Current affairs
Kashmir: Manmohan Singh rolls in Vajpayee’s train; the dream of a united, integrated India brightens but snags remain
Vajpayee's train rolls in
By Iftikar Gilani
Three decades ago, my grandmother, while on her way to perform Hajj, asked her companion to take her to Delhi Railway Station. She just had to see a train. To any Kashmiri, the sight of a train clattering on rails was a wonder on earth. So, most visitors to Delhi from the Valley made it a point to make a trip to Delhi railway station to see a train with their own eyes. For over a century, Kashmiri labourers working all over India returned home full of stories about the iron horse.
Now, thanks to the vision and initiative of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the determination of Manmohan Singh, the railways are set to become a permanent fixture of Kashmiri life.
There is no overstating the role of the railways in integrating India. In fact, there is reason to believe that the railways had a bigger role than the civil services and Army in weaving India's various societies and cultures into a common fabric. Kashmir was the missing link for all these years. But, on October 11, all that become history when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off the first train to leave the newly constructed Nowgam station. The train will initially ply between Srinagar and Anantnag and later connect the Valley with Jammu and thence, the rest of India.
Now, thanks to the vision and initiative of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the determination of Manmohan Singh, the railways are set to become a permanent fixture of Kashmiri life.
There is no overstating the role of the railways in integrating India. In fact, there is reason to believe that the railways had a bigger role than the civil services and Army in weaving India's various societies and cultures into a common fabric. Kashmir was the missing link for all these years. But, on October 11, all that become history when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off the first train to leave the newly constructed Nowgam station. The train will initially ply between Srinagar and Anantnag and later connect the Valley with Jammu and thence, the rest of India.
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5:16 AM
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