Woman forced to remove burqa at Yogi Adityanath’s rally, probe ordered

The district administration has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident of a woman being forced to take off her burqa in public at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s rally, officials said on Wednesday. A video showing the woman taking off her black burqa minutes before the chief minister makes an appearance at the rally on Tuesday has gone viral. “The city magistrate has been asked to conduct an inquiry into it and action will be taken against those found guilty,” district magistrate Surendra Vikram said. The chief minister…

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India plans to fast-track Hydro Projects in Kashmir Region

Deputy chief minister says hydro power could quintuple Pakistan has previously expressed concern on water shortages India plans to as much as quintuple development of hydroelectric power in Jammu and Kashmir, a northern state that has one of the world’s most militarized borders and faces water disputes. The local government is planning to add more than 5,000 megawatts of power using the flow of its rivers within the next five to six years, according to Nirmal Kumar Singh, the state’s deputy chief minister and minister for the power-development department. While…

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‘Khoje-e-Digar’, 400 year-old tradition at Khanqah-i-Naqshbandia today

Thousands of people would assemble at the revered shrine of Hazrat Khawja Naqshband (RA) at Khawja Bazar in Downtown here on Wednesday afternoon to offer ‘Khawja Digar’, the centuries old practice of offering congregational Asr (post noon prayers) at the shrine on 3rd Rabi-ul-Awal. Soon after the prayers, the Imam would recite the Awraad-e-Asriya, (a booklet comprising verses of repentance and faith), the great sufi saint used to recite along with his hundreds’ of disciples 700 years ago at Bukhara in Uzbekistan. Hazrat Khawja Naqshband (RA) was born in 718…

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Govt may reconsider market closure roster

Buckling under pressure from traders, the government is mulling to keep in abeyance the reverently issued weekly market closure roster. As per the roster, the authorities had fixed different week days as “close days” for traders operating in Srinagar. The roster was issued by the government under SRO-472 on November 16 through the Labour and Employment Department. Before it was implemented, prominent trade and business bodies of Srinagar opposed it on the ground that the “business fraternity” of the city was not taken on board while issuing the new holiday…

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Leh airport security up post terror threat inputs

The security at the strategic Leh airport in the Ladakh region has been heightened after intelligence inputs about possible terror strikes. Although the police have sought to downplay the “panic” over the inputs, sources said the security agencies guarding the airport have been put on maximum alert following the reports that militants might target the airport. “Every airport in the country is vulnerable to security threats. It would be wrong to comments on the reports which have not been confirmed by the security agencies. Still, we are maintaining a tight…

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Shah-e-Hamdan’s son purchased Khanqah land revenue documents prove

British-era painting shows no signs of Maha Kali temple at the site The revenue documents produced by Shah-i-Hamdan Mission Society (SHMS) prove that Mir Syed Ali Hamadani’s son purchased the land for the present day Khanqah-e-Mua’lla shrine while a British-era painting shows no signs of Maha Kali temple’s existence at the site. SHMS came up with original revenue agreement under which Shah-e-Hamdan son, Mir Muhammad Hamdani, purchased the land for the shrine from the then ruler, Sikander Shah Miri. The development comes following the blaze of Khanqah-e-Mua’lla dome with some…

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Appointment of J&K interlocutor shows Centre’s intent to engage

Government sources said the appointment of Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor comes at a time when local support for militancy is on the decline. The appointment of an interlocutor for Kashmir does not mean the government would be lax on dealing with issues firmly but it shows the intent of the Centre to engage with civil society groups in the state, senior government sources said on Tuesday. The sources said the government is anticipating heightened support for disruptive activities from across the border, and 66 “terrorists”, trying to infiltrate across the…

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Clear stand on Kashmir, Rohingya: Amit Shah to Rahul Gandhi

Addressing a rally in poll-bound Gujarat, Amit Shah said Rahul Gandhi and the Congress should state what the situation in Kashmir was when the party was in power. BJP president Amit Shah today asked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to make his stand clear on Rohingya Muslim refugees as well as the issue of autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing a rally in poll-bound Gujarat, he said Mr Gandhi and the Congress should state what the situation in Kashmir was when the party was in power. “Terrorists killed our soldiers…

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Dineshwar Sharma’s second visit to J&K from Nov 24

Centre’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma will undertake his second visit to Jammu and Kashmir from Friday. During his nearly week-long stay in the state, he will meet youth and try to reach out to all sections whom he could not meet during his first visit early this month. Sharma would be landing in Jammu on November 24 where he would be meeting some of the groups. Sources said this time Sharma would be widening the ambit of his meetings with people of different walks of life, representing varying shades of…

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Center creating Ikhwan-type organisations in Kashmir: UJC chief Syed Salahuddin

The United Jihad Council, an amalgam of various militant outfits, alleged on Tuesday that New Delhi is working on a plan to “create Ikhwan-type organisations” in Kashmir. Quoting a statement by UJC chief Syed Salahuddin, a local news agency CNS said: “New Delhi is fighting a losing battle in Kashmir and has always dreamt of crushing the Kashmir movement but has failed miserably. In future too, it will only taste defeat.” “There is a clear reading on the wall. Kashmir freedom struggle can’t be crushed and the sun of freedom…

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