BSF officer writes to PM, lauds J&K move
◗ Wani, an assistant commandant rank official, received a response from the Prime Minister on Sunday who termed the government’s move as a ‘historic step’
Perhaps the first Kashmiri in uniformed services to openly laud the Narendra Modi government’s move of abrogating Article 370 and bifurcating Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, a Border Security Force (BSF) official, Mr Nabeel Ahmed Wani, has written to the Prime Minister saying that the people ‘’were being exploited by the local leaders for years.’’
Days after writing the letter, Mr Wani, an assistant commandant rank official, received a response from the Prime Minister on Sunday who termed the government’s move as a ‘’historic step
which is also a homage to tall leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee.’’
The letter by the BSF official — who shot to fame after he topped the All India BSF examinations in 2016, — comes at a time when Kashmiris serving in the armed and para-military forces and the Jammu and Kashmir police are under tremendous pressure from some of their own to quit the services, in the wake of Centre’s move.
Sources in the BSF, privy to the letter, told this newspaper that Mr Wani, who is posted in the Jammu and Kashmir frontier, wrote in his letter to the Prime Minister that the Article 370 and Article 35A were destroying J&K from the last 70 years. ‘’The benefits of scrapping it will definitely boost the morale of the youth of our state. The decision (of scrapping Article 370) was not only historic but also brave,’’ he said.
Further lauding the Modi government, Mr Wani said the decision will make all Indians equal. ‘’These articles never allowed the people of J&K to join with the rest of the country. We, the people of &K were exploited by the local leaders over the years. The decision will open all doors of opportunities for a better career,’’ he said.
The BSF official digs at senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, saying his late father was a friend of Mr Azad and used to cook food for the former chief minister.