Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, during his address at the 83rd foundation day celebrations of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Thursday, remarked on the transformation of Srinagar’s Dal Lake, which he described as "dull" during his 1990 visit, but now bustling with tourists. His comments come amid preparations for Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reflecting on his visit to the region three decades ago, Dhankhar recalled staying near the Dal Lake as a Union minister in 1990.
"Everything was dull. D-U-L-L. Not even 20 souls could be seen on the road. A state of dejection and hopelessness," Dhankhar remarked.
Today, however, Dhankhar painted a starkly different picture of the valley. He highlighted that in a Rajya Sabha briefing last year, it was revealed that two crore tourists had visited Jammu and Kashmir.
This resurgence of tourism, he suggested, is a result of the significant changes that have occurred in the region, particularly the abrogation of Article 370.
"Article 370, the only article labelled as temporary and which was taken by some people, including those who had taken an oath under the Constitution, to be permanent, is no longer there," Dhankhar noted.
He emphasised the enduring shift in the region’s status since the removal of the temporary provision.
In his speech, the vice president also reflected on the broader changes India has undergone since the 1990s. Comparing the present-day economic situation to the early 90s, when India was facing a financial crisis and had to pledge its gold reserves to Swiss banks, Dhankhar acknowledged India’s progress.
"Now, the IMF says India is the most-favoured global destination for investments and opportunity, and the World Bank calls India a role model on digitisation," Dhankhar proudly stated.
The vice president also pointed to the elimination of middlemen and rampant corruption, which he said had dominated the corridors of power in the 90s.
"Now, the power corridors are fully sanitised. The middleman has disappeared.... All transactions take place digitally, without a human interface. That is the change I never imagined," he remarked.
Dhankhar expressed particular satisfaction with the increased recognition of India’s scientific community, saying, "Soothing to note that in the last few years, recognition for the scientific community has gone up... the prime minister's heart and soul are deeply in the scientific community."
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