Seven takeaways
On March 7, 2024, Srinagar witnessed an impressive event described as the “Viksit Bharat Viksit Jammu Kashmir event”. The event was held at Bakshi Stadium. Thousands of people attended the event. Women and BJP workers and supporters were also there in strength. It was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who spoke at the event for over 30 minutes. Actually, it was an official function, not a BJP rally.
He dedicated the “Holistic Agriculture Development Programme” worth about Rs.5,000 crore to the nation. Besides, he inaugurated multiple projects in the tourism sector worth more than Rs.1,400 crore under the “Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD Scheme.” One of them included the project for “Integrated Development of Hazratbal Shrine” in Srinagar.
Not just this, the PM also launched the “Dekho Apna Desh People’s Choice Tourist Destination Poll” and “Chalo India Global Diaspora Campaign,” and also announced tourist destinations selected under the “Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) Scheme.” Besides, he talked about the plight of those sections of society, including the refugees from Pakistan, who were denied the rights by the successive Kashmiri-dominated and pro-autonomy governments in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) – the natural rights which they were entitled to exercise and enjoy as citizens of Bharat.
However, the following are my seven main takeaways from the event, which rattled, shattered, angered, and further frustrated the already rather frustrated, out-on-the-limb and out-of-job Kashmiri politicians, including pro-autonomy Omar Abdullah, pro-self-rule Mehbooba Mufti and others of their ilk in the Valley.
Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s Supreme Sacrifice
No one had ever expected that the PM would reflect on the supreme sacrifice of Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in Srinagar on June 23, 1953, to integrate the semi-independent region into Bharat. Mukherjee had violated the pernicious “permit system” at Lakhanpur, the gateway to J&K, to tell the votary of greater autonomy, bordering on sovereignty, Sheikh Abdullah, that J&K was an integral part of Bharat and Bharat had all the rights in J&K like J&K was entitled to exercise all rights all across Bharat. Mukherjee died in mysterious circumstances. There is a view that the Sheikh administration, which was backed to the hilt by his friend PM JL Nehru, had willfully created adverse conditions that resulted in the martyrdom of Mukherjee, The Lion of Bengal, nay The lion of Bharat. PM Modo only sprinkled salt on the oozing wounds of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs, the Rasools, to mention only a few. Indeed, the PM did what was most needed.
NO reference to statehood, Assembly elections
A section of the media, local and national, had created an impression that the PM might make an announcement to the effect that the UT of J&K would be granted the status of full state and Assembly elections would be held sooner than later. But the PM didn’t utter a single word either on the clamour in Kashmir for statehood and Assembly elections, thus dashing to the ground the hope of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs, and the Rasools that they would again rule the roost, play dirty games, promote the Pakistani and Chinese cause in J&K, avenge what they call their humiliation of August 5 and 6, 2019 – abrogation of seditios Articles 35A and 370 and conversion of J&K State into J&K UT and Ladakh UT –, and relaunch demographic invasion on Jammu to create a Kashmir-like situation.
Benefits of abrogation of Article 370
The PM further rubbed salt on the wounds of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs, and the Rasools by patting his back and catalogueing the benefits of the abrogation of atrocious Article 370. His remark that “Article 370…was a shackle that the people are now free from” and since the special status was removed, there are equal opportunities and rights for everyone in J&K” could be legitimately construed as a tight slap on the faces of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs and the Rasools and their henchmen in Jammu like Raman Bhalla (Congress) and Rattan Lal Gupta (National Conference).
Naya Jammu And Kashmir
PM Modi didn’t stop just here. He further sprinkled salt on the wounds of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs and the Rasools and their henchmen Raman Bhalla and Rattan Lal Gupta by rejecting with contempt the age-old provocative, irritating and humiliating “Naya Kashmir” concept. It was in 1944 that the Sheikh’s friend, the hardcore Leftist BPL Bedi, father of actor Kabir Bedi, had come out with the “Naya Kashmir Manifesto.” PM Modi, unlike his predecessors, including Vajpayee, didn’t talk about Kashmir, Kashmir, and Kashmir; he again, again, and yet again talked of “Naya Jammu and Kashmir, Naya Jammu and Kashmir and Naya Jammu and Kashmir.” His predecessors, without any exception, used to humiliate Jammu and Ladakh by repeatedly saying “Naya Kashmir” as if Jammu and Ladakh were Kashmir’s two colonies and the people these two regions housed its third-grade subjects, who had no aspirations whatsoever. Indeed, the PM snubbed those who used to make unjust, invidious, and humiliating distinctions between Kashmir and Jammu and between the former and Ladakh by rejecting the nasty Naya Kashmir doctrine.
Attack on dynastic politics
As if all this was not enough to call the bluff of the Abdullahs, the Muftis, and the Nehrus-Gandhis, the PM launched a blistering attack on the dynastic politics in Kashmir and explained away its baneful impact on the state’s polity, economy and society. He didn’t name them. Nor did he call them thieves and dacoits. But he did say what they had done to Bharat, J&K, and its helpless and exploited-to-the-hilt people to enrich themselves and become Sultans and Queens.
No package
It had become customary with the Kashmiri politicians of all hues and their followers and supporters to hear from the visiting PM announcement of some special package. But PM Modi disappointed and disheartened them by not announcing any special package – financial package, employment package, or political package – to assuage what the canny, corrupt, and essentially separatist Kashmiri politicians call the “hurt feelings and hurt psyche of the Kashmiris.” The PM only talked about the ongoing developmental projects and what his government would do in the future for what he called “Naya Jammu and Kashmir.”
Ramadan and Shivratri
If on the one hand, Prime Minister Modi talked about the month of Ramadan, he, on the other, also didn’t forget to greet the Hindus on the eve of Maha Shivratri (March 8). He — many a time — referred to Baba Amarnath and Mata Vaishno Devi, thus telling the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs and the Rasools and their henchmen Raman Bhalla and Rattan Lal Gupta that the Sanatan Dharma has occupied special place in his scheme of things and that his concept of “secularism” will be different from secularism, Congress and the Left-style. His secularism will not humiliate Sanatan to appease and please those whom the Congress, the Left and the Samajwadis appease and please 24X7 by willfully hurting the religious sensitivities of the Sanatanis and Sanatan Dharma.
Omar, Mufti, and Indian Express are on the same page
No wonder then that the frustrated, rattled and left-in-the-lurch Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Srinagar-based correspondent of the Indian Express Bashaart Masood unleashed a propaganda blitz against the event. The objective was to undermine the event and paint the PM black. They all in one voice said that common people didn’t participate in the rally; only government employees did under pressure from the authorities.
It would be only appropriate to refer to at least one report in this regard. The report read like this: “Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir have alleged that government employees were forcibly made to attend the Prime Minister’s rally in Srinagar on Thursday – his first visit to the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370. Peoples Democratic Party president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti posted a video of government employees getting into buses early morning and wrote on X that Modi’s visit ‘stands contrary to earlier visits by previous PMs like Vajpayee ji & Dr Manmohan Singh Ji at the peak of insurgency…Common people then thronged to the venues with great enthusiasm and returned with hope in their hearts. But this time Kashmiris know that everything spoken at Bakshi stadium will be to showcase the so-called benefits of illegal abrogation of Article 370 akin to putting salt to their wounds. This visit is only meant to address and drum (up) support among BJP’s core constituency in the rest of India for the upcoming parliament elections…National Conference vice-president and former CM Omar Abdullah posted a screenshot of the list of employees from Srinagar purportedly directed to attend the rally. Tomorrow the godi media and agencies will be gushing about the ‘historic crowd’ gathered to hear PM Modi in Srinagar. What they will conveniently forget to mention is that almost none of the people there will be attending of their own free will. The dictatorial J&K government has pulled out all stops to give the PM a crowd because the BJP can’t manage anything in J&K without the administration.”
And what did the Indian Express’s correspondent write? He, inter-alia, wrote: “Around 7,000 government employees from Srinagar and from outside the district were directed to attend the rally.”
Total deviation
One thing was absolutely clear. The PM deviated from the traditional approach and spoke like a real head of the government. As for the Abdullahs, the Muftis, the Azads, the Bukharis, the Lones, the Sonias, the Rahuls, the Sozs, and the Rasools and their henchmen Raman Bhalla and Rattan Lal Gupta, less said the better. Suffice it to say that what these wounded politicians said was what they were expected to say for the reasons mentioned above.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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- ‘Kashmir My core constituency’: Revisiting July 12, 2003 to understand politics, Omar Abdullah-style - March 15, 2024
- Total deviation from traditional approach: Seven takeaways from PM Modi’s March 7 Srinagar visit - March 9, 2024
- Status of political parties: Why is further J&K reorganization imperative? - March 1, 2024
