oppn parties What Next In J&K? The Lockdown Cannot Be Sustained For Long

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  • Supreme Court questions the continuing relevance of two-child norms. The Court observed that falling fertility rates have weakened the population-control rationale behind laws disqualifying people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. It referred the issue to a larger Bench for consideration
  • Supreme Court declines to shift Tirupati laddu case outside Andhra Pradesh. The Court rejected a plea seeking transfer of the trial, despite arguments that political statements by Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister could affect the fairness of proceedings
  • Supreme Court transfers Azam Khan's fresh ED bail plea to Allahabad High Court. The apex court declined to consider the Samajwadi Party leader's bail request in a fresh Enforcement Directorate case and directed that it be listed before a division Bench of the High Court on November 16
  • Two killed in Delhi building collapse; contractor booked. Two bodies were recovered after a building collapsed in Chawri Bazaar. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the contractor had been booked and the concerned junior and assistant engineers suspended
  • Uttar Pradesh voter rolls show a 2.4-crore discrepancy. A difference of approximately 2.4 crore names has been reported between the state's panchayat and rural Assembly voter lists. The Election Commission has ordered the two sets of rolls to be matched
  • Gujarat announces 3% dearness allowance hike. The state government announced a three-percentage-point increase in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali
  • Sensex and Nifty post their strongest single-day gains in months. The Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60%, to close at 79,310.01, while the Nifty 50 climbed 576 points, or 2.40%, to 24,536.60. Financial and automobile stocks led the rally, supported by falling crude prices and renewed foreign investor buying
  • Maaya Rajeshwaran reaches WTA-level quarter-final. The 17-year-old Indian defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a quarter-final at a WTA Tour-level singles event
  • Tanvi Patri reaches Youth Olympics badminton final. The 15-year-old defeated Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe in the semi-final, assuring India of a medal and becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach the girls' singles final at the Youth Olympics
  • India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship. India defeated Pakistan in a closely contested match, having led 3-0 before conceding two late goals. The victory was reported as a significant result for India's second-string side
  • India beat Japan 4-1 to win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy. India recovered from an early deficit to defeat Japan in the final at Mohali, extending its record as the tournament's most successful men's team
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
Stock markets on fire due to US results, Sensex gains 2008 points to reach its highest level in 8 months
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What Next In J&K? The Lockdown Cannot Be Sustained For Long

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Has the government made a mistake by ordering the opening of educational institutions in J&K first? Consider it as a parent, will you allow your child to go to school when the situation is such that you are not able to go to your office or open your shop? No parent will allow his or her child to be exposed to an unpredictable situation which can turn volatile at any moment. The government should have first allowed shops and offices to open. It should have allowed adults to resume their daily routine. They would have allowed their children to attend school only after they were satisfied that there was no danger on the streets as they were going to the office or moving around freely.

Before attempting any critique of the government policy in the aftermath of the reading down of Article 370, two things need to be recognized: first, this is an extraordinary situation not amenable to everyday solutions. Second, the Kashmir valley was already a pot of conflicting emotions and given to violent protests every day, fueled by Pakistan-backed separatists and infiltrators from across the border. Having said this, extraordinary situations demand extraordinary solutions. If the government had the courage to read down Article 370, it must also have the courage to face the protests. A complete lockdown for nearly 15 days (and only God and Modi-Shah know how many days more) is in no one's interest. In fact, every passing day is inflaming passions further. The government must have had a plan on how it will lift restrictions. But what is happening is a cat and mouse game. Restrictions are eased and protests take place. Restrictions are re-imposed. Till when will this game be played?

If the government will continue to place restrictions just as some protests take place, it will never be able to bring normalcy. There were protests earlier too when Article 370 was in force. They were often violent. The government will have to lift restrictions district-wise starting with Srinagar and perhaps wait a week before taking further decisions. In that week, it will have to tackle the situation with compassion. It will have to be firm, but without force if it is possible. Let them pelt stones. Do not reply with bullets. Use other methods. Make preventive arrests. Do whatever is in your Plan A or Plan B or whatever. But bring normalcy, and fast. Otherwise, the reason for removing the special status will not be fulfilled. Kashmir will still be a disturbed place. It will still not be integrated with India. 

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