Month: April 2017

‘Scared of camera’: Kashmir internet shutdowns seen as an attempt to choke voices

Editor

Freelance press photographer Abid Bhat used to hotspot the 4G internet on his mobile, connect it to his laptop and send pictures to international publications. His work stopped since 3G and 4G mobile internet services were suspended in the Kashmir Valley from Monday afternoon. “I do not have a fixed-line broadband connection at home. I am requesting friends to allow me to use theirs,” Bhat said. The internet becomes the first casualty whenever the situation in the militancy-ravaged Valley turns from restive to volatile. The latest clampdown is to restrict…

Read More

Kashmiri Students attacked in Rajasthan over heckling of CRPF in Kashmir

Editor

t least ten Kashmiri students who are studying at Mewar University Chittorgarh in Rajasthan were assaulted on Wednesday evening by a group of locals belonging to a particular community over heckling of CRPF men during recent parliamentary elections in Budgam district. Students hailing from Kashmir told Srinagar-based news agency GNS over phone from Mewar University said that locals of the area attacked them soon after they stepped outside the college gate for buying medicines and some other items. “Four students received injuries during the incident and were hospitalized”, they said.…

Read More

Government likely to ban Social Media in Kashmir Valley

Editor

The Jammu and Kashmir government is thinking of blocking social media including Facebook, Whatsapp and YouTube in the Valley. The authorities in Kashmir have decided to block social media (Facebook, Whatsapp and YouTube after the recent circulation of videos showing security forces beating up civilians, which are believed to lead to widespread protests in the volatile Valley. Sources said that the “decision will be taken soon” to ban the social media in Kashmir, rather than shutting down the internet repeatedly after any volatile situation arises. The authorities have been shutting…

Read More

Who is to blame and what is the way out? Kashmir Turmoil

Editor

The institutions which are supposed to restore sanity to the Kashmir Valley appear to be opposed, or at least indifferent, to this idea. Right from the 1990s, whenever there was escalation of violence in the Valley the captains of these institutions reviewed their strategies and made amends. From last summer – after the encounter in which Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed – the situation has been allowed to drift with no visible change in strategies. Today all Kashmir-watchers are of the opinion that Kashmir is fast slipping out…

Read More

Kashmir unrest, Babri order top agenda at BJP core group meeting headed by Narendra Modi

Editor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for a meeting of the core group of the BJP over the recent Kashmir unrest and the Supreme Court’s Babri ruling. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for a Bharatiya Janata Party core group meeting at this residence. The meeting began at around 3 pm today and saw attendance by senior Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu. According to sources, the top issues on the agenda of the meeting included current unrest in Kashmir and the Supreme Court ruling…

Read More

Student protests continue across Kashmir, Colleges to remain closed Today, Tomorrow

Editor

Reports of clashes were received from some parts of Srinagar wherein students resorted to clashes with police, however situation returned to normal after police swung into action. Student protests continued for the third consecutive day Wednesday against the thrashing of Pulwama Degree College students by government forces last Saturday. The continuous protests by students have forced the government to suspend classes in all colleges for next two days “as a precautionary measure.” “Teaching work in all colleges of Kashmir division shall remain suspended on April 20 and 21 as a…

Read More

Kashmir situation: ‘Worried’ Delhi discusses way forward

Editor

“Besides the top BJP ministers the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, and Army Chief Bipin Rawat were also present in the meeting chaired by the Prime Minister,” sources added. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to have expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir and passed directions to defuse the crisis in Kashmir, sources told Kashmir Post. They said the Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance and Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister…

Read More

MP adivasis, India’s slingshot experts, want to take on Kashmiri stone-pelters

Editor

The adivasis want the govt to form a ‘Gofan battalion’. Worried over the safety of the security forces in the Kashmir valley, adivasi youth from the Jhabua district have volunteered to face the stone-pelters with their ‘Gofan’. Gofan is a looped cord with a knitted bag on one end, similar to a slingshot. Pebbles are placed in the bag and the cord is swung in the air and the small stones are released towards the target. It looks deceptively simple but in reality is a very powerful weapon. The adivasis…

Read More

The resistance revolution in Kashmir

Editor

The situation in Kashmir is spiralling out of control as the youth take to the streets with a devil-may-care recklessness. Without fear, they confront security forces that to them are a symbol of the coercive power of the state. This mindset poses new dangers of disintegration to the state. – Arun Joshi The Kashmir situation is going from bad to worse. In the current situation, almost every household has become a grooming centre for the would-be “warriors”, where children sing the songs calling for “martyrdom” to boost their morale These are…

Read More

Mercury may touch 41°C this week in Jammu

Editor

A sizzling summer weekend with the temperature likely to touch 41°C in the next two days. Today, the temperature was recorded at 39.7 °C, which is seven degrees above normal. A scorching heatwave has gripped the region, especially the plains, with the temperature floating between 38-39 °C. The weathermen believes that the heatwave may intensify in the coming days and the trend may lead to breaking of all previous records of May and June. According to the forecast by the meteorological department, the maximum temperature will be above 40°C on Thursday…

Read More