This morning I woke up with a very special feeling. Like each year, looking forward to the Republic Day parade on TV is a norm. I’ve grown up celebrating the might of my country and the display of valor and strength of our armed forces. Not to forget the beautiful tableaus that march through the Rajpath to a roaring crowd, cheering the spectacle of India’s cultural prowess!

 

 

But do you know what makes my pulse ticking today? Well, it is the full integration of Jammu Kashmir with the rest of India post the abrogation of Article 370. Yes, the bold move of Modi Sarkar 2.0 to annul a divisive article of the constitution is the reason that makes my heart swell with pride today. I feel vindicated as I, as a state subject of J&K, don’t have to bother about the dual identity or dual constitution anymore. This duality had killed the spirit of the constitution in J&K for too long. Glad, it doesn’t exist anymore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m sure, you’re aware how Article 370 acted as a barrier between J&K and the rest of India and prevented it from integrating completely with it? Ironically, year after year, the residents and the government continued to enjoy their holiday on Republic Day alike. While the rest of India took pride in the constitution and commemorated the day when constitution of India came into effect, J&K meanwhile enjoyed this day as “another calendar holiday.” The flag-hoisting ceremony was conducted as a part of the ceremonial proceedings but the thought “The constitution of India doesn’t apply to J&K and why,” would always bother me. Article 370 prohibited the constitution of India from applying to my Himalayan state!

 

 

 

Come August 5, 2019, and things in J&K took an unprecedented turn with Home Minister Amit Shah’s introduction of J&K Reorganisation Bill. This bill was Shah’s masterstroke in lending a much -needed therapeutic touch to my terror infested state. The moment when Mr Shah announced the abrogation of Article 370 that automatically rendered Article 35A useless, and reorganisation of J&K into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, is etched deep in my memory. As soon as I watched him make these unpredicted announcements one after the other, tears of joy flowed. It seemed like a dream and I literally had to pinch myself back into reality. Together, we screamed in joy, hugged one another, distributed sweets and shared the moment. It was as if a lifetime of prayers was answered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having moved on from the aftermath of August 5, J&K has accepted its fate and is happily treading on the path of development. Today, as India observes its 71st Republic Day, things in J&K aren’t the same anymore. First time in the history of independent India, J&K (now a Union Territory) today celebrates the day as a true mark of respect for becoming an integral part of the Sovereign-Democratic Republic of India.

 

I wholeheartedly thank the government of India for giving us the joy to witness this day in our lifetime!

 

True to the spirit of the present day, as we celebrate this momentous opportunity, I’m compelled to evoke the famous quote by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar “We’re Indians. Firstly and Lastly.”

 

Dr Ambedkar was a visionary who’d always dreamt of a unified India, one India. Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been instrumental in his efforts to liberate the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the chains of terrorism, which has impaired the overall development of the state a great deal. For years, Article 370 was used as a political shield by various politicians and political parties within the state and at the centre to keep its identity afloat.

 

 

In a bid to please the vote bank, various politicians stooped as low as shaking hands with and sharing stage with designated terrorists including Yasin Malik. Malik is an assassin and is responsible for the killing of four Indian Air Force officials in Srinagar suburbs on January 25, 1990. He like many others was involved in anti-India activities and instrumental intimidating the Kashmiri Pandits, which eventually led to our 7th exodus in history!

 

 

In a more robust avatar, Mr Modi has come out more focused in his second term. His intentions were clean from the very beginning he took charge and after taking oath in May 2019, he has been on a mission to fix the historical wrongs. Republic Day 2020 is a flashback of the hard work and dedication of his team to make Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s dream of "Ek desh, ek Vidhan, ek nishan and ek pradhan" - one country, one constitution, one flag, one head, come true. This slogan was coined by Dr Mukherjee, the BJP ideologue who had passed away in a Kashmir jail in the year 1952.

 

 

Today as J&K strides ahead, moving over from the shackles of Article 370 and shuns the baggage of dual citizenship and a separate constitution, it serves as a befitting tribute to the far-sighted leaders like Dr Mukherjee and Dr Ambedkar. Oh! How I wish they were alive today to witness these winds of change blowing in Kashmir!

 

 

Strong political will was all it needed to change the fate of terror plagued state!

 

 

We the people of Jammu and Kashmir affirm our allegiance to the constitution of India in letter and spirit. I rest my case with this note!

 

Jai Hind.