India, Aug. 9 -- The Prime Minister's address to the nation on Jammu and Kashmir has come ahead of his August 15 Independence Day speech at the Red Fort, where he spells out his vision for the nation. While many Indians welcomed the move and lauded Modi's government for its decisiveness, others criticised India for what they said were heavy-handed and even unconstitutional tactics. It is a bold step that the BJP government has taken.
In his speech, Modi has suggested that Jammu and Kashmir could eventually regain the status of a state, but Ladakh would remain a union territory. He respected political critics and asked them to act in the larger interests of the nation instead of blindly opposing the government's actions. He also assured the...