No large-scale terrorism now: Rajnath Singh in J&K

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that India is not an expansionist power and has not occupied an inch of land of any country across the world, even as he slammed Pakistan for continuing its policy of "bleed India with a thousand cuts" and praised the armed forces for securing the borders with valour and defiance.

He was addressing personnel from the army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and J&K Police in the cantonment area of Baramulla district in northern Kashmir, on the first day of his two-day visit to Kashmir.

"Our character is that we haven't harmed anybody's self-respect. Neither have we ever attempted to occupy even one inch of land in any country... India is the only country whose saints believe that the whole world is a family," said Singh.


On the internal security of J&K, the defence minister said militancy is waning in the region. "Our neighbour keeps engaging in profane conspiracies and actions against us and incidents keep happening here... Earlier, terror incidents used to happen on a large scale but now they happen for the sake of symbolism, and credit goes to the army, CRPF and J&K Police," he said.

The minister also paid homage to the army personnel killed in Galwan Valley two years ago. "Remembering the heroes of Galwan who fought valiantly for the honour of the country and laid down their lives on June 15-16, 2020. Their courage, bravery and supreme sacrifice will never be forgotten," he said.