KASHMIR IS INDIA'S CROWN: KERALA GOVERNOR ARIF MOHAMMAD KHAN JAMMU

Kashmir is India's crown, declared Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday, lashing out at those responsible for the Valley's separatist and militancy.He also slammed separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, claiming that his forefathers fled to Kashmir after being driven from their lands in Central Asia.Khan stated that he does not leave his house unless his life is in danger.

“After coming here (Kashmir) from Gilan (Iran), you (Geelani) wanted to disintegrate India into pieces (by engineering separatism and terrorism in J-K). He (Geelani) had come from Gilan (Iran). He was a Gilan national (not a Kashmiri)," Khan said at a function here.

"Your (Geelani’s) name says that you have come from outside India," he said."There were atrocities against Prophet Mohammad's family and his supporters, driving them to flee their homes," he continued.He said that they (Syed Ali Geelani's forefathers) fled Gilan to save their lives.

"Could you please tell me what relationship he (Geelani) has with Srinagar (Kashmir)?" Khan inquired.“As per historic texts, they came to Iran and then to Central Asia, where they heard that those people who belong to the family of the Prophet are treated with great respect. That is why they are in majority in India," he said.

Syed Ali Geelani was a hardliner and pro-Pakistan separatist politician who died in 2021. He is considered the "Father of Kashmir Separatism." Between 1953 to 2004, he was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir."Kashmir is India's crown, and nobody can separate it from India," Khan remarked, adding that India is not a piece of territory but a strong notion that cannot be separated.

He described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's motto 'SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' as a dynamic mantra, saying that everyone has to be educated to achieve growth.