Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Modi government has dropped the title ‘Sher’ (lion), a reference to the late National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, from the name of the convention centre located on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar, indicating a change in its name.
Until Saturday, official communications re-ferred to the ‘Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre’ (SKICC), which on August 13 was termed ‘Kashmir International Convention Centre’ (KICC).
In a statement pertaining to an official function where Manoj Sinha flagged off the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Srinagar, the official communiqué mentioned KICC several times. The rally was planned from the convention centre up to the Botanical Garden in Srinagar. The administration first indicated the intention to change the name of the convention centre in 2020. However, a formal order has not been issued till date.
The convention centre was built in 1977 by renowned architect Joseph Stein. It was named Sher-i-Kashmir (‘Lion of Kashmir’) used for Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah when he fought for Kashmiris’ political rights before being looked down upon by the Kashmiri people after joining pro-India politics.
Since India ended Jammu & Kashmir’s special constitutional position in 2019, the administration first dropped Abdullah’s name from the State Police awards. A holiday on Abdullah’s birth anniversary was also removed from the official calendar.—KMS
