The Kashmir Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS) has welcomed the support of the Muslim community in electing a Kashmiri Pandit woman as a panchayat leader in Kunzer block of Baramulla district.
In a statement, the KPSS said, “We are overwhelmed by the response, trust and confidence that has been shown by the majority community of a village in Baramulla district. It is a milestone and has strengthened and has paved the way for the process of re-conciliation in this turmoil-hit place.
“The Kashmir Valley is seen and portrayed as a place not fit for non-Muslims especially Kashmiri Pandits. But the victory of Aasha Jee as Sarpanch in her village has broken this myth.”
“The KPSS is highly thankful to the people who made her success possible and welcome them as the pillars and founders of re-conciliation at the ground zero. Kashmir and Kashmiri society need these kinds of persons who make these milestones happen at the ground zero”
Minister for Agriculture and Tangmarg MLA Ghulam Hassan Mir has also welcomed her election. But he sought to project it in a different way. “I think it is a routine exercise. There was another Pandit woman in a neighbouring village who lost but got many votes from the Muslim community. And in Bewa area of Pattan, a Sikh got elected, obviously when supported by Muslims,” he told The Hindu . The results showed that how all the communities could live in harmony if not exploited by vested interests.
