Thursday, May 21, 2026 –
BJP leader and former chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, Dr Darakhshan Andrabi, made a pointed call Thursday evening for the values of patriotism to be formally taught and instilled across all educational and public institutions in Jammu and Kashmir. Her remarks, shared via a GKTV video broadcast published at 7:26 PM IST, come at a time when debates over nationalism, identity, and civic education are running high in the valley.
Andrabi, known as one of the most prominent Muslim women voices in J&K’s BJP unit, has frequently used public platforms to advocate for national integration narratives in a region where the relationship between identity and institutional loyalty remains complex. Her call for patriotism to be embedded institutionally goes beyond symbolism — it implicitly touches on the long-standing question of how the region’s educational and cultural institutions frame their orientation toward the Indian state. The statement is likely to draw mixed reactions: support from those who see civic nationalism as essential to long-term stability, and pushback from those who view such calls as ideologically heavy-handed in a territory with a distinct and contested political history.
