Category: Community

Annual 46 day Amarnath yatra to begin from July 1

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The 46-day long annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas will begin on July 1, a Raj Bhavan official said here on Thursday. The decision was taken at the 36th meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) which met at the Raj Bhavan under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik, he said. The SASB manages the annual pilgrimage on the traditional Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter, Baltal track, in Ganderbal district. Based on the approach set by the Sri Sri Ravi…

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Separatists being held under controversial law allowing imprisonment without Charge

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Indian authorities on Thursday extended the detention of two separatist leaders in the disputed Kashmir region, police said, holding them under a controversial law that allows for suspects to be held for up to two years without charge. The order is part of a crackdown on militancy and those who demand mostly Muslim Kashmir’s secession, after a young man from the region last month rammed a car full of explosives into a convoy of paramilitary policemen, killing 40 of them. The attack was claimed by a Pakistan-based Islamist militant group.…

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Attack on Kashmiri’s continues, two dry fruit sellers attacked in Lucknow

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Two dry fruit vendors from Kashmir were attacked by a fringe right-wing group on a busy road in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The incident came to light after One of the accused men shared a video of the assault on social media, triggering outrage.However, the video of the incident was taken down from Facebook. According to reports the incident occurred at 5 pm on Wednesday in central Lucknow’s Daliganj area.In the videos, the attackers can be heard saying that they did so as they were from Kashmir.The Kashmiri men…

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Zero crimes against tourists in Jammu & Kashmir: GoI report

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Exposing the negative propaganda against Jammu & Kashmir, a report by the Government of India has confirmed that there has not been a single crime reported against tourists in the state in past two years. This is despite the presence of separatist militancy in Kashmir that has only increased in the past two years.According to a report by ministry of home affairs (MHA), there has not been a single incident of crime against foreign tourists, including females, in Jammu and Kashmir while 284 such incidents have been reported during the…

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European Parliament Members ask India to ‘End Crackdown’ on Rights Activists In Kashmir

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Twenty members of the European Parliament have written to Central ministers, expressing concern about “worrying signs of shrinking civil society space in India”. Twenty members of European parliament have written to the Indian government and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) expressing concern over the crackdown on human rights defenders. They have urged India to create a more open civil society space. The letter is addressed to the ministers of law and justice (Ravi Shankar Prasad), tribal affairs (Jual Oram) and social justice and empowerment (Thaawarchand Gehlot), and to the NHRC’s…

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If this isn’t​ war, what is? Handwara villagers ask after 4 days encounter

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When the chatter of gunfire erupted across the village Baba Gund, at a little after 3 pm on February 28, security forces told a group of civilians to take shelter in the home of fruit seller Farooq Ahmed. As the encounter continued, a few more villagers were directed into the house, and then a few more, until there were 17 people crammed into Ahmed’s small 10 feet by 10 feet room. Afternoon gave way to evening, then evening to night, night to day, and on and on for three long…

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Health team disallowed to visit ‘Starving’ families stuck in Handwara gunfight

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Government forces on Sunday allegedly disallowed a health team carrying first aid kit besides essentials including baby food and biscuits to visit five families, who according to the locals are stuck inside their houses at Babagund Handwara in this north Kashmir district, where a fierce gunfight between government forces and militants ended earlier this morning after nearly three days of siege. The incident has called into question adherence of SOP by government forces which mandates evacuation of civilian population before gunfight. A team of officials of health department, carrying first…

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Schools, Mosques, Orphanages kept outside the scope of seizure, sealing: Govt

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The governor’s administration Sunday said that schools, mosques and orphanages have been kept outside the scope of seizures and sealing in the wake of the ban imposed by the government of India on the socio-religious organisation Jamaat-e-Islami. “Action is being taken against offices, assets, properties and other equipment of the banned organisation,” Rohit Kansal, the official spokesman of J&K government, said in a statement, adding that the ban is for five years and subsequent orders to do so (seizure/sealing) have been issued by the state government and the deputy commissioners.

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As Kashmir Crisis intensifies, ‘Time to settle India-Pakistan conflict for good’

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In Jammu and Kashmir, taxi drivers say business is down by more than 80 percent compared with two years ago, while hotels are only getting a handful of guests Tensions soared between India and Pakistan in recent days as both sides launched said they launched air strikes Migrant workers are fleeing India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir and tourist arrivals have fallen to a trickle amid an escalating conflict with Pakistan, badly hurting businesses in the Himalayan region known for its scenic beauty and fruit harvests. Hundreds of taxis…

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Tampering with special status will erode mainstream in JK: Sajad Gani Lone

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Peoples Conference (PC) Chairman Sajad Gani Lone Monday said any attempts to tamper with Article 35-A was bound to result in a massive backlash for mainstream thought and would result in disenchantment and disillusionment in the State. “Any tinkering with the special status of Jammu Kashmir is not only intolerable and unacceptable but would also amount to the erosion of the mainstream thought and space in J&K. It is pertinent to understand that the State’s special status is an article of faith between the people of the State and the…

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