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For Brigadier Deep Bhagat (Retd.), Shopian was once a place where every move was planned with caution, weapons in hand and danger always close.\u00a0<\/p>
Years later, the same roads welcomed him back but this time on a bike, without any security, without any armour. The contrast left him emotional.<\/p>
In a video shared on Instagram, Bhagat, who served in the Indian Army for nearly 30 years and also worked as an instructor at a commando school, spoke about returning to Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s Shopian district, where he once operated during the peak of militancy in the 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>
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\u201cI am entering Shopian, and I could never have imagined that I would return here in my lifetime without any weapons and protection. Never. Never,\u201d he said in the video. He added that soldiers who fought militancy in those years would not have believed such a moment was possible.<\/p>
Bhagat said coming back to the area brought back old memories of a time when violence and fear were common\u00a0and cross-border terrorism was at its peak. He admitted it felt strange to be in the same place without the tension he once lived with. At the same time, he said the present situation made him happy.<\/p>
In the caption of the video, Bhagat reflected on how his relationship with Kashmir has changed over the years. \u201cTwo decades ago, I was operating in Kashmir as a soldier in combat gear and with weapons. Two years ago, I returned on my bike, as a tourist. No weapon. No protection. Just open roads and open hearts,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>
Calling Shopian a place once \u201cwhispered in tension\u201d, Bhagat said the calm and warmth he experienced during his visit moved him deeply. \u201cShopian, once a name whispered in tension, today welcomed me in peace. This is what change looks like. This is what hope feels like. Kashmir isn’t what it was in the 90s and 2000s. And that makes me deeply proud,\u201d he added.<\/p>
The post struck a chord with many social media users, who credited Bhagat and other security personnel for the change they see today. One user wrote, \u201cIt is the result of strong political will supported by dedicate forces.. You have left a mark on the valley which is smiling today.\u201d Another commented, \u201cAll thanx to you and your courageous team sir….happy riding..\u201d A third user added, \u201cAll thanks to your efforts back in the day sir,\u201d while another wrote, \u201cU the coolest Para guys are the reasonnn for this development.\u201d<\/p> <\/div>
Brigadier Deep Bhagat, Shopian peace, Jammu and Kashmir security, militancy in Kashmir, Kashmir transformation, Kashmir tourism, J&K development, Kashmir militancy history, Indian security forces, Kashmir peace efforts#039Never #imagined #enter #protection039 #ExArmy #officer #hails #jabardast #change #Kashmir1770535293<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For Brigadier Deep Bhagat (Retd.), Shopian was once a place where every move was planned with caution, weapons in hand and danger always close.\u00a0 Years later, the same roads welcomed him back but this time on a bike, without any security, without any armour. The contrast left him emotional. In a video shared on Instagram, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9937,9927,743,9939,9941,9943,9938,9935,9933,9944,9929,9945,9934,9936,9932,9931,9930,9942,9940,9928],"class_list":["post-3062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","tag-039never","tag-brigadier-deep-bhagat","tag-change","tag-enter","tag-exarmy","tag-hails","tag-imagined","tag-indian-security-forces","tag-jk-development","tag-jabardast","tag-jammu-and-kashmir-security","tag-kashmir","tag-kashmir-militancy-history","tag-kashmir-peace-efforts","tag-kashmir-tourism","tag-kashmir-transformation","tag-militancy-in-kashmir","tag-officer","tag-protection039","tag-shopian-peace"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}