Uri attack: Modi reposes faith in Army

Modi also 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. In his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat which he began by paying tributes to the 18 soldiers who died in the Uri attack on September 18, Modi said, “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), that the guilty will surely be punished.” Reposing faith in the Indian Army, the Prime Minister said it will foil all such designs through its bravery. 

“They (Indian Army men) are the people who take bravery to its pinnacle so that 125 crore people can live a peaceful life,” he said. “We are proud of our Army. People and politicians get opportunities to speak and that’s what they do. But the Army does not speak. The Army displays its bravery,” Modi said. This is a symbol of the country’s awakening. This anger is of the kind of ‘do something’. 

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 attempted to represent this feeling in an excellent manner to the world and he gave the slogan of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (hail soldier, hail farmer) to inspire common people to work for the country.” 

Pakistan accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ‘irresponsible behaviour’ by making provocative statements that it was exporting terror, saying his remarks were part of a ‘well thought out vilification campaign’ to distract attention from Kashmir. Pakistan Foreign Office, in a statement, said Prime Minister Modi in a public meeting in Kerala ‘tried to malign Pakistan’. 

“It is unfortunate that Indian leadership continues to indulge in a well thought out vilification campaign against Pakistan by making provocative statements and baseless accusations. Such irresponsible display of behaviour at the highest political level is regrettable,” the Foreign Office said. ‘It is evident that, as an act of desperation, India is trying to distract world attention from the atrocities perpetrated’ by its forces in Kashmir against ‘innocent and defenceless’ Kashmiris, including children and women, the statement said.