Ever since its introduction about two weeks ago, Article 370 has kept up the momentum as the most talked about topic all throughout India. What it is and why it has been put forward is something every indolent Headline Surveyor would know. So the need to describe it seems minimal. Coming straight to the point, we are not here to discuss on Article 370.
We are here to obsess over an after-effect of the so-called article. The article has stirred up many events both inside and outside our noble country, some of them good and a few of them, undesirable.
The specific event that we intend to focus on is the Cancellation of the Samjhauta Express, commonly called the Friendship Train.
Image Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samjhauta_Express
The word Samjhauta means ‘agreement’, ‘accord’ or compromise in both Hindi and Urdu. This train runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Attari and Lahore in Pakistan. It is a bi-weekly train that runs on Thursday and Monday.
Some History
File Photo
The service was inaugurated on the 22nd of July, 1976. Initially, the train covered a distance of about 52 km between Amritsar and Lahore. It was introduced following the Simla Agreement, which was a peace treaty signed by Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan to reverse the consequences of the 1971 war. Hence it was also referred to as the Peace Train.
Current Day
File Photo.
The oldest link between independent India and Pakistan, the Samjhauta Express was cancelled on Sunday, 11th August 2019, following suspension from Pakistan’s side. The reason for the sudden cancellation is the Indian Government’s sudden decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The cancellation occurs just days after Thar Express, another International Passenger Train which connects Hyderabad with Karachi in Pakistan was cancelled on this Friday.
Prowling Cloud 