'There is no India without Kashmir': Columnist gets Sitharaman's praise for speech at US Congress

Washington DC, Nov 15: Columnist Sunanda Vashisht on Friday told a US Congressional hearing on Human Rights in Washington said that Pakistan-trained terrorists had caused "ISIS-level of horror and brutality" in the Kashmir Valley long before the West was "even introduced to the brutalities of radical Islamic terror".

She further mentioned that India has successfully defeated insurgencies in Punjab and the Northeast and it is now time to strengthen New Delhi's fight against insurgencies in Kashmir.

She further described the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, as restoration of human rights.

While speaking at the hearing organised by Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Vashisht recalled the ordeal of Kashmiri Hindus and questioned the 'silence of world leaders' when the community was forced to flee the Valley in the 1990s.

The columnist further said that India has "not occupied" Kashmir. "India is not just a 70-year-old identity, but a 5000-year-old civilisation. There is no India without Kashmir, and no Kashmir without India," she said.

From netizens to journalists to praised Vashisht's for speech. Even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman praised Vashisht's for her exceptional speech.