Uri attack: PM likens anger to 1965 war

Comparing the raging anger in the country against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack where 18 soldiers were martyred to the sentiments witnessed during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday maintained that those responsible for the terror strike will surely be punished, even as he asserted that the Army does not speak but displays bravery.

The Prime Minister, while addressing people through his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat, sent out a message to the people of Kashmir, which has been witnessing unrest for over two months, saying that “peace, unity and harmony” are the ways to resolve problems and expressed confidence that all issues can be addressed through discussions.

Mr Modi began his broadcast by paying tributes to the 18 soldiers who died in the Uri attack on September 18. “This cowardly act was enough to shake the entire country. There is mourning as well as anger in the country,” he said.

“This is a loss not only for those families which lost their sons, brothers, husbands. This loss is for the entire country. That is why, today I will say only this much, which I said on that day (of the incident) also and I will repeat it today, that the guilty will surely be punished,” he added.

Reposing faith in the Indian Army, the Prime Minister said it will foil all such designs through its bravery.

“They (Indian Armymen) are the people who take bravery to its pinnacle so that 125 crore people can live a peaceful life,” he said.

He read out a message of an 11th standard student who had expressed anger over the Uri incident and had the desire to do something over it. After lot of thinking, he had resolved to give extra 3 hours to studies every day as his contribution to the country. “When 1965 War (with Pakistan) broke out and Lal Bahadur Shastri was leading the country, similar was the feeling, anger in the country. There was fever of nationalism. Everybody was keen to do something. At that time, Lal Bahadur Shastri ji attempted to represent this feeling in an excellent manner to the world and he gave the slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ to inspire common people to work for the country,” he noted.

Mr Modi also said that when Mahatma Gandhi was leading the freedom movement and whenever it attained speed, he would direct that for constructive works in the society.

“We all — the Army should carry out its responsibility, we in the government should fulfil our duties and the citizens should provide constructive contribution with the feeling of nationalism — then the nation will definitely touch new heights,” he said. In his 35-minute broadcast, the PM also wanted to specially “speak” to the people of Kashmir. “The people of Kashmir have started to understand the anti-national forces clearly. And as the reality is dawning on them, they have started distancing themselves from such forces and have started walking on the path of peace,” he said. Emphasising that security of common people of Kashmir is the responsibility of the government, he said, “to maintain law and order, the authorities have to take some steps,” an apparent reference to the tough measures taken in the Valley to deal with stone-pelters that has led to casualties. At the same time, he said he wanted to tell the security forces that “the capabilities, the power, the laws, the rules” which they have should be used properly as these are for maintaining law and order and to ensure peaceful living of the people of Kashmir. Mr Modi also mentioned about change of his address from British-era Race Course Road to Lok Kalyan Marg, saying it is a tribute to the common people for whose welfare his government is working.