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No shutdown, no threats, no intimidation and huge participation of people marked the Republic Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Leaders like former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had claimed that no one would be left in Kashmir to hold the Tricolour, have been made to eat a humble pie. The Centre's August 5, 2019, decision to scrap Article 370, a temporary provision in the Constitution, has proven to be a game changer. It has allowed the people of Jammu and Kashmir to board the bandwagon of peace, prosperity and development. They have hoisted tricolour in every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir during the past three years. They have proven the politicians, who used to claim that Kashmir would fall in Pakistan's lap, wrong. Pakistan-sponsored separatists and the terrorists, who used to enforce a shutdown on the occasions like Republic Day and Independence Day, have been shown their right place as the government has acted tough against them and results have been encouraging. Youth are utilising their energies in a positive way and stone pelting incidents have become a history. Separatists have closed their 'Azadi' shops due to investigating agencies choking their illegal funding channels, while security forces have succeeded in pushing terrorists to the brink. Overwhelming participation of people in the Har-Ghar-Tiranaga campaign last year and Republic Day celebrations is a clear message to Pakistan, their agents and politicians that Kashmir has changed and has changed for the good. Mehbooba remembers shutdown era A common man doesn't want the era of shutdowns and stone-pelting to return. People of Kashmir have rejected the idea of separatism and are least interested in the idea of Azadi propagated by the stooges of the neighbouring country. A common man is happy that he isn't being compelled to give up his daily chores and follow the diktats of the extremists, who danced to the tunes of their masters sitting across the Line of Control. On the Republic Day eve, Mehbooba Mufti reminded the people of Kashmir that they used to observe shutdown on January 26, till 2019. She alleged that shopkeepers were being ordered by the government to keep their shops open or face consequences. "One of many abnormal and coercive steps to project normalcy," she tweeted. No one paid any heed towards her tweet. People joined the Republic Day celebrations in all Kashmir districts and carried on with their daily chores without any interference. It seems that a few politicians in J&K are missing hartal (shutdown) politics. They want that pre-2019 era to return so that they can once again call the shots and enjoy the privileges which they used to when gun-toting Pakistan sponsored terrorists and separatists used to take entire Kashmir as hostage. J&K tableau on Kartavya Path Tableau of J&K on Kartavya Path in Delhi on the occasion of 74th Republic Day was based on the theme of "Naya Jammu and Kashmir". It showcased the pilgrim and recreational tourism potential of the Union Territory. For the first time in the history since 1947, J&K has received 1.62 crore tourists boosting the economy of the Himalayan region. The tableau drove home a point that J&K is not the same. The efforts put in by the government to end the terrorism and hegemony of a few selected people during the past three years, have yielded positive results. After 2019, a common man in Jammu and Kashmir became a priority and the ones who used to believe that they are above the law have been held accountable. The helmsmen have tried their best to address inequality among the Jammu and Kashmir people and bring everyone on equal footing. Nationalists at forefront For 30 years, the nationalist people in Jammu and Kashmir were not allowed to express their feelings as the handful of separatists had forced them into submission. Pakistan stooges had built a fake narrative that J&K is not an integral part of India and it's an issue. The nationalist voices were silenced through intimidation and the ones who used to talk about peace were labeled as traitors. The revocation of J&K's so-called special status cleared all the confusions once for all and encouraged the people of Kashmir to call spade a spade. In "Naya J&K" nationalist people are at forefront and they are being heard. During the past three years a common man in Jammu and Kashmir has proven beyond doubt that more than 90 per cent people in Jammu and Kashmir were never interested in the "Azadi" narrative, nor did they support the violence but the fear of guns kept them silent. The steps taken by the government to empower a common denizen of Jammu and Kashmir have brought people closer to the system. The Union Territory has witnessed unprecedented development. The government has reached out to the doorsteps of the common masses and has proven by its actions that people matter and they are the fountainhead of power. As on date, local recruitment in terror outfits has gone down to zero and the foreign terrorists are not finding any local support. More than 40 foreign terrorists were killed in 2022 and the number of active terrorists has declined. Pak can't hoodwink people anymore Jammu and Kashmir people turning their backs towards the terrorists have left the terror bosses sitting across the LoC exasperated. Last week an audio clip of a Pakistani man showering choicest of abuses on Kashmiris, including men and women, went viral on the internet. The purported telephonic conversation between a Kashmiri man and Pakistani took an ugly turn when the man from Jammu and Kashmir believed to be in the Middle East questioned the Pakistani man. The Pakistani man got annoyed and could be heard telling the other party that "Kashmiri people are only worth abuses both for the men and their women". "You people (Kashmiris) are selfish, thankless and no less than thugs," the Pakistani man is heard saying in the clip. People in Pakistan have realised that they can no longer hoodwink the Jammu and Kashmir people in the name of 'Azadi'. They are giving vent to their outrage by abusing the people of Himalayan region. Terrorists turning guns towards civilians shows that Pakistan is unhappy with the Jammu and Kashmir people and wants to teach them a lesson. The separatists, who acted as advocates of Pakistan in Kashmir for the past three decades, have lost their addresses, and the terrorism is on its last legs. Pakistan has lost the proxy war and the people of J&K have won. They are no more interested in what Mehbooba Mufti and her ilk says. They want to live a peaceful and prosperous life and don't want 'hartal' (shutdown) politics to return. --IANS scor/ ( 1136 Words) 2023-01-27-21:10:06 (IANS)
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