Satya Pal Malik said people must join Centre's efforts to usher in peace and progress in Kashmir.
Leaders of the Hurriyat and mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, religious preachers and clerics have used their influence to get the children of ordinary Kashmiris killed while none of them lost their own to terrorism, Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Tuesday.
Alleging that "affluent and powerful" sections have crushed the dreams of the youths in Kashmir and destroyed their lives, he appealed to the people to understand the truth and join the Centre's efforts to usher in peace and progress in the state.
"Their own children are studying abroad and are well settled. But to the children of commoners, they show the way to jannat (paradise) is to die. All this has been happening here", Mr Malik said at the convocation ceremony at a university.
Mr Malik said that he has not taken any inputs from the intelligence agencies. "They are not telling us or Delhi the truth," he said.
"I directly talked to the young people. I talked to those whose dreams have been crushed, those who are angry... They do not want Hurriyat, the government or autonomy because they were shown that the way to paradise is by getting martyred," he said.
"I want to tell the people of Kashmir that they have a beautiful place to live. Give it in the hands of the government. We are not going to take it (the place) anywhere. Come forward and be part of the new phase and tread the path of progress and development," the governor said.
Mr Malik said 22,000 Kashmiris have gone to other states to study and accused the politicians of neglecting their needs.
"Why do they have to go outside for education? It is because we have not been able to provide standard education in the state over the last many decades. If the money which was pumped into Kashmir was used by politicians and bureaucrats in a proper manner, the roof of your homes would have been of gold," he said.
Mr Malik said he had sanctioned 53 degrees colleges last year. "I have upgraded 242 schools to higher secondary school overnight," he said.
The governor said he told young people that he will offer them "two paradises".
"I told them that it is your religious faith and I will not say anything about it. But I am ready to give you two paradises -- one in this life and the second in afterlife... there can be a discussion whether you get the paradise after martyrdom or not, but as Emperor Jehangir had rightly said that if there is a paradise on earth, it is in Kashmir.
"You have already one paradise and you can turn into a crown of the world in this life and secondly if you die as a true Muslim, you will get the promised paradise. That means you can get two paradises, one here and second after the death," Mr Malik said.