Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dwelled on the happenings of 1947 and said that if India had followed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's advice at that time, most of the terror attacks happening today could have been prevented.
Addressing a function in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Modi remembered Patel advising the military not to stop short of reaching Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In 1947, Mother India was left in shreds. The shackles should have been severed, but the hands were amputated. The nation was split into three, and on the same night, the first act of terrorism was committed on the soil of Kashmir," Modi added.
He pointed out how Pakistan, abetted by terrorists he called Mujahideen, usurped a part of India's land. Modi emphasized that had those Mujahideen been eliminated at the time and Patel’s advice been heeded, the ongoing cycle of terror over the past 75 years would not have persisted. “No matter how strong or healthy the body is, even a single thorn can cause constant pain and we’ve decided that the thorn must be removed,” the Prime Minister asserted.
Modi further condemned the duplicity of Pakistan after India's 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7, wherein terrorists were eliminated. Modi highlighted that Pakistani state honors were showered upon such terrorists — coffins wrapped in the Pakistani flag and salutes by Pakistan Army personnel. Modi emphasized how terrorism in today's time is not just a proxy war anymore.
His remarks follow increased tensions between India and Pakistan after Indian forces conducted missile strikes at nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. The strikes were in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead, of whom most were tourists.
Laying bare Pakistan's plan, Modi stated, "When the necessity of war with Pakistan was felt, India's military might crushed Pakistan three times. Pakistan realized that it will not be able to conquer India in a war. It initiated a proxy war against India. They continued to attack wherever they received an opportunity, and we continued to bear it."
Modi conducted a roadshow during his Gujarat visit before inaugurating some development projects in Gandhinagar. It was his first visit to his home state after India's surgical strike against Pakistan. He has also carried out roadshows in Vadodara, Bhuj, and Ahmedabad over the last two days.
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