‘Opened doors for higher education, jobs’: Gorkha community hails Article 370 abrogation

Jammu, Aug 5 (IANS) The Gorkha community in Jammu and Kashmir celebrated the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Wednesday amidst heightened police vigil and deployment of police and CRPF personnel.

Community members exchanged greetings, distributed sweets and hailed the day, marking the revocation of Article 370 and 35(A), as historic and futuristic, with long-standing impact.

Several members expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for ensuring that their rights, denied for decades, were restored. Many noted that earlier they lacked voting rights, their children did not have access to domicile certificates, and securing government jobs was extremely difficult.

Speaking to IANS, they thanked the Central Government for granting them eight per cent reservation.

Their celebration came against the backdrop of some political parties observing August 5 as a “Black Day.” Denouncing such moves, they said these parties aimed to push certain communities back into the darkness of discrimination.

They vowed not to let this happen and pledged continued support to the ruling dispensation, appealing to the Prime Minister to ensure such forces never regain a foothold in J&K.

Karuna Chhetri, a member of the Gorkha community, said that since Prime Minister Modi came to power, work had been carried out under the motto of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.”

She added that the revocation of Article 370 brought the community into the mainstream, granted resident status and provided eight per cent reservation under the OBC category.

“Thanks to domicile status, we are now able to access loans, enabling our youth to pursue self-employment,” she said.

Another member remarked that August 5, 2019, would always be remembered.

“We experienced double joy on this day. The revocation of Article 370 gave us our rights, while the construction of the Ram Mandir began on August 5, 2020,” he said.

Manish Adhikari stated that by revoking Article 370, the Prime Minister fulfilled Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s dream.

“The removal of Article 370 has given the Gorkha community a new identity. Before this, we had no recognition for nearly 70 years. Whenever we applied for jobs or higher education, our community was overlooked. We were labelled as outsiders despite our ancestors having lived here for 200 years. The revocation finally granted our community rights and recognition,” he said.

A local woman, Monica, said significant changes had occurred since the revocation.

“Our children’s future will now be secure and bright because we have gained recognition. They will now have access to opportunities for higher education and employment,” she said.

–IANS

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