Srinagar, Jan 30 (RNA): Addressing the closing ceremony of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar without an umbrella over his head amidst heavy snowfall, Rahul Gandhi said that he was advised against walking the Jammu and Kashmir lap on the grounds that he might be attacked. He thought of giving a chance to those who hate him to change the colour of his T-shirt from white to red but, as expected, the people of Kashmir did not give him hand grenade but hearts full of love.
On an emotional note, Shri Gandhi said, “When I was walking, the security people told me I can walk anywhere in India, even in Jammu, but the last four days in Kashmir, 'you should drive in a car’. A few days before I reached Kashmir, the administration told me, perhaps to scare me, that if I walk, then a grenade can be lobbed upon me. I thought over it and then decided that I will walk in my home and with my people (in J&K). Why not give haters a chance to change the colour of my shirt, let them make it red”. He said he was not afraid as learnt from his family and Mahatma Gandhi to live life sans fear.
Shri Gandhi said, “The people of Kashmir did not give me hand grenades, only their hearts full of love. What happened was what I had thought about. The people of Jammu and Kashmir did not give me hand grenades, they opened their hearts and gave me love, embraced me. I felt immense happiness that they all owned me up. Children and elderly welcomed alike me with their love and tears,”. The remark elicited applause and cheers from the audience. He expressed happiness that people of Kashmir considered him to be their own, and greeted him with love and tears.
Speaking amidst heavy snowfall, Shri Gandhi, who wore a 'pheran' -- a Kashmiri cloak -- said that the aim of Bharat Jodo Yatra was to save the liberal and secular ethos of the country which was facing an assault from the BJP and the RSS. "I have not done this (Yatra) for myself or for the Congress but for the people of the country. Our aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy the foundation of this country," he said at a rally to mark the culmination of the 136-day march. He said the RSS and the BJP were targeting the liberal and secular ethos of the country by inciting violence. He expressed confidence that BJP-RSS ideology can not only be defeated but can also be taken out from the hearts of those who propagate them. He added that the country needed to be reminded that India is a country of love, respect, brotherhood, and Bharat Jodo Yatra was a small step in that direction.
Recalling the moments when he was informed about the assassination of his grandmother and father -- former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi -- over phone calls, the former Congress president said that he has seen and suffered violence, just like the families of Army, CRPF, BSF personnel and the people of J&K. "Those who incite violence like Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, the BJP and the RSS will never understand this pain. The family of an Army man will understand, the family of the CRPF personnel who were killed in Pulwama will understand, Kashmiris will understand that pain when one gets that call. The aim of the yatra is to end the phone calls announcing the deaths of loved ones -- be it a soldier, a CRPF jawan or any Kashmiri”, he added. While challenged the BJP top brass to undertake a yatra like his in Jammu and Kashmir, saying they will never do it as they are scared. "I can guarantee you that no BJP leader can walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir. They will not do it, not because they won't be allowed to but because they are scared," he added.
Shri Gandhi said that he considers Kashmiriyat to be his home, which for him is a a way of life. He referred to thoughts of Shiva and ‘shoonyata’ (nothingness) – attack on self, attack on one’s arrogance. He said in Islam, there is concept of ‘fanaa’ which is similar to ‘shoonyata’. He added that the ideologies of ‘shoonyata’ and ‘fanaa’ are deeply connected for years, and that is called Kashmiriyat. He further said that the same thought exists in other states as well. He gave the examples of Gandhi ji’s favourite bhajan ‘Vaishnav Jan To’ in Gujarat, philosophies of Basavanna in Karnataka, Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu, Mahatma Phule in Maharashtra, and called them the foundation of this country.
Shri Rahul Gandhi said that his ancestors migrated from Kashmir to Allahabad, towards Ganga. He added that they spread the thought of Kashmiriyat in Uttar Pradesh, which is called ‘Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb’. He further said that what people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh taught his ancestors, they brought that ideology, including Buddhism, to U.P.
Shri Gandhi said that as he understands the thoughts of ‘shoonyata’ (nothingness) and Shiva, he only learns from BJP-RSS people and thanks them even if they criticise him or abuse him. He added that BJP-RSS attacks the ideologies that believe in uniting the people, and Bharat Yatris walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to protect these ideologies.
Shri Rahul Gandhi said that his pain from an old knee injury, which he had got while playing football in college, had reemerged while walking during Bharat Jodo Yatra. He added that he started finding the Yatra difficult as the pain increased, but everything changed and the pain vanished when he got a letter from a little girl, who said that she knew that he was walking for her future.
"I can guarantee you that no BJP leader can walk like this in Jammu and Kashmir. They will not do it, not because they won't be allowed by the people of J-K, but because they are scared," Gandhi said, addressing a rally to mark the culmination of his nearly five month-long yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.
Shri Gandhi said 'Kashmiriyat' was his home. "When I was walking to Kashmir, I thought, this is the same route through which, years ago, my relatives came from Kashmir to Allahabad. I felt that I was returning to my home. Since I was a child, I have lived in government accommodations, I do not have a house. I have never accepted these structures as my home. Wherever I live, it is a building, not a home. For me, a home is a thinking, it is a way of life.
"What you call Kashmiriyat, I call that thinking my home. What is Kashmiriyat? It is Shiv ji's thinking. Its deep meaning is 'Shoonyata' (selflessness). It means attacking yourself, your ego, your thinking. In Islam, it means 'Fanaa' (destruction of the self) This is Kashmiriyat. In J-K, we call it Kashmiriyat. It means uniting each other, not attacking others, but self. My family home in Allahabad is near the bank of River Ganga. When my family went there from Kashmir, they spread the thinking of Kashmiriyat in Uttar Pradesh. It is known as the Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb. Vaishno Janto.. 'Shoonyata' is known as Vaishno Janto' in Gujrat. This thinking prevails in other states as well. The same message is there in Assam, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra as well.”, he added.
Addressing the rally to mark the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge said- “The yatra was not for winning elections but against hate. BJP people are spreading hate in the country. Rahul Gandhi has proven that he can unite the country from Kanyakumari to Kashmir on issues like unemployment and inflation. Modi ji, RSS and BJP want to keep poor people poor and to make rich, richer. Ten per cent people are looting 72 per cent wealth of the country while 50 per cent own just three per cent,".
Addressing the function, AICC General Secy Smt Priyanka Gandhi thanked the people of Jammu and Kashmir for welcoming the yatra with open hearts. "When my brother was about to reach Jammu and Kashmir, he sent a message to me and my mother saying that he was getting a feeling that he was going to his home," she said. "He (Rahul) had said that 'my family members (people of Jammu and Kashmir) , when they meet me and hug me, they have tears in their eyes, their pain and sentiments touch my heart'," she said.
The yatra traversed 12 states and two Union territories in 145 days after its launch on September 7 last year, clocking 4,080 km.
Today was the first big snowfall in Srinagar. The skies over Kashmir opened up and the snow fell steadily through the morning, blanketing much of the Valley in white, as the former Congress president unfurled the tricolour at the yatra campsite and then went to the Pradesh Congress Committee office where party chief Shri Mallikarjun Kharge hoisted the national flag.