THE SECURITY CORDON

Amit Shah's home ministry has managed to manufacture peace in tough situations, be it Kashmir, Punjab or the Northeast, though Manipur is a reminder of fraught realities

- PRADIP R. SAGAR

Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs

EVERY GOLDEN SCEPTRE IS BACKED BY A SABRE made of glinting steel. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that trusted gladiatorial lieutenant is Union home minister Amit Shah-the only one who ever gets to be named with him in one hyphenated breath. The rook that strikes frontally across the chessboard, the knight who moves in mysterious ways...Shah is both. Sometimes at the same time. On August 5, 2019, barely nine weeks into his new role, Shah pulled out a stunner by piloting the annulment of Article 370. Revoking Kashmir's special status was always a cornerstone of the BJP's politics, but obligatory mentions in the party manifesto had dulled it by repetition, causing not a ripple on the Jhelum. Modi-Shah had made bold to alter the status quo, on a dispute with a complex international flavour, in a way hitherto deemed impossible.