In his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the erstwhile State’s historic reorganisation 27 months back, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that 5 August 2019 would be written in golden letters. According to him, it was on that particular day that corruption, terrorism, nepotism and monopoly of the three dynasties over J&K’s politics ended for good.

Shah did not identify the three dynasties but for all of his audiences he was unmistakably referring to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s National Conference (NC), Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Indira Gandhi’s Congress party which had ruled Jammu and Kashmir for around 70 years after Independence. He asserted that by way of abrogation of Article 370, which granted special constitutional status to Jammu and Kashmir, it had for the first time become possible for an ordinary Kashmiri to become a Member of Legislative Assembly, Member of Parliament, Minister and Chief Minister.

Addressing a conference of youth clubs in Srinagar, Shah quoted statistics to establish that the graph of violence had reduced drastically after abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. He said all those who believed J&K’s transformation would trigger a fresh spell of turbulence and bloodshed had been proved wrong. According to him curfew had been imposed for some weeks and internet services suspended for some months only to deny the subversive elements a luxury to set Kashmir on fire.

“Imposition of curfew and suspension of the internet for some time only saved Kashmir and its people. Had it not been done, a large number of the civilians would have died in clashes”, Shah asserted. He said it was because of the restrictions for a brief period in 2019 that today there was no stone pelting or clashes in the valley. The younger generation, he asserted, was fully engaged in studies, peace-building and development, even as some incidents of terrorism were still happening intermittently.

"We have given a fresh start to a new Kashmir. The youth of Jammu and Kashmir are now talking about development, skill up-gradation, and employment besides scholarships for education compared to what it used to be more than two years ago which included violence, stone-pelting, and military-related activities” Shah said.  He said that the incidents of violence had drastically reduced since the day BJP assumed power at the Centre.

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Quoting the official statistics, Shah said that as many as 2081 civilians, or 208 each year, had got killed in Kashmir’s militancy from 2004 to 2014. Contrarily, not more than 30 civilians had died per year in the BJP regime from 2014 to 2021.

“I assure you that all the elements trying to disrupt peace in Jammu and Kashmir will be given a proper response and no one will be given a chance to act as a hurdle in the prosperity of the region", Shah said. He made clear that the process of delimitation of the Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies as required by J&K Reorganisation Act of 2019 was already in progress and the same would not be stopped. Thereafter, he said, there would be Assembly elections to be followed by restoration of Statehood “as I have committed in the Parliament”. He, however, did not give a timeline.

“I don't want to give answers to those who talk about Pakistan but I have come to talk to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. About work in the tourism industry, he said that 36,400 tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 while the number had risen to 113,000 in the last 10 months of 2021.

Shah said that the youth had the most important role in J&K’s transformation into a prosperous, peaceful State as no change was possible anywhere without participation of the youths. “Today 70 percent of J&K’s population comprises the youth below 35 years of age. They are the biggest catalyst and drivers of the change”, Shah said while praising Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for creating a network of 4500 youth clubs. “It is highly reassuring that as many as 4229 of these youth clubs are in J&K’s rural areas”, he asserted.

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“Today, we are going out of our way to lend support to Jammu and Kashmir. One day, I am sure, J&K’s youths will be contributing to the national economy and development”, Shah said. He said that J&K’s youths, like him, would grow from grass-root to the highest echelons of democracy. “I had no political background. I had no friends or relatives in politics. I began my career from a polling booth. I held different positions in State politics. Now I am the Home Minister of India. This is the beauty of democracy that an ordinary man can rise to the highest positions”, Shah said, asking the youths to become the ambassadors of change, peace and progress in Kashmir.

On the first day of his visit, Shah chaired a four-hour-long meeting on security with senior Army commanders, heads of CRPF, NIA, BSF, J&K Police, Intelligence Bureau and IGPs of Kashmir and Jammu division. It was co-chaired by LG Manoj Sinha and also attended by Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh. Informed sources said that some important decisions were taken with regard to applying more pressure on the “ecosystem of terrorism” and dealing with radicalisation and indoctrination of youths through internet.

On his arrival in Srinagar, Shah drove straight to the Nowgam residence of the slain Police Inspector Pervez Ahmad Dar. He interacted with family members of the Police officer who had been attacked from behind by two pistol borne terrorists on 22 June 2021.

At 7:02 pm Shah flagged off GoFirst Airlines flight G8-1595 with 142 passengers and 6 crew members on board from Srinagar airport to Sharjah (UAE), beginning a new era of direct international flights between Srinagar and UAE after a long time. It would return and land back at Srinagar at 0600 hours on Sunday.

“Good to see the refusal of airspace usage is a thing of the past. Perhaps there is hope for relations between the two countries”, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, signifying Pakistan’s permission to airspace usage by the Srinagar-Sharjah flight.