Did Sardar Patel & Shastri Want to Hand Over Kashmir to Pakistan?

At Saifuddin Soz’s book launch, former Union minister Arun Shourie asked for more clarity on the issue of autonomy.

(Photo: Erum Gour/ The Quint)

Cameraperson: Mayank Chawla

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad

‘Aaj kuchh dard mire dil meñ sivā hotā hai (I do feel pain in my heart today).’

Former Congress leader Saifuddin Soz chose the above couplet by Ghalib to share his feelings at the launch of his book Kashmir Glimpses of History and the Story of Struggle in Delhi on Monday, 25 June. After Soz stirred a controversy by claiming that "if given a chance, Kashmiris would prefer to be independent", the Congress party decided to dissociate itself from the veteran leader.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who was to be one of the panelists at the book launch, chose to skip the event. According to the official invite issued by the publisher, Rupa Publications, Chidambaram was supposed to launch the book at the India International Centre. Among the Congressmen, it was only former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who participated in the event.

But Soz made it clear that his ‘pain’ was not due to the way his party reacted. "My book has nothing to do with the Congress party", he told the gathering.

Former Union Minister Arun Shourie, blamed Delhi’s approach for the current state of affairs in the Valley.

Please list solutions without referring to Article 35 a and Article 370. I feel the real problem in Kashmir and northeast has been in Delhi’s method of dealing with these states, which is setting up sub-contractors. That sub-contractor lost legitimacy in their (people of Kashmir) minds. 

Arun Shourie

Shourie, however, had few questions for Soz and those who think that autonomy is the only way to resolve the Kashmir problem.