Opinion – Page 14 – The Singapore Post

How erstwhile J&K discriminated between Muslims, non-Muslims

17Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

How erstwhile J&K discriminated between Muslims, non-Muslims

In the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Hindu and Sikh refugees arriving in the valley from Pakistan during India-Pakistan partition were always considered outsiders and were not given the status of "Permanent Residents" under the J&K state legislature. However, the same legislature enabled the Muslims to return from Pakistan and become permanent residents.Enabling Muslims and disabling non-Muslims can thus be a correct summing up of the intent of successive state governments. Under these laws, contained in Part III (Sections 6 to 10) of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, there were provisions enabling Muslims to return from Pakistan and obtain the status of being a permanent resident (PR).It can be said that the definitions of PRs were meant to welcome those Muslims wh...

Those who lived in J&K but were never considered citizens

17Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Those who lived in J&K but were never considered citizens

Hindu and Sikh refugees living near India-Pakistan borders, better known as West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) left their homes in Pakistan decades back during the 1947 partition. However, the word Pakistan never stopped chasing them.Generally, domicile is understood as the status of being a lawful permanent resident in a particular jurisdiction. A person can remain domiciled in a jurisdiction even after he has left it, if he maintains sufficient links with it. Now, apply this definition to Hindu and Sikh refugees who crossed over into areas in Jammu from adjacent areas of Sialkot and other areas which became Pakistan.These refugees had entered Jammu, which became a part of India, in 1947. They didn't maintain any links whatsoever with Pakistan, from where they had barely escaped. They thus los...

17Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

China, the artless dodger

Indulging in aggressive behaviour along the Line of Actual Control with India might have brought immediate tactical territorial gains to China, but it has lost a lot more strategically in terms of trust and goodwill. Beijing's responses have also reinforced the fact that its leaders are perennially unrepentant.This is evident in the comments that come from China over the border confrontation on 15 June in Ladakh. Four days after the clash in which both sides suffered lost their soldiers’ lives, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "China hopes that India will work with us, follow faithfully the important consensus reached between the two leaders, abide by the agreements reached between the two governments, and strengthen communication and cooperation on properly managing the curren

President Xi’s long game: Time to measure what the world is dealing with

14Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

President Xi’s long game: Time to measure what the world is dealing with

Over the last six months, President Xi Jinping has become China’s Supreme Leader. The July 15 issue of the Chinese Communist Party journal, Qiushi, has declared that it is the highest duty of all Chinese to “safeguard the core position of General Secretary Xi Jinping”. It then goes on to say that “to safeguard the core position of General Secretary Xi Jinping means only Xi Jinping and no other individual.”In short, there is no other leader and no power-centre other than Xi.It took many years for Mao Zedong to dominate a party that he had literally built and led to victory. Even then, at the height of his power, he was still compelled to share authority at times with others like Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai, and PLA Marshals Zhu De and Ye Jianying.President Xi Jinping, on the other hand, appea

A year after Article 370, Kashmir valley voter turnout a big number to watch

12Aug

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Asia, Opinion

A year after Article 370, Kashmir valley voter turnout a big number to watch

Last year, on August 5, the Narendra Modi government in the Center effectively revoked Article 370 that conferred special status on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and bifurcated the state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.Now, a year has passed and still there is little convergence of views on the move. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to assert that the decision was in the interest of Kashmir and the nation at large, mainstream political actors in Kashmir continue to oppose it.In an opinion piece, former chief minister Omar Abdullah wrote that unless the central government restores statehood to J&K, he will not participate in elections.In making this threat, Abdullah is raising a metric which has often been seen as the most important measure of de

China collecting DNA samples of millions, experts suspect developing tool for genetic surveillance

11Aug

By Joanne SerriehNo Comments

China, Opinion

China collecting DNA samples of millions, experts suspect developing tool for genetic surveillance

In an alleged bid to create a new tool for their emerging high-tech surveillance, Chinese authorities have been collecting DNA samples from across the country to develop a massive genetic database.In an opinion piece, Emile Dirks, a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Toronto, and James Leibold, an expert on ethnic issues in modern China, say dissent is a crime in China and police operations are a key part of the state’s apparatus of repression.They estimated that the authorities’ goal is to gather the DNA samples of 35 million to 70 million Chinese males.“Matched against official family records, surveillance footage or witness statements in police reports, these samples will become a powerful tool for the Chinese authorities to track down a man or boy -- or, failing that

11Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Second-class citizens of Sindh: Women

The incidents of honor killings in Pakistan’s Sindh are no less than gruesome horror stories – women burned, shot, strangled, drowned, decapitated in cold-blood every year. One such case came to limelight on July 4, when Sindh police discovered a severely beaten body with the disfigured face on Indus Highway. Initially unrecognizable to police, it was finally found to be of a 24-year-old married girl, Waziran. Her father and husband accuse each other of her murder. A joint investigation team (JIT) has been set to investigate the incident. According to local witnesses, the murder was carried out in the name of honor.Marks on the body show that Waziran was pelted with stones and repeatedly hit with a wooden stick. Waziran is another innocent soul that has lost her life to the menace of honor

Success story: There is a reduction in terrorist recruits after Article 370 abrogation

11Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Success story: There is a reduction in terrorist recruits after Article 370 abrogation

Shopian district in South Kashmir has been home to a number of terrorists over the years and Tariq Mohand, a carpenter from village Heff in Shopian district was one of the victims of the terrorists who abducted him the evening of July 8, 2018, tortured through the night and killed him.His body was recovered from a nearby village next morning.Tariq was the cousin of a terrorist named Bilal Mohand who was killed in an encounter in May 2018. He was buried in a normal graveyard in his village. Villagers had huge resentment against the gruesome act and the terrorists were condemned unequivocally.Two days after killing him, the terrorists labelled Tariq as a “martyr”. His body was exhumed four days after the murder and buried in the “martyrs’ graveyard” of the village. His family, including his

Accused of ‘Defaming Islam’, Bangladesh blogger fears for family

11Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Accused of ‘Defaming Islam’, Bangladesh blogger fears for family

Accused of defaming Islam, Bangladeshi blogger and secular activist Asaduzzaman Noor, fears for the safety of his family living at Amtali Upzila of Barguna district (around 320 km south of Dhaka).He says that his family is being harassed by the government for posting a Facebook video criticizing alleged appropriation of a Buddhist temple.Noor has been in hiding — in Bangladesh and abroad — for past several years after receiving death threats from Islamist groups for defending a Buddhist monk, and 10 Minute School, a pro-LGBTQ platform.He has been charged under the Digital Security Act, 2018, for defaming Islam — an offence punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years. Amnesty International has described the law as a serious threat to freedom of expression in Bangladesh.Bloggers, social me

Article 370: How Modi government changed status of Kashmir

9Aug

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Opinion

Article 370: How Modi government changed status of Kashmir

On August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi government in the Centre brought two resolutions related to Jammu and Kashmir. The first revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the second resolution was for bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.This step fulfilled a much-awaited demand of the RSS-BJP, since the days of Bharatiya Jan Sangh, whose leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee died in a Kashmir prison, campaigning against the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.Article 370, combined with Article 35A, accorded Jammu and Kashmir special status under the Constitution of India, allowing it to have a separate constitution and a separate penal code among other legal distinctions.Article 370 is a temporary provision in relation to Jammu ...

Subscribe to our newsletter