Month: August 2017

Book challenging Kashmir’s fictional Hindu histories released

Editor

Ahmad’s book debunks works of Kalhana, Jonaraja and Srivara ‘It’s about the oppressive ruling class and the oppressed ones’ ‘Kashmir: Exposing the Myth Behind the Narrative’, a book by author, poet and former bureaucrat, Khalid Bashir Ahmad that challenges Rajatarangini and Kashmir’s fictional and mythological Hindu histories by historians like Kalhana, Jonaraja and Srivara and lays bare how they had blacked out militant Hinduism that wiped out Buddhism form Kashmir from their histories was released here Thursday. The 387-page book published by Sage was released at a function organised by…

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Civil Society warns against tampering with Article 35A

Editor

To protest against the onslaught on Article 35-A that provides special privileges for people in J&K, Kashmiri civil society members held a sit-in protest at Pratap Park on Thursday. Holding placards that read “India, learn to keep promises” and “assault on Article 35-A is an attack on our existence”, civil society members said they will resist the efforts aimed at tampering of special status of Jammu and Kashmir “tooth and nail”. While addressing the media at the sit-in, chairperson Kashmir Center for Social and Development Studies (KCSDS) Hameedah Nayeem said…

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Why BJP’s opposition to Article 35A has merit

Editor

With the Supreme Court indicating that the constitutionality of Article 35A would be examined by a constitution bench of five judges, it provides an opportunity to approach this issue, as also Article 370, from a legal perspective, removed from the political and at times passionate discussion which have been the norm in this regard. Any discussion about Article 35A is incomplete without going back in time by almost a century to 1927 when Hari Singh, then ruler of the Jammu and Kashmir passed an order which provided that state subjects…

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Four top ministers in Delhi to firm up support for Article 35A: Abdul Haq Khan

Editor

“We are going to Delhi on 18th (August) to see what can be done to put up a strong defence to our case,’’ state Law Minister Abdul Haq Khan said. “We will meet people and seek further legal opinion.” The Jammu and Kashmir government is sending four top ministers to Delhi on Friday to explore further “legal support” for the state government in Supreme Court on Article 35A. They are also expected to explain to leaders at the Centre the “devastating implications” in case the constitutional provision is struck down…

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Declaring employee deadwood must withstand judicial scrutiny: High Court

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The High Court on Thursday ruled that a government action declaring an employee as deadwood should be “fair enough to withstand the test of judicial scrutiny.” Upholding a single bench judgment directing the government to reinstate an officer Shamim Ahmad Laharwal, a division bench of justices Muhammad Yaqoob Mir and MK Hanjura observed that the concerned authorities entrusted with the job of weeding out the deadwood have to be more serious and cautious. In 2015, the Jammu and Kashmir government had ordered premature retirement of Laharwal for being “deadwood”. The…

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Geelani should introspect, ‘Stop selling blood of Youth’: National Conference

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National Conference (NC) Thursday said Syed Ali Geelani should introspect and “stop selling the blood of thousands of Kashmiri youth to curry favors from the current political dispensation as interim relief in the current investigation into questionable and unaccounted financial dealings by his kith and kin – some of whom have been given custom-made, plump postings by the PDP-BJP Government as a price for his silence and biased anti-NC posturing”. In a joint official statement issued from NC Head Office ‘Nawa-e-Subha’ in Srinagar, NC leaders General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar,…

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NIA arrests businessman Zahoor Watali for ‘Funding Militants’

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today arrested businessman Zahoor Ahmad Watali for allegedly funding militant and separatist activities in the state. Watali, who is an alleged hawala conduit, was arrested in New Delhi this evening following multiple searches on Wednesday at various locations in Kashmir which belong to Watali’s relatives and employees. “The NIA today arrested Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in connection with a case pertaining to the funding of terrorist and separatist activities in J&K,” said NIA Inspector General (IG) Alok Mittal. Watali is being questioned by NIA officials…

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If I cannot stop namaz on roads, I have no right to stop Janmashtami celebrations at police stations: Adityanath

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday said that if he cannot stop the offering of namaz on roads during Eid, he has no right to stop celebration of Janmashtami at police stations, reported Indian Express. “Agar mai sadak par Eid ke din namaz padhne pe rok nahi laga sakta to mujhe koi adhikar nahi ki mai thano mein janmashtami ke parv ko rokun… koi adhikar nahi,” he said. He said everyone has the freedom to celebrate festivals in the country. “Hum sabke liye kahenge… Aap Christmas bhi manaiye… kaun…

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Kashmiris want to be active stakeholders in peace process: Rajnath Singh

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the common Kashmiris want to be active stakeholders in the peace process but had been made victims by certain vested interests. In an article “Decoding PM’s Speech”, the Home Minister hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address to the nation from Red Fort ramparts and said the country was marching ahead in its journey of transformation for a better future. Rajnath Singh referred to Modi’s remarks on Kashmir and said it was heartwarming to see the Prime Minister making his government’s…

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At Independence Day event factionalism in BJP come to fore

Editor

The factionalism in the BJP came to the fore when a majority of the party leaders gave a miss to the official Independence Day function in which Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh was the chief guest. Although leaders of all political parties, including the Opposition, were present in the function held at Parade Ground, Jammu, prominent BJP leaders were conspicuous by their absence. Even local MLA Rajesh Gupta, in whose constituency the function was held, was not present on the occasion. Highly placed sources said the state BJP unit was…

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