Year: 2018

Without public trust, holding elections in Kashmir was a bad idea

Editor

Since 1989, the first time I was old enough to understand the importance of elections in a democracy, elections in Jammu and Kashmir have intrigued me. I belong to the ‘J’ part of the state – Jammu – and it was fascinating to see the long queues outside polling stations in the Jammu region even as large-scale disenchantment with the political class became somewhat of a national phenomenon and kept growing roots. But, it was the Kashmir region and its hide-and-seek with elections, which was the subject of discussion in…

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Gurez, Sonmarg get season’s first snowfall, Chill across Valley

Editor

Several remote areas of the Valley received the season’s first snowfall on Tuesday. The meteorological department has forecast another day of wet spell. The snowfall was received in remote mountainous regions of Kashmir, including in Sonmarg in Ganderbal district and Gurez in Bandipora district. Shahid Choudhary, Bandipora Deputy Commissioner, said the snowfall was received in Gurez, which remains cut-off during winter months. The Deputy Commissioner said the road connecting with Gurez, which is located along the Line of Control in north Kashmir, was open while the departments concerned had kept…

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How the inflation equation could impact politics

Editor

Inflation is back on the economic agenda. The annual growth in wholesale price index (WPI) in the quarter ending September 2018 was 4.98%. This is the highest since September 2014, which was the first full quarter after the current government assumed office. To be sure, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at 3.88% in this period, after having grown at more than 4% in the last three quarters. Both CPI and WPI have been rising The political context is important here. Inflation was rising at a fast pace — CPI…

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Gunfight in Fateh Kadal, Three Rebels, Policeman killed; Internet suspended, educational institutions closed

Editor

Gunfight broke out between militants and the government forces in Fateh Kadal area of Downtown Srinagar early Wednesday. Reports said a joint team of the state police and the CRPF cordoned off Fateh Kadal after “specific information” about presence of some militants. As soon as the forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired at them, triggering an encounter. Three militants and a policeman were killed in a gunfight which was underway since early Wednesday in Fateh Kadal locality of downtown Srinagar, police said. Three militants and a policeman…

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Poll Boycott Continued: At 4.2%, Kashmir sticks to single digit turnout, Ladakh 62.1, Jammu 68.7

Editor

In the last phase of polling for the civic elections in Kashmir on Tuesday, the voting turnout remained dismal – just 4.2 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise. The day was marked with protests, clashes and long queues of voters in a few parts of Srinagar and Ganderbal even after militants carried out an attack on Monday night, leaving two CRPF men injured in south Kashmir’s Pulwama. Of the eight municipalities, which were scheduled to go to the polls in the fourth and last phase, voting was held…

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Polling under way for last phase of municipal polls in J&K, Srinagar recorded 2.3%, Ganderbal 7.9% polls till 12

Editor

Partial shutdown across Kashmir Valley, Clashes in Soura Polling was under way for the fourth and last phase of municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir to seal the fate of 156 candidates in fray in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. They said the voting would take place at 308 polling stations across the state and would end at 4 pm. Eight municipal bodies spanning across six districts–all in Kashmir Valley–were scheduled to go to polls in the fourth and final phase of the elections. However, out of the eight, only two…

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A journey called Make in India to Assembled in India

Editor

India imported $6.3 billion worth of mobile phones from China in 2014, the year Narendra Modi became the country’s prime minister. This number has declined continuously and reached $ 3.3 billion in 2017 according to a study conducted by the ministry of commerce and industry. This would suggest that the ambitious Make in India programme of this government is working. But another set of statistics indicates otherwise. India’s import of parts of mobile phones as well as telecom equipment from China increased from $1.3 billion in 2014 to $9.4 billion…

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Kashmir’s Unarmed freedom fighters

Editor

Flowing black beard, a headband with “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) and a fluttering green flag. This has been the trademark picture of the recent azadi (freedom) processions of Kashmir, where hundreds of thousands marched the streets of this disputed Himalayan region seeking a separation from India. From a distance, it seems as if the past has returned to Kashmir. But the present contains an irrefutable truth: in place of guns, the people carry slogans. The politics of protest this time is not about the argument of power, but about…

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Guevara and the Kashmiri rebel: The literary militants

Editor

“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine” Che Guevara On 9th October 1967, socialist revolutionary, guerrilla leader and the main man behind Cuban revolution, Che Guevara, age 39, was killed by the Bolivian army. The Argentine-born revolutionary, a major figure in Fidel Castro’s ‘26th of July Movement’ which seized power in Cuba in 1959, had been fighting with a small band of guerrillas in the South American country when he was captured by the army near the village of Higueras. Since his death,…

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Ahead of darbar move Kashmir started facing drastic power cuts

Editor

The Kashmir Valley is facing drastic power cuts ahead of the shifting of the government offices to winter capital Jammu as part of the Dogra-era practice of Durbar Move. The Power Development Department (PDD) has resorted to unscheduled power outages even in autumn when cuts would usually start from harsh winter months. In most parts of the Valley, power woes are causing immense inconvenience to the general public. Consumers from many areas have complained that they face unscheduled power outages thrice a day. According to the residents of Srinagar and…

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