Srinagar, July 23 (KNS): In a significant push for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir is hosting a major public meeting titled “Statehood Now” today from 4 to 7 pm at the Deputy Speaker’s Hall, Constitution Club of India, New Delhi.

The gathering aims to bring together national and regional voices in support of reinstating J&K’s full constitutional status.

Prominent political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will speak at the meeting, including former Chief Minister and sitting Member of Parliament Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Choudhary, MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, MLA Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, Ladakh Buddhist Association’s Issey Namgyal, and Kargil Democratic Alliance leader Sajjad Kargili. Their participation signals a rare coming together of voices across regions and ideologies to press for the long-standing demand of restoring J&K’s statehood.

From the national political spectrum, the meeting will be joined by several sitting Members of Parliament including Naseer Husain of the Indian National Congress (INC), Tiruchi Shiva of the DMK, Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD, Iqra Choudhary of the Samajwadi Party, and Manish Tewari of the Congress. Also expected to address the gathering are Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the CPI-ML, and Nilotpal Basu, a senior CPI-M Polit Bureau member. Additional MPs and party representatives may join, depending on Parliament proceedings during the day.

A major highlight of the event will be the presentation of a petition on the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, signed by 122 former senior civil servants and public figures.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

The signatories include former Union Home Secretary Gopal Pillai, former Deputy National Security Advisor Latha Reddy, retired military officers such as Generals Ashok Mehta and S.G. Vombatkere, and Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak.

The list also features former NHRC Secretary-Generals P.C. Sen and P.S.S. Thomas, Group of Interlocutors member Radha Kumar, and Shantha Sinha, former Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Several renowned academics, journalists, and public intellectuals have also endorsed the petition. These include historian Ramchandra Guha, economist Jayati Ghosh, professors Amit Bhaduri, Zoya Hasan, and Tanika Sarkar, as well as editor Vaishna Roy, and senior journalists Anand Sahay and Badri Raina. Activists such as Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Arundhati Dhuru, and Enakshi Ganguly have also added their voices.

Civil society leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including Zafar Choudhury and Farooq Renzu Shah, along with prominent Kashmiri Pandits Sanjay Tikoo and M.K. Raina, have backed the initiative.

According to KNS, organisers say the meeting reflects growing national concern over the continued denial of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019. “The demand for statehood is no longer a regional plea — it is a constitutional and democratic necessity,” a Forum member said ahead of the event.

The petition will be formally presented to Members of Parliament during the meeting, adding further pressure on the Centre to act on its past commitments to restore full statehood.(KNS)