The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Students from Kashmir meet Barnala

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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Students from Kashmir meet Barnala

Staff Reporter

PHOTO: K.V. Srinivasan

Sharing views: Governor Surjit Singh Barnala interacting with the students from Bandipore, in Jammu and Kashmir, at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Friday. —

CHENNAI: Twenty teenaged students from Bandipore, a small town in Jammu and Kashmir, met Governor Surjit Singh Barnala here on Friday. They were visiting Chennai as part of the tour organised by the Indian Army under its Operation Sadbhavna, a project to wean away young minds from militancy in insurgency-hit areas.

The Governor spoke to the students about the diversity and rich culture of India and gifted them copies of his book ‘My Other Two Daughters’ in English and Urdu.

The students asked several questions to the Governor regarding militancy in Punjab and development in others parts of India.

One of the visiting students raised a question as to why Kashmir was not as developed as Tamil Nadu was. To this the Governor told the students that with peace, economic development would take place.

Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, who is accompanying the students, said Army personnel knew the cost of terrorism as they had lost several jawans to militant attacks. “These tours are conducted to give the students a chance to see the progress made by the rest of India. We want them to understand that by not supporting militancy, they too can progress in their lives,” he said.

The students visited Kerala before coming to the city. Their next stop-over is New Delhi.

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