KOCHI: Attempt by the armed forces to avenge the death of 40 jawans in the Pulwama attack will lead to more bloodshed and trigger a new cycle of militancy, warned retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju. “Lot of jingoism is going on in the name of Pulwama attack. I condemn the attack. But any attempt to avenge the massacre will end up in the slaughter of unarmed Kashmiri civilians. Kashmiri s are bitterly hostile to India. The suicide bomber has died and the perpetrators who helped him have vanished.
The army may go to a village, catch hold of a few unarmed civilians and kill them. This will only help to aggravate the situation. The relatives of dead will take to militancy and you will be converting non-militants into militants. If wisdom doesn’t dawn, you will have more body bags arriving,” he said `at a press conference in Kochi on Saturday.
Almost the entire Kashmir population has been alienated from India due to the stupidity of our political leaders for decades, he said.“As a Kashmiri I know the mood in the valley. The militants may be only a few hundred. But most of the Kashmiris sympathise with them. After conducting an attack, the militants melt away among the population and the people there give them shelter, food and intelligence information. Any attempt to avenge the death will lead to a Vietnam-like situation. The only solution is reunification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh under a secular government,” Katju said.
‘Courts should not intervene in matters of faith’
Katju said courts should not intervene in matters of faith as it will lead to chaos and communal riots.
“Religion is not a matter of reason. I am an atheist and I believe that all religions are false and superstitious. But most people are religious and we should respect them. The Ayyappa devotees believe that Ayyappa is a naishthik brahmachari and he does not like menstruating women visiting the temple. It is a matter of faith and you cannot question it. The judges who delivered the verdict have no knowledge about the realities of this country. It is not proper for the courts to interfere in matters of faith,” he said. According to him, the correct judgement is that of Indu Malhotra.