Diplomat retracts on ‘Israeli model for Kashmir’ remark
New Delhi, November 28
India’s Counsel General in New York Sandeep Chakravorty walked back from his comments where he described Kashmiri culture as Hindu culture and wondered why India was not following the Israeli model of thrusting settlements in territories inhabited by Palestinians.
Chakravorty took to Twitter to claim that “some social media comments on my recent remarks... are being taken out of context”, while the Ministry of External Affairs did not comment on his video recorded observations at a private event of Kashmiri expatriates in New York.
Speaking in his “official capacity”, the Indian diplomat was video-recorded as saying, “We already have a model in the world. I don’t know why we don’t follow it. It has happened in the Middle East. If the Israeli people can do it we can also do it. I think we should push our leadership to do that.”
He then went on to inform the audience why Article 370 was revoked, “Jews kept their culture alive for 2,000 years outside their land and they went back. We all have to keep the Kashmiri culture alive. The Kashmiri culture is the Indian culture, it is the Hindu culture.” — TNS
