Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended his government’s decision to strip Kashmir of its special status, pledging that the controversial decision will help restore the region to its “past glory.”

In a live Independence Day address from New Delhi’s Red Fort, Modi argued that repealing Article 370, which granted semi-autonomy to Kashmir, was necessary in order to protect women, children, and tribal communities from injustice.

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He noted that previous governments had made efforts in the past 70 years to resolve the standoff in Kashmir, stressing that a “new approach” was needed in the decades-old dispute.

“Our government does not delay decisions. We neither nurse problems nor keep them pending,” Modi said, referring to Article 370.

The prime minister also promised that great things await Jammu and Kashmir.

“We can return the region to its past glory,” he said.

Earlier this month, New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision (Article 370) that allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own flag, constitution, and autonomy over its internal administration.

Tens of thousands of additional Indian troops have been deployed to the region to enforce the decision.

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India and Pakistan have been locked in a decades-long feud over Kashmir, which began after Britain granted the territory independence in 1947. The dispute has sparked three wars over the last 40 years.

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