Year: 2017

Two more braid cutting incidents reported in Doda

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Two more braid-cutting incidents were today reported in Bhaderwah town of Doda district, raising the number of such cases to six in less than a week, officials said. Shipa Devi (22) of Pounra-Manthala and Romesha Devi (36) of Thubba claimed that they felt dizzy and became unconscious. After coming to their senses they found that their plaits have been cut, a police official said. “We have increased vigil, especially in rural areas. But we are still clueless as none of the victims have seen the accused. Except for braids being…

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Centre non-committal on defending Article 35A in Supreme Court

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Rohingyas illegal immigrants, a security threat: Rajnath Singh The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is non-committal on filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court to defend Article 35A, which grants special privileges to the permanent residents of the state. When asked at a press conference here today whether the Centre would file a counter affidavit in the apex court to protect Article 35A, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: “The matter is pending in the apex court, so I have nothing to say about it.” He said: “Some people…

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‘Hinduism’ isn’t about what one wears or eats: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

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Hinduism is not about what one should wear or eat but accepting others as they are, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Tuesday, in comments that are significant in the context of the current political and ideological debate over intolerance and moral policing. Interacting with diplomats, Bhagwat also spoke out against trolls, calling them aggressive, adding that their extreme expressions on the internet amounted to hitting below the belt. He also asserted that neither RSS nor BJP ran each other and despite interactions, the two organisations took separate decisions. In…

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6000 Transit accommodations to be set up for migrant Pandits in Kashmir: Rajnath Singh

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Rohingya Muslims could pose security threat to India Pak will be forced to stop ceasefire violations Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, Tuesday said 6000 transit accommodations would be set up for migrant Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley and claimed that Rohingya Muslims living in country could pose security threat to India. “Pakistan is regularly resorting to border ceasefire violations and I feel Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India,” Singh told a press conference on conclusion of his 4day visit to the State. He said army and…

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Avoid trifurcation but give autonomy to regions: National Conference

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The National Conference today pitched for regional autonomy to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, saying “it is a way forward to satiate aspirations of the people in three distinct regions of the state.” “We strongly believe that autonomy to the state and regional autonomy to the three regions with autonomous administrative structures for sub-regions on the pattern of Ladakh Hill Development Councils can defeat nefarious designs of the forces, who want trifurcation of the state for their petty political interests,” NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said in a 40-minute interactive…

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Jammu-Srinagar highway shut due to landslides near Udhampur

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The vital Jammu-Srinagar national highway was closed for the traffic due to heavy landslides that occurred about 15 km from here today. The authorities said the restoration of traffic on the highway could take two days. As per reports, the company engaged in the four-laning of the highway has deployed JCB machines to clear the debris. Official sources said a huge landslide occurred near Balinallah, Bansa Pul, resulting in the blockage of the highway. Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the road. The authorities have…

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Joint appeal from Army, Police, CRPF to militants to surrender

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After the surrender of a local militant and an overground worker during encounters in the past two days, Kashmir’s top security forces officers today made a joint offer to militants to lay down arms. “…He (Adil Dar of Shopian) could have been killed by the forces. There was no other way out, but we preferred to give him a chance to come to the mainstream. We wanted that he should join his parents again. That’s why we preferred to catch him, sending out a clear message to others who have…

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PDP-BJP govt has brought J&K back to chaos: Azad

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Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has said the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir and the NDA-led Centre had taken the state back to 1990s when the law and order situation was at its worst. “Since the BJP came to power in New Delhi and formed the coalition government with PDP in J&K, the situation has gone back to 1990s period. Jammu and Kashmir has slipped into the worst 1990 situation now,” he told reporters here after former prime minister Manmohan Singh-led policy planning group of Congress on Kashmir…

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Ladakh tense over Muslim-Buddhist marriage (love jihad)

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The Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA) is up in arms against the PDP-BJP government in Jammu & Kashmir and has decided to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the growing feud between Buddhists and Muslims. The discord appears to have intensified after a 30-year-old Buddhist woman married a 32-year-old Shia man last year after converting to Islam. Top LBA official P T Kunzang told TOI that a Buddhist delegation has been seeking appointment with the PM to apprise him about the situation, but is not getting an audience with him.…

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Civil society of Jammu demands autonomous councils for three regions

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Members meet Manmohan, want end to discrimination The Jammu Intellectual Forum has demanded autonomous regional councils for all three regions of the state to put an end to the discrimination against Jammu. A 14-member deputation of the forum favoured the constitutional set-up for the Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir regions during its 40-minute meeting with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the ‘policy planning group’ of the party, in Jammu on Sunday evening. Headed by KB Jandial, a retired IAS officer, the delegation comprised retired civil servants, academicians, ex-servicemen, businessmen,…

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