Month: June 2020

Constitute village defense committees; Arm Kashmiri Hindus, Vulnerable Muslims In Valley: Former DGP SP Vaid

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Former DGP of J&K Police Shesh Paul Vaid has said that measures must be taken for instilling security among the Kashmiri Hindus. Reports say that he has favoured the arming of the minority community and the vulnerable sections of the majority — the Kashmiri Muslims. Vaid has said that the Kashmiri Hindus should be provided training arms to equip them against terror attacks. He said, “There is no harm in giving arms training and providing weapons to the minority Hindu community as well as to the vulnerable section of the…

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As life moves Online amid the Pandemic, Education system in Kashmir is left behind in the absence of fast internet

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The 4G internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir has left teachers and students struggling. By: Ishfaq Majid and Shazia Kouser The internet is often in the news in Jammu and Kashmir. After abrogating Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the central administration suspended internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, fearing for the law and order situation. Months later, in the first week of March 2020, the authorities restored internet services but restricted the speed to 2G. We recently tested the speed of the internet on Airtel and Jio, two internet…

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India challenges China’s sovereignty by changing Occupied Kashmir’s status: Dr Wang Shida

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India’s unilateral move to change the status quo of Kashmir constitutes a serious threat to regional peace and stability, Dr Wang Shida, Deputy Director of Institute of South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), has stated in his article published by China Economic Net (CEN). India has, since last August, taken constant actions to unilaterally change the status quo of Kashmir and continued to exacerbate regional tensions, wrote the Chinese scholar. On August 5 last year, the Indian government revoked the Article 370 of the…

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By introducing new Domicile Laws, GoI is advancing the settler-colonial project in Kashmir

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Delhi has introduced new domicile laws in Kashmir that critics say are aimed at bolstering its Hindu nationalist project to change the region’s demographics akin to Israeli settlements in Palestine. By: Haris Zargar Months after India revoked the longstanding autonomy of the disputed Kashmir region, the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced new domicile laws that allows Indian citizens to buy property and become permanent residents in the contested Himalayan region. The decision has been surmised as Delhi’s first move to tamper with the Muslim-majority demographics…

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Beijing think-tank links scrapping of Article 370 to LAC tensions

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India’s move changing status of J&K ‘challenged sovereignty of Pakistan and China’ says report A report authored by a senior figure at an influential Chinese think-tank has linked the current tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to India’s move last year to abrogate Article 370 and change the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a decision that China had voiced opposition to. The article, for the first time, described the move as a joint challenge to China and Pakistan, saying the move had “posed a challenge to the sovereignty of Pakistan and…

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There is a Global Dimension to the India-China Confrontation in Ladakh

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By – Siddiq Wahid It has been a frenetic five weeks of a suddenly “unquiet front” in Ladakh between India and China. The saga began with simultaneous reports of a helicopter chase on May 5 and scuffles around the high-altitude Pangong Lake. There followed reports that the Chinese had doubled (to six) the number of boats on the lake, which is bisected by the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Then, in the second half of May, there were more reports of unsoldierly tussles and a week later dramatic visuals of Chinese Air Force…

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Weddings in Kashmir goes COVID style

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With the Covid-19 refusing to fade away, weddings in the Valley have become a small affair while adopting new social-distancing norms to prevent the virus from spreading. On Wednesday, a picture of a wedding with all people accompanying the groom given a separate sanitizer on a plate with food went viral on social media. “The dates of the weddings were fixed months before,” says Shazia Rafiq, whose wedding took place last week. “So, people with permission from authorities are going ahead with it. My wedding was scheduled a week ago…

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‘Geelani always spoke truth’, BJP deceived people of Kashmir: Mustafa Kamal

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Hitting BJP led Central Government left, right and centre, National Conference Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal Thursday said that senior Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani always spoke the truth about Kashmir. “Whenever Geelani talked about the 17 UN Resolutions about Kashmir, it was based on facts. Geelani always said the truth. The situation in Kashmir would have been totally different today if UN Resolutions had been implemented in letter and spirit. Kashmir was an independent state and it never acceded to India like other States,” Kamal told reporters…

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‘84% Indian households suffered a decrease in monthly income since lockdown’

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The economic distress in India caused by lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus is dire. Nearly 84% of Indian households is seeing decreases in income since the lockdown began. Nearly a third of all households will not be able to survive beyond a week without additional assistance. This was stated in a study, titled “How Are Indian Households Coping Under the Covid-19 Lockdown? 8 Key Findings”, carried out by experts at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago and the Mumbai-based Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE). “Direct…

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