Jammu & Kashmir separatist leader Yasin Malik’s expression of support to the extremist Sri Lankan Tamil cause should come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching his recent anti-India campaign. Speaking at the Naam Tamilar Katchi in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu recently, he has drawn a parallel between the ‘sufferings’ of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and those fighting for separation of Kashmir from India. Malik is no more interested in restoring democratic rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka just as he has no interest in the process of reconciliation and development in J & K. By reaching out to the so-called Tamil cause, Malik is clearly attempting to build a grand alliance of disgruntled people and use it to promote his anti-national activities. He is bolstered by the fact that the Indian state is unduly soft and tolerant towards subversion and allows him to go around the country spewing venom against the Indian establishment.
Let there be no mistake that Yasin Malik’s support for secessionists in Sri Lanka is a total sham. Had he been fighting for the rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and not for their secession, he would have touched a sensitive chord among some well-meaning Tamils, but what he is propagating is a passport to total chaos and confusion.
Malik’s conduct should be seen in the larger context of separatists aligning with Maoists and other insurgent groups in various parts of the country and reaching out to terrorists in Pakistan and elsewhere whose only aim is to foment trouble and destroy India’s integrity and sovereignty. It is high time Malik is prevented from participating in events where he spreads anti-India sentiment. Democratic freedoms cannot be allowed to be misused by anyone to wreck democracy and the UPA government has been far too lenient in handling such activities. Unless it draws a Lakshman rekha for subversives like Malik there will be no fear of consequences of waging war on the state. No country worth its salt must allow grave acts of sedition under the very nose of the establishment.