Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man. But he was also a short-sighted politician. More than 50 years after his death, the Indian state is still paying a heavy price for its first prime minister’s myopia on Kashmir. It is not enough for leaders to be virtuous. They must also be visionary. Sadly, Nehru was not. He was admittedly handed a complicated script by Sheikh Abdullah who could never get over his ambition of ruling over an ‘independent’ Valley instead of trying to be the leader of Jammu and Kashmir (read…
Read MoreDay: August 7, 2018
Why is Article 35A important for Jammu and Kashmir?
The Supreme Court is all set to give the judgment on the petitions filed by an NGO, We the Citizens, who has challenged the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, granting special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir. What is Article 35A? Jammu and Kashmir’s permanent residents enjoy special rights under article 35A. Only the permanent residents have the right to own immovable property, settle permanently, or avail state-sponsored scholarship schemes. This article also restricts companies from hiring non-resident persons in the state The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and…
Read MoreBanks collect Rs 5,000 cr from customers in FY18 for not maintaining minimum account balance
As many as 21 public sector banks and three major private sector lenders collected a whopping Rs 5,000 crore from customers for non-maintenance of minimum balance in their accounts in 2017-18, according to banking data. India’s largest lender State Bank of India, which suffered a staggering net loss of Rs 6,547 crore during 2017-18, led the pack in penalising its customers for not maintaining minimum account balance. The government-owned SBI, which re-introduced the penalty on deposits going below monthly average balance basis from April 2017, collected nearly half the amount…
Read MoreFamed Dal Lake may get new lease of life
The Dal, a famed lake at the heart of Kashmir’s holidaying industry which serves as a quiet host to thousands of tourists, has drastically degraded and its water has become unhealthy. The lake may now get a new lease of life as Governor NN Vohra has taken a proactive position by ordering a series of corrective measures and scientific recourse to conserve it. Once a favourite spot to shoot Bollywood songs, the Dal Lake is now a dirty shadow of its past and its large expanses are now covered with…
Read MoreStrike paralyses Kashmir, Chenab valley, Resistance Camp caged, Yatra suspended
For the second consecutive day on Monday, normal life in Kashmir and parts of Chenab Valley was disputed by the strike called by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) against challenging validity of Article 35-A in the Supreme Court. People in Srinagar and other parts of Valley observed civil curfew to protest any “tinkering” with the Article 35-A, which grants special rights and privileges to residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The shops, business establishments, government offices, fuel stations and educational institutions remained closed in Srinagar and other district headquarters of Kashmir and…
Read MoreTrader’s Body ready to follow Joint Resistance Leadership on Article 35A Row
Representatives of traders and businesses Monday said they will consult the Joint Resistance Leadership for a future strategy to thwart efforts for abrogation of Article 35A. Several representatives of Kashmir-based trade bodies who hit the streets protesting the “assault” on the special constitutional provision said they were ready to adhere to any programme announced by the JRL to protect special status of the state. A group of traders representing a faction of Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) who held a press conference here said they will be “consulting the…
Read MoreAnxiety deepens as SC defers hearing on constitutional validity of Article 35A
The Supreme Court today said that a three-judge bench would decide whether the pleas challenging Article 35A, which provides special rights and privileges to the natives of Jammu and Kashmir, should be referred to a five-judge Constitution bench for examining the larger issue of alleged violation of the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A Khanwilkar adjourned the crucial hearing on as many as five petitions “to the week commencing from August 27” on the grounds that they pertained to…
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