On 14th October (Saturday), JNU alumna and Kashmir-based ‘activist’ Shehla Rashid took to X to heap praise on PM Modi, the administration in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Indian Army in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Reacting to the fast-paced developments in the Middle East, she asserted that these developments have made her realise how lucky we are as Indians.
In her post, she wrote, “Looking at the events in the Middle East, today I realise how lucky we are as Indians. The Indian Army and security forces have sacrificed their everything for our safety. Credit where it’s due.”
Looking at the events in the Middle East, today I realise how lucky we are as Indians. The Indian Army and security forces have sacrificed their everything for our safety.
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) October 14, 2023
Credit where it's due @pmoindia @HMOIndia @manojsinha_ @adgpi @ChinarcorpsIA for bringing peace to Kashmir https://t.co/qeUCkJq9g3
She also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, the Indian Army, and the Chinar Corps of the Indian Army for bringing peace to Jammu and Kashmir.
Former JNU alumna Shehla Rashid also noted that peace can’t be ensured without security and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East stamps it further. She added that the Chinar Corps of the Indian Army, along with the brave soldiers of the CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police, have made tremendous sacrifices to ensure long-term peace and security in Kashmir.
Peace is impossible without security, as the Middle East crisis has shown. The Indian Army @ChinarcorpsIA along with @crpfindia and brave personnel of Jammu Kashmir Police @JmuKmrPolice have made tremendous sacrifices to ensure long-term peace and security in Kashmir 🙏
— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) October 14, 2023
Though Shehla Rashid has turned off replies to these tweets, many people have lauded her for speaking the truth about the changed reality of Kashmir particularly after the abrogation of Article 370.
However, in the past, she had an illustrious career in peddling fake news and spreading anti-India rhetoric in Kashmir. Notably, she has previously served as the former vice-president of the JNU student union and did politics on behalf of AISA, the student organisation of left parties. Back then, she made regular statements against BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even resorted to fake news peddling on many instances to show a false narrative of Muslims being victimised in Jammu and Kashmir by the ‘oppressive’ Indian Armed forces.
In one instance, she even went to peddle fake news to implicate the Indian army in a bad light and toed the line of Pakistani propaganda against the security forces which was exposed by the Indian Army. In a series of tweets, Rashid alleged that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is grim and that the armed forces are using excessive force on the Kashmiris.
It is notable that Shehla Rashid’s change of heart in the matter comes just days after the Delhi LG granted sanction for a case against her over her comments spreading fake news. Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava had filed a criminal complaint against Shehla Rashid for her comments, seeking her arrest for allegedly spreading fake news against the Indian Army and the government.
The complaint stated that she had prima facie committed an offence of sedition under Section 124-A of IPC. It added that Rashid has further committed offences of ‘promoting enmity between the classes’ under Sections 153, 153-A, 504, and 505 of IPC.
In connection to her baseless tweets against the Indian army, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, VK Saxena on 10th January, this year granted prosecution sanction against Shehla Rashid. It allowed the prosecution to charge her under section 196 of CrPC, 1973, for her tweets against the Indian Army.
For the last few days, the Former JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid has spent time in Kashmir, and post the prosecution sanction against her in connection to the fake news against the Indian Army, she has been retracting some of her earlier stances. For example, she had once approached the Supreme Court against the decision to abrogate Article 370. However, she recently withdrew her petition over this issue.
Similarly, earlier this year, on the occasion of Independence Day, she responded positively to the news of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Javed’s brother Raees Mattoo hoisting the Indian national flag. Reflecting on that, she had also asserted that the situation has improved in the state followed by recent tweets where she has underscored the changed reality of Kashmir and praised PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for peace and safety in Kashmir.
