big landed estates, abolition of debts, universal adult franchise, gender neutral education helped the subjugated, underprivileged and wretched. The sleuth of people friendly measures undertaken by him provided succor to the people living in all regions of J&K, not just Kashmir. He continued to clutch on the principles of secularism regardless of his sufferings at the hands of those at the helm of affairs in New Delhi,” he said.
Among others Awami National Conference Vice President and PAGD Member Muzaffar Ahmed Shah, Additional General Secretary Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Members of Parliament Muhammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi and several others recalled the contribution of late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah towards the socio political emancipation of the people of J&K.
Later Party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar distributed Party Member ship tokens among senior leaders initiating the membership drive 2020-21. He also expressed gratitude to the party functionaries, district presidents, provincial functionaries and delegates for their participation in the event.
Similar functions were observed in Party’s Kargil, Pir Panjal, and Chenab units where local functionaries Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardhy, Aijaz Jan, Javaid Rana, Sajad Shaheen, Qamar Ali Akhoon paid glowing tributes to lateSheikh Muhammad Abdullah.
