NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday that India waited for 72 years for the abrogation of Article 370 provisions in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Modi government's decision is being celebrated by every Indian.
Releasing a book on Article 370, written by 14-year-old Ayanna Kohli, Singh said the book is a vindication of the "gross mental agony and injustice suffered by the children" of her age group on account of the now abolished clause of the Constitution.
"The Modi government's decision to abrogate Article 370 had been awaited for the last 72 years. The decision has been celebrated by each and every Indian across the country, wherever I travelled in the last two months," he said.
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Complementing the young girl for her precocious feat, the Union Minister for PMO said the book is an illustrious documentation of how even a child, though not having been born or brought up in Jammu and Kashmir, has gone through a burdensome childhood because her father, an Army officer was constantly posted on duty to save the valley from the designs of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Singh, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, said he has gone through the book, which can be also be described as a history-based fiction written in the background of contemporary Kashmir scenario.
The minister said he could visualise how much of churning and deep pain must have gone through the innocent mind of the young child, who then found an outlet in writing.
Singh said the girl must have written through her unbiased conscience, introspecting on the genesis of the Kashmir terrorism, the hardships of Indian Army soldiers posted there and finally must have drawn the conclusion through her innocent mind about what could be the one basic remedy to get out of all this.
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He said Ayanna Kohli's book, In The Times of Article 370, must be read by every Indian, particularly aspiring and serving soldiers, journalists and the budding citizens of tomorrow's India, which will be free from Article 370.
The girl's father, an Army officer, said he wanted the book to be released by the minister, not only because Singh is from Jammu and Kashmir, but more so because he is someone who has extensively worked and written on the subject of Article 370 for the last several years.
The book also offers an account of the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers in the service of Kashmir and seeks to draw the inference that it was necessary to revoke Article 370 in order to bring lasting peace in Kashmir, a release said.