Category: Uncategorized

J&K’s Roshni Act is gone, leaving thousands fearing that they will become landless

Editor

In Jammu, the law has been used in communal rhetoric about ‘land jihad’. On October 31, the Jammu and Kashmir government declared the State Land (Vesting Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, null and void. The law, which had proposed to transfer ownership of state land to its occupants for a fee determined by the government, was popularly known as the Roshni Act, as the proceeds from these transactions were to fund power projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Transactions under the Roshni Act had already been halted in 2018, as…

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Kashmiri Muslims fear planned demographic change as fewer locals got key administrative posts

Editor

Of the 66 top bureaucrats in Muslim-majority J&K at this time, 38 are from other states. Of the 12 sitting judges at the high court, only two are Muslim. And there is not a single Muslim officer in the LG’s secretariat. Irfan Amin Malik An officer of the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) has alleged that Kashmiri and Muslim officers have been deliberately sidelined or kept away from key positions since June 2018, when Mehbooba Mufti, the last chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, lost power. “This process picked up pace…

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Silent rage in Kashmir

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One year after Jammu and Kashmir was deprived of its special status and its mainstream political voices were stifled, the people of the valley remain committed to fighting for justice. Anando Bhakto The first anniversary of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 was accompanied by a low-key yet determined exhibition of political resolve by mainstream actors, who emphasised their commitment to fight in the Supreme Court and outside for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. The administration had imposed a two-day curfew on August…

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Three missing labourers killed in alleged staged encounter in Shopian

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Family of three missing labourers from Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir have alleged that the missing trio were killed in a staged encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on July 18. Saleem Ahmad, cousin of one of the missing civilians Ibrar Ahmad, told that he identified his cousin and two other relatives through circulated photographs of militants killed in an encounter on July 18 in Amshipora village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district. “They are my relatives. The one in the centre of the photograph (of the alleged militants) is…

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Naseema Bano, Kashmiri Women who has been booked under UAPA for posing with her slain son holding an AK47

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By Quratulain Rehbar Jammu and Kashmir ― On 28 June, the Jammu and Kashmir Police announced the arrest of Naseema Bano under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA, the first case in recent memory that invokes India’s anti-terror law against the mother of a slain militant. In its statement, the J&K Police said Naseema had been arrested under an FIR that was registered two years earlier in 2018. They accused her of “recruiting at least two youth into terrorist ranks, arranging arms and ammunition, communication and logistics for terrorists…

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Kashmir: The Lock-down Within the Lock-down

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Shahnaz Bashir The coronavirus left the world freaking out in quarantine – and left Kashmir laughing. It was a bitter laugh, half at itself and half at everyone else. In part schadenfreude towards nations long indifferent to besieged people, and in part, a genuine sympathy from the eternally locked-down. Partly in spite and partly in solidarity, a question rang through many young Kashmiris’ social media feeds: How is the lockdown, world? After a six-month-long lockdown from August 5, 2019, just as a desolate, war-worn Kashmir was limping back to life, it…

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Newly elected councilors press for the extension of 74th amendment to J&K

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As heads of all 79 urban local bodies have been appointed after the completion of the poll process, the elected representatives have stepped up efforts to extend the 74th Amendment of the Constitution to J&K to make these bodies functional in the ‘real sense’. “A meeting of the general house of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) will be held on December 15 to intensify the campaign to give adequate powers to the urban local bodies to make them purposeful,” JMC Deputy Mayor Purnima Sharma told Kashmir Post. She said a…

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As BJP is losing political ground, the Battle for 2019 is becoming more interesting

Editor

The assembly elections in five states have shown that the BJP can be shaken up, even defeated, by strong, strategic opposition alliances. After the victory of the Congress in all three Hindi heartland states in the tightly-fought assembly elections, some contours about the political scenario in the next few months are becoming sharper. With general elections barely six months away, both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition parties will have drawn lessons from the results and the voting patterns. The coming days will see the granular details being…

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Qazigund -Banihal tunnel to miss another deadline

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The construction of the new Banihal-Qazigund tunnel started in 2011 to avoid frequent closure of Jawahar tunnel is unlikely to be completed this year as major part of the project is yet to take off.Back in 2011, National Highways Authority India (NHAI) was commissioned to construct two tunnels on Srinagar- Jammu highway to reduce the travel and make the highway motorable for all seasons.One of the tunnels was to be constructed between Chenani and Nashri and another between Qazigund to Banihal.Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw open 10.8 km long Chenani-Nashri tunnel in April this…

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Kashmir Inc announce marathon protest, Tourism, Trade, Transport bodies to hold demonstrations between August 1-7

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Representatives of 27 Kashmir-based trade organisations on Tuesday announced a week-long protest programme beginning Wednesday to “protect” Article 35-A from any tinkering The business associations that recently came together under an umbrella body said the protests will be held by business, transport, horticulture, tourism and industry associations on different dates across Kashmir. Members of the two apex chambers, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation Chambers Industries Kashmir along with Batamaloo traders will hold a peaceful sit-in on August 1. Fruit growers and transporters including auto and sumo drivers will…

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