Tag: Article 370

Demand of some Kashmiri Pandits to restore Art 370 illogical, lacks historical support
4Aug By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Demand of some Kashmiri Pandits to restore Art 370 illogical, lacks historical support

In a vibrant democracy like India’s, every decision can be challenged and the same happened last year on August 5, with the Central government announcing to abrogate Articles 370 and 35A, creating two Union Territories out of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). While the local political parties, which had warned of serious consequences, have been immobilized and national parties have turned cautious in voicing their objections, an organization named ‘Reconciliation, Relief and Rehabilitation’ headed by Satish Mahaldar demanded the restoration of Article 370 in J&K.The organization comprises Kashmiri ‘Pandits’, which itself is a highly ambiguous expression since the term used to indicate Shaivite Pancha Gouda Saraswat Brahmins of Kashmir and there is nothing wrong in identifying
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Decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances: LG Murmu
4Aug By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

Decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances: LG Murmu

Ahead of the first-year-anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation from Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has revealed that decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken under extreme circumstances.Murmu also said that Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed tremendous development in the last year. "Some people are seeing electricity for the first time in 70 years," he said.Murmu, 60, an IAS officer of the 1985 batch, worked as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's additional principal secretary during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister. He became the administrative head of Kashmir and Jammu provinces after the Central government, on August 5, 2019, abrogated special status of the erstwhile state and also announced its bifurcation into two Union Territories (UT) - Ladakh,
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Kashmiri Pandits slam demand for restoration of J&K’s special status
31Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia, Opinion

Kashmiri Pandits slam demand for restoration of J&K’s special status

Displaced Kashmiri Pandits of India have slammed the demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and statehood, raised by an organization called Reconciliation, Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrant Kashmiris, saying that the demand gives a false impression that Kashmiri Pandits are against the abrogation of Article 370.The Kashmiri Pandits have claimed that the organization, headed by Satish Mahaldar, did not represent displaced Kashmiri Pandits and was backed by Hurriyat Conference, a group of Kashmiri separatist parties.On July 27, Satish Mahaldar had said that a state has never been downgraded and this is not done in a democracy. Mahaldar had demanded the restoration of the statehood and special status provided to Jammu and Kashmir under the original Article 370.Res...
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Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention
30Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

Pakistan’s information war campaign against India needs attention

Pakistan’s vicious information war campaign against India has been triggered by three incidents: The Balakot attack of February 2019, the return of the BJP government in the May 2019 elections and the August 2019 revision of Article 370.Pakistan’s longstanding assumption that the nuclear equivalence guaranteed that India would not retaliate against terrorist attacks was demolished by Balakot. The return of the BJP government to Centre signaled that India would continue to follow a muscular policy for the next five years. The abrogation of Article 370 demolished the centerpiece of Pakistan’s nationalism — “Kashmir banega Pakistan” (Kashmir will be Pakistan) — and raised apprehensions about India’s plans for Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK).These developments have forced Pakistan t
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India’s ruling party plans mega celebrations to mark first anniversary of Article 370 roll back in J&K
30Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

India’s ruling party plans mega celebrations to mark first anniversary of Article 370 roll back in J&K

The current ruling political party of India, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir has decided to mark the first anniversary of revocation of Article 370 with mega celebrations from August 5 for 15 days.The party leadership believes that the decision taken last year has helped restore peace in the region, however, the coronavirus pandemic has been a spoilsport as far as the development of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) union territory is concerned.BJP General Secretary Ashok Koul has said that a 15-day long program has been chalked out to celebrate one year of 2019’s August 5 decision - scraping the Article 370 and bifurcating the erstwhile J&K State into two Union Territories (UTs)— Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.“As far as the restoration of peace in the J&K UT is c
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How people sitting in cozy rooms provoke Kashmiris to pick up guns
29Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

How people sitting in cozy rooms provoke Kashmiris to pick up guns

On August 5 last year, the Central government in India took the decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, bifurcating the valley into two Union Territories —Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.While on one side, the decision by the Narendra Modi-led government has paved the way for integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India, on the other side, it is alleged that many people, sitting in the far-off US, are using the abrogation of Article 370 to incite Kashmiris to pick up stones and guns.One such man named Tony Ashai, who describes himself as a “Kashmiri-American dedicated to Kashmir and its people” on Twitter, has been posting tweets to incite violence.“Why do I feel that Kashmiris living in Kashm
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In Imran Khan’s 18-point Kashmir plan for Aug 5, outreach to Turkey, Malaysia and China
29Jul By Grace TsoiNo Comments
World

In Imran Khan’s 18-point Kashmir plan for Aug 5, outreach to Turkey, Malaysia and China

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has roped in his country’s notorious spy agency accused of colluding with terrorist organization - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - in his elaborate 18-point plan to commemorate the August 5 anniversary of India scrapping Article 370, sources said.Under the 18-point programme, Imran Khan is scheduled to visit Pakistan occupied Kashmir where he is supposed to address the assembly, a speech that is going to be beamed live. Then, before Khan reaches Muzaffarabad, Pakistan government intends a field trip for foreign journalists to the occupied territory, with the exception of terror training camps funded by the ISI – a behaviour observed in the past.On August 5 last year, India had tabled the law in Rajya Sabha to strip the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kas
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Indian education board adds scrapping of Article 370 to class XII syllabus
29Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

Indian education board adds scrapping of Article 370 to class XII syllabus

In the Indian political history, August 05, 2019 will now forever be remembered as the day which changed the fate of Jammu and Kashmir as the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) has now revised a chapter in its Class 12 political science textbook to remove a portion on separatist politics in Jammu and Kashmir and add abrogation of Article 370.On August 5, 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir through an amendment and also scrapped Article 35 A, and the state was bifurcated into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without a legislature. The bifurcation came into force on October 31, 2019.The NCERT textbook in which these changes have been ...
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Pakistan tries to heat up LoC, 41 militants killed this month in stepped-up J&K ops
9Jul By Yusara AskariNo Comments
Asia

Pakistan tries to heat up LoC, 41 militants killed this month in stepped-up J&K ops

As India continues its scuffle at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan has not seen any dip in ceasefire violations intensity this year, raising the threat of two active military fronts at the same time.In May alone, there have been 382 ceasefire violations (CFVs) recorded on the LoC and 302 in June so far, rising sharply from 221 and 181 CFVs recorded during these months last year. Along with those statistics, security forces have killed 41 militants in the month of June itself.Official data shows that there have been 2215 CFVs recorded on the LoC till June 25 this year. A total of 3168 CFVs were recorded in 2019, and 1629 in 2018.This sudden spike in CFVs can be attributed to the government’s decision last August to abrogate Article 370 in
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2Jul By Stuart WhiteNo Comments
Opinion

New domicile law in Jammu & Kashmir

In view of the removal of Article 370 of Indian constitution by the Indian parliament on August 5 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs recently issued an order that substitutes the term “permanent resident” with “domiciles of UT of J&K” (new Kashmir domicile law). This has become a matter of concern in both Jammu region and Kashmir valley, which are now constituent parts of the newly created Union Territory of J&K.The new Kashmir domicile law, effectively speaking, takes the power of defining “permanent resident” from the erstwhile assembly of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, and introduces a new category of “domiciles” of the Union Territory of J&K.The new law allows entry of nonresidents (defined by the now revoked Article 35A) into the state along with giving them access to t
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