New Delhi, Nov 29, TEN Network | n response to a series of questions in Parliament, G. Kishan Reddy, the minister of state for home affairs, offered a barrage of statistics to show that Kashmiris were increasingly participating in ordinary life, that children had returned to school, that security was under control and that communications had largely been restored. But the numbers did not answer all questions.
For instance, the home ministry, while providing overall tourist numbers in Kashmir for the past six months, did not shed light on the losses the tourist industry has suffered since August 5 and the abrogation of Article 370, nor did it offer specific numbers of visitors since the lifting of a travel advisory in October.
Similarly, the home ministry provided numbers on arrests for stone-throwing this year to bolster its claim that such incidents were on the decline, but the overall numbers mask the truth that, despite the overwhelming security and thousands of preventive arrests, stone-throwing incidents are actually on the rise since August 5 compared to earlier in the year.
Also, despite the home ministry’s revelation that almost all Kashmiri schoolchildren were in school for their board exams, it’s unclear what the average attendance has been since schools reopened, with some reports claiming attendance is as low as three per cent. (IT)
