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25 Rabi-ul-Awwal | 1436 Hijri | Vol: 18 | Issue: 14 | Pages : 08 | Price: `3
8
Ex-AAP leader Shazia Ilmi joins BJP
w w w. k a s h m i r o b s e r v e r. n e t
satuRDaY 17 JanuaRY 2015
Wisdom
The law will never
make men free, it is
men that have to
make the law free.
...........Henry David Thoreau
(1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.
Fire Engulfs
Poonch Forest
POONCH: There seems to be no let
up in forest fire along Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district which
has caused several mine blasts.
An official said that the fire initially started from across the LoC and
then spread to Sona gali under 15
Maha regiment in Mankote.
He said the fire has spread on the
area of two to three kilometers. He
blamed Pakistan army for the fire
and alleged: “The Pakistan army
deliberately put bushes on their
side on fire in order to clear track
for the militants to infiltrate,” the
official claimed.
The officials have also made similar claims in the past. (GNS)
Major Infiltration
Bid Foiled
POOnch: A ‘major infiltration’ bid
was foiled by army along Lone of
Control (LoC) in Balakote sector of
Poonch on Thursday late night, official sources said.
They told GNS that a group of militants tried to infiltrate at around 10
pm at Turkundi forest along LoC.
“However, when troopers of 6 Rajputna Rifles noticed some movement, they opened fire towards
the infiltrators triggering clash
between two sides,” sources said.
The firing between the two sides
continued for about two Page 6
Kargil Shivers at -11
Deg Celsius
srinaGar: The bone-chilling cold
returned as the night temperature
plunged below the freezing point
across Kashmir division after a
brief respite owing to the rains in
plains and snowfall in high altitude areas early this week.
The night temperature fell below the freezing point across the
Valley after the four-day respite
owing to cloud cover, a spokesman
of the MeT office said.
The spokesperson said Srinagar
registered a dip of nearly three
degrees in the night temperature
which settled at minus 2.3 degrees
after remaining above the freezing
point for the past four Page 6
Kashmir
Observer
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Travel to Srinagar
Drop your ads/
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/ Srinagar Today: MoSTly Sunny
MaxiMuM: 12oC / MiniMuM: -1oC / HuMidiTy : 75% / SunSeTS Today... 05:21 PM / SunriSeS ToMorrow... 07.24 aM
Sharnarthi Settlement Row
JKLF Stages Protest,
Yasin Malik Held
srinaGar: Jammu and Kashmir
Liberation Front Friday staged a
protest demonstration against
the central government’s proposal to grant citizenship rights
to the refugees from Pakistan
settled in Jammu province.
Reports said that JKLF activists
assembled near Maqbool Manzil
Maisuma and took out a protest
march soon after Friday prayers.
The protestors, carrying banners
and placards denouncing the proposed move, raised anti-India slogans and proceeded towards city
centre Lal Chowk. In a bid to foil the
attempt of JKLF activists, large contingent of police and para-military
personnel sealed the entry points
to Lal Chowk and detained scores
of JKLF workers, including Malik.
Police sources said that they
detained all but 10 to 12 activists
Hurriyat Vows To
protect Muslim
identity of JK
endless Wait:
New MlAs can’t
Draw salaries,
claim perks
srinaGar: Recently elected
members of legislative assembly will not get their handsome
salary and other perks this
month. Reason, they have yet
to take oath of office.
Since a hung verdict and
little progress in government
formation forced Governor NN
Vohra to promulgate his rule in
the state some 85 men and two
women elected to the Assembly could not take their oaths,
leaving them unable to draw
salaries, claim perks, help voters or intervene in governance.
Economic Times quoting an
unnamed MLA reported Friday
that after working Page 6
petrol price cut
by rs 2.42/litre
Diesel cheaper by Rs 2.25
neW DeLhi: State-run oil marketing companies Friday cut petrol
price by Rs.2.42 a litre and that of
diesel by Rs.2.25 per litre.
At the same time, the government
Friday raised the excise duty on both
petrol and diesel by Rs.2 a litre.
The reduction would have been almost double but for the government
also raising excise duty by Rs 2 per litre on both petrol and diesel on Friday.
This is the ninth straight reduction in petrol prices since August,
and fifth in diesel since Page 6
Will Fight Tooth
& Nail: Malik
Police detaining JKLF leader Yasin Malik in Budshah Chowk- Pix Mushtaq Reshi
whom they identified as Advocate
Bashir Ahmed Bhat, Noor Muhammad Kalwal, Bashir Kashmiri,
Sheikh Rashid and others.
Reports said that soon after the
arrest of Malik, the agitated Page 6
Moments before his detention,
JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin
Malik told reporters that Kashmiri
people would fight tooth and nail
the move to grant citizenship
rights to refuges from erstwhile
West Pakistan. “These refugees
are not the permanent residents of
Jammu and Kashmir and we will
launch an agitation in case government of India grants citizenship
rights and other concessions to
these refugees,” Malik said and alleged that the BJP was hell-bent to
change the demographic character
of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that Jammu Kashmir
is a land full of forests and water
bodies and such lands are Page 6
srinaGar: While terming the recommendations of the parliamentary committee regarding the West Pakistan
refugees as fiddling with fire, Hurriyat Conference (G) Friday announced that they will resist the move tooth and
nail in every possible way and nobody will be allowed to “damage the Muslim identity and the demography of the
state.” In a statement a spokesman of Hurriyat (G) said, “On the return of Geelani sahib from New Delhi, we will
discuss this grave issue in detail and a strategy will be formulated to stop this process. Actually RSS had Page 6
Slain Militants Buried Amidst Protests
srinaGar: Thousands of people
took part in funeral prayers of five
slain militants in their respective
villages on Friday.
The funeral prayers were held
separately in four villages including
at Pakharpora, Kandi Aglar, Batmandan and Arwani. The militants were
buried amid intense sloganeering in
favour of freedom.
In a fierce gun battle, five militants
were killed in Gadder Forest in Kellar area of South Kashmir’s Shopian
district on Thursday. Three slain militants were hailing from South Kashmir while one militant belonged to
Pakherpora in Budgam district.
The funeral prayer of Pakistani
militant commander, Muhammad
Toyib, was offered along with Shakeel Ahmad Wani in Pakharpora.
The three other militants were identified as Tahir, Ashfaq and Parvez.
Meanwhile, Hurriyat Conference
Officer misused flood
relief, dumped it in
Bijbehara: Veery
Sameer Ahmad
ananTnaG: Employees staged a
flash strike after member of Legislative Council and senior National Conference leader, Dr Bashir
Ahmad Shah (Veeri) allegedly
slapped a senior administrative
official inside Anantnag Deputy
Commissioners office, reports said.
MLC was reportedly furious at
alleged misuse the relief meant
for the flood survivors.
The Incident took place inside
the office DC Office on Thursday
when MLC Bashir Ahmad Veeri
lost cool while enquiring about
the alleged fraud done in the
distribution of flood relief material and slapped the Additional
Deputy Commissioner.
Sources said that soon after
the incident, dozens of employees struck their work and staged
a protest demonstration against
the NC leader.
Protesting employees were
demanding registration of FIR
against the NC leader.
"We will continue our protest
till police registers FIR against
the legislator who resorted to
vulgarism and slapped the senior
government officer inside the office of Deputy Commissioner,"
said Mohammad Akbar, a protesting employee. He further said
that employees will be on strike
till the Anantnag Police does not
take any action against the guilty.
Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Syed Tasaduq Geelani and
Chief Planning Officer were present inside the DC office when
the incident took place, sources
revealed.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Shabir
Ahmad refused to take calls
from Kashmir Observer. However hundreds of National
Conference workers countered
the employees by holding
anti-administration protests
inside DC office. They raised
high pitched slogans against
the official and accused him
of distributing the flood relief
material among the workers of
Peoples Democratic Party.
MLC Bashir Ahmad Veeri on
being contacted denied the allegations. "How could I slap an
official, I am myself a legislature
and know the law of the land.
Tone of my argument was slightly high which the official misused to hide his corrupt deals,"
Veery alleged.
Veery alleged that the accused
officer distributed relief in non
flood affected areas. "They have
dumped the relief aid in forest
division Bijbehara and are distributing the aid in non-flood affected areas which is unacceptable to us." Veeri said.
Pertinently, after poll results
were announced, people in this
southern district have held numerous protest demonstrations
against the administration and
have accused them of disbursing
the relief material on political
considerations.
We Will coNTiNue our proTesT till police
registers FIR against the legislator who resorted
to vulgarism and slapped the senior government
officer inside the office of Deputy Commissioner,"
A woman with tearful eyes watching the funeral of a slain militant in Pakherpora,
Budgam- Pix Abid Bhat
(G) Chairman Syed Ali Geelani addressed gathering over phone. “The
struggle would continue till last In-
GOI Concerned About
Rising Road Accidents in JK
srinaGar: The Union Minister of
Transport Friday said that the Central government was concerned
about the increasing number of
road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the state government to take stern action against
the traffic violators.
He said that JK government
should constitute special checking
squads to curb the increasing road
accidents.
“Road accidents, especially on
National Highway in Jammu and
MLC Slaps
Anantnag ADC,
Employees Protest
Kashmir, are assuming alarming
proportions. In every state there are
standard rules and instructions for
vehicle drivers about how to drive
safe in mountainous regions but
unfortunately the state of Jammu
and Kashmir is not implementing
the standard rules for road safeties,” Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said.
The statement comes three days
after at least nine persons including three members of a family were
killed in deadly road Page 6
dian solider leaves Kashmir,” he told
the mourners.
In his address, Geelani Page 6
us Hails pak Ban on
JuD, india skeptical
TRANS ASIA NEWS
neW DeLhi: News reports that Pakistan is contemplating banning several terrorist organisations including
the Haqqani network and Jamaatud-Dawa (JuD) along with 10 other
terror groups have been received
with raised eyebrows and a pinch
of salt in India whereas, the US welcomed the possibility, calling it an
important step towards eliminating
terrorist activities in that country.
The JuD was banned in 2008 after
the Mumbai attacks. The Page 6
RTI Reveals Murky Deals
in Urban Forest Division
srinaGar: At a time when Jammu
and Kashmir government is facing severe financial crunch, officers in Forest Department have wasted funds
worth crores of rupees either on unproductive or non-existential works.
RTI details have revealed that
during the financial year 2013-14
only one division of the Department (Urban Forestry Division
Srinagar) spent more than Rs 3.75
crore from non-plan, district plan,
state plan, 13th finance, CAMPA
and other allotments.
The RTI No: 3148-49/UF/L dated
25-06-2014 reveals that DFO Urban Forest Division Srinagar spent
a whopping Rs 22.40 lakh on just
maintenance of buildings. Out of Rs
22.40 lakh, the DFO shows he spent
Rs 12.66 lakh on maintenance of
building in March 2014 while Rs
6.33 lakhs were spent on the same
head in February 2014. However,
the RTI doesn’t reveal on which
building the money was spent and
what type of maintenance was carried out.
Not only this, the RTI details
show expenditure of Rs 6.20 lakh
on unknown trainings in March
2014. Similarly, in the telephone expenditure, the Division shows that
it spent Rs 1.60 lakh in March 2014.
Similarly, the RTI details reveal
that construction work worth
crores was carried out by the Division without inviting tenders.
In addition to money, hundreds of
cft of prized Deodar, Kail and Fir
timber has been issued to various
ranges of the Division to carry out
the works.
While 2064.21 cft of timber was
allotted for the works in 2013-14 in
the Division, according to RTI reply,
all the timber got utilized. “Out of
this hundreds of cft of timber was
swindled and sold in the market,”
an official of the Division wishing
anonymity said.
Sources told KNS that Page 6
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17 01 2015 Kashmir Observer
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Phone No: 9796149988, 9906564001
Timing: 10.00 Am To 9.00 Pm
CONSultANCy
knowledge campus
COUnSElling thE COUntry
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Divisional Cadre Kashmir: 28 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Junior Assistant: 07 Posts
Librarian: 01 Post
Works Supervisor: 02 Posts
Electrician: 01 Post
Pump Operator: 02 Posts
Plumber: 02 Posts
Accountant-Cum-Storekeeper: 05 Posts
Head Weaver: 03 Posts
Assistant Extension Officer: 03 Posts
Finishing Master: 01 Post
Knitting Instructor: 01 Post
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Electrician: 02 Posts
Junior Assistant: 05 Posts
Works Supervisor: 06 Posts
Pump Operator: 01 Post
Plumber: 05 Posts
Accountant-Cum-Storekeeper: 03 Posts
Tailor Master: 03 Posts
Social Worker/ Superintendent of Homes: 06 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 08 Posts
ANM/ FMPHW: 04 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stock Assistant: 10 Posts
Junior Assistant: 04 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Stock Assistant: 11 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 05 Posts
Warper-Cum-Winder: 01 Post
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 01 Post
Jr.Dental Technician: 01 Post
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Stock Assistant: 01 Post
Jr.Dental Technician: 07 Posts
Warper-Cum-Winder: 01 Post
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
Divisional Cadre Jammu: 31 Posts
District Cadre Anantnag: 19 Posts
District Cadre Bandipora: 18 Posts
District Cadre Baramulla: 18 Posts
accepting responsibility for the future
COMPutECH
Block 13
Driver: 01 Post
Junior Scale Stenographer: 02 Posts
Junior Engineer (Civil): 235 Posts
Junior Engineer (Mechanical): 80 Posts
Junior Assistant: 01 Post
Technician-II: 01 Post
Tehsil Social Welfare Officer/ Superintendent of
Homes: 14 Posts
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SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board
has invited online application forms are invited from the
eligible candidates for participating in the selection process to be followed for the State, Divisional and District
cadre posts for various 620 vacancies and posts such as
Junior Assistant, Junior Scale Stenographer, Store Assistant, Instructor Canning, Medical Record Technician,
Draftsman (Civil), Telephone Operator, Junior Staff Nurse
& Other vacancies. Eligible Permanent residents of J&K
State can apply online from 10-01-2015 to 09-02-2015.
Find out more details of JKSSB in the official notification
which is given below.
Apply Online JKSSB Recruitment 2015
Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB)
has issued recruitment notification of 620 vacancies for
Driver, Junior Scale Stenographer, Junior Engineer (Civil,
Mechanical), Junior Assistant, Technician-II, Librarian,
Electrician and other posts which vary at different cadres
thus here is an complete vacancy details of JKSSB Recruitment 2015.
Vacancy Details of JKSSB Recruitment 2015
Total Number of Vacancies 2015
No of vacancies – 620
Name of the Posts: and Vacancies in each department
State Cadre: 334 Posts
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Phone: 0194- 2312323, 2313725
CELL :- 9906660477
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application foRm
Top Floor, Bolck-13 Mall Opp. Islamia College Of
Science & Commerce Hawal, Srinagar, J&K, India
Phones: 0194-2420386 Mobile: +91-8803314014
Email: [email protected]
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District Cadre Budgam: 07 Posts
District Cadre Ganderbal: 07 Posts
District Cadre Kulgam: 07 Posts
District Cadre Kupwara: 13 Posts
District Cadre Pulwama: 07 Posts
Near islamia college,Hawal,Srinagar-190001
Ph:0194-2410284,09205041260
Email:[email protected]
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District Cadre Shopian: 07 Posts
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Cell No: +91- 9419967015,
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District Cadre Srinagar: 07 Posts
District Cadre Doda: 09 Posts
District Cadre Jammu: 16 Posts
District Cadre Kathua: 15 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 04 Posts
Jr.Dental Technician: 04 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Jr.Dental Technician: 02 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 02 Posts
Warper-Cum-Winder: 02 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 05 Posts
Jr.Dental Technician: 01 Post
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Jr.Dental Technician: 03 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stock Assistant: 04 Posts
Jr.Dental Technician: 03 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Stock Assistant: 01 Post
Jr.Dental Technician: 02 Posts
Warper-Cum-Winder: 01 Post
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Jr.Dental Technician: 02 Posts
Legal Assistant: 01 Post
Junior Legal Assistant: 02 Posts
Junior Scale Stenographer: 01 Post
Junior Assistant: 03 Posts
District Cadre Kishtwar: 09 Posts
District Cadre Poonch: 11 Posts
District Cadre Rajouri: 13 Posts
District Cadre Ramban: 10 Posts
District Cadre Reasi: 14 Posts
District Cadre Samba: 11 Posts
District Cadre udhampur: 09 Posts
Age limit – JKSSB Recruitment 2015
All the aspirants of the above-mentioned posts must
be permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Indian national with a minimum age of as on 01-01-2014,
Open Category (Merit Basis): Candidates age limit
should be 18-40 (Min-Max.) years.
Reserved Category:
• SC/ST/RBA/ALC/OSCcandidate’sagelimitshouldbe
18-43 (Min-Max.) years.
• PhysicallyChallengedcandidate’sagelimitshouldbe
18-42 (Min-Max.) years.
• Ex-Servicemencandidate’sagelimitshouldbe18-48
(Min-Max.) years.
• Government Service/ Contractual employees’ age
limit should be 18-40 (Min-Max.) years.
Educational Qualification- JKSSB Recruitment 2015
Educational qualifications for various posts of JKSSB is
mentioned as below,
• Driver:CandidatesshouldpossessMatriculationand
having Hill Driving License issued by competent authority
• JuniorScaleStenographer:Graduationfromanyrecognized University having minimum speed of 65 and
35 words per minute in Shorthand and Typewriting
respectively for post
• JuniorEngineer(Civil):3yearsDiplomainCivilEngineering from Government recognized Institute/ Indian University Degree in Civil/ Mechanical Engineering
• Junior Engineer (Mechanical): 3 years Diploma in
Mechanical Engineering from Government recognized Institute/ Indian University Degree in Civil/
Mechanical Engineering
• JuniorAssistant:Graduationwithknowledgeoftypewriting at least 35 words speed per minute for post
• Technician-II:DiplomainElectric/Electronics
For more details, o through the Official Notification
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JKSSB Recruitment 2015 Section Process:
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purely on the basis of merit in the corresponding exams
based on Physical/ Type/ Written Test/ interview.
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number specified and printed on the payment Challan
only which can be obtained after successfully applying
for the respective vacancies.
How to Apply for JKSSB Recruitment 2015
Apply for State Cadre, District Cadre and Divisional
Cadre job for which vacancies JKSSB has announced the
recruitment notification dated on 30.12.2014. Only the
permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir are allowed
and eligible to apply for the above-mentioned vacancies
through the official website of JKSSB from 07-01-2015 to
06-02-2015.
Step by Step process to apply for JKSSB Recruitment
of various jobs at various levels,
Step 1: Log in to the official website or JKSSB.
Step 2: Select on Online Applications to get visit
online application webpage. Step 3: Go through the important instructions carefully before filling online application.Step 4: Click on to “Apply” corresponding to the
vacancy.Step 5: Click “Proceed” after reading the instructions.Step 6: Details of all the required fields must be
filled out carefully and upload scanned signatures and
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“Submit” and get the registration slip/Challan with bar
code unique code and save it for future correspondence.
Step 8: Take the printout copies of application & Challan
form for future use and to pay the fees in Bank.
Important Dates:Starting Date to Apply Online: 0701-2015.Last Date to Apply Online: 06-02-2015.
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e
17 01 2015 Kashmir Observer

NEWS

Soz rges Vohra Not To Appoint Advisors
Srinagar: The State Congress
Chief Saif-ud-Din Soz Thursday
suggested Governor N N Vohra
not to appoint advisors and advised him to make the administrative secretaries accountable who have been given the
powers of ministers.
“The present situation suggests that Governor rule will
stretch for a long period in Jammu and Kashmir. So I suppose
Vohra should not appoint the
advisors as it will be difficult
for a common man to reach
them for the solution of their
problems,” Soz told KNS.
He said that the Governor
should make accountable the
secretaries who have been
given the powers of ministers.
“The flood affected people of
Jammu and Kashmir are facing
a lot of day-to-day problems
which needs to be addressed
immediately. It is the duty of
the Governor to resolve the
problems of the people,” Soz
said.
It is to mention here that
Governor has empowered
Chief Secretary and adminis-
trative secretaries to carry out
routine functioning of the administration.
Vohra, who has served as
Governor of J&K from 2008 to
2013, was re-appointed for a
fresh term in 2013 is presently
the head of the state.
Killing of youth by a stray bullet
Authorities Yet To
Honour Court Verdict
Passing out Parade of 92nd batch of constables was held on Friday at RTC, CRPF,
Srinagar Campus.Pix Abid Bhat
Arrest of ‘Rage
Boy’ Shakeel, Kin
Seek Whereabouts
SRINAGAR The family members
of downtown Srinagar youth
nicknamed ‘ Islamic Rage Boy’
by the Western media, Friday
said that they are unaware
about the whereabouts of their
son.
They said that their son Shakeel Ahmed Bhat was rearrested by police soon after court
directed them to release him
from Udhampur jail on January
8 earlier this month.
Shakeel Ahmed Bhat resident of Malik Angan Fateh
Kadal Srinagar is almost continuously in jail for past six
years. He was arrested in
2008 on charges of organizing protests against police and
authorities had slapped the
controversial PSA on him 18
times after court quashed 17
PSA orders. He was released
before Parliament elections but
was arrested shortly before the
start of Assembly polls.
The family members of
Shakeel told CNS that he was
released by court from Udhampur jail on January 8, however
he was soon rearrested by police and taken to some unknown destination.
“Since January 8, we are not
in touch with our son and we
don’t know where he been imprisoned. We appeal to authorities to inform us about the location where the police has kept
him,” family members said.
Meanwhile while, castigating authorities for dis-honouring the court orders and even
not disclosing the location of
Shakeel to his family members,
Democratic Political Movement
General Secretary, Advocate
Muhammad Shafi Reshi said
that the family members of
Shakeel are anxious about him
and want to know about the
state of his health. He alleged
that authorities are trampling
all the tenants of Indian democracy. (CNS)
DAK Aghast At
Denial Of Ambulance
Srinagar: The president of Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK)
Friday expressed shock over the
death of a 3 year old child who
died due to non availability of
ambulance driver at primary
health care centre in north
Kashmir’s Lalpora area of Lolab
in Kupwara district.
In a statement, the DAK president Nisar-ul-Hassan, said: “It
is crime to refer a critically sick
patient in a passenger sumo
who died while on way to Sogam. How can you keep an ambulance without a driver which
is needed round the clock for
ferrying sick patients?”
He said the child could have
been saved if he was put on life
support and ferried in a critical
care ambulance.
“The statement of health officials that the driver was on
leave and there was no substitute is highly irresponsible and
an indicator of the apathy of the
authorities and their disrespect
for human life,” he said, adding:
“It is pathetic that our peripheral health centers lack basic life
saving equipment and ambulances are as good as trucks thus
risking lives of sick patients.”
The DAK president said there
are neither child specialists nor
facilities available in peripheral
health care and all critical pediatric patients are reffered to
Srinagar who invariably die in
transit.
Nisar-ul-Hassan said the
children died to negligence and
guilty must be punished.
Governor Holds
Review Meetings
Srinagar: During a review meeting held at the Raj Bhavan today
Mr. Iqbal Khanday, Chief Secretary, informed the Governor,
Mr. N.N. Vohra, that as advised
by him all the Administrative
Secretaries had been directed
to take time bound action on
every matter of public interest in the Departments under
their charge and to bring about
visible improvement in public
service delivery. The Governor
asked the Chief Secretary to advise all the Administrative Secretaries to identify the action
to be taken to timely address
prioritized important issues,
the progress of which would be
closely reviewed by the Chief
Secretary. The Governor also
discussed the to-date status of
flood relief measures.
With Mr. B.R. Sharma, Principal Secretary, Planning and
Development the Governor discussed pressing issues relating
to Annual Plan 2014-15 and the
broad approach which could be
practically followed for formulating the Annual Plan 2015-16.
Mr. Sharma also briefed the
Governor on the present status
of various schemes which are
aimed at the reconstruction of
flood damaged assets under the
PM’s Package for Floods. He informed that an amount of Rs.
234.96 crore had already been
released to various affected Departments. The Governor urged
him to closely monitor the implementation of all the restoration projects.
Srinagar: A Bemina resident,
whose son was killed by a
stray bullet in 2008 Friday
alleged that despite Court directions, the administration
neither compensated him nor
provided government job to
his only daughter.
Habibullah Mandoo father
of deceased Imtiyaz Ahmad
Mandoo told CNS that the
Jammu and Kashmir High
Court had directed government to consider the case of
compassionate appointment
of her daughter, as his lone
son was killed after a stray
bullet hit him during protests
at Safakadal Srinagar in 2008.
“I had filed a petition in
2009 in the High Court stating that I lost my only son at
the hands of state in 2008 and
i am suffering from cardiac
ailment and is exclusively dependent on my daughter for
livelihood. The court while
passing orders on the petition
in 2013 had directed District
Magistrate Srinagar to accord
consideration to compassionate appointment of my
daughter within four weeks
from the date she approaches
the office with necessary papers in support of her claim.
But even after the expiry of
two years neither the district
administration provided me
any compensation nor appointed my daughter in any
government
department,”
Mandoo told CNS.
He appealed to authorities
to look into the matter and
honour the court directions.
Servant Who Robbed
Family Held in Jharkhand
Pulwama: A non-local servant
who had robbed a family he
worked for in Kashmir was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir
Police from his home in Indian
State of Jharkhand.
Police sources said that Ghulam Nabi Khan of Rajpora here
had lodged a complaint that
gold worth 3.50 lakhs and a
watch worth 50 thousand were
robbed from his house. They
said the Khan told police that
he suspects his house servant,
Manoj Munda, who is from
Jharkhand, to be behind the
robbery.
According to police sources,
Khan had also said that the on
the day of robbery, which occurred on December 17 last
year, his servant had left for his
house in Jharkand.
“Following these develop-
ments, the police constituted
a team and was sent to the ancestral village of Manoj from
where he was arrested. He confessed to police that he robbed
his master and was brought
here. He is now in police custody,” sources said.
Meanwhile, a case under FIR
number 92/2014 under section
381RPC stands registered in this
regard, sources added. (GNS)
LeT Commander Held
From Sarpanch’s House
Srinagar: Police and army apprehended a top Pakistani militant commander of Lashkar-eToiba outfit from the residential
house of a village headman in
Sangarhama area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Official sources said that police also arrested the Sarpanch
(Village-head) Farooq Ahmad
Bhat son of Ghulam Mohammad
Bhat of Choru village.
Official sources said that
Special Operation Group (SOG)
Sopore and army’s 52 Rashtriya
Rifles (RR) following the specific
intelligence input raided Bhat’s
Grenades
Recovered at
Palhallan, two held
Srinagar: Police have arrested
two persons along with grenades from Pattan area of
Baramulla district in north
Kashmir, a police official said
on Friday.
He said that acting on a
specific information, a joint
team of 29 Rashtriya Rifles
(RR), Special Operation Group
(SOG) of police and 176 battalion Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) conduct a raid at
Astan Mohalla in Palhallan and
arrested two youths identified
as Ishfaq Ahmad of Mundyari
Pattan and Mehraj ud din of
Astan Mohalla Palhallan and
recovered two grenades from
them.
Nayeem Khan
Under House Arrest
Srinagar: Police on Friday afternoon detained National
Front chairman, and Hurriyat
(JK) leader Nayeem Ahmad
Khan in his house and “barred
him from offering Friday
prayers.”
In a statement a spokesman of the party said, “A large
contingent of police came and
without giving any reasons
cordoned off the residence of
Nayeem Ahmad Khan asking
him not to come out.”
Terming the police act as
“undemocratic and unacceptable,” he said, “Such acts are repeatedly proving that India and
its local collaborators are treating Kashmiris as their slaves
and they can at any time arrest
any body without any reason.”
house at Choru on Thursday
evening and arrested him as
well as Pakistani militant Abu
Zubair alias Muaviya.
Police have also recovered
one AK-47 rifle, five magazines,
three hand grenades and a
pouch, they said.
“As per reports, the arrested
militant has been identified as
a Pakistani National and is undergoing questioning by the
Police.’”
A police official while confirming the incident told GNS
that Bhat has been also arrested
and the investigations in this re-
gard have been launched.
The officer claimed the arrest of Muavia as a major
breakthrough and expected to
provide useful information to
police in cracking the militant
network in the region.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) said that
it is cause of concern when a
Sarpanch or any government
official provides shelter to a
militant. He was speaking to
reporters on the sidelines of a
function in Humhama here in
Srinagar. (GNS)
BGSBU Initiates Ph.D,
M.Phil Admissions
Scholars must grab the opportunity
before Jan 30: Prof Hamal
RAJOURI: Baba Ghulam Shah
Badshah University has initiated
admission process for research
Programmes for (M. Phil & Ph.
D) for the year 2015.
As per the handout issued
by the University, January 30,
is the last date for receipt of
Applications for M.Phil & Ph.D
programmes. The University has
issued notification for M.Phil in
in Botany, Zoology, Biotechnology, Management Studies, Computer Sciences, Arabic, Math, &
Applied Mathematics and Ph. D
in Botany, Zoology, Arabic, Management Studies, Math and Applied Mathematics.
Handout said that the admission will be made strictly
in accordance with the U.G.C
regulations governing minimum
standard for research Degrees.
Applicants for admission to all
courses are required to pass Entrance Test and face interview
to display their knowledge of
the subject and aptitude for research.
They added that for admission to Ph. D programmes
in School of Biosciences and
Biotechnology only students
holding fellowships will be
considered.
As per Notifications No.
BGSBU/Acad/14/896 issued by
the University the Admission
Forms and the Prospectus are
available for sale for Rs. 1200/in the office of Deputy Registrar
Academic Affairs of the University. It added that for the convenience of aspiring students
they can also be downloaded
from university website www.
bgsbuniversity.org and submitted along with Bank Draft drawn
in favour of Registrar, for Rs.
1200/-.
The Vice Chancellor , Professor I.A Hamal was upbeat about
the research pursuits in progress
in the University. Highlighting
the achievements made within
a short period of 5 years. He
mentioned that at present 50
scholars are on roll in different
Schools of the University who
are engaged in Research projects
sponsored by the Department of
Biotechnology, New Delhi, U.G.C,
Ministries of Science & Technology and Environment and
Forests. Many Scholars of the
university have also passed NET
and are holding UGC/UGC-CSIR
Fellowships.
The research output of different Schools, is being published
by first rate National & International Journals which he said,
reflects that we are on the right
path.
He exhorted young passouts
of this and other universities
of the State and outside to take
advantage of the world class
laboratory and library facilities
in place in the university and
participate in the academic effervescence and excitement.
Facilities available at
anantnag coaching
centres reviewed
ANANTNAG: In compliance to the Court Orders, District Development Commissioner Anantnag today convened a meeting of all the proprietors of Coaching Centres of Anantnag for
reviewing the availability of basic facilities in these Centres.
The meeting was attended by owners of all the Coaching
Centres besides Chief Education Officer, Anantnag.
District Development Commissioner directed the owners
to ensure the availability of heating and seating arrangements
besides adequate space for each student. He also directed
them to strictly adhere to the recent High Court orders in this
regard. Additional five days were given to complete the registration process after which all the Centres will be checked for
which a committee was constituted on spot.
District Development Commissioner further revealed that
no Coaching as well as Tuition Centre floating the norms will
be allowed to function in the district.
tanvir Made Pol
secretary to oMar
SRINAGAR: National Conference Friday appointed NC leader
and former Political Secretary to Chief Minister Tanvir Sadiq
as the Political Secretary to NC Working President, Omar
Abdullah, a party statement said.
“Tanvir Sadiq, a prolific writer on politics, social issues and
matters relating to empowerment of youth and women is the
son of NC Leader Late Mr. Sadiq Ali,” the statement said.
The statement further said that prior to his tenure as the
Political Secretary to former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,
Tanvir served as the Spokesperson of J&K National Conference. Tanvir has also served previously as the head of the NC
Cyber Cell and has also served as Corporator of the Srinagar
Muncipal Corporation.
hizb aPPeals hurriyat
to unite against Move
Srinagar: Militant outfit Hizbul Mujhideen Friday said that
the move of BJP government to grant citizenship rights to
the refugees settled in Jammu was not only treacherous and
dangerous but it was also a calculated attempt to change the
Muslim demography of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hizb chief and United Jihad Council Chairman, Syed Salahuddin said that people of the State rejected the proposal of
BJP and it was unacceptable for them.
In a statement issued to CNS, Hizb spokesperson Saleem
Hashmi quoting Salahuddin said that Hizb Chief said that sacrifices laid by martyrs will not go waste and ultimately Indian
has to retreat from Jammu and Kashmir.
Pitching for unity among Hurriyat leadership, Syed Salahuddin appealed them to gather at single platform and lead
the nation in one voice so that India fails to take advantage of
their disunity.
Syed Salahuddin was addressing a conference that was organized to pay tributes to three militant commanders on their
11th death anniversary. Salahuddin paid tribute to former
chief commander operations Ghulam Rasool Dar, Military
Adviser Abbas Rahi and Deputy Divisional Commander Abid
Hussain. He also paid rich tribute to the five militants including Shakil Ahmed Wani killed in Shopian encounter.
Funeral Prayer in absentia
For Paris attackers
Srinagar: Scores of people in Kunzar town of north Kashmir’s
Baramulla district held funeral prayer in absentia for the three
militants who attacked French satirical tabloid Charlie Hebdo
that left 12 people in including ten journalists’ dead.
Witnesses said that soon after Friday prayers, people offered funeral prayer in absentia for the two brothers linked
with Al Qaeda who attacked French journal for publishing
‘blasphemous’ caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The people hailed the attackers and called them martyrs
who, they said, “achieved martyrdom while countering the
insulting act of the Charlie Hebdo”.
After offering funeral, a protest demonstration was staged
outside Grand Mosque Hamdania in Kunzar. “The protesters
condemned the reproduction of the insulting cartoons by
Charlie Hebdo,” eyewitnesses said.
Meanwhile, a group of youth staged a protest against the
blasphemous caricatures outside Iqra Masjid in Sarai Bala
here, reports said.
sM sahai bereaved, JkP
conveys condolence
Srinagar: To mourn the demise of Smt. Swarn Lata Sahai,
mother of Additional Director General of Police (Armed), Mr.
S. M. Sahai, a condolence meeting was held at Police Headquarters (PHQ) here today. Smt. Sahai passed away this morning at her residence Raju Park Khanpur, New Delhi, an official
spokesman said in a statement.
Chaired by Director General of Police, Mr. K. Rajendra
Kumar and attended by senior police officers, the meeting
observed two minute silence. They expressed their grief and
sorrow on behalf of all ranks of Jammu and Kashmir Police on
the demise of Smt. Sahai. They conveyed their condolences
to Mr. S. M. Sahai and expressed their sympathy with the
bereaved family in this hour of sorrow.
Meanwhile Governor Vohra has expressed grief on the sad
demise of mother of S M Sahai, ADGP Armed, J&K.
In a message of condolence, the Governor has conveyed his
sympathy to the bereaved family and prayed for eternal peace
to the departed soul.
ensure digitization
oF services within
stiPulated tiMe –ddc ang
ANANTNAG: Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Mr.Tasaduq
Jeelani today chaired a meeting with local Cable operators to
discuss the digitization of Cable Services in the district.
During the meeting, Deputy Commissioner briefed the Cable
Operators about the directions of Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting and J&K Government regarding transformation of
existing cable service from analogue cable to Digital Addressable System (DAS) for which the revised deadline is fixed as
December 31, 2015. Deputy Commissioner called upon the
Cable Operators to make a detailed plan of switching over to
digital mode in their respective areas in a time bound manner.
Local Cable Operators were informed to furnish the details
about the number of consumers and subscribers of their
respective areas of operation to the committees constituted
at Municipal, Council, Tehsil and District level. Deputy Commissioner informed that the progress of digitization will be
monitored weekly for which Local Cable Operators should
submit their progress to the concerned Committee.
Deputy Commissioner assured Local Cable Operators that
the district administration will give them all necessary help
for smooth digitization of Cable service. He directed for ensuring 75 percent digitization upto March 31, 2015.
C M Y K
saturday
OPINION
saturday
17 01 2015 Kashmir Observer

WEEKEND Observer

CounterPoint
Not just about
Charlie
MaHir ali
Hebdo has been a fairly equalopportunity offender for all
A
n edition of the scurrilous French weekly
Charlie Hebdo, in the latest barrage in
what one American commentator has wittily described as a confrontation between
OMG and LOL, will almost certainly feature at least a few cartoons that offend some sensibilities. And that will only be appropriate, given last
week’s events in and around Paris. Even those who contend that Charlie Hebdo went too far in its caricatures
should acknowledge that the brothers who last Wednesday took censorship to an intolerable extreme must not
be permitted to have the last laugh.
The unprecedented slaughter during the weekly’s editorial conference, targeting the editor as well as some of
France’s other best-known cartoonists, prompted a spontaneous gathering of Parisians at Place de la Republique,
which was followed on Sunday by a march with an estimated 1.5 million participants at least, spearheaded by 50
or so heads of state or government, or senior official representatives, from countries across Europe and beyond.
It was a mobilisation the likes of which had not been
witnessed in Paris since the end of World War II. It was
a formidable demonstration of empathy with France
and unity within the country in the face of terrorism.
It’s easy to celebrate in that respect. Its significance as a
celebration of free speech has been questioned though,
and not without cause.
Reporters Without Borders has wondered why participants included representatives of nations whose
citizens yearn in vain for even small concessions when
it comes to freedom of speech. Others have raised the
equally valid concern that even in countries currently
going out of their way to celebrate the concept, there are
curbs on freedom of expression. Holocaust denial, for instance, is a punishable crime in France.
It could, of course, be argued that denial of verifiable facts is unconscionable,
and consequently liable to legal challenge.
It’s worth noting, at the same time, that
Charlie Hebdo’s precursor was proscribed
on the basis of its irreverence towards the
recently deceased Charles de Gaulle —
and the title of the rebooted version was
intended as a reference not just to Charlie
Brown, but to de Gaulle as well. Times
have, of course, changed. Charlie Hebdo
has long lived up to the motto that nothing is sacred. And by most accounts it has
been a fairly equal-opportunity offender,
excoriating symbols of Christianity and Judaism alongside those of Islam. If in recent
years it has focused chiefly on Islam that
could be attributed to the topicality of the
subject matter.
At the same time, as any number of commentators, including a cross-section of French Muslims, have pointed
out, defending Charlie Hebdo’s right to cause of offence
does not necessarily entail condoning its content. It would
only be fair to acknowledge, though, that the circulation
of its content has been enhanced manifold by the brothers
Cherif and Said Kouachi.
The ideal reaction to offensive cartoons is simply to
ignore them. One should be disinclined to lend too much
credence to the view of Charlie Hebdo as a vehicle for Islamophobia. There can be no question, on the other hand,
that the massacre at its office will enhance hostility towards Muslims in Europe and elsewhere. Some of the predictable attacks on the obvious symbols and institutions
have already occurred in France, and more are likely to
follow. Most French politicians have been at pains to point
out, though, that most Muslims in their country have little
to do with the violent tendencies of jihadism. By the same
token, most French citizens are disinclined to opt for violence in retaliation.
It wouldn’t be terribly surprising, though, is more of
them opted to vote for Marine Le Pen’s National Front in
the next election. There are already moves afoot in France
to form a coalition along the lines of PEGIDY in Germany
— whose mobilisations have attracted the disapproval of
the political and religious establishments, as well as a substantial segment of citizens.
The processes and circumstances that contributed
to the radicalisation of the Kouachi brothers and their
colleague-once-removed, Amedy Coulibali — who did his
worst in a kosher supermarket in Paris — remain to be
fully explained, but the likely mix includes growing up in
an alienating milieu, the visible signs of Western military
action in the Middle East, a tendency towards criminality, susceptibility to the twisted reasoning of preachers in
France and Yemen, and a convoluted interpretation of the
faith they were born into.
If it would be more or less delusional to argue that all
those metaphorically up in arms against the outrages in
Paris are unequivocally devoted to free speech, it is equally absurd to fall for the argument that the actions of the
Couachis and Coulibali had nothing to do with Islam. After all, the three perpetrators appeared to be in no doubt
they were somehow upholding the honour of their faith.
Most Muslims would, one would like to think, be disinclined to agree.
It has also been remarked upon, meanwhile, that the
West attaches far more attention to terrorist attacks on its
own soil than it does to far more egregious transgression
of human rights in places such as Nigeria, Pakistan and
Yemen — to say nothing of Iraq and Syria. Perhaps that is
inevitable, and not entirely unacceptable.
One can easily empathise with those who seriously
wish such an event will never recur in Paris or elsewhere
in Europe, notwithstanding the widespread fear that it
will be hard to avoid. It is also important, though, that
atrocities of this (or any other) variety should not be visited upon people anywhere in the world. To a large extent,
this is a Muslim responsibility. But the west, too, is far
from acknowledging — and repenting of — its longstanding tendency towards contributing to a mindset that facilitates terrorism.
Mahir Ali is a journalist based in Sydney
Stupid! this
Happens Only in Kashmir
Prof. Hameeda Nayeem
F
or the past two weeks
a number of articles
appeared in Various
papers expressing anguish over BJP-PDP
alliance. But Still there remain
some points that need to be put together to make an argument.
There is an oppressive burden
of suspense, anxiety and anguish
in Kashmir society about the formation of new govt in the state.
Not that the coalition of local parties is going to shake their world
for better but that the prospect
of coalition with BJP is fraught
with ground changing terrifying
implications. In the scenario of
a fractured mandate anywhere
in the world where politics is
based even on a semblance of
principles, it is the ideologically
least divergent groups that come
together to form a govt. Petty ego
squabbles between leaders of different parties vying with each
other for power thaw and evaporate into thin air before the kind
of challenge that has been thrown
up by the fractured mandate in
the recently held election.
Be that as it may, the hints
that are dropped by the political
pundits of the single largest party
have put forth weird logic for
aligning with BJP. One reason
for this is to give representation
to Jammu in the govt, otherwise
they will remain unrepresented,
that is why the coalition with BJP
is inevitable; second, that the new
govt will not get funds if PDP enters into an alliance with other
parties that are not in power in the
centre. As if funds are given from
the private kitty of the ruling party in Delhi and states’ due share
in funds is nothing but a charity
given to the states only if they are
in the power sharing relationship
in the state govt with the ruling
party at the centre. Both NC and
congress have offered support to
PDP and the number of seats of
grand alliance comes to around
fifty seven to sixty . Does it mean
sixty members are less inclusively
representative and less the product of a democratic process than
the twenty-five seats won by BJP
in Jammu? Is Jammu’s mandate to
one party intrinsically superior in
its sterling representative character to those who have been elected
in Kashmir and parts of Jammu?
Is the state not one entity but two
distinct states as the impression
is sought to be created ?
All the reasons that are given
by these Pandits for making alliance with BJP do not stand the
test of ‘democratic principles' as
are touted and celebrated day in
and day out by the claimants of democracy in Kashmir! The share of
funds is preordained for each state
in the centre and does not depend
on the whims and caprices of the
ruling party in Delhi. ( Besides,
our taxes go directly into the central govt’s treasury as also the
income from our resources like
power generated with our waters,
the central govt owes us at least
129000 million rupees on account
of electricity NHPC has produced
with our waters; with 2000 million rupees investment in 1975,
its net profit till 2010 is 3,87,180
million rupees out of which our
share is 129000 millions; one-third
of electricity in the northern grid
goes from our state in a total of
6000 MWS )
Only one thing can justify
the alliance with BJP as ruling
party at centre which no other
party can do and that is a written commitment from the BJP
govt in Delhi to end the political
uncertainty and stalemate in the
state by addressing the Kashmir
question comprehensively for a
permanent resolution in a timebound framework; a commitment
on halting its divisive and communal politics with immediate
effect which includes among other
things vitiation of fragile human
and ecosystem in the state; a commitment on the demilitarization
of the entire civilian space without which withdrawal of AFSPA
signifies nothing.
BJP govt is ideally placed today with a thumping majority in
the centre to take a historic decision - to put an end to the million
miseries and colossal tragedies
that have become our fate since
the partition of India. These tragedies have broadly resulted from
military oppression, political
domination, wars and intermittent cross border skirmishes,
economic exploitation and now
growing cultural aggression, the
fallout on both India and Pakistan
with far reaching consequences
for South Asia. In short there is
an urgent need for a release from
the frozen embrace of the hostilities of the past. By this I do not
mean to say that PDP or any other
electoral party has got the mandate to resolve the dispute.
The governance of the state
and the resolution of political dispute are two separate spheres and
have their different gravitational
pulls but they do impinge upon
each other as they remain in a colloidal suspension. That is to say
governance becomes extremely
difficult in the face of unresolved
fundamental issues on the ground
which cry for solution and, as we
have seen in the past, can bring
down any govt within the twinkling of an eye or considerably
undermine its authority. That
is why those issues should be as
much a matter of grave concern
for parties engaged in the sphere
of governance as those engaged in
the struggle for determining the
political future because in the final analysis their constituency is
the same whose larger political
rights and civil liberties are conspicuous by their absence. And
once brought to presence, governance would be lot more easier
and a whole-hearted public support will replace the reluctant
endorsement symbolised by the
fragmented mandate. All other
reasons given by these political
pundits do not hold ground and
smack of petty short term power
interests, opportunism, and a
fear of dismissive authoritarian
attitude of the BJP govt in Delhi
which actually emanates from the
political and military domination
of the state.
If funds are denied, the state
govt has the golden chance to
explore alternatives by turning
it on their head! The best way
forward in the absence of the
above commitments would be to
set aside the fears and assert the
power of the mandate of at least
57 members who are offering support for a grand alliance. Now is
the time for the assertion of combined mandate of regional parties
and not to trade vital interests of
the state for a berth in Delhi govt
and ‘an easy walk in governance’.
The alliance with BJP may make
things much more difficult even
in terms of governance and take
everything else into the bargain
and may prove to be the requiem
of the regional party!
Prof. Hameeda Nayeem is a
civil society activist. She can be
reached at: hameedah.nayeem@
gmail.com
FaCebook at Work is a reCipe
For utter Calamity that
oNly beNeFits FaCebook
It is a manifestly terrible idea which, if adopted in your workplace, will undoubtedly
transform it into a dystopian hell-hole of paranoia and confusion
“
Oliver Burkeman/ The Guardian
P
LENTY of terrible ideas didn’t
seem terrible to begin with.
Trans fats were developed
to help feed people cheaply
and well; the publishers who
turned down Harry Potter presumably
thought they were making a savvy commercial decision. Napoleon’s invasion of
Russia, like John McCain picking Sarah
Palin as his running-mate, must have
seemed a splendid plan at the time.
But Facebook at Work, a new corporate version of the social network, designed to let companies conduct internal
business on their own mini-Facebooks, is
not one of those ideas. It is a manifestly
terrible idea which, if adopted in your
workplace, will undoubtedly transform it
into a dystopian hell-hole of paranoia and
confusion, before ultimately destroying
it altogether, leaving you on the streets.
I’m exaggerating for comic effect, of course. You might not be
left on the streets. A kindly relative
might take you in.
Admittedly, at a very brief first
glance – the kind of glance you might
give before the first coffee of the morning kicks in – the concept might seem
appealing. If you’re an employee, the
logic might go like this: Facebook is
the thing you do for fun, as a break
from work; so if you worked inside
Facebook, too, it might make your
job more fun. If you’re an employer
or manager, you might conclude that,
since your employees spend so much
time goofing off on Facebook anyway,
Facebook at Work might channel some
of that attention more productively.
Then the caffeine would hit, and
you’d realize the truth – which is that
Facebook at Work, currently only available in pilot form to a restricted group
of US companies, is a recipe for utter calamity, which stands to benefit no one
except Facebook itself.
Consider, as a mere appetizer, the
implications for workplace etiquette of
a social network where the other members are your co-workers. Must you
friend everyone? Like or share every
post from your boss, for fear of looking
disloyal, or decline to do so, for fear of
I thought he
called out sick
today. Why is he
posting pictures
from his car?
looking sycophantic? Tell everyone in
the company about the birthday cake
in the second-floor kitchen, or restrict
who can see that announcement?
But those aren’t the main issues, of
course. For businesses, by far the weightiest problem will concern the implications of handing over the stewardship
of company data to a mega-corporation
founded wholly on exploiting user data
for commercial gain. Facebook promises
it will“gather no data on corporate users”. (It will initially make money from
the service by charging fees, it seems.)
But it has a deservedly terrible reputation to overcome in this regard – and if
all you’re looking for is a way of collaborating at work that’s better than email,
there are a widerange of non-Facebook
options. Why take the risk?
Which brings us to individual users.
Facebook has promised that your Facebook at Work account will be separate
from your personal one, and that “things
you share using your work account will
only be visible to other people at your
company.” A cynic might argue it’s
worrying enough when a new product
must be accompanied by a raft of promises about how it won’t cause havoc. But
then there’s this: “When you set up your
work account, you’ll be able to connect it
to your personal account. This lets you
switch between the two accounts while
using the same username and password
for both.”
What could possibly go wrong?
Facebook, as you know, is already
almost surreally confusing to use, unless you’ve given up trying not to be confused. Its plethora of privacy controls
are impossible to keep track of, even in
their newly simplified form, so you can’t
ever be certain about who can see what.
Meanwhile, since posts on the Newsfeed
are selected by an algorithm, there’s
no way to be sure your friends will see
a post even if you do want them to, nor
that you’re seeing theirs. You see what
Facebook wants you to see.
Adding a Facebook at Work account more than doubles the potential
for confusion; it squares it. How long before someone gets themselves fired – or,
worse, outed – as a result of not knowing which network they were using? Or
maybe we’re too cautious for that these
days, and we’ll simply get even better at
never expressing a thought or posing for
a photograph that might undermine our
workplace brand. Which isn’t, really, all
that much less dispiriting.
The developers of Facebook at Work
may sincerely wish to avoid such confusion. (They’re giving in a different color
scheme than regular Facebook, for a
start.) But in the end that may not matter: keeping users confused is simply
too beneficial to the network. Facebook
needs you to share more about yourself than you realize; it needs any walls
you try to erect between different parts
of your life to be porous. You are Facebook’s product: it needs the data you
provide about your interests and preferences and purchases to be as interconnected as possible. If Facebook at Work
proves a success, yet users’ accounts really do remain completely separate from
their personal ones, that will be something remarkable: a policy maintained in
defiance of the basic commercial logic of
Facebook’s existence.
It would be silly and hyperbolic and
fearmongering – I suppose – to suggest
that, should Facebook achieve a beachhead inside many of the world’s biggest
corporations, it might then find ways to
gut them from the inside, channelling
revenues away from them and to itself.
Then again, as John Herrman at The
Awl and Will Oremus at Slate have both
recently argued, that’s not a terrible way
of looking at what’s happening to Facebook’s relationship with the news media.
What started as a relationship of mutual
benefit is rapidly becoming one-sided, as
Facebook seeks to keep users on the network (where Facebook can make money
from advertising to them) instead of letting them escape elsewhere.
You could argue that the media
didn’t have much choice: only an exceptionally brave or stupid news organization would choose not to seek
visitors via Facebook, where well over
a billion people people share what interests them most. If you’re a law firm
or a chain of florists or a human rights
charity, though, no such logic applies.
You probably can’t avoid advertising on
Facebook, or connecting with customers there, but there’s no need to invite
Facebook to become the platform on
which your whole business is run. If you
do, and it ends in disaster, you’ll have
nobody to blame but Time magazine’s
Person of the Year 2006: yourself.
saturday
17 01 2015 Kashmir Observer

PANORAMA

Merits of PDP's 3 Point Agenda
JKCHR head Syed Nazir Gilani delivered, what he termed as a ‘Letter of Concern’, to PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in Srinagar on Friday.
The letter has examined the merits of PDP's three point agenda to negotiate an alliance with BJP and has reminded PDP chief that J&K Government is of no consequence unless it
stakes its claim to that which the Government of India made at the UN in item 3 of document S/AC.12/46 in August 1948 that “The sovereignty of the State of Jammu and Kashmir
should not be affected”. We reproduce the letter in full for the interest of our readers. -Editor
Janab Mufti Mohammad Sayeed sahib
Chief Peoples Democratic Party Sgr.
Dear Mufti Sahib
As-salamu alaykum
I
wish to take this opportunity to wish
you, all your colleagues and the
people of the State a Happy New
Year.
I am writing this letter to remain
part of a growing constituency of concern
expressed on the failure of main stream
political parties in the formation of a government and the handing over the State to
a direct Delhi control through article 92 of
Jammu and Kashmir Constitution.
Valley in particular has voted according to its endured historical experience
and advice given to its voter by the State
based political parties, including PDP.
Muslims in particular have explained
their vote before voting.
The main stream and the separatist
narratives of politics, explained and defended as short term and long term approaches to any resolution, have failed to
serve the best interests of the people living
on the Indian side of cease fire line . Common man and woman voted for your party
in the Parliament and Assembly elections.
It would not go well in history for a
party that would err to repaint its horses
post elections and try to convince the voter that it was necessary to carry the sack
load of salt through a swollen stream.
Separatist narrative has not helped
the people either. We have suffered
the death of a generation, violation of
human rights never witnessed in the history of Kashmir and face a political cul de
sac. The main stream political narratives
have continued to abuse the trust of the
voter citizen since 1947.
National Sample Survey Office
(NSSO) of the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has
revealed that the poverty rate in the state
of Jammu and Kashmir rose from 9.4 per
cent in 2009-2010 to 10.35 per cent in 201112, mainly due to an increase in the number living below the poverty line (BPL) in
rural areas . The number of households
living
below poverty line in Jammu and
Kashmir has risen to 4.17 lakhs. Out of
these 3.71 lakh households live in rural areas of the state. Kupwara and Baramulla
districts lead in poverty.
Development,
reconciliation
and
healing are archaic and meaningless expressions in Kashmir politics. It is the
Muslim majority that has continued to
have a grievance against the rulers since
March 1846 to date. Prime Minister Albion Mukerjee refused to reconcile with
the poor plight of Muslims and resigned.
He is a non-Muslim and non-Kashmiri
witness to highlight the Muslim grievance
and recorded that, Jammu and Kashmir
State is labouring under many disadvantages, with a large Mohammedan population absolutely illiterate, labouring under
poverty and very low economic conditions
of living in the villages, and particularly
governed like dumb driven cattle”. National Sample Survey Office report after
86 years does not make it any better.
We want that Jammu and Kashmir
Government on the Indian side is able to
engage a Government in Delhi, so that
Delhi does not force it to recycle the Maharaja like manner of rule in Kashmir and
authorise its security forces with “Powers
to arrest turbulent persons ”.
Even Maharaja could hardly endure
this brute force against the Muslims beyond 24 September – 05 October 1931.
A non-Muslim Maharaja described
Muslims in the valley as “Turbulent” persons in 1931 and in 2014 Sadhvi Niranjan
Jyoti a BJP leader in the Government in
Delhi has come close to describing Muslims as “Haramzadas”. Indian Muslims
have the number and resources to deflect
any such abuse but the people in the Valley have either very scarce or no resource
to defend the Muslim majority character
of the State.
We would like a Srinagar based Government to understand that it is elected
from only a part of the State, it has duties
under UN Resolutions, submits to a caution on its representative imperfection,
understands limitation and duties under
article 48 of the Constitution and the
manner in which it has to engage
with UN, India, Pakistan and people living under two other administrations at
Muzaffarabad and Gilgit. It should be able
to engage with the people of India and in
particular with a Government in Delhi
which, is historically and legally educated
to accept that:
a. That the Government of India has
sought at the UN SC, that, “The
question of the future status of
Kashmir vis a vis her neighbours
and the world at large, and a further question, namely, whether she
should withdraw from her accession to India, and either accede to
Pakistan or remain independent,
with a right to claim admission as a
member of the United Nations – all
this we have recognized to be a matter for unfettered decision by the
people of Kashmir, after normal
life is restored to them”,
b. That the people of this habitat are
“People of legend, song and story,
associated with snow-capped mountains, beautiful valleys and life
giving waters – a people worthy
of their own self -determination,
through a free, secure and impartial plebiscite” as reported by Dr.
P Graham in his report to the UN
Security Council in January 1952.
c. That a Government in Delhi which
remembers its submission
made
at the UN, item 3 of document S/
AC.12/46 in August 1948 that “The
sovereignty of the State of Jammu
and Kashmir should not be affected”.
d. A Government in Delhi which admits that J & K assembly is elected
from only a part of the State and is
under caution of UN SC Resolution
of 30 March 1951.
e. That Indian security forces are a
supplement and sub-ordinate force
to J&K Government. These forces
have entered the State to perform
4 duties, namely, defend ‘territory’,
protect ‘life’, ‘property’ and ‘honour’ of the people.
f. That Indian security forces have
agreed to honour 3 UN conditions
on their number, behaviour and
location during their stationing in
Kashmir.
g. The principal duty of Indian security forces in Kashmir is to provide
law and order. Sheikh Abdullah
has informed the UN SC that “There
need be no fear, since the Indian
Army is there, that this army will
interfere in the exercise of a free
vote. After all, a commission of the
Security Council will be there in order to watch. The Indian Army does
not have to go into every village. It
will be stationed at certain strategic points, so that in the event of
danger from any border, the army
will be there to protect that border”.
Your party is understood to be negotiating with BJP an agenda, viz resumption
of dialogue with Pakistan and separatists,
keeping Article 370 off the table, strengthening cross LoC CBM’s and withdrawal
of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain areas.
One can hope that a structured dialogue with BJP would be going on
well. It is too tall an order for any Government in Srinagar and to achieve any
success the Srinagar based Governments
have to follow the true build of a specific
bilateral, trilateral and international jurisprudence on the question of Jammu
and Kashmir. PDP may have all noble reasons to engage BJP and keep away from
other offers in the formation of a government but it would be misdirecting itself, if,
it hopes to redesign the anti-Muslim (any
Valley) hidden reflexes of governments
sitting in Delhi. The various tiers of Delhi
presence in the Valley are too domineering and surreptitious to let it happen in
this manner.
PDP should not concern itself with a
suspension or resumption of Indian dialogue with Pakistan or vice versa as part
of seeking a six year stay in power.
India and Pakistan have intra-State
and UN Charter obligations to remain in
dialogue. They have accepted that they
shall remain in dialogue on Kashmir, in
co-operation with and under the supervision of UN Security Council.
India has further elaborated on the
question of engagement on Kashmir with
Pakistan and others on 23 January 1957.
It is contained in para 3 of the minutes
of 762nd meeting of the Security Council.
While replying to the complaint of Pakistan made in their letter of 02 January
1957, to the President of the Security Council (S/3767), Indian representative Mr. V.
K. Krishna Menon stated, “It is not
possible to understand a problem, especially a complex problem which has engaged, in the first instance, the attention
of the two countries, and the attention
of other parties, including the Security
Council, over the years – to which I shall
refer later, without having the whole picture so that the significance of documents,
arrangements and declarations can become realistic and true to fact”.
If PDP or any other main stream political party in Kashmir wants to make a
genuine input in this regard, it shall have
to understand the manner of this engagement and further admit the Indian stand
that in addition to India, Pakistan and Security Council, there are “other parties”
to the Kashmir dispute.
India can’t by pass the fact that it has
engaged itself with militant leadership
and has continued to engage the separatists over the years. It would not be allowed
to betray the protocol of trust and continuity. Indian Government and its army have
accrued a criminal liability for the death
of 70,000-100,000 people. In fact Indian gov-
ernment has failed on one
of the terms which allowed its army
into Kashmir, that is protect ‘life’ in
Kashmir. Therefore, it does not need a
recommendation but it has to talk to Separatist (inclusive) and all Kashmiris in
main stream who state that accession is
provisional and there is no merger of the
State. PDP has no case to bring this issue
into any discussion in the formation of a
Government. On the contrary all Kashmir Governments in Srinagar continue to
share the criminal liability with governments in India for the death of a generation in Kashmir.
PDP is unnecessarily occupying itself
with any concern in regard to Article 370.
The understanding of the party on this
subject is unreliable.
PDP has been part of the election narrative which has instilled the fear of a
threat to the special status under article
370 if BJP came to power. The fear has no
merit. In India BJP may have a choice to
hurt Muslims and other minorities but
BJP cannot afford a secret or an open kill
in Kashmir. The radical elements sitting
in secret closets of BJP are mistaken and
don’t have an enduring future.
These elements of all manner know
that in any such event BJP has to face the
people living under three administrations
of Kashmir, Kashmiri Diaspora, Pakistan
and the United Nations.
Government of Pakistan can’t use a
nuclear weapon against India and vice
versa but touching Article 370 in Kashmir
in the manner suggested would land BJP
Government in a dark crevice of absolute
disaster. It may amount to colonization of
a people and has the potential of UN considering a military action . It is not 1948
but 2015. Above all every State Subject
would be entitled to seek to undo an occupation by the use of all means civil and
military.
Pakistan has assumed responsibilities
under UNCIP Resolutions and India shall
have many fronts to face.
PDP need not make withdrawal of
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain areas part of its discussion to negotiate power share in Kashmir.
AFSPA has no place in Kashmir. It
is against the two disciplines governing
the presence of Indian army in Kashmir.
AFSPA brings Government of India into
a breach of the conditions under which
these forces were first admitted into Kashmir and is a serious violation of the three
principles set out by the United Nations
for its stationing in Kashmir. PDP needs
to play by the rules of the book and free
itself and its cadre from the shackles of
known and unknown tiers of control in
Kashmir.
PDP is running the risk of being
blamed by the voter inside Kashmir, Kashmiris living in two other
administration of Kashmir, Kashmiri Diaspora, 2.5 million Kashmiri refugees, people in Pakistan and
at the UN that it became a reason
to bring in BJP through article 92
of the J&K Constitution or through
an alliance for its personal political reasons to rule a people that
had voted against BJP and have an
outstanding grievance at the UN.
tric. On the contrary Valley Muslim has
a historical grievance against the Hindu
Ruler (Jammu Dogra). He has taxed the
Kashmiri Muslim to pay for the price towards the purchase of Kashmir and has
forced Muslim population to keep one pair
of
trousers for the whole village population to avoid taxes.
It is recoded by Walter Lawrence in
State records that in one year 1871
-72 Maharaja collected a revenue of
Rupees 680, 0560 (equal to the price paid)
by taxing the Kashmiri Muslim. He taxed
circumcision, sheep and goats, cows and
buffaloes, mint, sale of wild fruit, sale of
chinar leaves, bakers, porters and coolies,
masons , butchers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, dyers, prostitutes, sellers of glass
bangles, comb makers, menial workers,
soap boilers, gardeners, knife makers,
painters, basket makers, shoe makers,
grave diggers, wood cutters, sellers of
fire wood, cowherds, friers of grain, leech
sellers, makers of rice bread and in all 80
items were taxed in 1871 -72. In fact the
Hindu ruler has collected from Muslims
from 1846-1947 a revenue that he could
have purchased 101 more such states.
BJP or any other Indian political party
can’t dislodge the manner of evidence that
India has presented at the United Nations.
Kashmir has a special status without article 370. It has been admitted by India in
para 46 of the minutes of same UN Security Council Meeting on 23 January 1957.
Explaining the Indian temporary arrangement with Jammu and Kashmir
Indian representative said, “Further
in the document it stated: “Let us turn for
one moment to the Cabinet Mission Plan
of 16 May 1946. In this Plan the proposal
was that the States should surrender to
the Central Government three subjects–
Defence, External Affairs and Communications. That was a plan which, to the best
of my belief, every ruler and every State
accepted as reasonable, fair and just.”
PDP has a role beyond the present
engagement with BJP. It could help the
people to move from a process of life into
attaining a quality of life. It can’t be possible unless the J&K Government stakes
its claim to that which the Government
of India made at the UN in item 3 of document S/AC.12/46 in August 1948 that “The
sovereignty of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir should not be affected”.
To this challenging end PDP has to address the quality and expertise available
in its elected and no elected ranks . PDP
has to reach out to all other political parties, separatists, civil society and everyone on its side of Jammu and Kashmir,
the two other governments of Kashmir,
refugees, diaspora, Pakistan and member
nations of the UN as well.
It has to be custodian of a State Subject’s title to equality, important for an
internal and an external self -determination. Let PDP start with a true empowerment and internal self-determination. In
this regard PDP shall have our support at
all forums at home, abroad and at other international forums.
Jammu and Kashmir government has
to represent all people. But it is untrue
that Kashmir politics has been Valley cen-
Kindly rest assured of my
highest regards.
Yours Sincerely
Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani
Secretary General-JKCHR
The Irony Of Heaven
MEHAK DHAAR
P
racticalities
teach;
when I was peacefully
walking with my friend
by the road-side, a careless car driver hit her,
little more than slightly and made
no stop. This was annoying, I
called to stop, he didn't and I was
furious. To this in rampant anger I
took a stone and fired it as hard as
I could at his rare-view. The latter
part of the story needs no mention
here because the message I want
to convey is right here. I was hurt,
no sympathy was shown and I was
unarmed. The only object to spit
my very human nature, feelings
of anger, hurt and distress was
the STONE! Here comes the fact,
the ammunition of the unarmed
is the stone! The stone has been
the tool of men in the most ancient
times and continues to be so with
the men who are treated in no less
than ancient manner of barbarianism. Where there is the pelt of
stone; there is the pragmatism of
barbarianism; there is the absence
of the civil society in the suitable
way to define people as those belonging to the civilized order.
Our part of the land, globally
is termed as the heaven! But, the
question is, what makes Heaven a
real Heaven? What differentiates
the Hell from the Heaven? A bird
eyed look and a micro look can be
paradoxical and all the way different and opposing. Like the micro
truths at times fail at macro level,
so do the macro often at the micro.
To the rest of the globe, from the
distance this place looks like a
heaven and why not, what of the
scenic beauty is missing or lagging? Surely none! Bird's eye look,
perfectly manifests it as a Heaven.
Who can match the basic sensitive
and hospitable nature of the people
living here? For sure none! Then
why not on the planet will they regard this place as a Heaven? A single look at its sights , soothes the
souls in strife and elevates the human existence and creates it a link
with the absolute. The water from
our multiple springs is believed
to be miraculous in a number of
ways and means and who among
the visitors misses to take a little
of it along? Surely none...
The natives on the other hand,
have a complex vision of the land,
circumstances and the situations.
By the very beauty, who can deny
the heavenly virtues of the place
but the harsh acceptance we are
faced with every single day and
moment, makes us to question the
heavenly nature of the land. Can
any heaven be in existence with
a crying and melancholic population? Surely, Not! The human
desire of extended boundaries,
makes man to carve a brook of the
blood of his fellow men. The pursuit of materialism that in itself is
a temporary illusion, blind-folds
his eyes and he sees nothing but
the boundaries and aims at their
extension, either by hook or by
crook. How will the Heaven remain still so, when the pious and
virgin brooks carrying the fresh
water transforms into the channel with the running blood of the
young and blossoms? It is the internal aspect that defines any and
every thing and when our internal
aspect is as dark and dim, how on
the planet are we the ones who reside in a Heaven? Heaven surely
can't be a place where the mothers
cry at the graves of their Sons and
the wives lament for the union of
which they are sure, they will
taste never...
When the Tug of War is between the two about the third and
not their own respective selves,
they can reach any extend and an
un-sympathetic attitude is deemed
and destined to develop. All this
leads the third to suffer, beyond
limits and measures. Right from
the childhood, the circumstances
suppress and depress the heaven
abode-rs and by the time their
mind and brain grows up and
reaches the brink and level of rebellion, they discover themselves
to be unarmed and weak. Yet the
young blood possesses vigor and
zest; knows not to quit and the sole
weapon available at their disposal
is the stone and in an effort, they
lifts the same. The stone makes the
say of their story and the suppres-
sion is stormed. The stone collides
with the bullet. For every stone a
bullet is answered. Thus in an unequal tussle, the weaker looses to
his life. The might turns right and
the barbarianism marks its presence. The pious brooks are left
open to serve as the channels of
blood and Eagles called to feasts.
Heaven cries in agony and questions of itself being a Heaven...
Lets all for a moment forget
our nationality, religion, domains
and all the factors of distinction.
Let's all take a pious bath at the
virgin spring and get into white
robes, join hands and think to
introspection for the least of five
minutes. Why do we need to extend the boundaries? Why initially
the boundaries exist? The ultimate
end of but every breathing being is
but death and what does a person
carry along at that? A mere piece
of a plain shroud! For what then
we need to extend the boundaries?
No one consumed the land in-turn
the land consumed all. Boundaries define nothing but only the
chaotic mental set-ups and lagged
and poorly developed attitudes of
the masses. It merely manifests
the wrong interpretation of the
humans about the existence , life
and death. We are all like the shepherds, our stay on the planet is
not constant , we are deemed and
destined to leave this planet and
leave behind all its bounties. We
are to temporarily us this place,
its assets and the bounties. The
supreme reason of the human existence is to carve peace for the
whole of the human kind and live
a calm and soothing life. Each of
the existence must give its part to
foster a superior human kind in its
deeds and understandings to remove the null concepts of borders,
blood shed, blood baths, chaos and
rife and each element turning this
small heaven and the global heaven into a living and burning hell...
Author, a free-lance writer
and an under-graduate economics student can be reached at
[email protected] )
6 Saturday 17012015
Kashmir Observer
Datsun Go+ launched in
srinagar @ 3.79 lacs
SRINAGAR: Lahori Nissan Srinagar, one of the
known dealerships in the city launched the most
awaited family cars “Datsun Go Plus”. “Srinagar
has always nurtured a special fondness for compact family vehicles. The people of Srinagar share
the rare mix of strength and go-getter ability. The
new Datsun Go plus can take them anywhere any
time”, a company statement said.
It has been considered as a re-invention of
Datsun in India by making this model available on Indian roads. This is perhaps the first
ever compact MPV model in the automobile
market which has the capacity to host at least
seven passengers.
Mr. Sohail Khan, Sales Head of Srinagar
Unit specified that there will not be any compromise on driving experience with Datsun
Go+.
He added that it offers features like AC
vents for the second row and foldable third
row seats to increase boot space. Demanding space as a primary factor, the need and
requirements to own a family car at a suitable price by the people will be strongly met
by this Datsun Go plus model. Mr. Nadeem
Bakshi, G.M (Services) remarked on the occasion that srinagar folks are known for
their family lifestyle and it paves the way to
the demand of 7-seater vehicles.
Datsun Go+ stylish image and convenient
pricing structure is expected to be a great hit
among them.
The new Datsun Go plus benefits from its
highly competitive price, maintenance costs and
better fuel efficiency. It is the Datsun Go+ that
aims to target the ever so lucrative MPV space
with a different categorization and price. The
state-of-the-art showroom Lahori Nissan Srinagar is situated at Sempora, Panthachowk on
Jammu-Srinagar Highway.
SICOP Signs
MoU with
ACPGCS Leh
JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir
Small Scale Industries Development
Corporation Limited (SICOP) Signed
Memorandum
of
Understanding with All Changthang Pashmina
Growers Co-operative Society, (ACPGCS) Leh for procurement of Raw
Pashmina and its onwards sale to the
artisans.
This was decided in the high level
meeting held in the Office Chamber
of Financial Commissioner, Industries & Commerce Department, Civil
Secretariat Jammu, Mr. Khurshid Ahmad Ganai.
Chairman-cum-CEC LAHDC, Rigzin Spalbar, Executive Councillor, Sh.
Gurmeet Dorjey, District Dev. Commissioner, Leh, Director Handicrafts,
MD J&K SICOP, Director Finance,
I&C Deptt, Chairman, ACPGCS, Leh,
President, FICK and other officers of
SICOP were present on the occasion.
LoC tension hits tourism in Jammu: Govt
‘Tourism Deptt to develop new
destinations in border areas’
SrinAgAr: Stating that the recent flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan along the International Border and
Line of Control (LoC) hit the tourism sector in Jammu, the
government Friday said that tourism department is exploring
new tourist destinations in Samba and other border areas.
“Some tourist destinations in Jammu region are around the
border areas. Yes I can say that the Jammu tourism industry,
a vital part of the local economy, to some extend was affected
by the recent tensions on borders,” Director Tourism Jammu
R.K Varma told KNS. He said the Department is working on
development of new destinations near Samba and other border areas. “To end this negative impression among the tourists
we are coming up with a new polices to boost the prospects
From Front Page
a deliberate act of Indian parliamentary
JKLF Stages
committee to further destabilize the Petrol Price
protestors hurled stones on police and
para-military men resulting in the ding
dong battles. Police burst tear smoke
shells to disperse the protestors. Eyewitnesses said that few protesters, as well as
some police personnel received injuries
during the clashes. The vehicular movement came to halt due to protest march
and subsequent clashes between the
protestors and the police.
Meanwhile, scores of JKLF activists
took a protest march in North Kashmir’s
Handwara town. The protest march that
was led by District President Muhammad Rafiq War. The march started from
Jamia Qadeem and it culminated at Main
Chowk Handwara.
Eyewitnesses said that as the march
reached Main Chowk, large contingent of
police stopped the participants and detained Rafiq War and other activists.
Will Fight
protected throughout the world. He
said that State Subject Law is not associated to J&K only but many Indian hilly
states including Himachal Pradesh and
Mizoram also having similar kind of laws
to safeguard their ecology and environment.
“In Jammu, some forces want to put
State on fire in the name of the religion.
They are pressurizing government to
grant citizenship to these refugees. If
Indian state, its parliament and political
parties are concerned about these West
Pakistan refugees, why don’t they settle
them permanently in Punjab, Haryana or
Delhi,” he asked.
Malik said the Hindu Maharaja acknowledged the significance of fragility
of Kashmir and that is why he implemented State Subject Law inspite of the
fact that the people of Kashmir were
fighting against his rule.
Hurriyat
Vows
came into power in New Delhi in the
shape of Narendera Modi government
and they are very eager to execute their
already set dangerous policies regarding
to the Kashmir and their actions in haste
will set the Jammu & Kashmir on fire and
the situation will be out of control for
everybody.”
“Settlement of Pakistani refugee in
Jammu & Kashmir resembles the Israel’s
existence in Arab land which doesn’t
have any moral and constitutional justification. Holocaust happened in Germany but its punishment was given to the
Arabs and a dagger was stabbed in their
chest in the shape of Israel. Similarly the
punishment of the partition of India and
Pakistan is being given to the Kashmiris
and it is a conspiracy to make the Kashmiris strangers in their own land,” he
said.
“At the time of partition, millions of
people migrated from here to there vice
versa. Both India and Pakistan permanently settled these people in their respective countries and issued citizenship
in their favour. Jammu & Kashmir is a different issue and according to its disputed
nature and the law of the land, no citizen
of either India or Pakistan can be given
citizenship of this state and nor can be
anyone permanently settled hare. West
Pakistan refugees have no right to become the permanent citizens of Jammu
& Kashmir and the act of recommending
state subjects in their favour and giving
them the voting rights in the assembly
elections is a mischievous act and it is
state and it looks that it is the part of a
vast plan to open the gates for Hindutva
in Jammu & Kashmir,” he alleged.
The spokesman said that Geelani at
present is in Delhi for important health
check-up and on his return, the issue of
permanent settlement of refugees in the
state and giving them the voting rights
will be discussed in detail and a policy
would be formulated to make these attempts ineffective.
Endless Wait:
for three months round the clock
and spending a lot of resources these
MLA’s are desperately waiting for the
oath-taking."
The newly elected legislators are
missing out on government accommodation in Jammu and Srinagar, a
salary of Rs 90,000 a month, free fuel
and medical cover, a liberal travel allowance, Rs 5 lakh as interest-free
housing loan, Rs 1 lakh for an annual family trip, and access to a constituency development fund of Rs 1.5
crore a year, the report said.
However the report said as of now,
MLA’s can be only entitled to a pension of Rs 29,000 a month if fresh
elections are held.
"We were voted by the people and
they want us to work," said a fresher
from PDP.
"We tell them the assembly is in
suspended animation but that is
something they least care about."
One MLA said his expenses on serving tea to visitors were well over Rs
3,000 a day! The situation is especially bewildering for 56 first-timers,
the report said.
Slain
“urged the people to safeguard the
sacrifices offered by the martyrs”. “We
need to take care of these sacrifices and
refrain from activities that are detrimental for the interest of ongoing movement,” he said, adding the youth of Kashmir would continue to resist the control
of New Delhi.
Meanwhile several areas in South and
Central Kashmir observed shutdown on
Friday against the killing of five militants.
The areas which observed the spontaneous strike include Kellar, Aglar,
Kandi, Rajpora, Dalwan, Abhama, Drabgam, Achagoza, Bamnu, Chak Badrinath,
Pakharpora, Qadipora, Chraripora, Mohandpora, Khaigam, Qamrazipora, Rohumu, and other adjoining areas. Shops
and business establishments were closed
while traffic was off the roads.
Reports said anti-India and profreedom protests rocked the Rajpora and
Keller areas of Pulwama district.
Protests were also held in the native
villages of the slain militants soon after
the Friday congregational prayers. Eyewitnesses told CNS that agitated youth
tried to attack the CRPF post at Khaigam
in Pakharpora, however, police used tearsmoke shells to disperse them. The protestors also hurled stones on the private
vehicle (JK028-5045) of a political workers and smashed its windowpanes.
Hundreds of people including the
separatist leaders like Javid Ahmed Mir
and Zafar Akbar Bhat visited the graves
and native villages of the militants and
offered sympathies to the bereaved
families.
October.
New rates will be effective midnight
tonight, Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s
largest fuel retailer, announced here.
In Delhi, petrol will cost Rs 58.91 a
litre, the lowest in 44 months, as compared to Rs 61.33 a litre now. Similarly,
diesel will cost Rs 48.26 a litre in Delhi,
the lowest since April 2013, as against Rs
50.51 currently.
This is the fourth hike in excise duty
since November and cumulatively customers have been denied the benefit of
Rs 7.75 per litre reduction in petrol and
Rs 6.50 a litre cut in diesel rates that was
warranted due to the slump in oil price
to USD 46 per barrel.
A Finance Ministry notification said
the excise duty on unbranded petrol is
being hiked to Rs 8.95 per litre and that
on unbranded diesel to Rs 7.96 per litre.
The four excise duty hikes will result
in about Rs 20,000 crore in additional
revenue this fiscal and will help the government meet its fiscal deficit target of
4.1 per cent of the GDP.
Petrol and diesel prices were last cut
on December 16 by Rs 2 per litre each.
Including Friday's reduction, petrol
price have been cut by Rs 14.69 per litre
on a cumulative basis since August, while
diesel rates in five downward revisions
have been slashed by a total of Rs 10.71
a litre.
Crude oil price in June was at USD 115
per barrel.
GOI Concerned
accidents in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district and Banihal.
Gadkari said that the hilly State of
Jammu and Kashmir is not the lone example where the National Highway
and other link roads pass over hills and
gorges. “The authorities in the Jammu
and Kashmir should go tough against the
traffic violators and should constitute
special checking squads to the increasing
road accidents,” he said.
He added that the Union Ministry
of Road Transport and Highways has
conducted research on the reasons for
increasing road accidents and has observed that lack of education, enforcement, engineering and emergency are
the main reasons for the growing accidents. “I urge the Transport department
of Jammu and Kashmir to focus on it if
they want that the number of road accidents should come down,” Gadkari said
and added that it is also the responsibility of the public to prevent road accidents
by following the rules properly.
The Minister advised Jammu and
Kashmir government that Road Safety
Council and District Road Safety Committees should be constituted to monitor mandatory safety measures for the
vehicles plying on the roads in the State.
It is to mention here that the State
Government has constituted the Road
Safety Council but nobody knows what
the Council has been doing. Surprisingly
the Transport Department is almost unaware about the Road Safety Council of
the State.
US Hails
UN Security Council listed JuD as an
alias of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) terror group. Hafiz Saeed was listed as leader of LeT and Zaki-ur-Rehman
Lakhvi, Haji Mohammad Ashraf, and
Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq
as senior LeT members. In 2002, its pre-
of tourism in the Jammu region. In order to boost the tourist
arrivals, the Department has identified some border hamlets
that will promote rural tourism,” Verma said.
He said that the Jammu region is expected to be much better in the coming months than it remained during the last
months in terms of tourist arrivals.
“Jammu region with its vast possibilities has immense potential for the sustenance of the tourism industry. Jammu has
vious incarnation, Markaz dawa wal Irshad was banned after the US launched
its war on terror. Times of India’s Indrani
Bagchi reports that on both occasions,
officials in New Delhi said, the group
re-emerged with a new name and new
bank accounts. After the 2008 ban, Jamaat emerged as Tehreek-e-Tahafuz
Qibla Awal with its leadership, connections and funds intact.
The ban on the Haqqani network will
be a first, even though in the past few
months, the Pakistani army has launched
military operations in North Waziristan,
the declared home of the Haqqanis.
Despite the sense of scepticism in
India, the US State Department Deputy
Spokesperson Marie Harf, was upbeat
about the development. She told reporters in Washington “We welcome the reports that the Government of Pakistan
plans to outlaw the Haqqani Network,
Jamaat-ud-Dawa, and I think about ten
other organisations linked to violent extremism.”
Press Trust of India quoted Ms Harf as
saying, “Certainly, this would be an important step going forward. We certainly
believe that if this goes forward, that it
would be an important step.”
“We have a long history of close cooperation with Pakistan on counter-terrorism efforts. We’ve been very clear with
the Pakistani government that they need
to crack down and go after all terrorist groups that threaten them, threaten
their people- their people are, unfortunately, the victims of more terrorist attacks than, people probably anywhere
else,” she said.
“It is an ongoing conversation, certainly, but this would be a very important step,” she added.
Mr. Kerry, she said, had a successful visit to Pakistan, referring to the just
concluded visit of Secretary of State John
Kerry to Islamabad.
“He had a number of conversations,
not just about counter-terrorism issues
- although that was a huge focus, and obviously wanted to personally express his
condolences over the horrific attack in
Peshawar — but also about the economic
issues and other issues,” she said.
“It’s a broad relationship that goes
beyond security. I think that was a really
key part of what he wanted to focus on
when he was there. The banning of these
terrorist groups is obviously for the government of Pakistan to decide on, but it
was a very good visit,” the State Department spokesperson said.
However, commentators in India are
less optimistic. In the past week, Pakistan's finance minister jumped the gun
to say that the US state department
would certify Islamabad's compliance
on terrorism to release $532 million
in aid. The state department rushed to
deny the reports. For Pakistan, banning
terror organisations could be a good
box to check, in this respect, and observers are questioning if that is what
is really going on. -
RTI Reveals
bungling has not only been done in
money, but the timber has also been
swindled. “How can you justify expenditure of Rs 22.40 lakhs on maintenance of
building in just one year and major portion of which has been spent in the last
two months of the financial year? You
can’t spent this whopping amount on
maintenance of building,” they said.
Claiming that most of the funds in the
Division have been swindled over the
years, sources said, “What is the logic of
huge potential in tourism of all kinds be it sightseeing, religious tourism, adventure or historic places,” he said.
The Director said that tourism has historically remained
an instrument of economic growth in the State of Jammu
& Kashmir and has contributed a lot in developing the
economy. “This sector has given jobs to a large number of
people and generated economic activities especially in the
hilly sectors,” he said.
posting an ineligible official as DFO of a
premier division? KNS
Major Infiltration
hours, the sources said.
Following the intrusion bid, the army
placed whole area under cordon for
whole night and conducted a search operation in the morning. “However, nothing was found,” they said.
The fresh infiltration bid came a day after army warned of attacks by militants
ahead of US president Barack Obama’s
scheduled visit to India.
Kargil Shivers
nights.
On Thursday, the city had recorded a
low of 0.5 degree Celsius.
Kargil was the coldest recorded place
in the state with a low of minus 11.0 degree Celsius - down by nearly one degree.
He said Leh town recorded a minimum of minus 10.0 degree Celsius
against the previous night's minus 8.3
degree Celsius.
Gulmarg was the coldest recorded
place in the Valley with a minimum
of minus 6.2 degree Celsius - up by 1.2
degrees against the previous night, the
spokesman said.
The north Kashmir hill resort along
with other high altitude areas experienced snowfall on Tuesday ending a long
dry spell.
The plains including Srinagar were
also lashed by intermittent rains the
same day, much to the relief of people.
saturday
17 01 2015 Kashmir Observer

NEWS

25 Die Of Cold In India Riot Camps
TRANS ASIA NEWS
MEERUT: Along with the elections, those consigned to riot
camps in Muzaffarnagar in August 2013 have been abandoned
and left to fend for themselves in
the bitter cold engulfing northern India at this time of year.
Ahead of the general elections of 2014, the over 50,000
people who had fled their villages to escape the communal violence to settle in these
camps were considered captive
vote banks. Politicians regularly
visited to seek votes and make
promises of rehabilitating them
at the time, but this winter, 25
people have quietly succumbed
to the cold and hardly anyone
seems to know or care.
TOI which visited Muzaffarnagar to take stock of the
situation reports that the camps
there continue to house a little
over 3,500 riot refugees. Shamli,
it says has another 700 refugees.
Grieving relatives of the 25 latest victims of the winter chill
reportedly struggled to find as
much as a decent burial place.
Mohd Irfan at the relief camp
at Loi village says, last year, the
situation was quite different. He
would sit outside his tent and
count the number of politicians
visiting those made homeless in
the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar that killed 62 people
in August 2013 and displaced
thousands.
The 35 year old Irfan says,
what was a poll-issue during
elections has now been conveniently forgotten. “thand toh
abhi bhi utni hi hai, bas ab neta
log nahi aate.” (It's as cold now
as it was last year, just that no
politicians come here anymore),
he said.
The disinterest in those still
struggling at the relief camps
is reflected by the level of ignorance and apathy in the district administration. Indramani
Tripathi, additional district
magistrate of Muzaffarnagar,
claimed there were hardly any
camps left in the area. "All the
people at the relief camps in
Muzaffarnagar were rehabilitated by December 2013. Moreover,
not a single person has died in
Muzaffarnagar in these winters,” he told TOI.
Asked why the district administration has not been able
to provide even basic amenities
to the riot victims, Tripathi said,
"Rehabilitation is a process. It
takes time. A Rs 300 crore-project under Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) will
be sanctioned in the coming financial year. That will take care
of the electricity and water connections for the rehabilitated
people."
However, NGO Astitva, which
has been working for the rehabilitation of the riot victims,
said the chill had begun to claim
lives from the end of October
last year.
3-year-old Simran who died
in Loi on November 5, 2014,
leaving wailing parents behind,
is one of many victims. Originally a resident of riot-hit Faguna,
Yakub, Simran's father, said, “We
tried to keep her warm and fed
her. She survived the 2013 winter, thanks to the help which
came from the government,
but this year she gave up on the
struggle.”
Minimum temperatures in
Muzaffarnagar are reported to
have gone down to as low as
2.5 degrees Celsius. Coupled
with a severe shortage of fuel,
food and medicines, the flimsy
tents, many of them with holes
in them, haven't been able to
protect the refugees much. Their
best hope has been to huddle together at night and pray for the
next day to be warmer.
Crouched inside a tent in
Shahpur, Jahid, who lost his wife
Zarina in November last year,
said, “Sometimes I feel it would
have been better had we died in
the riots. At least we would have
been away from all this ruckus
of compensation. We lost our
dignity long back fighting for the
money which the government
says is due to us.”
Maqsood, a riot victim in
Budhana, alleged that getting
their hands on the compensa-
tion amount of Rs 5 lakh announced by the Akhilesh Yadav
government has been an excruciating struggle. “Many people
have not got it till now. I, too,
have not got any compensation.
Because of that I still have to live
in a tent. My wife, Pachho, died
of the cold. I don't know when I
will get the money.”
Those who have managed to
get the compensation and built
small houses in villages nearby
don't have electricity and water
connections. Jaan Mohammed,
who fled from Shamli to Budhana, said, “We have to indulge
in katiyamari (getting unauthorised power through a hooked,
extended wire from an electricity source). What can we do
when the government doesn't
help us? Are we supposed to live
in the dark?”
Rehana Adeeb, director, Astitva, said, “It is sad that the government doesn't consider these
places as camps. The administration has its own perspective
and tries to keep a clean image
in front of the media. But the
reality is that these camps exist
and the people there are striving
for rehabilitation and survival.”
–
RehabIlItatIOn Is a pROCess. It takes tIme. A Rs 300 crore-project under Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MSDP) will be
sanctioned in the coming financial year. That will take care of the electricity and water connections for the rehabilitated people."
Dubai: Palestinian Islamist
group Hamas on Tuesday denied reports that its leader
Khaled Meshaal has been expelled from Qatar.
“There is no truth to what
some media outlets have published over the departure by
brother Khaled Meshaal from
Doha,” Hamas official Ezzat Al
Rishq said by telephone.
Another Hamas source confirmed that Meshaal was still
in Doha. The Israeli regime’s
foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday praising Qatar for kicking out Meshaal. It
said the decision came after
heavy lobbying by Israel, which
considers Hamas to be a terror-
ist group.
Its Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman “pushed over the
last few years a number of processes in both covert and overt
channels with Qatar itself and
other nations to bring about
the situation in which Qatar
would take such a step and halt
its assistance to Hamas, both
directly and indirectly,” reported Haaretz.
Hamas belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood umbrella
group, which is considered by
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the
UAE as a terrorist group. The
unconfirmed reports said Meshaal may move his base to
Tehran.
Beirut: Lebanese Hezbollah
has detained one of its own
operatives who has confessed
to spying for Israel, its leader
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
acknowledged for the first
time on Thursday, in a case
that has shattered the group’s
aura of impenetrability.
Local media reported the
arrest several weeks ago,
describing the man as an
officer overseeing foreign
operations, but Hezbollah
had previously declined to
comment.
Nasrallah told Beirutbased Al Mayadeen TV that
the man was detained five
months ago and had confessed to working for Israel’s
intelligence service, Mossad.
He said the arrest demonstrated Hezbollah’s vigilance
in its 32 years of struggle
against the Israeli regime.
“For me this is a breach
and should not happen but
if it happens then it is part
of the battle, it is part of the
war between us and Israel,”
he said.
Censor Board head Muhammad
Ali readmitted
quits over MSG nod to hospital
NEW DELHI: A day after Censor
Board chief Leela Samson quit over
clearance to controversial film
Messenger of God, featuring Dera
Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram
Rahim Singh in the lead role, the
government of India denied any
interference in the board's functioning. “There was no government interference in clearing the
film Messenger of God", minister
of state for Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore told
reporters in New Delhi on Friday,
16 Jan. Commenting on Ms. Samson’s resignation, the minister said,
“This is her personal choice, the
government has no comment on
it.” He also said, “The Censor Board
is an independent body, it needs
to behave like one,” and that the
decision of the Film Certification
Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) over the
film should be final and accepted
by all. Amidst reports that the film
has been cleared by FCAT, the Censor Board chief had resigned on
Thursday night. Asked if she was
aware of media reports that the
Tribunal had cleared the film's
screening, Samson told Press Trust
of India “I hear so. Nothing in writing yet. It is a mockery of Central
Board of Film Certification. My resignation is final. Have informed the
(I&B) Secretary".
Asked why she has decided to
quit, she did not specifically refer
to the reported clearance to the
film but said the reasons cited are
alleged "interference, coercion and
corruption of panel members and
officers of the organisation who are
appointed by the ministry."
BlaBlaCar Brings
Car-pooling to india
tRans asIa neWs
NEW DELHI: French startup BlaBlaCar, which has become the world's
largest long-distance ride-sharing community on the back of deteriorating public transport systems across the world, is launching in India
on Wednesday. Backed by European and US venture capital firms, including Index Ventures and Accel Partners, BlaBlaCar will connect car
owners and co-travellers to travel together on city-to-city journeys
and share the cost of the journey.For starters, BlaBlaCar (a play on
in-car babble between driver and passengers) plans to cash in on the
3.5 lakh people visiting the Jaipur Literature Fest slated to be held between January 21 and 25 reports the Times Of India.A person driving
from Delhi to Jaipur , for instance with empty seats can post that fact
on BlaBlaCar's website after checking in through his Facebook profile.
Others travelling to Jaipur can hook up with him and travel together.
"A trip like that would cost around Rs 700 per person," says Raghav
Gupta, country manager India with BlaBlaCar. "The company controls
the rates in such a way that the car owner/driver cannot earn a profit.
The earnings may just cover the fuel costs. This will keep commercial
players including taxi operators at bay."
New York: Boxing legend
Muhammad Ali has been
readmitted to hospital for follow up care for a urinary tract
infection, his second spell in
the last four weeks.
Family spokesperson Bob
Gunnel Thursday said Ali,
who turns 73 Saturday, was in
a stable condition after being
admitted to an undisclosed
hospital, reports the dailymail.co.uk.
Ali was earlier discharged
from hospital Tuesday night
after recovering form the
same infection. 'There were
further issues with the earlier
diagnosis of a urinary tract
infection,' said Gunnell.
Ali, considered by many to
be the greatest boxer of all
time, retired from the sport
in 1981 and has suffered
with Parkinson's disease - a
degenerative disorder of the
central nervous system - since
the mid-80s.
CBI to question
'godman' on
castration case
TRANS ASIA NEWS
CHANDIGARH/
INDIA:India’s
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case
against self-styled godman
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of
Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda,
in connection with the alleged
forced castration of 400 of his
followers.
Political parties in India’s fertile region of Punjab and Haryana the Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) and religious group
comprising the Sirsa Sikhs have
demanded that the CBI immediately arrest the controversial god
man in the mass castration case.
They said that the Dera chief
should be treated like a common
person during the course of the
investigation.
On January 7, CBI registered a
case of cheating, causing grievous injury, intimidation and
criminal conspiracy under various sections of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC) against the Dera chief
and others at the agency's special crime branch in New Delhi.
A petition was filed in the
high court in 2012 by a follower
of Dera demanding a CBI inquiry
and compensation for his alleged
castration in 2000, CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said.
Prasad was quoted by media,
that petitioner Hansraj Chauhan
has alleged that around 400 male
devotees, including himself, belonging to Haryana, Punjab and
Rajasthan, were castrated at the
Dera ashram after its Ram Rahim
falsely claimed that the castration would lead to “realisation of
God through him”.
Prasad also said the CBI was
not keen to question to the Dera
chief in Sirsa. “No arrest will be
made, if the Dera chief co-operates. But any resistance will urge
us to use force.”
The court had earlier ordered
a medical examination of the
petitioner from the government
multi-speciality hospital, which
found that he had indeed been
castrated.
Ram Rahim is also facing trial
in connection with cases of murders of a journalist and a Dera
follower and sexual exploitation
of his women disciples. -- AC
Iran Overshadows
America in Iraq
BAGHDAD: In the eyes of most
Iraqis, their country’s best ally in
the war against terror is not the
United States and the coalition air
campaign against the militants.
It’s Iran, which is credited with
stopping the extremists’ march on
Baghdad.
Iran has effectively taken
charge of Iraq’s defense, meeting
the Iraqi government’s need for
immediate help on the ground.
Two to three Iranian military
aircraft a day land at Baghdad
airport, bringing in weapons
and ammunition. Iran’s most
potent military force and best
known general — the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force
and its commander Gen. Qasem
Soleimani — are organizing Iraqi
forces and have become the de
facto leaders of Iraqi militias that
are the backbone of the fight. Iran
carried out airstrikes to help push
militants from an Iraqi province
on its border.
The result is that Tehran’s influence in Iraq, already high since U.S. forces
left at the end of 2011, has
grown to an unprecedented
level.
Airstrikes by the U.S.-led
coalition have helped push
back the militants in parts
of the north, including
breaking a siege of a Shia
town. But many Iraqis believe the Americans mainly
want to help the Kurds.
Airstrikes helped Kurdish forces stop extremists
threatening the capital of
the Kurdish autonomous
zone, Irbil, in August. But
even that feat is accorded
by many Iraqis to a timely
Iranian support to the
Kurds.
The meltdown of Iraq’s
military in the face of the
extremists’ summer blitz
across much of northern
and western Iraq gave Iran
the opportunity to step in. A flood
of volunteers joined the fight to
fill the void, bolstering the ranks
of militias already allied with Iran.
Those militias have now been
more or less integrated into Iraq’s
official security apparatus, an Iraqi
government official said, calling
this the Islamic State group’s “biggest gift” to Tehran.
“Iran’s hold on Iraq grows
tighter and faster every day,” he
said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
Over the past year, Iran sold
Iraq nearly $10 billion worth of
weapons and hardware, mostly
weapons for urban warfare like
assault rifles, heavy machine-guns
and rocket launchers, he said.
The daily stream of Iranian cargo
planes bringing weapons to Baghdad was confirmed at a news conference by a former militia leader,
Jamal Jaafar. Better known by his
alias Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis,
Jaafar is second in command of
the recently created state agency
in charge of volunteer fighters.
Some Sunnis are clearly worried. Sunni lawmaker Mohammed
al-Karbuly said the United States
must increase its support of Iraq
W
i
d
Abhishek buys Rs 41 e
crore flat in Mumbai A
MUMBAI: Bollywood star and
only son of acting legend Amitabh
Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan has
grabbed the headlines by parking
an enormous sum of Rs. 41.14 crore
in a luxury apartment in the prime
Annie Besant Road area of Worli,
Mumbai. With his high-value investment, the Junior Bachchan has
joined the big league of b-town
stars to pick real estate over the
stock market as a safer bet.
According to TOI, the fivebedroom house that the actor has
chosen includes a family room,
dining and living rooms, wet and
dry kitchens and 20 feet terraces
on all sides. This is reportedly
one of the few projects in the city
where authorities have sanctioned
such unusually large terraces. The
price works out to Rs 1.06 lakh a
sq ft for the 3,875 sq ft flat for the
apartment on the 37th floor of
Skylark Towers. The stamp duty
amount for Abhishek's apartment
itself apparently works out to Rs
2.05 crore. A separate club house
membership fee of Rs 25 lakh and
development charges of Rs 35 lakh
are also part of the sale agreement.
The building comprises two
wings, each 67 floors high constructed by Oasis Realty, a joint
venture between developer Vikas Oberoi and dance bar ownerturned-realtor Sudhakar Shetty.
A building industry source said
film personalities prefer to pay by
cheque. “There is no cash component at all, unlike the earlier days,”
he said.Property market and film
industry sources said film celebrities invest in residential and commercial projects or buy sprawling
penthouses, row houses and bungalows for personal use. The preferred locations are in the suburbs
between Bandra and Andheri.
Other Bollywood actors like actor Hrithik Roshan and his father
Rakesh, are also believed to be big
investors in property. Last year,
they pumped in Rs 70 crore to develop a plot off Andheri Link Road.
The 3,000 sq m plot near Infiniti
mall will be used to build a 26-storey high-end residential tower in a
joint venture with a local developer.About a year ago, Hrithik moved
into a 3,600 sq ft apartment in
Prime Beach building near the
Hare Krishna temple at Juhu. He
has taken the flat on leave and licence and is paying a monthly rent
of Rs 6.5 lakh. Akshay Kumar also
has a flat in Prime Beach.
In July last, actor Shahid Kapoor
is reported to have paid Rs 30 crore
for a sprawling apartment with a
garden in Pranita building on Juhu
Tara Road. Actor Vidya Balan too
has a flat in this building, reportedly purchased for a similar amount.
Actor Emran Hashmi is believed
to have shelled out Rs 15 crore for
an apartment on Pali Hill a year
ago. Saif Ali Khan and wife Kareena
bought a penthouse for Rs 23.50
crore in Satguru Sharan building in
Khar (West) two years ago.
against the extremists in order to
reduce Iran’s influence.
“Iran now dominates Iraq,” he
said.
Equally key to Iran’s growing
influence has been a persistent
suspicion of Washington’s intentions, particularly among Shia
militiamen.
Hadi al-Amiri, a prominent
politician close to Iran and leader
n
g
l
e
Gen. Qasem Soleimani
of the powerful Badr militia,
complained in a recent television
interview that Iraq was a victim of
decades of “wrong” U.S. policies
in the Middle East. He charged
that the precursors of the region’s
Sunni extremists had in the past
enjoyed U.S. patronage.
“We fear that the objective of
the U.S.-led coalition is to contain
Daesh, rather than exterminate
it,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the ISIL.
Speaking this week at a
memorial service in Iran for
a Revolutionary Guard officer
killed by an ISIL sniper, al-Amiri
mused that Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi’s three-monthold administration would have
been a “government-in-exile” if
not for Iran’s swift help to protect
Baghdad.
The praise does not just come
from Shia politicians.
During a trip to Tehran last
week, Iraq’s Sunni defense minister, Khaled al-Obeidi, said Iran’s
help against the militants is a
“strategic necessity” for Iraq.
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart
Jones acknowledged to The Associated Press that Iran plays an
important role in fighting ISIL. He
made clear there was no interaction between the U.S. and Iranian
operations.
“Let’s face it, Iran is an important neighbor to Iraq. There has to
be cooperation between Iran and
Iraq,” he said in a Dec. 4 interview.
“The Iranians are talking to the
Iraqi security forces and we’re
talking to Iraqi security forces .
We’re relying on them to do the
de-confliction.”
U.S. Army Gen. Martin
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, said Washington
is watching the relationship carefully.
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Hezbollah
Qatar Likely To
Top
Deport Hamas Chief Admits
Israel Spy
in Group

news
Ex-AAP leader
Shazia joins BJP
New Delhi: Former AAP leader
Shazia Ilmi Friday joined the BJP
'for the rest of my life' after lavishing praise on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
A day after former police officer
Kiran Bedi formally joined the
Bharatiya Janata Party, it was the
turn of Ilmi, who broke ranks
some time ago with Aam Aadmi
Party leader Arvind Kejriwal.
'There is indeed a new political
discourse in the country, and we
must all be a part of it,' the journalist-turned-politician told the
media in the company of Delhi
BJP president Satish Upadhyay.
She admitted she had had differences with the BJP and the Congress in the past.
'But in the last six months I have
realized that the prime minister
is doing a good job. The way he
invoked Mahatma Gandhi's name
for the Swacch Bharat (Clean India) campaign is very impressive,'
she said.
Ilmi had contested - and narrowly
lost - the December 2013 assembly elections on AAP ticket.
C M Y K
'Sonia's book never banned,
it wasn't allowed to publish'
New Delhi: Publisher Roli Books, set to
release Congress president Sonia Gandhi's biography, said Friday said the book
was never banned in India but its Spanish publisher had found 'the atmosphere
was not right' to publish it in 2008.
Written by Spanish author Javier Moro
'My Red Sari' (El Sari
Rojo), which will release
here Saturday, was originally published in Spanish in 2008 and became
an instant bestseller in
the European and international markets.
However, when the publishers decided to bring
it to India, they faced protests from
the Congress party, which called the
biography 'completely imaginary and
invented conversations'.
'It would be wrong to say that the
book was banned in India. Our publication never faced any pressure from
anyone. It was the Spanish publishers
who felt that the atmosphere was not
right to publish the book then,' Pramod
Kapoor, publisher and CEO Roli Books,
told IANS.
'They didn't want to publish it and I
was not privy to their talks with the
Congress party or lawyers,' he added.
Kapoor was quick to also
add that the book doesn't
offer any 'controversial'
elements and in fact talks
about Gandhi's strength
and how from being a
foreigner she helmed
one of the most powerful
positions in the country.
For this edition, the author has written
an epilogue and included last year's
Lok Sabha elections in which Congress
party won only 44 seats in the 545
member house, with the polls being
held for 543 seats.
Once close to Kejriwal, Ilmi was
reportedly unhappy that the AAP
fielded her in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 from Ghaziabad in
Uttar Pradesh where she finished
a distant fifth.
Ilmi earlier called on BJP president
Amit Shah. She said she expected
'nothing' from the BJP.
'You can ask Amit Bhai and others.
I have not asked for anything,' she
said. 'It is an opportunity to serve
my city and nation.'
Ilmi further said that it was her
decision to not fight the election
and she hoped that the party will
respect that.
'However, I am ready to take up
any responsibility that the party
gives me,' she added.
Along with Ilmi, music director Anand
Raaj Anand too joined the party.
India has the most public
holidays in the world
TRANS ASIA NEWS
MUMBAI: According to a study
done by online travel portal
Wego to compare the number of
public holidays enjoyed by the
work force of different nationalities, India stands alone at the top
with around 21 days each year,
even more depending on which
state one lives in. This defies the
perception that office-goers in
developing nations are perhaps
holiday-deprived. Asian neighbours like the Philippines, China,
Hong Kong, and Malaysia follow
the trend in India, albeit with diminishing numbers.
According to Joachim Holte,
Chief Marketing Officer of Wego,
“In the Asia/Pacific region, the
Philippines follows with 18 and
then there is China, Hong Kong
with 17 holidays each. Thailand
receives 16, 15 in Malaysia and
Vietnam, 14 for Indonesia, 13
in Taiwan and South Korea, 11
in Singapore and 10 in Australia
and New Zealand.”
TOI reports that according to the
study, Europeans don't fare too
badly with Sweden and Lithuania offering the most at 15 (the
latter with an additional 28 days
of paid leave), followed by 14 in
Slovakia, 13 in Austria, Belgium
and Norway and 12 in Finland
and Russia. Spain and the UK are
the least holiday-minded, with
only eight. In the United Arab
Emirates, another fast developing travel market, you can expect
11 public holidays in 2015.
Holte said, “China is not only one
of the fastest growing travel segments in the world, their government makes it easy for workers
to take longer breaks. Should the
year's public holidays fall on a
weekend the government swaps
the official dates with weekdays,
maximising time off.” As a result of the adjustment, this year,
the total of 17 public holidays in
China equates to 28 days off. Similarly the Taiwanese total of 13
public holidays results in 29 days
off, inclusive of weekends.
Mexico has the lowest in the
world with only seven public
holidays each year although the
government permits a few more
'optional' public holidays, at the
employer's discretion.
The survey finds that in some
countries a little more in the way
of statutory holiday leave is provided which can top up public
holidays. For instance, the public
holiday count of 18 in the Philippines is increased with an additional five days mandatory holiday leave, and while Australian
workers receive around ten public holidays depending on which
state you live in, annual holiday
leave entitlement totals an additional 20 working days. --
Kerala writer announces his 'death'
TRANS ASIA NEWS
CheNNAi: Popular Indian writer Perumal Murugan, one of the
finest writers of his generation
in the Tamil language has announced his ‘death’ on Facebook
over lack of freedom of speech.
Perumal Murugan, 48, wrote
on behalf of Perumal Murugan.
“Author Perumal Murugan is
dead. He is no God. Hence, he
will not resurrect. Hereafter,
only P Murugan, a teacher, will
live,” it reads.
With these dramatic words on
his Facebook page, the renowned
Indian writer announced his
decision to give up writing forever. The provocation: wrathful
protests against his novel Madhorubhagan by local Hindu and
caste-based groups.
Madhorubhagan, first published in 2010, is set a century
ago, It's a gripping fictional
account of a poor, childless
couple, and how the wife, who
wants to conceive, takes part
in an ancient Hindu chariot
festival where, on one night,
consensual sex between any
man and woman is allowed.
Murugan explores the tyranny
of caste and pathologies of a
community in tearing the cou-
Ranji TRophy
Imran Haroon
denies Bengal win, keeps J&K in quarters hunt
Bengal bowlers again failed to provide decisive blows as debutant imran haroon’s
century helped Jammu and Kashmir get a
point to remain in hunt for a quarter-final
berth in the Ranji Trophy.
Set a stiff target of 337 from 76 overs after
Bengal declared their second innings for
264/5, Jammu & Kashmir made merry on an
eased out Eden Gardens strip with Haroon
standing tall with an unbeaten 103 that had
nine boundaries and a six.
With 11 points from six games, Jammu and
Kashmir still have an outside chance while
Bengal with 10 points from five games are
in the sixth spot, improving from their last
position before this round.
Disappointed with the way the surface behaved, Bengal skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla
said: "It was a good wicket, as far as batting was concerned. I did not see a single
ball turning from the 70-odd overs we
bowled.”
“Yes it’s the
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Kashmir Observer

bowler’s job to get the turn but at the same
time you expect some help from the pitch.
We did not get an iota of support from the
pitch but no regrets. There was no help from
the wicket so it was a brave decision to set
them a target of 336 from 76 overs.”
Earlier, Bengal batted for exactly for an
hour and could manage only 48 runs
from 14 overs before declaring the innings for 264/5.
This was Bengal’s third successive draw at
home, and on the last two occasions they
wasted opportunities to register outright
wins, failing to exploit the home conditions.
Brief Scores Bengal 387 and 264/5 declared;
58 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 63, Manoj
Tiwary 61, Arindam Das 60). Jammu &
Kashmir 315 and 219/2; 70.2 overs (Imran
Haroon 102 not out, Adil Reshi 58, Ian Dev
Singh Chauhan 56 not out). Points: Bengal
3; Jammu & Kashmir 1.
Karnataka grab 3 points from draw
Defending champions Karnataka grabbed three
points, owing to their first innings lead, after
Aditya Shrivastava (108) and Naman Ojha
(115) came up with contrasting centuries to help
Madhya
Pradesh score 277-3 in their second innings
on the fourth and final day of the drawn Ranji
match.
Karnataka had surpassed Madhya Pradesh’s
first innings score of 303 on Thursday,
reaching 516 for 8 at stumps with Abhimanyu Mithun and Udit Patel at the crease.
Brief Score: Madhya Pradesh: 303 & 277/3
in 69 overs. (A Shrivastava 108, N Ojha 115;
R Vinay Kumar 1/17). Karnataka: 522 all out
in 172.2 overs (M Pandey 193, S Gopal 124;
P M Datey 4/80).
Baroda bag three points
Baroda bagged the all important
three points by taking the first innings lead against Railways on day
four morning before the Ranji
match ended in a dull draw.
Railways, needing 48 runs to get past
Baroda’s 298, lost their remaining
three wickets for 12 runs to end
at 263, offering little resistance
against the left-arm pace of Irfan Pathan and Gagandeep
Singh. Baroda were 240 for
five in their second innings when play was
called off.
ple apart and destroying their
marriage.
It is also not entirely clear why
the groups got worked up over
a novel published in Tamil four
years ago. Murugan reckons the
English translation ‘One Part
Woman’ which was published
last year by Penguin, is probably
the reason, and that “ somebody
who read it could have instigat-
ed the local organisations”.
In December, the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) burnt
copies of the book and called for
a day-long strike, prompting his
publishers and writers to issue a
strong statement.
None of the political parties - regional or national - have spoken in
support of Murugan.
The Hindu quoted Murugan,
“There is “no evidence”, that
such a mating ritual ever existed
and only stories about it were
passed on orally. The temple has
11 festivals every year and the
chariot festival seems to be still
continuing, going by the temple
website pictures.”
One critic said the novel "lays
bare with unsparing clarity a relationship caught between the
dictates of social conventions
and the tug of personal anxi-
eties". Fellow writers lauded
Murugan's stark and shocking
imagery and his "sensitive portrait" of the couple.
"Childless couples, especially
the women in these marriages,
suffer untold humiliation even
today. If anything deserves to
be banned, it is this control over
women's sexuality," wrote the
BBC's Soutik Biswas in a quote
attributed to Murugan's translator Aniruddhan Vasudevan.
Murugan's novels are rooted
in the western region of Tamil
Nadu where he was born. His
stories are peopled by characters caught up in the whirligig
of maddening change, struggling
peasants, a child bonded to work
in an upper caste home to repay
the loan taken by his father. He
has been outspoken about the
evil practice of caste discrimination. --AC
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C M Y K
8 SATURDAY 17 01 2015
It was a good
wicket, as far
as batting was
concerned. I did
not see a single
ball turning from
the 70-odd overs
we bowled.
Bengal :
j&K :
315 and 219/2; 70.2 overs
(imran haroon 102 not out,
adil Reshi 58, ian Dev Singh
Chauhan 56 not out).
Points: Bengal 3 | jammu & Kashmir 1
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387 and 264/5
declared; 58 overs
(abhimanyu easwaran
63, Manoj Tiwary 61,
arindam Das 60).