Taking note of the positive initiatives taken by the Modi government in Jammu and Kashmir, the Saudi Gazette, a newspaper based out of Saudi Arabia, had praised the Indian government for carrying out various development activities and public welfare initiatives, in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370.
The Saudi daily stated that the youth in Kashmir have positively reacted to the decisive steps taken by the Modi government and have expressed the desire to become a part of the progress of the country. It also noted that terrorists who were earlier disenchanted by the central government have given up their arms after 5 August 2019 and have become a part of the national mainstream.
It said the local leaders of Kashmir who harped on the state’s separate status and alleged that no one in the Valley would be holding the tricolour following the abrogation have been proven wrong.
The Saudi newspaper highlighted how the Centre’s scholarship schemes for Jammu and Kashmir students had helped people from poor background to get admission to top colleges across the country.
“Many of the students have completed their graduation and taken up jobs with big corporate firms within and outside the country. The Indian government has remained steadfast in its decisions to ensure that the region is pulled from the quagmire of uncertainty,” the Saudi Gazette said.
“The government departments were asked to ensure that the benefits of the centrally sponsored schemes trickle down to youth so that they are enabled to choose a progressive path in life. In addition to the great scope being offered by the high potential tourism industry in the region, many Kashmiri youths have been imparted training under the “Himmayat” scheme and have been benefitted in terms of getting jobs in companies across the country,” the daily read.
The newspaper also pointed out the decline in the number of youth taking part in stone-pelting mobs because of an increase in new employment and earning opputunities.
“In the past one and half year, hundreds of youth have been placed and they are living decent lives. Recruiting agencies that had almost become defunct in Jammu and Kashmir advertised posts for the unemployed educated youth and the process to employ them was expedited,” the Gazette said.
The daily said that government initiatives have provided a new life to Kashmiri youth, who during the last three decades were being misguided by “evil forces to take up arms in a proxy war against a welfare state”.