Taking J&K people into confidence on Article 370 abrogation was absolutely necessary, says PM Modi

Srinagar/Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that there was complete clarity in his mind that taking the people of J&K into confidence on the decision to abrogate Article 370 was absolutely essential. 

PM Modi said in the foreword of a book titled ‘370: Undoing the Unjust, A New Future for J&K’, “We wanted the decision, whenever it would be taken, to happen with the concurrence of the people rather than imposition.”

The book is written by the non-profit organisation BlueKraft Digital Foundation and published under the Penguin Enterprise imprint.

The book mentions in detail how PM Modi managed to achieve the goal that he set out for himself.

The publishers said the book, which is scheduled to release this month, “chronicles what is inarguably the greatest constitutional feat in India’s history and tells the inside story of how Prime Minister Modi managed the seemingly impossible".

“The book delves into multiple blunders at the time of Independence that culminated in the unjust regimen of Article 370. It discusses the social, political and economic ramifications of Article 370 since its inception in 19,” the publishers, Penguin said on Monday marking five years of abrogation of Article 370.

The book recounts the events leading to the abrogation and also chronicles the region’s history from ancient to contemporary times.

The publishers claim that this is the first book of its kind on the Modi government where the actual decision-making process has been documented through interactions with top decision-makers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said, “An eminently readable account of a crucial decision that has promoted national integration while transforming the development and security landscape of Jammu & Kashmir. It brings out how the political calculations and personal proclivities of an earlier era were finally countered by national sentiment,”

The book is likely to become a hot seller right from day one of its release for it would come in handy as an important research source material for academicians, historians, politicians and strategists.