Category: Kashmir

Kashmir

The false promise of normalcy and development in Kashmir

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…

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

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.…

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Kashmiris fear domicile certificates exercise to change demographics: Saifuddin Soz

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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…

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

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…

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Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz demands release of all Kashmiri detainees

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Hurriyat forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has demanded immediate and unconditional release of all illegally detained Kashmiris lodged in various jails of the territory and India. The Hurriyat forum expressed serious concern over the miserable plight of thousands of Kashmiri prisoners including Hurriyat leaders, activists and youth lodged in Tihar, Kot Bhalwal, Amphala, Jodhpur, Agra, Haryana and various other jails of IIOJK and India or have been under house arrest before and after August 05, 2019, especially in times of COVID-19. It said that these prisoners were being victimized…

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In Kashmir, different political ideologies have been set aside for a larger goal: Omar Abdullah

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Former chief minister Omar Abdullah has said six regional parties, which signed the Gupkar declaration last year pledging to fight unitedly against the constitutional changes to Jammu & Kashmir’s status, may have different political ideologies but plan to present a united front for the time being. “…different political ideologies… have been set aside for a larger goal. We wanted to send a wider message to New Delhi that, on this question of what happened on August 5 [when the process for the nullification of Article 370 that gave Jammu &…

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Gupkar declaration tool to gain sympathy for power, asks cadre to get ready for polls: Ram Madhav

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Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Kashmir Unit Friday said Gupkar declaration is used as a tool to gain sympathy and power. Party’s senior leader and Media-in charge, Manzoor Bhat said those who are claiming restoration of Article 370 and other things are living in the “fool’s paradise”. “They want to create the same pressure group like “All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front”, in 1955, which was founded by Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg, just to gain power. Now it is the same frustration for power and chair but people have rejected them…

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Modi’s ‘Settler’ masterplan for Indian Kashmir

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Parvaiz Bukhari Prime Minister Narendra Modi is changing Indian Kashmir’s residency laws for the first time since 1947, in a bid to snuff out any challenge to the disputed territory belonging to India. Drawing comparisons with Israel’s “settler” tactics in the Palestinian Territories, Modi’s Hindu nationalist government aims to change the demographic makeup and identity of the Muslim-majority region, critics say. AFP looks at the background, what the new rules are and their implications for the area’s 14 million population. What has Modi done in Kashmir so far? The Himalayan…

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Indra Mani Pandey envoy to UN in Geneva in valley to understand Kashmir

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India’s permanent representative designate to Geneva Indra Mani Pandey is currently visiting Kashmir to take feedback on the overall situation in the Valley, particularly with regard to human rights, days ahead of taking over his new assignment. Officers apprised him of statistics and details of the work done across the UT after August 5, 2019, terming it an era of “unprecedented development”. Pandey also interacted with security officials to understand the way things had changed since August 5 last year to present a clear picture before the international community as…

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15 Deaths recorded in Kashmir, 654 fresh coronavirus cases surface in J&K

Editor

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 654 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of positive cases to 31,371. Of the cases reported today, 114 surfaced from Jammu while the remaining 540 were recorded from Kashmir. Meanwhile, a single-day highest spike of 15 more deaths — all from Kashmir — were reported during the past 24 hours. The death toll in the Union Territory has reached 593. Of the total number of deaths reported in Jammu and Kashmir, 41 patients have lost their lives in Jammu…

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