Indian premier does yoga in disputed Kashmir, hails scrapping of autonomy

By Hilal Mir

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led yoga exercises on the bank of a lake in the disputed Indian-administered Kashmir early Friday morning, hours after announcing that the region will regain its statehood that was scrapped in August 2019 by his government.

It is Modi’s wont to lead a group of people on the International Yoga Day in various parts of India. After winning the third term in office early this month, he this time chose Kashmir, where an anti-India insurgency has been raging for the past 34 years.

Modi counts the scrapping the political autonomy of the Muslim-majority region as one of the major achievements of his 10-year rule.

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

During a brief speech hailing the benefits of yoga, an ancient Indian wellness practice popular globally, he said Kashmir as a tourism destination could also attract yoga enthusiasts.

On his arrival last evening, Modi said preparations for the assembly elections in the region -- ruled directly by New Delhi through a Lt. Governor since Aug. 5, 2019 -- have started.

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

While scrapping its autonomy, the Modi-led Hindu nationalist government had downgraded the region into two federally ruled territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Both territories are without a legislature of their own elected representatives since.

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

He praised the region’s people for high voter turnout in the recent parliamentary elections and thanked them “for your efforts for keeping the flag of democracy high”. His party, Bharatiya Janata Party, had not fielded any candidate 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 delighted 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 has finally been adopted by Jammu and Kashmir in the true sense. The walls of Article 370 have been brought down,” he said, referring to the scrapped Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own constitution, flag and a bicameral legislature.