Key Points

The Art of Living Foundation chief, speaking to IANS, said: “We have been visiting Kashmir since 1980s. People in the Kashmir Valley had never seen a train and had to travel to Jammu just to experience it. It is a matter of great joy that after so many years, Kashmir Valley is now connected to the rest of the country via rail link. Now, people can move from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and vice versa. This is a commendable step.”

“When people from various parts of the country with distinct identities and diverse culture congregate and exchange views, this unravels the true spirit of a diverse nation like India,” he added.

He further said that Jammu and Kashmir has undergone tremendous transformation in the past few years, as terrorism has undergone dramatic decline and the tourism surge is giving a new identity to the region.

"In the last eleven years, India has made tremendous progress in many areas. Notably, India has become the world's fourth-largest economy and is rapidly moving towards becoming the third largest economic power. This is a very positive development,” said the spiritual guru.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar further opined that besides spurt in development projects, many pioneering initiatives across various spectrums have brought visible change in lives.

“Today, the government aid is being directly sent into accounts of marginalised and downtrodden families, which in turn has plugged loopholes and removed middlemen. Women are shattering the age-old stereotypes and emerging as potent force in almost every profession,” he said.

The spiritual leader also showered praise on Modi government’s thrust on maintaining a blend of ‘vikas and virasat’ and described the renovation of temples and various pilgrimage centres as a move to restore and revive the rich legacy of Sanatan Dharma. He said crores of people are rejoicing over the revival of ancient temples which remained in dilapidated condition but with government’s focus have re-emerged as vibrant spiritual centres of the Sanatan Dharma.

"Whether it is Mahakal, Kashi Vishwanath, Kedarnath or Ayodhya temple, major pilgrimage sites across the country have been revived. This is immensely heart-warming for the Sanatan Dharma devouts,” he said.

- IANS