Seven years on, Omar Abdullah says Article 370 wounds unhealed, vows to correct 'injustices'
SRINAGAR/JAMMU: On the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah struck a poetic note, quoting Robert Frost as he said the wounds caused by the move had yet to heal and that his party remained committed to reversing all that was done.
“7 years, we haven’t forgotten & we haven’t reconciled far less accepted our current circumstances. My party & I remain committed to reversing all that was done to J&K that took away our rights & threatens our identity. ‘The woods are lovely, dark & deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep’...” Abdullah posted on X, quoting from Frost’s poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’.
Speaking to reporters in Poonch, where he was inspecting flood-hit areas, the Chief Minister said, “The wounds of the abrogation are still there. We had hoped that at least some balm would be applied to those wounds and the promise of restoring statehood would be fulfilled...Seven years have passed, but the promise remains unfulfilled.”
Barring the BJP, which celebrated the decision, all major political parties in Kashmir held protests and demonstrations, carrying banners and raising slogans describing August 5, 2019, as a ‘black day’. Security forces foiled attempts by various parties to take out marches in Srinagar.
Senior functionaries of the governing NC and Congress remained absent from the protests held by their parties, which focused on seeking restoration of statehood. The PDP march was led by Iltija Mufti, who accused police of manhandling her during Tuesday’s attempted protest.
Earlier, an incident drew attention when PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti was seen holding the Tricolour upside down during a candlelight protest on Tuesday evening. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, however, downplayed it, saying, “I cannot believe that a person who served as a CM would deliberately display the flag of the country upside down. It must be a mistake.”
“It’s on this day we were caged like animals while a govt drunk on power stripped our state of its special status, flag, residuary powers and constitution. Our peaceful fight for it will continue till the day we get every bit of it back,” Iltija said.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on the other hand, hailed the decision, stating that it had “dismantled the terror ecosystem to a large extent, strengthened law and order, restored equal rights and created opportunities that allow families to rebuild their lives with confidence”. “The transformation we witness today in J&K is due to the historic changes of Aug 5, 2019. That day marked a constitutional correction and a new beginning for the UT,” he said.
