Kashmir Archives | Page 36 of 224

What will Joe Biden’s win mean for Human Rights in the Kashmir, A Big Question?

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 Editor

Delighted that ‘Islamophobic’ Donald Trump will soon leave the Oval Office, Kashmiris hope that the US will bring pressure to bear on India’s Modi government against crackdowns in the Valley. On Sunday morning, veteran Kashmiri journalist Yusuf Jameel heard a scrap dealer shout an unusual cry outside his home in Srinagar: “Ab ki baar, Trump gov khaar (This time, Trump is wrecked).” The slogan, which imaginatively rhymed with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election catchphrase for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was intended as a pun to convey the defeat of Donald…

New power schedule for winters assures “The lowest curtailment schedule in a decade” curtailment

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 Editor

The Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation has come up with a new curtailment schedule for winters, terming it as “the lowest curtailment schedule in a decade”. As per the schedule, there will be only two to three-hour daily curtailment in metered areas and three to four-hour curtailment in non-metered areas. Chief Engineer, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation (KPDC), Aijaz Ahmed Dar, said that it will be the lowest curtailment schedule in a decade. “We have tried our best to resort to least curtailment hours and that is why as per this schedule…

The journalists in Kashmir are ‘Harassed’ and ‘Questioned’ for doing their job

October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 Editor

By Aamir Peerzada Journalism has become especially risky in Indian-administered Kashmir since the federal government stripped the region of its special status in August last year. That seemed evident this week when India’s top anti-terror agency searched the offices of the Greater Kashmir newspaper and the home of AFP journalist Parvaiz Bukhari. In all, India’s national investigative agency searched nine locations, including NGOs and homes of leading activists, in Srinagar city, the region’s capital. It said the raids were based on “credible information” that these organisations and people were receiving…

Kashmiri’s decry ‘Land Grab’ as India enacts new Laws

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 Editor

Residents fear laws are aimed at a ‘land grab’ to dilute the Muslim-majority character of the disputed region, now directly under New Delhi’s control India has enacted a series of new laws – and amended some – allowing any of its nationals to buy land in the disputed Indian-administered Kashmir, a move that has been condemned by the residents. Kashmiris fear the new laws, notified on Tuesday, are aimed at a “land grab” to dilute the Muslim-majority character of the region, whose partial autonomy was scrapped in August 2019, bringing…

BJP workers detained while trying to hoist tricolour at Lal Chowk

October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 Editor

Jammu and Kashmir police detained three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers from frontier district of Kupwara as they tried to hoist tricolour at Ghanta Ghar (Clock tower) in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk in capital Srinagar on Monday. Reports said the trio included Mir Basharat, BJP spokesman for Kupwara district, Mir Ishfaq and Akhtar Khan. Ahead of his detention, Basharat told news agency KNO that they had reached Lal Chowk early morning to hoist tricolour to send a message to members of Peoples Alliance for Gupkar declaration. “Our message…

The false promise of normalcy and development in Kashmir

October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 Editor

A year after the annexation of Kashmir, the socio-economic situation has gotten worse. Anam Zakaria & Womic Baba This August marks a year since the Indian government abrogated Articles 370 and 35(a) of the Indian constitution, revoking Indian-administered Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status and formally annexing the disputed region. Article 370, although reduced to an “empty husk” through a series of legislations since 1953, allowed the region to have its own constitution, flag and laws. Article 35(a) enshrined the rights of indigenous Kashmiris towards land, education and jobs. The move lent credence…

Kashmir sees rise in militancy as well repression post revocation of its autonomy

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 Editor

SRINAGAR, India—In July, I joined a group of young men plodding glumly through verdant paddy fields in Bijbehara, a picturesque town tucked inside a network of lofty mountains in the Kashmir Valley. It was the middle of the monsoon season. One of the men was recounting a midnight raid conducted by the Indian Army in a nearby village, Arwani, in August last year. “They were bloodthirsty,” he said, in a wobbling voice. “We live in the shadow of violence,” another man replied. There have been similar raids recently, he said.…

Kashmiris fear domicile certificates exercise to change demographics: Saifuddin Soz

September 17, 2020September 17, 2020 Editor

Congress leader and former Union minister Saifuddin Soz has said the issuance of a large number of domicile certificates in J&K has led to apprehensions of demographic changes among Kashmiris. In a statement on Wednesday he said it is alarming that the UT administration has issued over 17 lakh Domicile Certficates, of these, 12.44 lakh certificates have been issued in Jammu, while 4.16 lakh certificates have been issued in Kashmir. “The most worrying aspect of this hot-haste exercise is that these certificates have been issued to those persons also who…

Autumn, Kashmir’s Golden yellow season of plenty, is here

September 16, 2020September 16, 2020 Editor

The chirp of the cicada bug, the grain-laden golden yellow rice fields, the dance of the rainbow trout in the crystal-clear waters of the Lidder and the Sindh mountain streams, the nip in the morning and evening air – all these are standout signals that Kashmir’s season of plenty, the autumn is here. Look at the countryside, farmers are busy harvesting the paddy crop. Luckily for them, the migrant labourers, those had left the Valley with the outbreak of the pandemic, have returned, though in small numbers yet, to work…