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New Delhi : Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that the abrogation of Article 370 has led to “change in mindset” in Jammu and Kashmir and noted that youth from smaller towns are excelling in examinations including in competitive tests.
In an interview with news agency, the Union Minister said there has been “aspirational surge”.
“I think one of the biggest and a significant change is that in the mindset. Today, children from small towns are topping exams… This aspirational surge took place, and they felt a feeling of belongingness, which wasn’t there before, because of Article 370, they considered themselves different, and the people who were outsiders, also saw them as different,” he said.
The BJP-led government at the Centre repealed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and bifurcated it into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Answering another query, Jitendra Singh also reaffirmed the government’s firm stance on Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the only leader capable of tackling the “outstanding issue” of the region’s re-integration into the country.
Referring to the plight of the people in territories occupied by Pakistan, the Union Minister stated that residents of PoJK have long been treated as “second-class citizens” by Islamabad.
“(People of) PoJK have always been treated as second-class citizens by Islamabad. In 1994, a resolution was adopted in Parliament and BJP supported it. It stated that there is no issue between India and Pakistan. If there is any outstanding issue, it is PoJK and how to make it a part of the Indian Republic again. If this happens, then only PM Modi will be able to do it. No one else can do it…he has the capacity, he has the courage, he has the conviction,” the Union Minister stated. (Agencies)
