NEW DELHI, October 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has redeemed the historic injustice done to Maharaja Hari Singh, the last princely ruler of Jammu & Kashmir.
This was stated here today by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh while addressing a programme organised by Jammu Kashmir Peoples’ Forum & Mirpur Balidan Bhawan Samiti to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maharaja Hari Singh and the Government’s declaration of a Gazetted Holiday on the occasion.
Accusing the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of having failed both Jammu & Kashmir as well Maharaja Hari Singh, he said, the history of Jammu & Kashmir would have been different and Pak Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) would have been a part of India, if only Nehru had allowed his Home Minister Sardar Patel to deal with J&K with a free hand.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, Maharaja Hari Singh personified the esteem and self-respect of Jammu & Kashmir and was held in high reverence by people across all the regions of J&K. This is evident from the fact that the announcement of Gazetted Holiday was welcomed across the Union Territory and while there were overwhelming celebrations in the Jammu region, people across the sections in Kashmir valley also welcomed the move.
Referring to the recently concluded 3-day visit of Home Minister Amit Shah to Jammu & Kashmir, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the overwhelming response including the massive public rallies addressed by Amit Shah both at Rajouri as well as at Baramulla indicate the changing face in Jammu & Kashmir. He said, this is in complete contrast to the erstwhile UPA regime when such high profile visits by Union Home Minister or others were invariably accompanied by massive protests, hartals, shutdowns and stone pelting.
The real tribute to Maharaja Hari Singh, said Dr Jitendra Singh, is to carry forward his futuristic vision and the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone has the capacity and courage to do so. He said, very few people realise that within just five years of his ascending to the throne in 1925, Maharaja Hari Singh not only brought in new agriculture reforms and an exclusive constitution for J&K but also established a High Court and made primary education compulsory.
Maharaja’s nationlist and secular credentials, said Dr Jitendra Singh, are borne out by the fact that soon after being sworn in as the Head of the State, his first statement was “Justice is my religion”. Soon thereafter, he opened the doors of temples and places of worship for Dalits and the Scheduled Castes, the Minister said.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, now that India is going through the Amrut Kal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid down the roadmap for next 25 years, this is also the most opportune time to carry forward the roadmap which Maharaja Hari Singh had envisaged for J&K, since he was always one step ahead of his other princely counterparts across india. Citing instance, he said, the biggest example is the setting of the Drug Research Laboratory (DRL) by him at Canal Road, Jammu way back in 1942, which today enjoys the coveted distinction of being the oldest laboratory institute among all the 37 such laboratories set up by CSIR (Council Of Scientific and Industrial Research ) across India since then.
Dr Jitendra Singh expressed confidence that Jammu & Kashmir will lead India’s journey to world pedestal by 2047 and will thus live up to the pledge made to Maharaja Hari Singh.
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