Sitharaman asks Cong to speak in one voice on Kashmir
Chennai, Sep 10 : Describing abrogation of Article 370 as a path breaking decision of the Centre, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Congress should speak in one voice on Jammu and Kashmir and matters of national security.
The opposition party should evaluate the situation, she told reporters here to a question about a reported Pakistan dossier to the UN Human Rights Council purportedly having remarks of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah against the Centre's action in scrapping special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
"The Congress leadership should please look at what is happening within the country and speak in one voice as regards to issues like Jammu and Kashmir and as regards to issues which matters to the country's national security", she told reporters.
The Finance Minister was addressing a press conference on "100 days of bold initiatives and decisive actions taken by the government".
Abrogation of Article 370 was a major path breaking decision of the Centre which gave the opportunity of reservation benefits to Scheduled Castes, and Schedule Tribes, she said.
Addressing the 42nd session of the UNHRC at Geneva, Pakistan on Tuesday said the UN Human Rights Council, the repository of the world's conscience on human rights, must not remain "indifferent" to the situation in Kashmir after India revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
The Centre last month removed special status under Art 370 to Jammu and Kashmir and announced that the state would be divided into two union territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Congress had last month slammed Pakistan for "mischievously" dragging Rahul Gandhi's name in its petition in the UN.
As reports of Pakistan using his August 10 comments that "there are reports of violence, there are reports of people dying in Jammu and Kashmir" became public, Gandhi had said he disagreed with the BJP-led government on many issues but is clear that Kashmir is India's internal issue, and violence there was "instigated and supported" by Pakistan. .
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Ladakh a living land of dharma for centuries: Amit Shah
Leh/Jammu (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday described the return of sacred relics of Lord Buddha to Ladakh after 75 years as a "historic reunion" and said that the Union Territory has remained a "living land of dharma", preserving and nurturing Buddhist knowledge for centuries.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Ladakh has been a living land of dharma for centuries. When the Dalai Lama comes here, he says this land is not merely a geographical land but a living laboratory of Buddhist culture and compassion," Shah said, speaking after the inauguration of the sacred holy relics exposition of Tathagata Buddha and the 2569th Buddha Purnima celebrations at Jivetsal in Leh during his two-day visit to Ladakh.
Calling Ladakh a land of compassion, he said this land has preserved and nurtured knowledge. "Whenever Buddhism faced crises, this land worked to protect the teachings of Buddha. And when peace returned, it helped to expand and carry forward that preserved wisdom," he added.
"Unless one internalises knowledge and makes it a part of oneself, liberation is not possible. Knowledge is incomplete without spiritual practice, while spiritual practice without knowledge is blind. Therefore, the union of spiritual practice and knowledge is the right path. Even after all this, if there is no moral discipline, one cannot lead a truly wise life. The basis of a life of wisdom is moral discipline," he said.
Shah said it was through Ladakh and adjoining routes that the teachings of Tathagata Buddha, which originated in India, spread to China and several other countries.
"The message that emerged from the land of Ladakh has become a guiding force for many people around the world to take their lives forward. The presence of these sacred relics in Ladakh reminds us that India's civilisation has, for thousands of years, given the message of peace and coexistence," he said.
He said that in a diverse region like Ladakh and Kargil, this message becomes even more relevant. "This heritage still tells us today that amidst conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions."
He said the return of the relics on Buddha Purnima had enhanced the significance of the festival for the people of Ladakh.
"These sacred relics have come to Ladakh after 75 years. It is as if Buddha himself is present here today," Shah said, adding that followers of Buddhism and people of other faiths in Ladakh and Kargil would draw spiritual energy from the relics.
Highlighting Ladakh's role in the spread of Buddhism, Shah said Kashmir was once an ancient centre of Buddhist studies, Mahayana philosophy and Buddhist art, from where Ladakh first came into close contact with Buddhism.
He said Emperor Ashoka's envoys laid the foundation of Buddhist influence in Ladakh through Kashmir and Gandhara, while Mahayana Buddhism expanded in the region during the Kushan period between the first and third centuries CE.
The Silk Route linking Kashmir, Leh, Yarkand, Khotan and Tibet became a channel not only for trade but also for ideas, monks, manuscripts and artistic traditions, Shah said.
He added that later, Tibetan influence between the seventh and tenth centuries further enriched Ladakh through Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Amid conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions," he said.
Shah also appealed to the Ladakh administration to ensure complete arrangements so that followers of all faiths, especially Buddhists, could visit and pay obeisance to the relics.
#WATCH लेह, लद्दाख: केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री अमित शाह ने कहा, "जब दलाई लामा यहां आते हैं तो वे कहते हैं कि यह भूमि केवल भौगोलिक भूमि नहीं है। यह भूमि बौद्ध संस्कृति और करुणा की जीवंत प्रयोगशाला है। इस भूमि पर ज्ञान का संरक्षण हुआ है... भारत की सभ्यता हजारों वर्षों से शांति का संदेश… https://t.co/2nwG0w2CE6 pic.twitter.com/W13itRBqeX
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