Modi meets Kashmiri Pandits, assures them of New Kashmir
Houston: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a "special interaction" with a 17-member delegation of Kashmiri Pandits here and assured them of "building a new Kashmir" which would be for everyone.
The delegation, which included Kashmiri Pandits from across the US, met Prime Minister Modi on his arrival in Houston as part as part of his week-long visit to the US.
"Kashmir mein naee hava bah rahee hai (New winds are blowing in Kashmir) and we will all build a new Kashmir together that will be for everyone," he told the delegation.
The Indian government on August 5 revoked the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two union territories. Modi also thanked the community for their patience for over 30 years. "I had a special interaction with Kashmiri Pandits in Houston," Prime Minister Modi later tweeted.
Earlier, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that the Kashmiri Pandits expressed support for the steps taken by the Indian government for the progress of India.
"In Houston, a delegation of the Kashmiri Pandit community met the Prime Minister. They unequivocally supported the steps being taken for the progress of India and empowerment of every Indian," he tweeted. The delegation thanked the Prime Minister for the move and said that their 700,000 community members were "indebted" to his government. The delegation also presented a memorandum to Modi, requesting him to set up a task force under the Indian Home Ministry to bring the community together, develop the region and repatriate Kashmiri Pandits. "Modi Ji brought smiles to the faces of our Kashmiri Pandit delegation, by promising a new Kashmir that we will build together, for everyone," Rajiv Pandit, who was part of the delegation, said.
He recited a religious verse (shlok) for Modi and the Indian leader joined him by reciting its last line.
Surinder Kaul, who led the delegation, told PTI, "the Prime Minister told us you have suffered a lot and together we have to build a new Kashmir."
Lalit Kaul, from Boston, said, "It was gracious of Prime Minister Modi to meet us and acknowledge that our community has suffered a lot! His assurance that he is on the job and things will improve gave all of us a renewed hope."
Earlier, a 50-member delegation of Sikhs from across the US also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and thanked him for removing the names of over 300 community members from blacklist.
The Indian government last week removed from its blacklist names of 312 Sikh foreign nationals involved in anti-India activities after a review carried out by different security agencies on the Adverse List or blacklist.
The community members met Modi on Saturday in Houston and presented him with a traditional Siropa (long scarf).
They thanked him for removing from the blacklist names of Sikh Americans.
We urged the prime minister to provide visa and passport services to the Sikh political asylees. This is important for the large Sikh community living in the US to visit India in a year when we are celebrating 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji, Indiana-based Gurinder Singh Khalsa, who was part of the delegation, said. Prime Minister Modi later tweeted, "I had an excellent interaction with the Sikh Community in Houston. I am delighted to see their passion towards India's development!"
In his brief remarks to the Sikh delegation, Modi said that he has a surprise and good news for them in the next few days and urged them to wait for the news. MEA Spokesperson in a tweet said that the community members congratulated Modi on some of the path-breaking decisions taken by the Indian government. The delegation also urged Modi to change the name of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to Guru Nanak Dev International airport to mark the 550th birth anniversary Guru Nanak Dev ji.
