Indian PM Modi leads yoga practice at IIOJK, hails revocation of autonomy

SRINAGAR:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led yoga exercises on the bank of a lake in India’s Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) early Friday morning, hours after he announced that the region would regain its statehood that was abolished in August 2019 by his government .

Modi used to lead a group of people on World Yoga Day in different parts of India. After winning the third term earlier this month, this time he chose IIOJK, where freedom struggle has been raging for the last 34 years.

Modi considers the removal of the Muslim-majority region’s political autonomy as one of the major achievements of his 10-year rule.

The Indian prime minister was due to exercise on the banks of the Dal Lake, which had been secured by layers of police, paramilitary soldiers and navy commandos, in the capital Srinagar, but rains forced the event to be held at the nearby International Convention Centre.

During a brief speech hailing the benefits of yoga, an ancient Indian wellness practice popular worldwide, he said that IIOJK as a tourist destination could also attract yoga enthusiasts.

On his arrival last night, Modi said preparations for assembly elections in the region — directly administered by New Delhi through a lieutenant governor from August 5, 2019 — had begun.

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“The day will soon come when Jammu and Kashmir will once again shape its future as a state,” he said.

While removing its autonomy, the Hindu nationalist Modi-led government had relegated the region to two federally administered territories, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Both regions have not had a legislature of their own elected representatives since then.

Modi also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects in roads, water supply, agriculture and higher education infrastructure.

He praised the people of the area for the high voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections and thanked them “for your efforts to keep the flag of democracy flying high”. His party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had not fielded any candidates for the three seats in Kashmir province and its allies lost badly. It also lost the lone seat of Ladakh but won the two seats of Jammu province.

“I am happy that today, we are living the Constitution of India. Through the Constitution, we are finding new ways to change the face of Kashmir for good. The Constitution of India was finally adopted by Jammu and Kashmir in the real sense. The walls of Article 370 have been broken down,” he said, referring to the abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that allowed the IIOJK to have its own constitution, flag and a bicameral legislature.