NEW DELHI: India's Partition was "the greatest blunder of history" and the retrieval of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) remains the only pending issue between India and Pakistan, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
Singh, who holds independent charge of the Science & Technology and Earth Sciences ministries, made the remarks while addressing a Kargil Vijay Diwas event organised by the Jammu Kashmir Peoples' Forum and the PoJK Youth Forum in New Delhi to mark the 27th anniversary of India's victory in the Kargil War.
He said India's security posture had shifted decisively under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from a reactive approach to one capable of proactive and decisive responses to external aggression.
Tracing the Kargil conflict to the events of Partition, Singh said the 1947 division of the subcontinent had displaced millions and triggered decades of hostility, including the wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, besides crossborder terrorism. He also cited the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits as one of independent India's gravest humanitarian tragedies.
The minister said peace and development share a mutually reinforcing relationship and pointed to the unprecedented transformation witnessed in Jammu & Kashmir in recent years.
He referred to major infrastructure projects, including railway connectivity to the Kashmir Valley, the world's highest railway bridge, new AIIMS institutions, longpending irrigation projects and accelerated development initiatives that have improved the quality of life and strengthened public confidence.
He said sustained peace has enabled rapid development, while development itself has emerged as a powerful force for lasting stability.
Referring to developments across the Line of Control, Singh said the pace of development in Jammu & Kashmir has become a source of inspiration for people living in PoJK.
Recalling the unanimous Parliamentary Resolution of 1994, he said there is no issue between India and Pakistan except the retrieval of Pakistanoccupied Jammu & Kashmir, reaffirming that PoJK is an integral part of India.
MP Bansuri Swaraj attended the event as the guest of honour, while Kargil War veteran Col. K.K. Sharma presided over the function.