Ganderbal was once the bastion of the Abdullah family but this time around, the electoral battle in this north Kashmir assembly constituency is being fought sans the Abdullah's.
'The politicians waiting to grab the space left behind by Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti do not have any credentials,' says Athar Parvaiz.
'Some Pakistani generals are saying -- a little more so now than before -- that the biggest threat to Pakistan is not external -- not India -- but internal.' 'The proof of that will be their change of policies and that is going to be the challenge,' Rakesh Sood, one of India's most distinguished diplomats, tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in Washington, DC.
With talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Peoples Democratic Party on government formation in Jammu and Kashmir making no headway, the state seems to be headed for a spell of governor's rule.
Rather than contesting the state elections from Ganderbal, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister will be contesting the state elections from Sonwar and Beerwah, reports Mukhtar Ahmad.
>All old signposts have been uprooted and milestones bulldozed. New ones have yet to emerge. The old order stands degraded in the new landscape whose contours are indistinct, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'Nehru's hegemonic politics has been responsible for many ills, which undoubtedly includes Kashmir'
Security will be a consideration, as would protocol, but given Modi's penchant for the unconventional, it should not come as a surprise if he indeed decides to attend the ceremony in Kabul, says Ramesh Ramachandran.
The government also appointed Dr Vinod Paul, a pediatrician at the AIIMS, as a member of the NITI Aayog
What used to be confined to homes as a winter garment has become a political and cultural symbol, with most leaders and many citizens donning the long cloak at offices and their places of work, observes Athar Parvaiz.
'He knows India is going nowhere.' 'India will never let go of Kashmir, so he wants to settle with India.' 'Settle honourably with peace, dignity and justice.'
The Union home ministry on direction of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is preparing a road map for relocation of the security forces in the Kashmir Valley -- the major demand of agitators across the state. Unified command of the security forces in the Valley is also involved in this process.
'Anybody who speaks up, anybody who reports something that the government feels uncomfortable with, or comments on anything could be charged with criminal cases, could be summoned to police stations, slapped around or grilled for several hours. This has become a new norm.'
The situation in the Valley is tense as the fresh order directing the zonal SPs to provide the list of mosques here and its management committees has added to speculation about some major decision in the offing regarding Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Alleging that V K Singh had not only damaged the reputation of the army but also of India, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said the former army chief should be stripped of the title of Colonel of Rajput Regiment for "lying".
The ruling National Conference-Congress coalition in Jammu and Kashmir received a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections as the coalition could not win even a single seat of the 6 in the state.
The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) deepened as the treasurer of the body, Manzoor Wazir tendered his resignation following the ongoing feud between valley-based players and chief coach Bishen Singh Bedi.
It is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi, officials in Washington believe, US President Barack Obama has found an Indian leader who is willing to walk the talk to realise the common goals of the two countries. Lalit K Jha reports
'...for three hours to the seven or eight of us who spoke at the meeting.' 'Talking together and allowing us to express our thoughts on these important issues is a good beginning.'
'If the virulence of COVID-19 has muted the toxicity of the BJP's communalism, it will be an example of good coming out of the pandemic,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
The BCCI's marketing committee headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah will meet here on March 7 to decide on floating tenders for finding a new broadcast partner for international and domestic cricket ties hosted by the Board in the 2012-13 season.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said she was undergoing tests at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for a kidney transplant.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday lifted the ban on SMS on the prepaid mobile phone services in the state.
Friends of former Union minister and senior Janata Dal-United leader George Fernandes on Tuesday made an appeal, endorsed by many eminent personalities like Union ministers Farooq Abdullah, Jaswant Singh, business tycoon Rahul Bajaj, eminent dancer Dr Sonal Mansingh among others.
Jammu and Kashmir politicians have welcomed the Union home minister's decision to possibly reduce the number of troops in the state.
Sixteen Congress secretaries drafted a letter on September 2 to be sent to party general secretaries and Congress Working Committee members, criticising senior leaders (without names, of course!) for their comments, asking the old guard to introspect about what went wrong at the general election.
The governor requested the political leaders to ask their supporters to maintain calm and not believe exaggerated and unfounded rumours being circulated all around.
Syed Abdullah Bukhari, former Imam of Jama Masjid in New Delhi, passed away on Wednesday following prolonged illness.
The centres would be set up as a result of the memoranda of understanding signed by the UAE earlier with several labour-sending countries, Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, minister of labour, said. They are expected to curb the exploitation of workers by unscrupulous agents.
A 60-minute video of Chua, a married man with three children, showed the minister performing sexual acts with his unnamed female friend in a hotel room from four different angles.
India strongly condemned the terror attack, saying targeting of a religious place in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak reflects the "diabolical mindset" of the perpetrators and their backers.
'The BJP's all-India plans can be expected to become clearer around 2022-2023, particularly if -- as some anticipate -- the senior Congress leadership cracks, broadly as between the Nehru-Gandhi loyalists and those who may be termed 'pro-changers',' observes Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer.
Putin, who is heading a high-level delegation, will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26.
Since Friday evening, 41-year-old Shemir, who works as a logistics manager in Dubai Silicon Oasis, has been making frantic phone calls to different trauma centres in Kerala near the Kozhikode airport to get information of his family members on board the flight.
Last week's heavy snowfall seems to have affected electioneering in Kashmir. South Kashmir's Anantnag and the prestigious Srinagar constituencies go to polls on April 24 and April 30 in the five phased Lok Sabha polls in the state.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com presents the names of 10 global terrorists who, according to United Nations Security Council, are operating against India from Pakistan.
