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Hoshiarpur Lit Fest: Abrogation of Article 370 has stabilised the security situation in J&K: Lt Gen Dhillon (retd)
The overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has stabilised since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 owing to an effective operational synergy between the army, police and paramilitary forces, according to Lieutenant General KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon (retd), former commander of 15 Corps in Srinagar.
The overall security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has stabilised since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 owing to an effective operational synergy between the army, police and paramilitary forces, according to Lieutenant General KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon (retd), former commander of 15 Corps in Srinagar.
“The gains on the security front have laid the ground for outreach, de-radicalisation, drug de-addiction, development and improvement in the education system,” Dhillon said on Saturday in the course of interaction with Hindustan Times executive editor Ramesh Vinayak on his recently published book ‘Kitne ghazi aaye, kitne ghazi gaye’ - My life story’ at the third Hoshiarpur Literary Festival here.
Dhillon was the general officer commanding in Kashmir on February 14, 2019, Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in a suicide attack on the bus in which they were travelling and its aftermath and the nullification of J&K’s special status by the Parliament on August 5, 2019.
He revealed how security forces, within 100 hours of the Pulwama incident, tracked down and killed the mastermind, a Pakistani terrorist Kamran, who went by the code name
of ‘Ghazi’ like many other top terrorists. “Kitne ghazi aaye, kitne ghazi gaye… we are there, don’t worry became a seminal catchphrase,” Dhillon added, explaining the title of his book. He said the book has true stories of the army veteran’s life and four-decade-long career which includes multiple postings in Jammu and Kashmir.
The festival also featured sessions with former diplomat and writer Navtej Sarna on his novel ‘The Crimson Spring’ and former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief AS Dulat on his memoir ‘A Life in the Shadows’, and a poetry reading by Amy Singh and Nirupama Dutt titled: ‘Hoshiarpur via Lahore’. Singapore-based Amardeep Singh presented an interesting slide talk on the making of the Docuseries on the travels of Guru Nanak.
Before the festival, revenue minister Brahm Shankar Jimpa inaugurated the digital library, which hosted the literary event organised by a local team led by writer Khushwant Singh and Sanna Gupta.
Jimpa inaugurates digital library
HOSHIARPUR Cabinet minister Brahm Shankar Jimpa, on Saturday, inaugurated the state’s first digital library set up near Sadar police station at a cost of ₹3 crore. The library contains separate zones for children, youth and senior citizens. Deputy commissioner Komal Mittal revealed that a free wi-fi facility was available to access digital content on computers and tablets. The library would remain open on all seven days from 9 am to 7 pm, she said, informing that books and magazines had also been kept in the reading room. The library would be maintained by the zila parishad, the DC added.
