Curbs Partially Lifted In Kashmir

Relaxations have been provided in areas falling under 35 police stations in the Kashmir valley, said Jammu and Kashmir Principal Secretary (Planning Commission) Rohit Kansal on Saturday.

“Since morning, relaxations on restrictions have been provided in areas under 35 police stations across the length and breadth of the valley,” Kansal said.

Kansal further added that there had been no untoward incidents reported from the region and the situation was slowly turning back to normal in the villages.

“There has been no untoward incident reported so far. Public transport has started plying and we are getting encouraging reports of normal movement from a lot of rural areas,” he added.

Earlier today, restrictions under Section 144 were relaxed in Kishtwar too for the entire day.

Kansal expressed the hope that by Sunday the situation will be such that telephone services could once again be restored in almost all the areas of the Kashmir valley barring a few sensitive ones.

“We hope that by tomorrow evening, barring a few vulnerable areas, all telephone exchanges in Kashmir valley shall be made functional. Landlines and mobiles are already functional in Jammu. We have also opened up mobile internet with some functionality in at least 5 districts in Jammu,” Kansal added.

Apart from the relaxations, 2G mobile internet services were restored in Jammu, Reasi, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts of the region.

Mobile internet services were suspended in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 in view of security concerns in the region following Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370.

On Friday, the government had decided to lift restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in a phased and gradual manner. (ANI)

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Affable, Affectionate And Accessible

Indian political stage has lost three of its hearty and humble personalities in a single week, leaving behind a void that will be greatly missed

Politicians come and go. Those who hold office are more powerful as they can do favours, but are also more vulnerable. Assessing them becomes an if-and-but exercise.

Fragrance or odour they spread by their deeds and words matters. And when they go, memories they leave behind. Their political legacies, if any, are for the scholars and historians to study. Their families, mostly, are a different story.

Two diminutive women and a polio-stricken man strode India’s political scene for close to four decades. They passed away in the last three weeks. As a scribe who watched and reported them, I do think they spread frangrance amidst a lot of muck around, and have left something to remember them by. 

Sheila Dikshit, 81, Delhi’s longest-serving Chief Minister, went first on July 20. She can rightly be credited for making New Delhi a world capital worth visiting and a little more habitable.  

Next to go on July 28 was Sudini Jaipal Reddy, 77, a Congressman-who joined Janata Party and Janata Dal and then, returned to the old stable. He was acceptable to all as their spokesman, doing his job with equal dedication and conviction. Remarkably, media lapped up whatever he said in all his avatars.

And last week, on August 6, Sushma Swaraj, the youngest of them at 67, left.  India’s external affairs minister till only two months ago, she opted out of this year’s elections on health grounds. Despite speculation about her willingness, she found no place in Modi-2. If she had a premonition of what was coming, we will never know.

Qualities common to the three were grace and personal charm in whatever they did or say in public, a high level of credibility and the ability to carry others along.

Although belonging to different parties, they got on well among themselves in the country’s political roadshow. Actually, like politicians anywhere, the Indians, too, snipe at each other in public, but the better ones share mutual warmth.

After attacking the Congress-led government from her seat as Leader of the Opposition, Swaraj was among the first to rush to hospital when her political bête noir, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, took ill during the proceedings.

That Gandhi had defeated her in an election earlier did not matter. Also forgotten was her declaration when Gandhi was close to becoming the prime minister that she (Sushma) would shave her head off and live like an ascetic in protest. Coming from one woman about another, it was not received well. Yet, Swaraj, with her trademark ‘bindi’ and Hindu-Hindi persona, was BJP’s perennial antidote to Gandhi. That is politics.      

India has lost three sharp minds that went beyond their calling and well beyond the routine and the humdrum. If Sushma quoted Sanskrit scriptures and Urdu couplets spontaneously, Sheila was often seen at Sufi festivals.

Each of them was intensely humane and earned goodwill by helping whoever they could.

Do-gooder Dikshit was called “Aunty Number 1”. Like Reddy, Swaraj, too, was among the more accessible ministers. At the Foreign Office where much of the work was done from the prime minister’s office (PMO) and when she was unwell and unable to travel, she used the social media and provide succor to whoever could reach her. They included a girl who on losing memory had strayed into Pakistan, stranded spouses, someone needing urgent medical help — and they came from across the world.

Diplomats from 51 countries at the United Nations signed her condolence book. Indian diplomats who had worked with her were nostalgic. In Pakistan, there were sentimental outpourings for Sushma even as the neighbour was receiving the shock treatment over New Delhi’s Kashmir move that has since blown into a full-scale political and diplomatic war. Her last tweet was to ‘congratulate’ the prime minister.

Born in Haryana’s orthodox, anti-woman social order Sushma, then 25, was a socialist to boot and the state’s and the country’s youngest Cabinet minister. An effective Leader of Opposition, she was the first full-term external affairs minister. It was no mean achievement.

Political analysts say Modi had ‘downgraded’ Sushma because she belonged to the ‘rival’ L K Advani camp within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Yet, Modi had tears in his eyes while bidding final farewell.         

Reddy shed his feudal background to join students’ politics. He never let his physical handicap keep him down. “I can take care of myself,” he politely said when I tried to help him balance his crutches, papers and his coffee mug.

His life was a saga of an irrepressible creative spirit that transcended all obstacles to soar to great heights, says India’s Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, a long-time associate, but from a different camp.

As young lawmakers, the two rocked the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Their personal cooperation and political clash is the stuff of how political culture evolves in a democracy. Sadly, the public only gets to know the crude side of politics, which abounds aplenty.  

When Reddy was depressed, it is said, he would lock himself in, read books and take detailed notes. He would emerge fresh with more quotations from Rousseau, Dante, Immanuel Kant, Shakespeare, whoever.

An erudite scholar, among the many that Indian parliament has had, he was both fiery and persuasive. You hardly noticed his Telugu intonations when he spoke in English. Its limited knowledge could make you reach for dictionary, if you cared.

Long before Shashi Tharoor, India parliament’s current super-wordsmith, Reddy gave currency to ‘humungous’ to describe a scandal of the Rajiv Gandhi Government. In the opposition then, he debunked the “Mr Clean” campaign to project Rajiv as one that smacked of “an advertisement of a detergent.” It hit the political bull’s eye.

If Reddy was a man of words, Swaraj and Dikshit were women of action, often para-dropped by their parties when locked in adverse situations. Although from neighbouring Haryana, but undoubtedly BJP’s national leader, Swaraj became Delhi’s chief minister for just three months to quell an internal party rivalry. She lost, besides this rift, to sky-rocketing onion prices in demand during festive season.

She was succeeded by Dikshit. A Punjabi married into an Uttar Pradesh family with deep political roots, she became Delhi’s chief minister — and ruled for 15 years.

Political fortunes changed with her hosting the Commonwealth Games.  She arguably received much opprobrium during its preparations. The Games, though, went off well. But they triggered an anti-corruption campaign that sent Dikshit’s party downhill. She lost by a huge margin.

The Congress has not recovered since. It projected her as is “Brahmin face” in Uttar Pradesh polls, but then abandoned her. At a ripe age, she was Delhi Congress chief, contesting an election, and losing it. Her last act before suddenly being moved to hospital was to address a letter to her paralyzed party.

Think of a minister who can publicly say politicians are “wild animals” who need to be kept in check. None left after Reddy’s departure.

Perceptions matter in journalism while understanding and appreciating politics. The effort was worthwhile with these three stalwarts.

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com

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Kashmir Bilateral Issue, India Tells UNSC

India’s Representative to United Nations Syed Akbaruddin on Friday said New Delhi was committed to the Simla agreement to resolve issues with Pakistan and it was for the neighbouring country to “stop terror to start talks”.

Talking to reporters after closed-door meeting held at the United Nations Security Council on Kashmir developments, he targeted Pakistan and said “using terror to try and push your goal is not the way that normal states behave”.

He said that India’s position of addressing issues with Pakistan on a bilateral tract has very broad acceptance globally.

Akbaruddin spoke to the media after the representatives of China and Pakistan had spoken and took questions unlike his counterparts. He took first three questions from Pakistani journalists and even went to them to shake hands in a gesture reflecting India’s willingness to engage in a dialogue provided there was no push to terror.

Akbaruddin said that matters related to Article 370 of Indian Constitution “were entirely an internal matter of India”.

Asked about India refusing dialogue with Pakistan, Akbaruddin said there are normal diplomatic ways of dealing with countries.

“But using terror to try and push your goal is not the way that normal states behave. No democracy will acknowledge or accept talks when terror thrives. Stop terror, start talks,” he said.

Referring to the UN representatives of China and Pakistan, Akbaruddin said the national statements were sought to be passed off as the will of the international community.

“I do not need to tell you that SC is a very deliberative institution. It works in a very considered manner. Its outcomes are provided to all of us through the president. So if national statements try to masquerade as the will of the international community, I thought I will come across to you and explain our national position,” he said.

Answering a query that Article 370 could be an internal matter of India and there were past UNSC resolutions, he said India and Pakistan had signed the Simla accord in 1972.

“We are committed to that and we hope Pakistan too will try to address these issues in the manner that they have signed on to in a legally binding agreement. We stand ready to address them in that context. We can go back in history but every new agreement overtakes the past. We are committed to that agreement and we hope Pakistan too is because if that is so, its actions do not seem to be working out in what is in that agreement,” he said.

Asked when the dialogue will start, he said “We have already extended our hand of friendship by saying that we are committed to Simla agreement”.

Asked about Pakistan saying that the issue has been internationalised, he said that in close consultations, anyone, especially parties to the dispute, can try and throw in anything for consideration of members of the security council.

“However, you have seen what is the outcome of that meeting. We are ready to address these issues in a manner that states who have normal approaches to international ties should address them. In our case, we are committed to Simla agreement. It is now for Pakistan to make that commitment to stop terror to start talks,” he said.

Asked about Russia saying that it favors a bilateral tract between India and Pakistan on Kashmir and it was also the view of many countries at the UN, Akbaruddin said he will not take on the responsibility of speaking for the council.

“The council has spoken. All of you are aware of what outcomes are. Let me tell you India’s commitment to addressing these issues on bilateral tract has very broad acceptance globally”, he said.

Answering a query about restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, he said prevention is better than cure.

“The measures that we took were preventive in nature, they were designed to stop terrorist from bleeding our people,” he said.

Akbaruddin said there have been no fatalities in the past 10 days.

“That is because every effort was made to work and ensure that our people in Jammu and Kashmir are not adversely affected in terms of their lives. There are always difficulties (due to) restrictions. We acknowledge that. We are an open society but it is a balance of choice that the administrators on the ground should make and not journalists or diplomats. Please allow the space and time to address these issues. They have controlled the situation. You have seen there is not one fatality,” he said.

“In similar situations in large parts of the world, including previously in Jammu and Kashmir there have been large fatalities if such an issue arises. Give us some time. we are addressing it in a democratic manner. We are committed to address difficulties that our people in Jammu and Kashmir are facing,” he said.

Asked about human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, he said no inter-governmental organisation in the world has ever said anything about Indian democracy, India’s commitments to human rights.

“We are the country who started issues of apartheid at the UN. India was the country which (worked for) changing the charter of human rights declaration. Our constitution is an open book and if there are any issues these will be addressed by our courts. We do not need international busy bodies to try and tell us how to run our lives,” he said.

Akbaruddin said Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam had in the morning announced a whole set of measures that the government is undertaking to move towards normalcy.

“The Security Council at its closed consultations appreciated these efforts, acknowledged them. We are committed to gradually removing all restrictions. You are aware of the time table for that,” he said.

“Our national position was and remains that matters related to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution are entirely an internal matter of India. It has no external ramifications,” he said.

“The recent decisions taken by the Government of India and our legislative bodies are intended to ensure that good governance is promoted, socio-economic development is enhanced for our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” he said.

Akbaruddin said the changes internal to India “have not made any difference to our external orientation” and New Delhi remains committed to ensure that the situation remains calm and peaceful.

He said India was committed to all the agreements signed by it on the issue. He also took veiled digs at Pakistan and accused it of fueling cross-border terrorism.

“We note that there were some who tried to project an alarmist approach to the situation which was far from the ground realities. Of particular concern is that one state is using the terminology of jihad against and promoting violence in India including by their leaders,” he said.

“Terrorism is being fueled, language and incendiary talk of jihad is being mentioned by people who should know better,” he added.

Akbaruddin said the violence was no solution to the problems.

“We are committed to and consistent with previous positions that all issues between India and Pakistan as also between Indian and any other country will be resolved bilaterally, peacefully and in a manner which behaves normal inter-state relations between countries. We stand ready to continue our efforts towards a peaceful resolution of all issues in an atmosphere free of terror and violence,” he said.

(ANI)

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Schools In J&K To Open From Monday

All schools and educational institutions in Kashmir will reopen from August 19, sources in the Jammu and Kashmir, the state administration said on Friday, adding that other restrictions will be lifted in a phased manner.

The restrictions are imposed in the wake of abrogation of Article 370.

“Keeping in view the evolving situation and cooperation of people, we are now taking measures to ease the restrictions in a gradual calibrated manner after the reports that today’s Friday prayers has gone quite peacefully. There would be easing of restrictions in the next few days in an orderly manner and restriction on movement would be removed area by area,” said J&K Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam.

Schools in the valley will reopen after the weekend and government offices have begun functioning from today, he said.

“12 out of 22 districts are functioning normally with some limited restrictions in 5 districts. The measures put in place has ensured that there has not been a single loss of life,” he said

“It is expected that in the next few days, as restrictions get eased life in Jammu and Kashmir will become completely normal. Roads are full of regular traffic and we expect to see an increase in it in coming few days,” said Subrahmanyam.

“As the restrictions on movement would be removed area by area, the movement of public transport would be allowed in these areas. Further, government offices have been made fully functional from today and attendance is quite high. Schools will be open after weekend area wise so that children studies do not suffer,” he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary said: “Telecom connectivity will gradually be erased and restored in a phase-wise manner keeping in mind constant threat posed by terrorist’s organizations in using mobile connectivity to organize terror actions. Prevention detention are being continuously reviewed and an appropriate decision would be made based on law and order situation.”

“In implementing the decision taken last fortnight, cross-border terrorism required the Government to put in place certain preventing steps. An important factor was credible inputs that such organizations were planning to undertake strikes in Jammu and Kashmir in immediate future,” he said.

“Steps consequently taken included restrictions on free movement and telecom connectivity prevention of large gathering, closure of schools & colleges. A few preventive detentions of individuals were also made in accordance with provisions of law to maintain law and order,” he said.

Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an eerie calm after Article 370 that gave special status to the state was abrogated and the state was reorganized into two union territories of Jammu and Kashmir with legislature and Ladakh without it.

(ANI)

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'India May Review No-First-Use N-Policy'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that India follows ‘no first use’ policy regarding nuclear weapons but said what would happen in future will depend on “circumstances”.

“On the question of nuclear policy, till today, we have a policy of no-first-use. What happens in future, will depend on circumstances,” he told ANI after paying homage to late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the site where the country conducted its second nuclear tests during the regime of the NDA government in 1998.

“In Pokhran, India emerged as a nuclear power. Despite all restraints, Atal ji gave permission for the nuclear test. India was listed among those countries which have nuclear power. I paid homage to Atal ji on his first death anniversary here,” Singh said.

The nuclear test was conducted in May, 1998 in Pokhran during the Vajpayee government. After India acquired the nuclear power, it adopted a nuclear a doctrine which declared a ‘no first use’ (NFU) policy which means the country will not to use its nuclear weapon as a means of warfare unless attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons.

(ANI)

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An Independence Day Gift To Defence Services

Having announced the welcome post for a Chief of Defence Services, the Prime Minister must now integrate the Services HQs with Defence Ministry wherein officers and bureaucrats will sit side by side as equal partners

From the ramparts of the Red Fort in his 92-minute Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister has finally announced the appointment of Chief of Defence Services (CDS) post for the three services. The crying need for the post was felt after the 1971 Indo-Pak War wherein with the consent of the Indira Gandhi Government, Gen SHFJ Manekshaw performed the duties of the CDS for the duration of the war. He was also promoted to Field Marshal, a Five Star General on his retirement. This much-awaited appointment is a welcome step for deteriorated civil-military relations wherein the three services are denied direct access to the Raksha Mantri (RM) and they have to pass through the tinted filters of an under equipped and qualified bureaucracy.

Based on the arrangements in most of the democracies of the world, it was always felt that a single point advisor to the government representing all the three services for all aspects of operations, training and procurement was paramount. The CDS had to be senior to all the serving Chiefs to be effective and as such should be a five star general who would have a direct access to the Raksha Mantri (RM). The bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) were always wary of this arrangement and were against the appointment as their implied authority over all the three services would be diluted. Although, the Chairman Chiefs of Staffs Committee was the right man to perform in absence of the CDS, in various UPA Government tenures, the Defence Secretary, who is lower in status to the three Chiefs was performing this task by default; without adequate in-depth knowledge of the three services, only because he had direct access to the RM.

Successive governments continued to defer the appointment of CDS on the ill advice of the bureaucracy. Thanks to the then BJP Government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to have formally identified the need of having a CDS after the Kargil War. The Group of Ministers in the Kargil Review Committee recommended that a Five Star General should be appointed as the CDS. The appointment was related to the integration of services headquarters with MoD as is prevalent in most of the democratic countries of the world.

It is to the credit of the three services that they started preparing the framework of the CDS Secretariat and integration of the services headquarters with MoD. The services set up a joint integrated Headquarters named the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS). IDS has been effectively and efficiently functional for over a decade now and is headed by Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS); an Army Commander level Officer in rotation from the three services, who would eventually be the deputy of the newly appointed CDS. Presently, the CIDS reports to the Chairman Chief of Staff’s Committee who is the senior most services Chief and holds two hats in this rotational appointment. The newly appointed CDS will just have to walk in and “plug and play“the role as he already has an effective team in place.

The NDA.1 government identified the need to have a CDS and the late Manohar Parrikar on taking over as RM had promised the services that he would soon get a CDS appointed. However, the three services Chiefs were not on the same page as IAF opposed the idea. The IAF and Indian Navy, because of their smaller sizes, were always scepticle that this post would generally be held by an Army Officer and their priorities of modernisation and acquisitions may be relegated or kept on the back burner. In the Israeli Army in the 2005 war with Lebanon the CDS was from the Air Force and Israeli tanks suffered heavy casualties due to an unorthodox use of missiles fired from basements and windows of houses by Hizbulla. It was then decided that CDS would always be appointed from the Army and is usually from the Special Forces.

Due to his proximity with the PMO, NSA Ajit Doval has been willy nilly performing the duties of the CDS from Pathankot Incident to surgical strikes to Balakot and now abrogation of Article 370. While it may be acceptable for internal security situations to have an ex police officer taking charge of the situation, for an external threat he would woefully fall short. PM needs to be congratulated for not succumbing to the suggestion of a four star general to the job because Chairman of Chief of Staff Committee, a four star General is presently performing the duties and cannot be very assertive on the other two chiefs of the same stature.

Ideal choice for the first CDS are two learned and very well read Generals who have retired in the last two years and are still current. The first one is Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi who was wrongfully denied the appointment of the COAS in spite of being capable, and the second choice is Lt Gen DS Hooda who was at the helm of Northern Command during the launch of surgical strikes. Otherwise, a serving Chief may be promoted and another chief appointed in his place. The front-runners amongst them are the Air Chief BS Dhanoa after Balakot and the Army Chief Bipin Rawat. Government will do well if they appoint the first CDS who is a visionary and acceptable to all services. 

The new RM Mr Rajnath Singh needs to be congratulated on rolling back of income tax levies on disabled soldiers and announcement of appointment of CDS within three months of his taking over. He needs to restore the confidence of the serving military soldiers in their government who has been systematically relegating their rightful stature in NDA 1 period. Since the Central Police Forces Officers have already been granted Non Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) and the services have been denied the same; the elite defence services have for the first time in history of India been relegated to a position below the CPOs. This does not augur well for the morale and motivation of the defence forces of a country which aspires to be a regional power within a decade.

The modernisation and acquisition plans of the defence services need an immediate impetus with infusion of necessary funds. This is also the ideal time to integrate the services headquarters with MoD wherein services officers and bureaucrats will sit side by side as partners and MoD will stop pretending to be a higher Headquarter. Lots of overlapping will be removed with savings to the defence budget and efficiency and accountability would be ensured.

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India To Have Chief Of Defence Staff: PM

On the occasion of 73rd Independence Day on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of a new post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for better coordination among Army, Navy and the Air Force.

Modi hoisted the national flag at the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi and addressed the nation.

Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama and a colourful turban, Modi was received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Red Fort. Continuing the tradition of sporting bright-coloured turbans for his Independence Day speeches, Modi chose a predominately yellow-coloured headgear for the first I-Day address of his second term.

Modi sported a yellow-coloured turban with a dash of green and red along with a long trail that extended till his ankle. Keeping the outfit simple he donned plain white half-sleeved kurta paired with his signature taut churidar. The look was accentuated with a unique scarf around his neck with an orange border placed with a black and white pattern.

The Prime Minister then inspected the Guard of Honour. As he delivered the customary Independence Day speech, the mood of the crowd at Red Fort is something you can’t miss. It was a lovely morning at the Red Fort as light showers made the historic monument shine even brighter.

“To further enhance coordination between our forces, I announce a big decision today, India will now have a Chief of Defence Staff- CDS,” Modi said his Independence Day speech here.

“This is going to make the forces even more strong,” added.

Modi said that security forces are the pride of the country and asserted that the post will make the forces more effective. “This is going to make the forces even more effective,” PM Modi said.

Despite a rainy morning, people gathered at the Red Fort to celebrate the 73rd Independence Day with great pomp and show.

Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and other ministers were also seated for the speech.

Not just political figures, but common people and children were also seen at the venue. School children made their presence felt in tricoloured outfits, waving the national flag with beaming smiles on their faces.

Modi gave his speech from a dais, which was adorned with white flowers, denoting peace and setting the mood right, given the occasion. The front of the Red fort wore colours of the national flag with flower decoration.

Nearly 3500 school children were seated in a formation in the colours of the national flag, immersing, not just the capital, but the entire country in the patriotic mood.

Children performers sat in the area opposite to the Prime Minister’s dais. They were seated in such a manner that the slogan of ‘Jai Bharat’ with the wavering tricolour was visible from far.

Before coming to Red Fort, Modi paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

The Samadhi at the Red Fort was decorated with orange, white and yellow colour flowers.

On 15th August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted independent India’s national flag at the Red Fort. Since then, every year, continuing the decades-long tradition, the Prime minister of the country hoists the national flag at the monument. (ANI)

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Srinagar Jamia Masjid

Your Identity Safe, Guv Tells Kashmiris

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday hoisted the national flag at Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar to mark the occasion of India’s 73rd Independence Day.

On the occasion, Malik called the Centre’s decision to abrogate Art 370 a historic one.

“The changes that the Central Government has brought are not only historic but also open a new door for the development of the people of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh,” he said addressing the gathering here.

The Governor assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that their identity is not at stake and has not been tampered with.

He added that the constitution of India allows different regional identities to flourish.

The Independence Day celebration comes just weeks after the Centre scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status by repealing Article 370.

Security was heightened in the area after the Centre withdrew the special status and passed the Jammu and Kashmir(Reorganization) Act, 2019, bifurcating it into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with legislature and Ladakh without it. (ANI)

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Junaid’s Killers Roam Free

Lynch Mob – ‘Junaid’s Killers Roam Free’


What could possibly lead a group of men to stab a fasting teenager just because he belongs to a different faith? What can provoke complete strangers in a train to turn into a lynch mob? Hashim, brother of Junaid Khan who was killed a year and half ago, is still searching for these answers.

 

One and a half years ago, my younger brother Junaid made the headlines. He hasn’t been alone though. There have been others in his league — Pehlu Khan, Mohammad Ikhlaque, Rakhbar Khan… Alimuddin Ansari. The list is growing by the day. All these names are connected with one thread: they were attacked and lynched in the most brutal manner because they were Muslims.

I have recalled this story a multiple times, yet the gory details remain a blur.  I was on the train with Junaid and our brother Shaqir (22). We were on our way back to our village in Ballabhgarh after shopping for Eid in Delhi.

At the Okhla Station, 20-25 people scrambled into the train. An elderly man asked for a seat and Junaid got up and gave his. But as soon as he stood, one of the men pushed him and said, “Yeh toh Mulle hai, gaddar hain, beef khate hain, Pakistani hai. (These are Muslim traitors, eat beef. They are Pakistanis.)” We sensed their intent but we had an answer ready. ‘We are all Hindustani,’ we countered. But that did not stop people from hurling abuses at us, repeatedly calling us beef-eaters. It was Ramzaan and we hadn’t had anything to eat since dawn.  But our attackers could not care less.

The group started to provoke other passengers, until at one point of time the entire train bogey turned against us. The name-calling continued, followed by some heavy punches. And then the knives were out. They stabbed Junaid incessantly. Shaqir and I were stabbed too, I don’t remember how many times.

We were thrown out of the train at the Aasoti Station near Faridabad. Junaid bled to death on my lap and I could not do anything about it. We were taken to a hospital in Palwal where reality slowly started dawning upon us. Life will never be the same again.

My brother left a vacuum in the family. A boy who did not even care much about eating meat was called a beef-eater and killed.  As for me, my legs still pain from the injuries though it has been one and a half years. I can’t run like I did before and I can’t even tell my mother about my suffering. The pain of loss does not seem to go away. And the wait for justice seems endless.

Six people were arrested for the crime. But all are out on bail. One of them got bail after 28 days! The other four got bail in two months. And the main accused, Naresh Kumar, was freed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 3 this year. He had confessed to his crime before the judge, everyone knew he had wielded the knife, yet he was let off.

When the DSP arrested them, he told us: ‘I have done your work, now I will have to work for them. My hands are tied, I have kids and a family to take care of.’ He made it quite clear that he will ensure that those murderers are let off the hook.

Every day, we live in fear. My father suffered a heart attack when four of the accused were granted bail. The government lawyer, we found, was worthless. We have not even seen his face in a long time. We also hired a non-Muslim lawyer, thinking maybe that would get us justice but that too hasn’t helped us. We do not know whom to trust.

We have already spent Rs 25-30 lakh on court expenses and had to sell three plots of land to meet them. Each trip to Chandigarh (for the high court) costs us about Rs 15,000. The Haryana government hasn’t been of much help. We were promised Rs 10 lakh as compensation but have never seen the money. The only respite is that Communist leader Brinda Karat has now got us a decent lawyer.

We have already petitioned the Supreme Court. We have full faith that justice will prevail but imagine if the child of a politician had been killed this way. Don’t you think the murderer would have been hanged by now?

Eight-Member Committee

Kovind Backs Govt On Art 370, Talaq Law

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday expressed confidence that abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir would benefit people to enjoy the same rights and privileges as citizens in rest of the county including “egalitarian and progressive” laws such as right to education and abolishment of triple talaq.

In his address to the nation on the eve of 73rd Independence Day, the President said the illustrious generation that led to the country to freedom did not perceive independence only in terms of transfer of political power but “as a stepping stone in a longer and larger process of nation-building and national welding”.

Their objective, he said, was to improve the life of each individual, each family and of society as a whole.

“In this backdrop, I am confident that the recent changes made in Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh would be of immense benefit to those regions. They will enable the people to access and enjoy the same rights, same privileges, and the same facilities as their fellow citizens in the rest of the country. These include progressive, egalitarian laws and provisions related to the Right to Education, accessing public information through the Right to Information, reservations in education and employment and other facilities for traditionally deprived communities, and justice for our daughters by abolishing unequal practices such as instant triple talaq,” he said.

The Parliament earlier this month adopted a resolution to repeal Article 370, which provided special powers to Jammu and Kashmir.

It also passed a bill to reorganize Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir (with legislature) and Ladakh without it.

The reorganization bill was signed by the President after it was passed by the two houses of parliament and it was notified by the government on August 9.

Another bill passed by parliament to extend 10 per cent reservation to economically backward sections will also apply to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Kovind said the country is completing 72 years as a free nation at a very special juncture as October 2 this year will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, “the guiding light of our successful effort to liberate our nation and of our continuing effort to reform our society of all inequities”.

“Contemporary India is very different from India in which Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked. Even so, Gandhiji remains extremely relevant,” he said.

He said Gandhi’s advocacy of sustainability, ecological sensitivity and living in harmony with nature “anticipated pressing challenges of our times”.

“When we design and deliver welfare programmes for our disadvantaged fellow citizens and families when we seek to harness the power of the sun as renewable energy, we put Gandhian philosophy into action,” he said.

The President said that the year also marks the 550th birth anniversary of one of the greatest, wisest and most influential Indians of all time – Guru Nanak Devji.

“He was the founder of Sikhism, but the reverence and respect he commands go far beyond just our Sikh brothers and sisters. They extend to millions of others in India and across the world,” he said.

He also recalled the sacrifices of freedom fighters and revolutionaries who made sacrifices for the country’s freedom from colonial rule.

“This is a happy and emotional day for all children of Mother India, whether living at home or abroad,” he said. (ANI)

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