Day: August 8, 2017

Article 35A and its significance

Editor

Article 35A of the Constitution of India,unknown to the public domain till recent times, has raked up an intense debate in the country. Political narrative has a paradigm shift. Here’s all you want to know about the article: What is Article 35A? Article 35A of the constitution empowers J&K legislature to define state’s “permanent residents” and their special rights and privileges. It was added to the constitution through a presidential order of 1954 with the then J&K government’s concurrence What is its significance to J&K? * Through 1927 and 1932…

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Valley braces for unrest over Article 35A

Editor

The Hurriyat as well as mainstream opposition parties, including the Congress and CPM, are bracing to oppose any move to scrap or dilute Article 35A of the Constitution. Though separatist factions and mainly the Hurriyat groups have called for complete shutdown to protest against any “fiddling” with Article 35A by a larger SC bench, the mainstream combine, led by former CM and MP Farooq Abdullah of the National conference, warned the Centre of dangerous consequences if it even tried to dilute the Article. Article 35A offers special privileges to state…

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Opposition parties unite against move to ‘Abrogate’ Special Status

Editor

Clamour is growing against the move to abrogate the State subject law with a united Opposition threatening to launch a statewide agitation against the central and the state government, if the Article 35A, a provision of Article 370, is fiddled with. Charu Wali Khan, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, who is settled outside the state, has challenged legality of Article 35-A claiming in her petition to Supreme Court that the said law takes away her “succession rights” away and “disenfranchises her.” This is the second time this provision has…

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Srinagar records hottest night of season

Editor

Srinagar recorded the hottest night of the season so far at 22 degrees, three degrees above normal, while there was no respite from hot and humid weather during the day in the Kashmir. A Met department official rain and thundershowers could occur at isolated places during the next 48 hours in valley. He said Srinagar recorded the hottest night of the season after mercury surged and settled at 22 degrees, against 21 degree recorded yesterday. The night temperature was around three degrees above normal. Meanwhile, the hot and humid temperature…

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Why it’s dangerous for the Centre to tamper with Article 35A?

Editor

The latest trigger for trouble in Jammu & Kashmir involves the Centre’s questioning of a special privilege, accorded to the state by the Indian Constitution. Any misstep with regard to it has the potential to cause an explosion in the valley, already fraught after months of unrest. Recently, a Kashmiri woman called Charu Wali Khan, settled outside the state, challenged the legality of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution that allows J&K to define its “permanent residents”. She claimed in her petition to the Supreme Court that such a law…

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BJP introduces grassroots campaigners modelled on RSS pracharaks in J&K

Editor

These foot soldiers will highlight policies and programmes of the party in a bid to increase its mass base in the Muslim majority state. The BJP, which is enjoying power for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, has borrowed a concept of grassroots campaigners from its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to increase its “mass base” in the Muslim majority state. The party has deployed “alp-vistaraks” (short-time workers) and “dirgh-vistaraks” (full-time workers) in the state, modelled on RSS’s pracharkas or campaigners, the corps of volunteers who serves as a…

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Article 35A abrogation will threaten JK’s existence: Farooq Abdullah

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Opposition National Conference (NC) President and former chief minister, Farooq Abdullah Monday said the existence of Jammu Kashmir would be under threat if Article 35-A was abrogated. Addressing a news conference after chairing a joint meeting of opposition parties at his Gupkar residence in Srinagar, Abdullah said if Article 35-A was abrogated, it would have dangerous consequences for all three regions of the State – Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu. “Besides, it will also have its ramifications on entire country,” he said a day after returning from New Delhi. The meeting…

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Won’t tamper with Article 35A & Article 370 till alliance with PDP is intact: BJP

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The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said it has decided not to tamper with or challenge any of the constitutional provisions of the state, including Article 35-A and Article 370, till its alliance with PDP remains intact. “I can tell you with full authority that BJP is not interested in challenging or tampering with any of the constitutional provisions of J&K, be it Article 35-A or Article 370,” BJP’s chief spokesman for J&K, Sunil Sethi told Kashmir Post over phone from New Delhi. He said though BJP’s ideological stand is…

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Joint Separatist Leadership warn Govt, call for shutdown on Aug 12

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The joint separatist leadership comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Monday called for Kashmir-wide shutdown on August 12 against the “ongoing genocide of Kashmiris, onslaught on common people and attempts to change the state subject law in Jammu and Kashmir.” In a joint statement here, the leaders said: “People of Kashmir will observe a complete shutdown on Saturday (12 August 2017) and register their protest against these anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmir actions.” They said the ongoing “killing spree, genocide of young Kashmiris, hooliganism of government…

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Amarnath Yatra 2017 ends on high note

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Despite terror attack, over 2.6 lakh devotees paid obeisance during 40-day pilgrimage The last batch of pilgrims performed the final puja at the holy Amarnath cave shrine on the auspicious occasion of Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan), marking the conclusion of this year’s yatra. The 40-day-long yatra started on June 29 on the occasion of Purshotam Purnima from the Chandanwari and Baltal routes and concluded today with a special puja at the cave with the holy mace (Chhari Mubarak). After performing the daylong puja, devotees started their return journey towards Panjtarni…

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