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(From Agence France Presse)
A militant-turned politician in Indian Kashmir blamed the founder of the long-ruling National Conference for the eruption of an armed anti-Indian rebellion in the disputed region that has so far claimed more than 37,500 lives.
"Had Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah not converted the Plebiscite Front (PF) into the National Conference (NC) in 1975, there would have been no militancy in Kashmir," said Mohammed Azam Inquillabi, a militant-turned politician.
Abdullah, who died in 1983 is regarded as the most influential leader Kashmir has had.
He headed the PF which spearheaded a political struggle to hold a plebescite across the whole of Kashmir to let the people decide if they wanted to be part of India or Pakistan.
Abdullah gave up the struggle for a plebiscite after entering into an accord with India in 1975, when he changed the party's name to the NC, which has ruled the state for most of the past 25 years.
"We would all have been part of the Plebiscite Front ...