'J&K youth are nationalists, need to stand with them,' resounds Major Gaurav Arya

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday in a big statement said the children of Jammu and Kashmir are nationalists, but they are sometimes being motivated in the wrong direction. Republic TV’s Consulting Editor Strategic Affairs Major Gaurav Arya reacting to Rajnath Singh's statement said that the nation should stand with the youth of Jammu and Kashmir as they have been misled by 'certain' forces. 

'Youth misled by narrow political interests'

Major Gaurav Arya agreed with the Defence Minister's statement and said, "Absolutely, the youth in Jammu and Kashmir is nationalist. CDS General Rawat had spoken about radicalisation and deradicalisation camps in Jammu and Kashmir. This is what he was talking about. Youth is the youth. They are the future of this country but what is happening is there are certain forces who have radicalised this youth and forced them to take up stone-pelting, take up weapons and I agree with what the Defence Minister says. Youth has been radicalised and misled by narrow-political interests, they have been misled by Pakistan, they have been misled by other forces of the Kashmir valley and we should stand with the youth."

'They shouldn't be seen in any other way'

The Defence Minister's comments come days after Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said girls and boys, as young as 10 and 12, were being radicalised in Kashmir, adding that it was a matter of concern.

"The kids of Jammu Kashmir are nationalists. They shouldn't be seen in any other way," said Rajnath Singh, who visited the NCC Republic Day Camp in Delhi, when asked about his opinion on kids in the state who are being motivated to join the National Cadet Corps.

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"Youngsters are youngsters only. Sometimes, the way they should be motivated, people do not motivate them. In fact, they are motivated in the wrong direction. That is why the kids should not be blamed for this. The ones who are wrongly motivating them should be blamed. The ones who are motivating them in the wrong direction are the culprits," the defence minister added.

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'Pakistan, America theocratic countries'

Rajnath Singh also said that Indian values consider all religions equal, and that is why the country is secular and never became a theocratic state like Pakistan. "We (India) said we would not discriminate among religions. Why did we do that? Our neighbouring country has declared that their state has a religion. They have declared themselves a theocratic state. We didn't declare so. Even America is a theocratic country. India is not a theocratic country. Why? Because our saints and seers did not just consider the people living within our borders as part of the family but called everyone living in the world as one family," the minister said.

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