A 38-page report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released more than two years after the abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019 has claimed that the dream of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee to have one nation, one law and one symbol has been realized. The report says that after effective removal of the provisions of Article 370, the picture has changed.
Quoting Prime Minister Narender Modi, the report said: “Earlier, in most of the schemes and laws framed for the nation, the words ‘except J&K’ were mentioned.
Now it has become a thing of the past. The path of peace and development, on which Jammu & Kashmir is moving forward, has paved the way for new industries in the state. Today, Jammu & Kashmir is contributing to the Atma Nirbhar Bharat campaign.”
The report says that after the removal of Article 370, the support base of separatists is diminishing. “In 2018, 58; in 2019, 70 and in 2020, six leaders of Hurriyat were taken into custody. The security provided to the Hurriyat leaders at government expense has been withdrawn. 82 bank accounts of separatists were frozen,” says the report. It added that the incidents of terror have significantly declined and there is a new found atmosphere of peace and security in the valley.
The report says that the Modi government has opened new avenues for development of Jammu & Kashmir. ”This initiative will provide a major boost to domestic manufacturing of different types of products and services. It will help reduce dependence on imports and will simultaneously increase export capacity. The new scheme has been made attractive for both large and small units of MSME’s.”
Referring to the Pulwama attack in which more than 40 CRPF men were killed by a suicide bomber in Lethpora, the report said, “The name of Pulwama would no longer evoke the image of the terror attack of 14 February 2019. Instead, it would present the picture of a new India. On the initiative of the central government, Ukkhu village of Pulwama is being given the tag of ‘Pencil wala Gaon’. That’s why Pulwama would now be known in the field of education.”
It is worth mentioning here that Ukkhu village in Pulwama supplies 90% of the pencils used in the country. Some of the top pencil manufacturing units of the country get their raw material from the village. The report says that after the removal of Article-370, Kashmir is raring to gallop on the path of development. “Central government is also inclined to link Jammu-Kashmir with the mainstream of development. In the past one year, new dimensions of development have been added in various sectors of Jammu-Kashmir and the Central government’s initiative to provide a new identity as ‘Pencil wala Zila’ to Pulwama district, is a part of the same.”
This village had earned revenue of Rs 107 crore from the business of pencil manufacturing last year. Similarly, villages of Anantnag are also making pencil templates. After getting the tag of “Pencil wala Gaon”, the people of Ukkhu village would also get subsidies for the further growth of the pencil Industry. It would also help increase the size of business.