KKrishen Dev Sethi the last surviving member of the constituent assembly of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state was undoubtedly a man of strong political conviction who always preferred people over power. His association with the men of great intellect like Ved Bhasin the doyen of English journalism in Jammu & Kashmir and politicians of high integrity like Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu the top leaders of the left front speaks volumes about his political ideology and professional neutrality. A great votary of land reforms undertaken by late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the comrade Krishen Dev Sethi was never influenced or impressed by politics of region and religion as he always stood for the protection of the rights of the people irrespective of their religious and regional affiliations. A classical autobiography Yaad e Rafta authored by Krishen Dev Sethi is a total reflection of his political ideology and the political struggle of the people of Jammu & Kashmir against the forces of oppression before and after 1947. A man who refused the offer of a cabinet berth from late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah way back in 1975 did not give up his struggle for the rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir even after giving up electoral politics and nurtured his politics above the lines of region and religion till his death. Krishen Dev Sethi had admirers on both the sides of line of control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir as condolences from his friends and well wishers from the other side of Jammu & Kashmir went viral on social media sites hours after his death. His political conviction was strong enough to show the courage to contest even the arguments of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah over the migration of muslims from many parts of Jammu region in post partition era and this was the time when Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s popularly won’t be challenged even by the mightiest power wielding politicians within or outside Jammu & Kashmir then a full fledged state and since downgraded to union territory. A man who migrated from Mirpur, now a part of Pak Administered Kashmir (PaK) on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) to Nowshera in Jammu region of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state nurtured his politics according to own vision for the future of an erstwhile state which he never wanted to see downgraded from an autonomous state to a union territory.
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Interesting to note is the fact that While Comrade Krishen Dev Sethi was instrumental in framing the constitution of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state which laid the foundation for the special status of the erstwhile state in the Indian constitution, his son Achal Sethi as Secretary to Government, Law Justice & Parliamentary Affairs Department is part of a regime which bifurcated the erstwhile state to a union territory and took away it’s special status defined and executed by the constituent assembly of which Comrade Krishen Devi Sethi was the last surviving member. Relations have nothing to do with vision and mission is henceforth proved beyond doubt.
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Also a journalist of repute Comrade Krishni Devi Sethi has the distinction of becoming a source of inspiration for many senior journalists in both Kashmir Valley and Jammu region who publicly tribute him both on social media sites and as well as opinion pages of the newspapers for guiding them to the paths of professional perfection and commitment. Interesting to note is the fact that While Comrade Krishen Dev Sethi was instrumental in framing the constitution of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state which laid the foundation for the special status of the erstwhile state in the Indian constitution, his son Achal Sethi as Secretary to Government, Law Justice & Parliamentary Affairs Department is part of a regime which bifurcated the erstwhile state to a union territory and took away it’s special status defined and executed by the constituent assembly of which Comrade Krishen Devi Sethi was the last surviving member. Relations have nothing to do with vision and mission is henceforth proved beyond doubt.
