‘Miles to go before I sleep...’: Omar gets poetic, says ‘wounds of Art 370 abrogation yet to heal’

Striking a poignant note on the seventh anniversary of Article 370's abrogation and Jammu & Kashmir's division into two Union Territories, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah referenced renowned American poet Robert Frost. The wounds caused by the move, Abdullah lamented, remained unhealed after seven years, and vowed that "the injustices done to us will be corrected."

Quoting Frost's poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening', Abdullah emphasized, "The woods are lovely, dark & deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep."

Addressing reporters in Jammu's Poonch district, the CM expressed that the wounds of abrogation were still present. He regrettably noted that hopes for applying balm to those wounds and fulfilling the promise of restoring statehood had not materialized despite seven years having passed. Barring the BJP, which celebrated the abrogation of Article 370, all major political parties in Kashmir had organized protests and demonstrations on August 5, 2019, to denounce the day as a 'black day'. However, security forces managed to prevent various parties from taking out marches in Srinagar.

While senior functionaries of the governing NC and Congress parties were notably absent from the protests, focusing their efforts on seeking the restoration of statehood, the PDP's protest was led by Iltija Mufti. Mufti accused law enforcement of manhandling participants during their attempt to protest. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, on the other hand, lauded the decision, claiming it had dismantled the terror ecosystem, bolstered law and order, restored equal rights, and created opportunities for families to rebuild their lives with confidence.

Sinha asserted that the transformation witnessed in J&K since August 5, 2019, was a result of the historic changes enacted on that day, marking a constitutional correction and a new beginning for the Union Territory.