Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said freedom-fighter and India’s first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel successfully amalgamated 630 princely States with the Union of India but, because of Article 370, the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir was left behind.
However, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government had made Jammu and Kashmir an inseparable part of India by abrogating Article 370 and fulfilled Sardar Patel’s dream, he said, addressing the Dikshant parade of the 70th batch of IPS probationers (Regular Recruit) at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here.
“We have completed the unfinished work left behind by Sardar Patel, who was assigned a challenging and an unimaginable task of integrating, uniting India,” Mr. Shah said.
Recalling Sardar Patel’s efforts to unite the nation after Independence, the Home Minister said that when the then Nizam of Hyderabad refused to merge with India, police action played a key role. “Hyderabad State of Nizam, comprising Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and some parts of Maharashtra, was merged with the rest of India after a historic police action in the region and the full credit goes to the then police force,” he said.
During his first visit to the premier police school in the country, Mr. Shah said he wanted to pay tribute to Sardar Patel and his vision of a unified India had been realised in true spirit now.
Earlier this month, the Centre had revoked special status to J&K and divided it into two Union Territories.
He said IPS officers had a major role in maintaining internal security in the country and India could not be a safe country unless it had strong internal security.
“Today, the nation is facing threats from extremists, cyber criminals and narcotics smugglers, besides terrorists from neighbouring countries. As a police officer, you have to face these challenges and prove yourself as an efficient leader,” said the Minister.
Stating that Sampark (Connect), Samvaad (Communicate) and Samanvay (Coordinate) were the core principles of team-building and achieving success in challenging situations, Mr. Shah emphasised reaching out to people, communicating constantly and building a connect to serve them in the most successful manner.
Stating that Mr. Modi’s vision of a $-5 trillion economy could only be achieved when the law and order situation in the country was stable and peaceful, Mr. Shah emphasised that “a SMART (S - Sensitive and Strict; M - Modern with mobility; A - Alert and Accountable; R - Reliable and Responsive; T - Trained and Tech-savvy) police force is the flag-bearer of the Prime Minister’s vision”.
A total of 103 probationers, including 11 foreigners and 16 women, passed out of the academy on Friday.
