POK Sankalpa Diwas a step to reaffirmation of our Sovereignty

Almost a year after 12 March 1993 Bombay serial blasts, the Parliament of India undertook a resolution which is known as POK Sankalpa Diwas. Both Houses of Parliament on February 22, 1994, passed a resolution unanimously on Jammu & Kashmir which has neither been rescinded nor amended so far. 

The Resolution noted deep concern on Pakistan’s role in imparting training to the terrorists in camps located in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir, supplying them with weapons and funds, as well as providing them assistance in infiltrating into India with the intent to create disorder, disharmony, and subversion. It called upon Pakistan to stop its support to terrorism immediately and desist from the campaign of making of false and defamatory statements against India. 

The Resolution declared that the state of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an integral part of India and any attempts to separate it will be resisted by all necessary means. It demanded that Pakistan vacate the areas of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which they have occupied through aggression. It firmly determined  that all attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of India will be met resolutely.

Since 1970 to 1993 there had been at least 2219 terror attack incidents that left 6828 dead and 8,042 injured. The 12 March 1993 Bombay serial blasts was the single largest till then, where a series of 12 bomb explosions shook Mumbai and the nation at large. These were the first serial-bomb-blasts of their kind in the world. It resulted in 257 fatalities and 717 injuries. Surprisingly the then-Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar from Indian National Congress, announced thirteen blasts, including a fictitious bomb in a Muslim quarter of the city, to prevent the events from taking on a communal hue, which was intune with the minority appeasement policy that was ailing India during Congress rule.

The Parliament passed the Resolution on POK due to public sentiment but no retaliation against Pakistan for nurturing and harbouring terrorists were taken. Obviously from 1994 to 2015 the Congress government saw at least 7763 terror attacks, that left    12014 dead and 20772 injured in its aftermath. The most prominent amongst them is the attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001.

Only after the ushering in of the BJP government in the centre did the nation see some form of retaliation against Pakistan and the terror camps in its soil. The current government has reiterated the POK Sankalpa and is taking prudent steps to fulfill the Resolution taken by the Indian Parliament on 22 February 1994. Therefore remembering the POK Sankalpa Diwas has come into relevance.

Text of the  Parliament Resolution on 22 February 1994.

“This House” 

Notes with deep concern Pakistan’s role in imparting training to the terrorists in camps located in Pakistan and Occupied Kashmir, the supply of weapons and funds, assistance in infiltration of trained militants including foreign mercenaries into Jammu and Kashmir with the avowed purpose of creating disorder disharmony and subversion:

Reiterates that the militants trained in Pakistan are indulging in murder, loot and other heinous crimes against the people, taking them hostage and creating an atmosphere of terror;

Condemns strongly the continued support and encouragement Pakistan is extending to subversive and terrorist activities in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir;

Calls upon Pakistan to stop forthwith its support to terrorism, which is in violation of the Simla Agreement and the internationally accepted norms of inter-State conduct and is the root cause of tension between the two countries;

Reiterates that the Indian political and democratic structures and the Constitution provide for firm guarantees for the promotion and protection of human rights of all its citizens;

Regards Pakistan’s anti-India campaign of calumny, and falsehood as unacceptable and deplorable.

Notes with deep concern the highly provocative statements emanating from Pakistan urges Pakistan to refrain from making statements which vitiate the atmosphere and incite public opinion Expresses regret and concern at the pitiable conditions and violations of human rights and denial of democratic freedoms of the people in those areas of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan;

On behalf of the People of India,

Firmly declares that:

a) The state of Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall be an integral part of India and any attempts to separate it from the rest of the country will be resisted by all necessary means;

b) India has the will and capacity to firmly counter all designs against its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity;

and demands that –

c) Pakistan must vacate the areas of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir, which they have occupied through aggression;

and resolves that –

d) All attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of India will be met resolutely.

The Resolution was unanimously adopted, Mr. Speaker: The Resolution is unanimously passed.

February 22, 1994

Source – Parliamentary Debates: Official report, Volume 170, Issue 2, 1994, p. 237