Terrorism in Kashmir began in 1947, Sardar Patel’s advice to reclaim POK was ignored: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a sharp historical reflection during an event in Gujarat, said that the roots of today’s terrorism in Kashmir lie in the first attack after Partition in 1947. He blamed the then Congress government for ignoring Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s advice to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) at that time.

PM Modi described the 1947 invasion of Kashmir by Pakistan-backed forces as the first organized terror strike, saying, "The so-called mujahideen who entered our land then should have been eliminated. That inaction allowed decades of bloodshed."

Referring to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people died, the Prime Minister called it a "distorted continuation" of the original terror threat. “This isn’t a proxy war by some non-state actors — this is Pakistan’s direct war strategy against India,” he said.

He asserted that Sardar Patel, India’s first Home Minister, had insisted the Indian Army should not have halted its offensive until POK was taken back, but the leadership then chose not to act on that suggestion. "Had Patel’s vision been followed, the history of Kashmir would have been very different," Modi added.

In response, Congress dismissed the Prime Minister’s remarks as politically motivated and historically inaccurate. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera accused Modi of misrepresenting facts and questioned the role of the RSS and its ideological predecessors during the freedom struggle.