oppn parties The J&K Impasse Must Be Ended

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Tragedy in Kolkata: Stampede at the Chor Bagan Pujo results in 18 people losing their lives and scores injured /////// The stampede was caused by a sudden downpour which made people in the heavy crowd run for cover
oppn parties
The J&K Impasse Must Be Ended

By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-10-27 10:06:34

That Home Minister Amit Shah chose to visit J&K amid renewed terrorist activity and rising violence in the UT against non-Kashmiris was good. He reviewed the security situation in details with top officers of the state police, the CRPF and the Army. But apart from restating the already known position of the Centre, Shah did not make any important announcements. He also chose not to meet representatives of any political parties in the UT. In fact, by picking on "three families" whose strong-arm tactics, according to him, did not let the erstwhile state develop, Shah made it clear that the resumption of the political process in the UT will be difficult and filled with hurdles. For, despite the Centre's attempts to bring in new people's representatives through the panchayat elections, it is clear that the Abdullahs and the Muftis still hold the key to political stability in the UT as those elected to the panchayats are not able to move about in public because of the threat to their lives.

Then, Shah reiterated that delimitation, elections and statehood would happen in that order, dismissing the demand from political parties in the UT to grant statehood first and then hold elections. It is clear that for the time being, the Centre wants a Delhi-type situation in J&K with the Lt. Governor calling the shots despite an elected assembly. But if that is not working in Delhi, it is also not likely to work in J&K. Further, unlike Delhi, the police will be controlled by the elected government in J&K. Hence, it will be better if the Centre makes its stand absolutely clear and draws up a timeline when J&K will be granted statehood. Then, it must sit with the political parties in the state, clear their mistrust over the delimitation exercise, complete it and hold elections fast. For their part, the J&K parties should allow the delimitation exercise as it is overdue (the last delimitation in J&K was done in 1995 using the figures of 1981 Census) and protest only when due process is not followed.

Any outreach effort is unlikely to succeed as long as the remaining restrictions are not lifted and the people do not feel they are free to move about and act as they wish to. If the people are made to feel that they in an open jail then they will view Delhi as the oppressor. There is no doubt that the government has to keep an eye on the security situation and prevent Pakistan from fomenting trouble in the valley, but a balance must be struck to make the common man feel free and secure. The abrogation of Article 370 was supposed to be the first step in correcting the situation in J&K. But the way things are moving (or not moving) it seems the government does not know how to progress to the next step. 

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