Category: Today

22 Social Media sites banned in Kashmir for a month

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The state government today ordered one-month ban on 22 social media sites, mobile phone messengers and video-uploading sites in the Valley, which the security agencies believe are fuelling the protests. The state Home Department in an order banned Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, QQ, WeChat, Qzone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit, Snapfish, Youtube, Vine, Xanga, Buzznet and Flickr. “The violation of the order shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of law,” the government warned in the order, signed by RK Goyal, Principal Secretary…

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Demand for splitting J&K into 3 regions gets louder

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Jammu pushes for separate statehood, Ladakh insists on UT status The prolonged unrest in Kashmir has deepened the regional divide in the relatively peaceful Jammu and Ladakh regions as the demand for separating the two regions from the Kashmir valley has gained momentum. The Jammu region has been pushing for statehood while Ladakh has been demanding UT status. People and representatives of Jammu and Ladakh contend that they have been suffering “immensely” due to the recurrent violence, uncertainty and “growing radicalism” in Kashmir. “We have been suffering due to the…

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As Students clashes with forces, City centre turns into battlefield

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2 students, 12 cops injured; 6 students detained Govt forces resort to tear gas shelling, aerial firing to quell protests Student, photojournalist, woman injured; SSP Srinagar among 12 cops hurt Cops showed utmost restraint: Police Massive clashes were witnessed between students and government forces in the heart of Srinagar city on Monday as colleges re-opened after remaining closed for a week in Kashmir valley. Government forces used tear gas and water cannons to prevent students of SP Higher Secondary School and SP College from taking out a protest march and…

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Youth across valley looking for options as govt gags Social Media

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Apps like Snapchat, Telegram see record downloads Amid apprehensions of permanent social media ban in Kashmir, youth are looking for other options to stay connected with friends and family. Mobile apps like Telegram and Snapchat, which allow chatting and transfer of data in encrypted form along with other security features, are witnessing record downloads and gaining currency in the Valley. Besides these, many free messaging apps provide more features, encrypted messaging and full privacy options. The mobile Internet services in the Valley were blocked by the authorities last week as…

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Alliance in trouble as PDP, BJP drift apart

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“When we arrest stone-pelters, we face enormous political pressure to release them because some of the stone-pelters are from both the PDP and the NC. Both parties use their own influence to subvert law and order,” From their political philosophy to socio-cultural idiom, every innate fault line within the PDP-BJP alliance is proving to be antithetical to governance and security in Jammu and Kashmir. Two years after they come to power in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP and the PDP are locked into a war of words both publicly and…

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MP adivasis, India’s slingshot experts, want to take on Kashmiri stone-pelters

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The adivasis want the govt to form a ‘Gofan battalion’. Worried over the safety of the security forces in the Kashmir valley, adivasi youth from the Jhabua district have volunteered to face the stone-pelters with their ‘Gofan’. Gofan is a looped cord with a knitted bag on one end, similar to a slingshot. Pebbles are placed in the bag and the cord is swung in the air and the small stones are released towards the target. It looks deceptively simple but in reality is a very powerful weapon. The adivasis…

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Colleges across valley to remain shut today amid fear of violence, Protests reach Banihal

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Students block Sgr-Jmu highway for 7 hrs, Civil Society calls Banihal bandh today Admin closes colleges, higher secondary schools for 2 days Fearing more protests, the government today extended the closure of colleges across Kashmir by one more day even as the University of Kashmir witnessed protests by girl students over police action at Government Degree College, Pulwama, on Saturday. “All colleges and SP Higher Secondary School (in Srinagar) will remain shut on Wednesday,” said Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Khan. “All schools will, however, reopen tomorrow,” he said. After widespread…

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Massive Student protests rock Kashmir, Mobile Internet snapped

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Scores of students injured in clashes with police and paramilitary forces Mobile Internet off again as protests grip Valley Cops exercised maximum restraint: Police Massive protests rocked Kashmir on Monday as students across the valley took to streets in an unprecedented show of solidarity with the students of Pulwama degree college who were wounded in clashes with government forces few days back. Scores of students were injured during Monday’s clashes as police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters after demonstrations…

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Fresh protests in Valley as new videos emerge

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Protests erupted in several parts of the Kashmir valley on Friday afternoon as fresh videos of demonstrations during Sunday’s bypoll in the Srinagar parliamentary constituency emerged, showing gruesome visuals of demonstrators getting shot. The protests on Friday afternoon were held outside Jamia Masjid in Srinagar’s old city where members of a separatist group raised slogans and demanded the release of the arrested youth. Another protest was held in north Kashmir’s Sopore town, where youth attempted to take out a march but were intercepted by the security forces, leading to clashes.…

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Fortified Budgam sticks to poll boycott, Only 2 Percent turnout in repoll

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Mere 2% turnout in repoll Zero polling at 26 of 38 stations Only 709 of 35,169 votes cast The re polling in Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency on Thursday saw an abysmally low voter turnout of mere two percent at the end of the day, exactly on the pattern of April 9 voting in the constituency, even as the poll-bound areas were dotted with thick presence of forces to “ensure incident-free elections.” Amid low polling, official sources said that in at least 26 polling stations, not a single vote was cast—an indication…

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