Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35(A) as a decisive new chapter in the journey of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, saying the move had fundamentally transformed the region over the past seven years.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister recalled that seven years ago, on this very day, Articles 370 and 35(A) became history, marking what he called a turning point for both Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He said that since then, the lives of people across the two Union Territories have witnessed wide-ranging transformation, with infrastructure expanding and opportunities growing in areas such as education, healthcare, entrepreneurship and sports.
Modi specifically highlighted the empowerment of women and marginalised communities, groups he said had been denied their basic constitutional rights for decades before the full application of the Constitution of India was extended to the region. He framed this as one of the most significant outcomes of the 2019 decision, arguing that constitutional equality had translated into tangible improvements in daily life for sections of society that had long remained on the margins.
The Prime Minister added that this year’s anniversary carries added significance, coinciding with the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, whose long-standing advocacy for the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India is often cited by the ruling establishment as a precursor to the 2019 reforms. Modi said Mookerjee’s lifelong commitment to national unity continues to inspire generations, and that what he had envisioned decades ago found what the Prime Minister called historic fulfilment on August 5, 2019.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to the continued progress of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Modi said the aim remains ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to dream big, achieve and contribute to the making of a Viksit Bharat, or developed India, by the middle of the century.
The anniversary comes amid continued political and diplomatic attention on Jammu and Kashmir, with New Delhi maintaining that the constitutional changes were an internal matter even as Pakistan has periodically sought to internationalise the issue.
