Strengthen J&K’s legacy of considering peace, tranquility as supreme: President

Srinagar: From Shankaracharya’s composition of Saundarya Lahari and Ananda Lahari for describing the glory of Shakti to the words of Lal Ded and the advice of Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani (RA) showing the right path to humanity, from rulers like Zain-ul-Abidin promoting etiquette and spirituality to Abhinavagupta making amazing contributions in both the fields of religion and literature, President Droupadi Marmu Wednesday emphasised that there was a need to continuously strengthen Jammu and Kashmir’s legacy of considering peace and tranquility as supreme.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that attending a civic reception hosted in her honour at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar on Wednesday evening, the President said: “About 2000 years ago, the 4th Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir. Scholars believe that about 1300 years ago, in Srinagar, Shankaracharya had composed Saundarya Lahari and Ananda Lahari to describe the glory of Shakti. The words of Lal Ded and the advice of Sheikh Nooruddin are still showing the right path to humanity. Rulers like Zain-ul-Abidin promoted etiquette and spirituality. Abhinavagupta who made amazing contributions in both the fields of religion and literature, had explained a very good principle of literature in the 10th century which proves to be true for every aspect of life. He had said that ‘Shanta Rasa’ is the source of all ‘Rasas.’”

Emphasising that there was a need to continuously strengthen J&K’s legacy of considering peace and tranquility as supreme, she said that today’s Kashmir was taking a new turn following its heritage.

“A new era of progress, peace, and prosperity has begun,” President Murmu said.

She thanked the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the warm welcome she received on her first visit to J&K as the President of India.

The President expressed happiness to note the presence of eminent personalities of J&K who had made their mark in different fields.

She said that they had enhanced the reputation not only of this region but of the entire country.

President Murmu said that Kashmir had been a major centre of art, culture, and education since ancient times.

She said that there had been a massive change in infrastructure development, e-governance, healthcare, housing, women empowerment, tribal outreach, and inclusive development.

The President expressed happiness to note that till September this year, about 1.7 crore tourists had visited J&K, which was a record.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the President’s life had been inspirational.

“She has devoted her life to empowering deprived sections of society and socio-economic empowerment of women, providing them confidence, and a sense of self-esteem. Her vision and ideals will continue to guide the world’s largest democracy,” the LG said.

Highlighting the developmental journey of J&K since August 2019, he said, “The growth history of J&K since 2019 is an example of remarkable economic progress and inclusive development. Our focus is the high growth rate, infra, industrialisation, and transforming cities and villages to improve the lives of the people. The well-being of all is our prime objective today.”

LG Sinha said that his administration had been able to establish an exploitation-free, corruption-free, and fear-free society that had ensured social equality and all sections of society were benefitting from the growth and development.

Earlier in the day, the President interacted with the members of local tribal groups and women Self Help Groups at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.

On the occasion, the LG said that the Self-Help Groups were playing an important role in the socio-economic empowerment of women in J&K and enabling them to take control of their lives.

“Tribal communities in J&K were marginalised for a very long time. The government implemented the Forest Rights Act, key reforms and initiatives have been taken for the transformation of tribal society, and our focus is on holistic development to provide new strengths and capabilities to the community,” he said.