By Frank Kamuntu
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appeared on state media to defend his highly controversial decision to quash the special status accorded to Kashmir.
Mr. Modi said a ‘New Era’ was beginning for the Indian-administered part of the region, where ‘hindrances’ to its development had been lifted.
The area has been in lockdown since Sunday night, with mobile, landline and internet networks cut off. Both India and Pakistan claim the Himalayan region in its entirety. This was Mr. Modi’s first address to the nation since Monday’s announcement in parliament that Article 370 – the part of the constitution guaranteeing Jammu and Kashmir special status – had been revoked.
Modi made his address via a broadcast on TV and radio, the latter the only platform that could reach Kashmiris while the region was still under lockdown. Modi’s speech came amid uncertainty and division. While many Indians welcomed the move and lauded Modi’s government for its decisiveness, others criticized India for what they said were heavy-handed. He however promised greater voting rights and transparency, as well as better railway and road links, and said the young people of Kashmir should “take charge of the development of their own land”.
A cinema industry could flourish in the picturesque region, he suggested.
“I think the whole world will come and shoot their films there,” he said. “[This will] bring employment for the people there.” And he painted a picture of exports from the area taking off: “The colour of saffron or the taste of coffee from Jammu and Kashmir, be it the sweetness of the apple or the succulence of the apricot, be it Kashmiri shawls… they need to be spread worldwide.”
Anticipating unrest over the controversial move, the government moved tens of thousands of troops into India’s northern-most region before Monday. On Sunday evening, internet, mobile phone networks and landlines in the region were cut off; and political leaders, including two former chief ministers, were put under house arrest. They are reportedly still detained.
