Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday highlighted the all-round development in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and exhorted the youth of Kashmir to ensure that they carry pens and laptops instead of stones.
Addressing an event after the inauguration of the three-day Vitasta Festival here, Shah said those who have known only the history of Jammu and Kashmir in the last four decades think that this is a disputed or disturbed area.
"But Kashmir is a land which has borne the brunt of bloodshed in the past and emerged victorious and more stable and peaceful," he said, adding that this land saw nearly 40,000 deaths due to terrorism in the last three to four decades but today the same Kashmir is celebrating Vitasta Festival and marching ahead.
The home minister chose the occasion to call upon the youth of Kashmir to think about the rich cultural heritage of the valley.
"Those who handed over arms and stones to you, they were never your well-wishers. You should have pens, laptops and books in your hands and not stones," he said, in an apparent reference to stone-pelting protests in the past.
He compared Kashmiri culture with the Vitasta (Jhelum) river and said, "If one knows the right history of Kashmir, hate has never been its part. Whosoever came to Kashmir was welcomed with open arms."
The home minister also highlighted the all-round development in Jammu and Kashmir since abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state, in 2019.
The festival is being organised on the ground of Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) located on the bank of the famous Dal Lake.
-With PTI Input
