Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised the soldiers serving in border areas, pointing that they were the "suraksha kawach" (armour) of the nation, as he met army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Diwali, keeping up with his practice of spending the festival with soldiers. "Our soldiers are the "suraksha kawach" of "Maa Bharti". It is because of you all that people of our country can sleep peacefully and there is happiness during festivals," the Prime Minister said in Nowshera sector in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.