JK News Today Commentary
The completion of 11 years of rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been remarkable foe India.This period redefined India and its standing in the world, as it moved from a relentless era of policy paralysis to proactive policy making in which the common people were both in centre and front of it.
It was on this day-June 9,2024 , Modi was sworn-in as Prime Minister of India, for third time in row, paralleling the record of Jawaharlal Nehru ,first PM of independent India,. By that time Modi had rejuvenated the country, and inspired its common people with hope. His mantra of “Sab ka Satth, Sab Ka Vikas,” loosely translated as the common good of all with lockstep approach.
Jammu and Kashmir, more than any other part of the country, bears a testimony to this transformation. When Modi assumed office of PM for the first time on May 26, 2014, Jammu and Kashmir was in tight grip of terrorism. Today, J&K is largely free of terrorism, and its relation with the rest of the country has furthered strengthened. All the scepticism and doubts have been eliminated about its status.
On October 26, 1947, J&K became an integral part of India. Maharaja Hari Singh had signed instrument of accession on the day. Those were highly turbulent times. Pakistan army aided and abetted tribesmen had invaded the princely state. The Indian army rescued it and retrieved from Pakistani clutches, but the mission remained short of its final goal. The political leadership of the day went in for UN brokered ceasefire. The decision facilitated Pakistan to keep many parts of the erstwhile state. The area under the illegal occupation – Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir is a festering wound for the country. The terror in J&K was, and is a legacy of that decision. The Pahalgam attack of April 22nd was part of that legacy.
From the day one, Prime Minister Modi took personal interest in Kashmir affairs. He knew the importance of J&K as crown jewel of the country and had a thorough idea what troubles it internally and externally. The bold steps of his government started with his outreach to the people – he visited the flood-hit Kashmir and spent his first Diwali, as PM, with the flood affected families .And during his campaign for the Assembly elations, he wrote a new rule book for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, promising them freedom from terror and normalcy.
Sceptics had their own way of looking at his pledges. They were used to Centre’s policy paralysis, and ever-expanding influence of Pakistani propaganda and terrorism. The people had submitted themselves to the terror and fear filled atmosphere- shutdowns were a norm, opening of schools an exception. If the streets were not booming with the horrifying gunshots and grenade explosions, there were thuds of stone throwing with war cries and the screams of the targets. It was a death-in-life situation.
Modi’s first attempt was to ease relations with Pakistan. On the parallel track, he reached out to regional political parties in Kashmir –first-ever BJP-PDP government emerged out of that. But, the regional parties, down by their vote bank compulsions, somewhat deviated from the national task of developing J&K with blocks of peace. The experiment proved to be a big disappointment. By June 2018, the PDP-BJP government collapsed. But Modi persisted with his efforts to do extraordinary things for the people of J&K.
Then a chronology started- Article 370 was abolished in August 2019, and simultaneously J&K was reorganised with two UTs coming up. Two pronged approach followed – aggressive campaign against terrorism, and high rise development. The two approaches transformed J&K. The result is unmatched normalcy and J&K youth looking at future with immense hope.
The work is in progress. Modi delivered this message on June6, 2024, when he inaugurated Katra-Srnagar rail link, as he also proclaimed that the Centre and the J&K government will work hand-in-hand. That is the guarantee of bright future ahead. But the enemies of peace within, and across the border, also are working, to sabotage the journey .The vigil is a byword for the progress.
