Terror activities of some right-wing groups and Maoist violence will be high on agenda at the Chief Ministers' conference on internal security to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on February 1.
Despite heavy snowfall in Srinagar, the rally to mark the culmination of Bharat Jodo Yatra went ahead, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other prominent leaders of opposition parties addressing the march.
Will BJP campaigners start using the term 'Ram Rajya' to refer to the nation under Modi's rule, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The escalating situation in the Kashmir valley is the vanguard actions of global jihad, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd). And in this battle, he believes, perception management operations will be just important as operations to neutralise the terrorists.
The three hour-long meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on Monday evening failed to determine how best to control the ongoing violence in Kashmir Valley, except to decide to hold an all party meeting on September 15 to discuss the issue with the opposition parties.
Communalising law and order situations is fraught with danger; we need to tread cautiously. Interjecting a communal angle into what is purely a law and order issue does nobody good; it muddies the picture, fuels unrequited passion and distracts us from the core issue, says Vivek Gumaste.
'Assam Rifles have prevented a large number of genocides and killings.'
Firmly backing the state government in dealing with the violence in the Kashmir valley, the Centre today said that anti-national forces that were fomenting trouble were clearly linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
'I was never interested to work as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs'
Heavy deployment of police and Central Reserve Police Force manning roads, lanes and traffic intersections disallowed all pedestrian and vehicular movement in old city areas of Srinagar, which in the last 5 days witnessed fierce clashes between security forces and protestors.
India and Pakistan should resolve their differences over the Kashmir issue peacefully through dialogue and consultation, China said on Friday on the third anniversary of the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
'The relationship between Kashmiri Pandits and Article 370 is vexed.' 'Sentiment in Jammu towards Article 370 was largely unfavourable and Jammu resented being lumped with Kashmir and placed on a different footing from the rest of India.'
Mounting tensions in Kashmir has come as a shot in the arm for the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, which has been looking desperately for a reason to keep the Valley on the boil.
More companies of the Central Reserve Police Force were rushed to Srinagar on Thursday to reinforce the security bandobast in the valley where curfew was imposed on Wednesday. The army conducted flag marches in sensitive areas of the capital on Thursday afternoon to assist the civil administration in the enforcement of the curfew imposed in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met in New Delhi on Monday to discuss a package for Jammu and Kashmir hit by a fresh bout of violence since Eid last Saturday.
The meeting comes close on the heels of a clear message from the Centre to the chief minister to control the growing unrest in the state.
The state police on Friday arrested one of the two activists of the hardline Hurriyat Conference who were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to engineer violence in Kashmir valley by planning the killing of 10 to 15 people during a procession. The police swooped down at a place on Narbal-Magam Road and arrested Shabir Ahmed Wani, district president of the Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti reacted sharply when asked if there was any truth in the allegation that her party has been providing money to some Kashmiris to stage-manage the ongoing violence in the valley.
The bench said the statements made by Bhim Singh may not be 'relevant judicially' but they may be 'relevant politically'.
Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to visit the Valley on Saturday.
Targeted killings in Srinagar and in South Kashmir have inspired fear among migrant labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh plying their trade in the Kashmir Valley.
Hundreds others were wounded many of whom received bullet and pellet injuries and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
With 32 people being killed in Assam, the Centre on Sunday said it is determined to curb attacks on minorities as the violence there was aimed at starting a "full-fledged communal conflagration".
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to arrive in Srinagar on a two-day visit later in the day, official sources said.
"He (Modi) has created an environment in Jammu and Kashmir of hatred and anger, and the only people who benefit from violence and hatred are the Pakistanis," the Congress vice president said.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and non-local labourers by militants was to keep terrorism alive in Kashmir.
The Delhi high court on Friday sought a status report from the police in relation to the alleged attack outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier this week and said that an "element of fear" was sought to be created by the "unruly crowd" and the police force at the spot was "inadequate" and "outnumbered".
Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday rejected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement alleging them of stepping up violence with the help of elements from across the border."Kashmiris are struggling peacefully for their birthright but India uses its military power to suppress the peaceful and justified struggle," chairman of hard-line faction of Hurriyat Syed Ali Shah Geelani said.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Tayiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
The army has quietly moved an entire brigade into south Kashmir to clear it of militants and protesters.
Gandhi rued that the fourth estate was showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's face round-the-clock and not raising issues like unemployment or inflation.
The Centre and state governments have shied away from highlighting the ISI's attempts to displace Hindus and create corridors of sympathetic demography to further their designs especially along the communication arteries from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.
Opposition parties will hold the next meeting of their 26-member INDIA coalition in Mumbai on August 25 and 26, sources said on Thursday.
"My appeal is for calm. We have to sit down, put our heads together and see if we can find a way out of this situation. So everybody, who is in anyway involved in Jammu-Kashmir, needs to introspect and see what we can do to stop it. It is not person or one organisation which can do it (alone)," the top army commander said.
2016 saw the worst unrest in the Kashmir valley in 26 years.
"The government is willing to talk to every person or group in Kashmir which abjures violence, within the framework of the Constitution," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday. "Unrest in Jammu and Kashmir over the last few weeks is a matter of concern," said Dr Singh, adding, "The youth of Kashmir are our citizens and their grievances have to be addressed." The prime minister was speaking on the vicious cycle of violence and killing of civilians in firing.
The Bharat Nyay Yatra will be mostly covered by bus along with short stretches of walking.
Before the advent of militancy 15 years ago, Kashmir was popular with film-makers and tourists, but the violence that has now claimed more than 40,000 lives has damaged both industries.
