A lot of the factors towards which the government has pointed to justify its moves on Jammu and Kashmir are in fact valid. Only, most of them have little to do with Article 370, says David Devadas.
Sayeed said his government was committed to bring the displaced community back but ruled out setting up 'Israeli-type' separate clusters
The two leaders discussed steps needed to bring peace back to the Valley, where student protests against police actions have been gaining ground in recent days.
'The ideal thing that should be done in Kashmir is call for an election -- before the end of the year.'
'India should be able to weather the storm, given its enhanced standing among the major powers. However, India's international clout is partly from its rapidly growing emerging economy and a large and expanding commercial market. 'If the Indian economy continues to slow and protectionist barriers advance, then our international clout will also diminish. The international fallout from bringing the Valley to heel may be more difficult to handle,' says Shyam Saran.
'Everyone wants justice. I assure you that we have given free hand to the security agencies to eliminate the enemies of humanity, and soon the terrorists and those aiding and abetting them will pay for their heinous crimes,' he said.
He said the Centre was creating an environment in the Valley which gives people a chance to raise questions.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa talks to security experts about the possibility of militancy returning to the Kashmir Valley in the eventuality of Narendra Modi becoming the prime minister
Lieutenant Umer Fayaz was abducted by five to six terrorists from his relative's house in south Kashmir's Shopian on Tuesday night. His bullet riddled body was found in Harmain area of Shopian on Wednesday morning, a police official said.
Peeved over the silence of leaders of separatist groups, their factions in Pakistan and in occupied-Kashmir are making desperate attempts to foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir by giving calls from across the border for 'bandhs' and strikes to mark the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, officials said.
The case relates to alleged terror funding in 2017 in the valley and involves Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind based in Pakistan.
The Jammu and Kashmir government is making constant efforts to bring back Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley as without them, Kashmir is incomplete, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday.
'The larger narrative doing the rounds was anti-Hindu, anti-India.' 'Despite the affinity, one could feel the lurking hostility.'
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad during his retirement speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday summed up his more than four-decade-old political career in few Urdu couplets and a brief speech.
The chargesheet, filed by the State Investigation Agency, has highlighted several instances where parents were taken across the border using valid travel documents but were later compelled to pay extra money for their wards' admission to universities and colleges there.
Girls in the Kashmir valley hurling defiance at the security forces will detract from the legitimacy of India's response and its standing in the world, says Ajai Shukla.
From working as a labourer on a daily wage of Rs 60 to fetching an Indian Premier League contract worth Rs 20 lakh, Jammu and Kashmir batsman Manzoor Dar has covered a distance more awe-inspiring than the 100-metre sixes he is known for.
New Delhi has repeatedly missed opportunities for political engagement in Kashmir in the past. It must seize the next one, says Ajai Shukla.
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.
Gauba said the JKLF spearheaded the separatist ideology in Kashmir Valley and the action was taken following the 'zero tolerance' policy of the central government against terrorism.
'The one thing India has over these two States, whose toughness awes us, is our ability to embrace diversity with ease. 'The way ahead lies in learning from Vajpayee's method, not in Xi Jinping's,' says Shekhar Gupta.
For a Valley on the boil, there is ample proof that New Delhi simply does not care.
Reaching out to the youth of the Kashmir Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spelled out initiatives for peace and development, and assured they will not inherit the problems faced by their parents and grandparents.
The killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani is a huge victory for security forces, a security expert has observed, adding that it would have huge repercussions and ramifications.
Women will have a decisive say as chairpersons in seven of Jammu and Kashmir's 20 districts.
'If the National Conference and PDP make handsome electoral gains in the valley and call for the restoration of the former state's lost status, how will the rulers in Delhi respond?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, received 174 votes -- two more than the simple majority of 172.
Amid growing tensions in Jammu and Kashmir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed has pledged full support to the Kashmiris in their struggle for freedom and said he backed 'jihad' in the troubled state in concert with Pakistani government and the army.
The NIA arrested the three during in-chamber proceedings before Special Judge Rakesh Syal and sought 15-day custodial interrogation.
The names of 2.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits have been erased from the electoral rolls on the pretext that they do not have records to prove that they belong to the valley, a delegation said.
Most of these new recruits came from Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in South Kashmir, which had become the hub of tech-savvy, young militants.
People, who have been virtually been kept indoors because of heavy security deployment in the wake of removal of special status for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state, were allowed to go to mosques in their localities without being asked any questions by security personnel.
'For the government, statehood is one of the end-points of the journey. A vast distance has to be traversed to reach there. There are many turns on the road, some resting points, and possibly, many cul-de-sacs.'
Addressing the media amid tight security at the Centre Press Club in Muzaffarabad for the first time since the US declared him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" on June 27, Salahuddin rejected the US decision and said he was a freedom fighter and not a terrorist.
A weaker Russia, a sobered China at a time when Xi Jinping is manoeuvring to protect his third term prospects, a reunited West, a chaotic Pakistan. This is a perfect set of strategic circumstances. It is for India now to consummate this historic opportunity, argues Shekhar Gupta.
At a time when the Kashmir valley has been shut down, it is perhaps appropriate that we remember Lal Ded, Kashmir's best known spiritual and literary figure, someone remembered with divine adoration both by Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir. A fascinating excerpt from Sandhya Mulchandani's For The Love Of God: Women Poet Saints Of The Bhakti Movement.
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