SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday described the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 as one of the biggest milestones in independent India’s history, saying it had given Jammu and Kashmir an opportunity to emerge from decades of violence and move towards peace, equal rights and development.
Addressing the seventh Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Foundation Day function in Srinagar, Sinha said the constitutional changes had ended a system under which discrimination and divisions were perpetuated, paving the way for equal rights and the principle of one nation, one Constitution and one flag.
He said Jammu and Kashmir had endured decades of terrorism and separatism since 1947, during which thousands of families lost their loved ones, while those affected by violence often struggled to receive justice and recognition. He also referred to the prolonged wait of Kashmiri Pandits to return to their homes.
Paying tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary, the Lieutenant Governor said the decision taken in 2019 had fulfilled the vision of national integration associated with the country’s first Deputy Prime Minister.“On the same day the nation celebrates Patel’s birth anniversary, in 2019 the country got opportunity to fulfil his resolve of One India, Great India,” he said.
