Jammu: In a rare show of communal harmony that resonated across Jammu and Kashmir, a local Hindu resident, Kuldeep Kumar Sharma, has offered a five-marla plot to journalist Arfaz Ahmad Daing, whose house was demolished on Thursday — a move that had sparked widespread anger among residents of all communities.
Daing, who runs News Sehar India, has maintained that while his three-marla home was indeed unauthorised, it was not the only such structure in the area.
According to him, the JDA targeted his family without giving reasonable notice or time to vacate — an action he believes was connected to his reporting on drug and sand mafias.
A video of Sharma — shared online by user Gulvinder — showed him breaking down as he embraced Daing.
“I will not allow my brother to be on the roads,” Sharma said emotionally, adding that he could not watch children being rendered homeless in the bitter winter.
Sharma asked his daughter to hand over the land deed to Daing in front of media personnel, announcing that he would legally transfer the property to his “brother.”
Witnesses said Sharma’s family members were in tears during the handover, describing the moment as a reminder of Jammu and Kashmir’s long-standing traditions of solidarity — where compassion overrides every identity marker.
Daing, visibly moved, said Sharma’s gesture felt like “a light in a very dark week.”
The gesture has been widely praised by people across the region, with many calling it an act that “restored faith in humanity” at a time when public narratives often highlight division. Community leaders also lauded the move, saying such acts strengthen the region’s social fabric.
In his remarks, Sharma also criticised political parties — including the BJP and the Omar Abdullah-led government — accusing them of creating divides and failing to protect families like Daing’s.
On Thursday, Daing had live-streamed the demolition as JDA officials arrived with bulldozers and nearly 500 police personnel. He told reporters that the entire colony was unregulated, yet only his father’s house was singled out.
Several political leaders, including CPI(M)’s MY Tarigami and PDP leader Wahid Parra, condemned the authorities for demolishing the home of a journalist.
Daing said he and his brothers begged officials for time to remove belongings, but their pleas were ignored.
Sharma, meanwhile, reiterated that politicians were trying to divide Jammu by framing Hindus and Muslims against each other. “We will not allow them to break our unity,” he said.
