NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (INP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed his “path-breaking” move to strip the restive region of occupied Kashmir of its autonomy, in a tub-thumping speech marking Indian Independence Day.
Occupied Kashmir has been under lock-down since August 4, with freedom of movement restricted and phones and the internet cut.
A day later New Delhi scrapped Article 370 in the Indian constitution that had granted occupied Kashmir special status, splitting the state of occupied Jammu and Kashmir in two and downgrading them to union territories.
Modi, in a speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, said on Thursday that the decision was one of several “path-breaking” moves by his newly re-elected administration.
He said “fresh thinking” was needed after seven decades of failure to ensure harmony in the region.
“We do not believe in creating problems or prolonging them. In less than 70 days of the new government, Article 370 has become history. And in both houses of parliament, two-thirds of the members supported this step,” said Modi.
“Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh will become a big inspiration for India’s growth journey, comfort, progress and peace,” he said. Ladakh is the newly carved-out union territory.
“The old arrangement in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh encouraged corruption and nepotism, as well as injustice when it came to rights of women, children, Dalits (low caste), tribal communities,” he said. “Their dreams get new wings,” he said. (INP)
