6: Imran Khan

Kashmir Deserves Normalcy

India is no longer a democracy if Kashmir can not be like any other state in India. If the regime in Delhi will not respect human rights, it is not a democratic regime. Elections do not make a democracy, respect for human rights does. Delhi must restore normalcy to Kashmir. Israel occupied Palestine is nobody's gold standard, nobody's north pole, least of a country that claims to be the largest democracy.

Shows the fascist mindset of the Indian govt's RSS ideology that has continued the siege of IOJK for over 100 days, subjecting Kashmiris to the worst violation of their human rights while the powerful countries remain silent bec of their trading interests. https://t.co/ESZiaVp563

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 27, 2019

آر ایس ایس کے نظریے پر کھڑی بھارت سرکار کی فسطائی ذہنیت نمایاں ہے کہ 100 روز سے زائد عرصہ بیت جانے کے باوجود مقبوضہ جموں وکشمیر کامحاصرہ جاری ہے اور کشمیریوں کو انسانی حقوق کی بدترین پامالی کا سامنا ہے جبکہ دنیا کے طاقتور ممالک محض اپنے تجارتی مفادات کے پیش نظر چپ سادھے کھڑے ہیں۔ https://t.co/fZE6KMpAlr

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 27, 2019

India consul general in United States calls for 'Israeli model' in Kashmir Indian official tells New York meeting: 'It has happened in the Middle East. If the Israeli people can do it, we can also do it' ........... the Indian government’s goals of a settler-colonial policy for the valley, which Kashmiri academics and scholars have long warned is the ultimate ambitions of the Indian state. ...... there remains a deep anxiety among Kashmiri Pandits that their pain is being weaponised to further the goals of the BJP-led government. ........ Thus far, only a far-right European delegation has been allowed in while foreign journalists have not been allowed to enter the valley since August 5. ........ Estimates vary, but more than 100,000 Kashmiri Hindus left during the upheaval. According to government figures, 219 Kashmiri Pandits were killed between 1989-2004. ........ Since the insurgency began in the late 1980s, more than 70,000 Kashmiri Muslims have died, while an estimated 7,000 others have "disappeared". ....... Israeli-India relations have intensified since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014. India is Israel's biggest purchaser of arms, amounting to $1bn per year. ........ On Monday, Agnihoti delivered a lecture at an event jointly organised by the American Jewish Council and the Hindu Jewish Council. ......... Arab regimes are fully on board with India's settler-colonial project in Kashmir ......... “The violent re-writing of the subcontinent’s history is angering, stunning and also tiring. It’s a familiar tactic that relies on nationalism, Brahminism and Islamophobia. It has little to do with displaced Kashmiri Pandits” ......... .....Though landlines and post-paid mobile phones have been reconnected in Kashmir since the communicat9ions blockade was announced, prepaid phones, text messaging and internet services are still down in Kashmir. ........ ...There are more than 700,000 Indian troops in Kashmir, in what is described as the most militarised region on earth. Since 1947, Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan, with a small portion held by China.

India's blockade of Kashmir: 100 days in, the world's silence is deafening Kashmir is under a tight grip, its people occupied and their movements monitored......... Even Pakistan’s Imran Khan, who has championed the cause since 5 August, seems to be running out of steam ......... whereas Muslims facing persecution around the world are not likely to be holding out for words of comfort or solidarity from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or any other Arab country for that matter, the resounding silence from other Muslim majority countries has been particularly shocking. ........ Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan’ comments at the UN General Assembly in September have earned the wrath of India's government with Prime Minister Modi's planned visit to Ankara postponed as a result. Likewise, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's comments during his address at the UN summit, describing India has having “invaded and occupied” Kashmir, have led nowhere either........... Even Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, who has championed the cause since August, seems to be running out of steam. So, too, has the silence been from almost all quarters of the western world, otherwise evangelical in their approach to spreading democracy and justice......... On Tuesday, it will be 100 days since the blockade began in Kashmir and very little has changed on the ground..........

In the sky, drones conduct sweeping Israeli-inspired surveillance over protest sites, helping armed forces identify "miscreants".

........ Kashmir is under a tight grip, its people occupied and their movements monitored. ....... The crackdown has seen thousands of ordinary people arrested, including children picked up by India’s armed forces - some held for a few hours, others held indefinitely - without any transparency from the state......... Parents are said to be going from prison to prison in Kashmir, only to find that their sons, held without any charge, have been transferred to prisons in a different state thousands of kilometres away. ........In mid-October, 18 female activists and academics, one as old as 82-years-old, were arrested for staging a silent protest. They were only released when they promised not to speak or protest against India, a tactic authorities are using to quell dissent. .......

Over the past week, a series of unusual and record snowfalls hit the valley, leaving residents without electricity for three days. Kashmiris were just left in the dark and in the freezing cold without the ability to call even their neighbours, emergency services or the outside world for help.

........... The spectre of Hindu-only settlements has left Kashmiris concerned that their home will resemble the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Crucially the demographic shift will render the UN mandated question of self-determination obsolete....... Kashmiris are not oblivious that their plight is among a number of vicious resource-driven and politically motivated campaigns against Muslims (often instrumentalised by Islamophobia) around the globe. ........ Kashmir is not just about territory disputed between India and Pakistan. Both countries rely heavily on the water that flows through the region. ....... On Monday, The Gambia took Myanmar to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. ........ The case, filed at the behest of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, has been touted as a historic one, for it gives the Rohingya a chance to seek justice and accountability.

"Not sustainable and not good": German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized New Delhi's clampdown in Kashmir during her visit to India. pic.twitter.com/NeaYtWWuTG

— DW News (@dwnews) November 1, 2019

Historic moment as The Gambia officially files a lawsuit against #Myanmar for acts of #Genocide against the #Rohyinga. The case was filed today @CIJ_ICJ by a legal team led by Hon. Aboubacar Tambadou, Attorney General & Minister of Justice of The Gambia. pic.twitter.com/Ui2b8Z1L4i

— Ministry of Justice (@Gambia_MOJ) November 11, 2019

India's annexation of Kashmir is straight out of the Israeli playbook With more than 700,000 Indian soldiers, paramilitary and police in the region, the most militarised region on earth, they argued that Kashmiris were living under client leaders held firm by the might of the Indian military establishment. ........... Revoking article 370 paves the way for a full settler-colonial project in Kashmir, much like Jewish settlements in the West Bank......... This included ending the "privileges" enjoyed by Muslims - even if they were and remain the poorest and most undeveloped community in India. It also included framing Kashmir as one dotted by shrines and temples, and part of Hinduism's glorious past in the Himalayas.......... ... a full settler-colonial project in Kashmir with the next stage likely to involve Hindu-only enclaves, much like Jewish settlements in the West Bank. ........ Pakistan has supported the armed movement, but its security agencies also fear Kashmiri independence as much as India does........ his popularity increases each time Hindu-Muslim tensions rise in the country. He is a master manipulator and puppeteer of majoritarian ambition, scapegoating widespread economic failure to those who fall outside the national project, be it Muslims, or Kashmiris, or those who dare to express dissent.

When it comes to Palestine and Kashmir, India and Israel are oppressors-in-arms The hue of 'democracy' has given India and Israel special gravitas and legitimacy, while human rights violations continue unchecked......... In a back alley in downtown Srinagar, the capital of India-controlled Kashmir, a string of words splashed on a wall reads: "Long Live Palestine". Nearby, "Free Gaza" screams from a shutter on a store. .......... For many Muslims around the world, Palestine holds a special place in their political consciousness. Al-Aqsa Mosque, after all, is one of the most important sites in Islam. Those on the left, whether millennial radicals or grey-bearded Marxists, have also supported the Palestinian cause over the zealous imperialism of Zionist settler-colonialism, ethnic cleansing, displacement and war-mongering........... in Muslim-majority, India-controlled Kashmir, the subjugation of Palestinians is a personal matter - a reminder of their own condition...........

When the last Gaza offensive began in July 2014, Kashmiris took to the streets daily to protest against the Israeli bombardment.

....... Kashmir has been claimed in full by both India and Pakistan since 1947. A de facto border separates the Indian-controlled from the Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Three out of the four wars fought between the two countries have been over the dispute. ........

with around 700,000 troops amid a population of 14 million, Kashmir is the most militarised place on earth.

....... This is a society harassed by checkpoints and army convoys, terrorised by troops able to operate with impunity under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, and mired in a legal malaise called the Public Safety Act that allows young boys to be picked up and held indefinitely without charge. This is not dissimilar to the Israeli policy of "administrative detention" that has seen thousands of Palestinians held indefinitely. ............ For years, Indian forces have used lead-plated pellets as a method of "crowd control". These have blinded 1,000 people and wounded 10,000 others, with injuries ranging from torn tissue to internal organ damage............. As if violence was not enough, the Indian state regularly disconnects the internet and telephone services to discourage grassroots organising and the dissemination of information, and to cut off Kashmiri people from the rest of the world. ......... Between 2013 and 2017, India was the largest importer of Israeli arms. Israeli Rafael's Spice 2000 missiles as well as Heron drones reportedly played a significant role in India's recent "surgical strike" in Pakistan on 26 February. Just days before the strike, India ordered 50 more drones in a deal worth $500m.......... Israel has systematically ethnically cleansed Palestinians, taking over their homes, buying off resistance, quelling dissent, and appropriating elements of their culture - even cuisine - as part of a larger bid to remove the Palestinian footprint from these lands. As a result, Palestinians are essentially second-class non-citizens. .............In comparison, India, through a policy of "domestication" - or to use BJP leader Ram Madhav’s words, "instilling India" into Kashmiri Muslims - seeks to make Kashmiri Muslims relinquish their political identities and submit to the larger Indian project.............. They would then become "Indian Muslims," who, by all measures of success and equity in Indian society, are second-class citizens. The end game is to facilitate a demographic shift in Kashmir itself, bringing in more Hindus from India to settle into Kashmir............ Both Israel and India employ a sophisticated, securitised, statist language - parroted by their jingoistic media - that helps to legitimise the occupation, along with related human rights violations and crackdowns. ......... The quick resort to Islamophobia is an easy sell to justify their actions. Just as Israel describes its invasions of Gaza as a "defence" against "radical Islamist" Hamas members, Indians are still able to invoke their international brands of "Gandhi" and "yoga" while unleashing ammunition into protests by Kashmiri youth, saying that they are Pakistan-sponsored terrorists or radical jihadists.............. Israelis famously picnicked on hilltops to watch as the bombs rained down on Gaza in 2014. This week, as Indian jets flew over Pakistani territory to kickstart war, Indian celebrities cheered them on Twitter..............

Just as Israelis or Zionists intimidate academics, journalists and intellectuals who question Israeli policies, so too do the strong, often nationalistic Indian diaspora in media houses and schools around the planet attempt to suppress any discussion of Kashmir.

........... Like Palestinians, many young Kashmiris, powerless in the face of state machinery, have resorted to stone-pelting. The fact that Indian authorities use disproportionate force - including burning down villages, homes and crops of those loosely acquainted with rebel fighters - is also conveniently ignored........... Both Palestine and Kashmir have neighbours operating primarily on self-interest. If Palestine has Jordan and Egypt undermining its cause, Kashmir has Pakistan, which seeks little more than allegiance and a worthy alibi in India to deflect from the real and legitimate concerns of Kashmiris.............. This comes after Kashmiris in various Indian cities were beaten and intimidated by mobs who screamed "Dogs welcome but not Kashmiris," following the attack on paramilitary forces on 14 February. ............ The hue of "democracy" has given both India and Israel special gravitas and legitimacy; their supposed utility - India's economic power and Israeli's technological prowess - for the rest of the world has also granted them a certain immunity. Israel might still have its detractors, while India is still "a lesser evil". But together, they are formidable.

Kashmir Deserves Normalcy https://t.co/bEJX3Ctr2p @narendramodi @AmitShah @BJP4India @PrashantKishor @NitishKumar @RahulGandhi @republic @ImranKhanPTI @PTIofficial @PTIKPOfficial @SMQureshiPTI @priyankagandhi #Kashmir #India #Pakistan #HumanRights #democracy

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) November 27, 2019

Hong Kong: The Protest Looking For A Safe Landing?

Of course, I can’t say that in five years later Hong Kong will have free elections suddenly, and that [a member of] the pro-democracy camp can be the leader of Hong Kong. But at least freedom from fear is what we hope for.
--- Joshua Wong, Hong Kong democracy leader

Look at what the most visible face of the movement is saying. The guy is already resigned to the fact that the fifth demand will not be met. And that posture matters.

A Criticism Of The Hong Kong Protestors
I Worry For The Hong Kong Protestors
The Hong Kong Protest Lacks Political Sophistication

Hong Kong: The Protest Looking For A Safe Landing? https://t.co/SQmrKyi94E @demosisto @joshuawongcf @nathanlawkc @maryhui @kinlinglo @sumlokkei @rachel_cheung1 @lokinhei @HKDemocrats @WilsonLeungWS @HongKongPLG @jasonyng @BillyOYLi @cng1238 @Fight4HongKong #HongKongProtest

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2019

Hong Kong: The Protest Looking For A Safe Landing? https://t.co/SQmrKyi94E @FreedomHKG @BeWaterHKG @ezracheungtoto @antd @RichScotford @XinqiSu @holmeschan_ @chowtingagnes @ray_slowbeat @hk_watch @hkpoliceforce @EricCheungwc @hoccgoomusic #HongKongHumanRightsAndDemocracyAct

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2019

Hong Kong: The Protest Looking For A Safe Landing? https://t.co/SQmrKyi94E @lokinhei @kevinkfyam @hkjohnsonyeung @AmnestyHK @HKWORLDCITY @missy_lao @elson_tong @hkchrislau @alexhofford @alexhofford @GlobalSolidHK @antd @BillyOYLi @hk_watch @bequelin #HongKongProtest

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2019

इमरान ने जनरल असेम्ब्ली में छक्का मारा

धारा ३७० को हटाना अगर गलत था तो लोग भारतमें सर्वोच्च अदालत को जाएँगे। लेकिन कर्फ्यु जो अभी तक जारी है वो तो बहुत गलत है। ये तो चीन ने जो १० लाख लोगों को डिटेन कर रखा है उससे भी दो कदम आगे चला गया। आप ८० लाख लोगों को खुले जेल में रखे हुवे हैं। ये तो बहुत गलत है।

आप कहते हैं काश्मीर के हित में है ये कदम। तो कश्मीरियों को खुले में आने दिजिए। जश्न मनाने दिजिए। ५०-५० दिन तक कहीँ कर्फ्यु लगाया जाता है?

मैं चाहुँगा इमरान अपना राजनीतिक दबाब बनाए रखे। नहीं तो कर्फ्यु कभी उठेगा ही नहीं।

काश्मीर के लोगों का मानव अधिकार भारतके संविधान में सुरक्षित है। काश्मीर में जो मानव अधिकार हनन है वो भारतके संविधान के विरुद्ध है।

आप अगर अपने देशके भितर मानव अधिकार हनन अगर करते हैं तो वो आतंरिक मामला नहीं रह जाता।

The curfew in Kashmir must be lifted immediately. 

इमरान ने जनरल असेम्ब्ली में छक्का मारा https://t.co/HPPIZRdEv4 @ImranKhanPTI @PTIofficial @PTI @PtiNorthPunjab @MuradSaeedPTI @SMQureshiPTI @PTISPOfficial @PTICPOfficial @AliHZaidiPTI @ImranIsmailPTI @BJP4India @narendramodi @PMOIndia @AmitShah #kashmir #Islamophobia #climate

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 28, 2019

Modi's Big Political Mistake On Article 370 In Kashmir

The status quo was unsustainable. I grant you that much. But if the goal is lasting peace between India and Pakistan, the move just made by Modi and his Man Friday Amit Shah might not have been the best step forward.

First of all, let's start with the aspect that is black and white to me. Why do you have a curfew for so long? You have turned all of Kashmir into an open-air prison. You claim the move you just made is in the best interests of the people of Kashmir and their aspirations for peace and prosperity. Well then, let them speak. Let them come out into the streets and celebrate this wonderful move of yours. And if some want to peacefully protest, let them. Let the politicians out. Move Kashmir towards elections at the earliest.

I have long advocated that the key to permanent peace is for both countries to recognize the Line Of Control as the final border, and to boost trade and tourism across the border. That formula, applied between India and Kashmir, can then be taken also to the India China border, the longest disputed border in the world.

So you can say this abrogation of Article 370 is just a step in that direction. But a much better way would have been to take the people of Kashmir into confidence, to take the political leaders of Kashmir into confidence, to take Pakistan into confidence. Modi should have taken Imran Khan on his offer and organized summit talks, one attended not just by the Prime Ministers, but also by the two army chiefs, and the two intelligence chiefs.

And then the two could have agreed, let's leave the Pakistani Kashmir with Pakistan, and the Indian Kashmir with India, and let's pull back our troops and normalize the border. Let's now focus on trade and tourism. Let's compete to install full-fledged democracy across Kashmir. Let's compete on human rights.

After that summit and agreement with Imran Khan, Modi and team could then have taken people like Omar Abdullah and Mufti into confidence, and then the Article 370 could have been abrogated.

But now that where we are, the total focus has to be on restoring normalcy in Kashmir and heading towards elections. That is a black and white issue to me. And I will call out Delhi on that. Delhi is wrong to impose what looks like an indefinite curfew in Kashmir. That is wrong.

Modi's Big Political Mistake On Article 370 In Kashmir @MehboobaMufti @OmarAbdullah https://t.co/Fhxcf7lGk0 #Kashmir #KashmirStillUnderCurfew #india #pakistan @narendramodi @ImranKhanPTI @AmitShah @BJP4India @PTIofficial

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 21, 2019

Hong Kong Problem: Unholy Alliance Of Capitalists And Communists

I don't know the details. So forgive if I get something wrong. I will stand corrected. But it is my understanding that something like half the Hong Kong legislature is not directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. These are business people, rich people, tycoons, industrialists, billionaires, real estate moguls, who enter the legislature through some kind of a back door that they negotiated in 1997 when Britain left. And these unelected people are the most reliable supporters of Beijing in Hong Kong. Go figure. It is like, there is a patch of no man's land somewhere in Latin America where Islamist terrorists and white nationalist terrorists both go to get trained.

And Carrie Lam is obviously not elected by the people of Hong Kong or she would have accepted the demands on day one. She is appointed by Beijing. That is ridiculous. That is not my idea of one country, two systems.

All members of the Hong Kong legislature need to be directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong needs to be directly elected by Hong Kong citizens. That would be an affirmation of one country, two systems.

2047 is a deadline. That is when all of China becomes like Hong Kong. Hong Kong does not become like China.

Carrie Lam, What Took You So Long?
Hong Kong And Beijing: The Water Will Break The Dam
Hong Kong Chief Executive Can't Choose To Quit
Steve Bannon, Hong Kong, 1989, And The CCP
Hong Kong Protests: The World Should Not Watch A Possible Massacre
Why Hong Kong Needs A Directly Elected Chief Executive
The Hong Kong Protest Lacks Political Sophistication
Hong Kong: The Shenzen Angle
Could Andrew Yang Become President?

Hong Kong Problem: Unholy Alliance Of Capitalists And Communists https://t.co/xyMmJqAqWP @demosisto @joshuawongcf @nathanlawkc @maryhui @kinlinglo @sumlokkei @rachel_cheung1 @lokinhei @HKDemocrats @WilsonLeungWS @HongKongPLG @ray_slowbeat @hk_watch @hkpoliceforce @EricCheungwc

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 4, 2019

Hong Kong Problem: Unholy Alliance Of Capitalists And Communists https://t.co/xyMmJqAqWP @jasonyng @BillyOYLi @cng1238 @Fight4HongKong @FreedomHKG @BeWaterHKG @ezracheungtoto @antd @RichScotford @XinqiSu @holmeschan_ @chowtingagnes

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) September 4, 2019

Delhi Must Restore Normalcy In Kashmir

Pakistan brought to a standstill for 'Kashmir hour' demonstrations
'Normalcy' vs reality: Conflicting narratives about Kashmir
Kashmir Live Updates: Pak ready for conditional bilateral talks with India, says Qureshi
Restrictions on movement of people lifted in most parts of Kashmir normal life remained affected across the valley for the 27th consecutive day on Saturday...... The markets continued to remain shut, while public transport was off the roads, the officials said, adding schools also remained closed. ..... landline telephone services have been restored in most places across the valley in view of the improving situation

Meet Kashmiri girl whose video is creating sensation she lives in Mumbai and works for a Hong Kong-based company..... According to Mirchandani, her ancestors migrated to Kashmir from Sindh a decade before partition. She claims that she comes from a Muslim family, but later embraced Sanatana Dharma.

pic.twitter.com/4FJjD2mDzV

— Ram Madhav (@rammadhavbjp) August 8, 2019

The Road to 'Naya Kashmir' more than half the police stations in the Valley have relaxed curbs on day-time movement. People have withdrawn over Rs 800 crore from ATMs over the past fortnight, indicating that "the wheels of the economy continue to grind" for the common man ...... Article 370 permitted J&K to have its own constitution, its own flag and full autonomy in its internal administration, except for defence, foreign policy and communications, which were left for the Union government to control. ..... Once these leaders emerge from the silence of arrest, they may be reduced to pleading for the restoration of statehood at the earliest, which the central government has said it will consider. ...... Modi has signalled that he will render the current lot of political leaders irrelevant in the state by handing over the reins of the new Union territory to a new crop of grassroots leaders to build a 'Naya Kashmir'. ....... The BJP and the RSS have for decades made their intention clear on the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A (according to which non-permanent residents of J&K could not purchase or own land in the state). But the gameplan to achieve this was set in motion only in the final year of the first term of the Modi government....... "The problem in Kashmir is largely due to 50-odd political families there. They have been milking the issue. They don't want any benefit to be given to ordinary Kashmiris. People want freedom from such political families who have been preying on their emotions for 50 years. ..... "It was a corrupt edifice built on patronage-there were scams in recruitment for government posts, separatists were being bankrolled by many of those who had earlier run the government and there were only a few institutions where the rule of law prevailed. It was a sham democracy and the state was on the verge of collapse." ...... There was also deep concern over the growing radicalisation of the Kashmiri youth, especially after mosques and madrassas funded by more extreme sects had doubled in the past 15 years. ..... "The game in the past decade was an unethical compact between Delhi and the state that allowed the system to flourish as long as each got what they wanted. Delhi's approach was to manage Kashmir and ally with mainstream parties like the NC and PDP to run the government as long as they made the right noises about swearing allegiance to India. Never mind if only a few leaders and their families flourished, to the detriment of the state." ..... a five-pronged strategy: speed up development, hold panchayat elections, curb corruption, crack down on militants and prevent infiltration. ...... panchayat elections in October 2018 ..... unlike in the past, the sarpanches could disburse funds varying fromRs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore each for local projects. While both the NC and PDP boycotted the elections, voter turnout in the Valley was a decent 40 per cent. What shook these parties after the elections was that people started flocking to the newly elected sarpanches for development assistance, bypassing the local MLAs who had so far held sway. ...... we eliminated close to 250 terrorists last year ...... went after prominent Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and attached his property for allegedly being involved in terror financing and money-laundering for Hurriyat leaders...... a masterful legal strategy had been worked out in secret to dilute the provisions of Article 370 without having to get the state assembly's consent..... if there was an Afghan settlement, it would enable Pakistan to push all the Afghan radicals freed from civil strife towards the Indian border, as in the late '90s when the Taliban captured power in Afghanistan. ...... Top officials in J&K sensed something big was about to happen but were not sure exactly what. ...... In the past year, we mapped areas that needed more attention and forces, areas that were hard-core zones for stone-pelters and who the biggest trouble-makers were. ..... We also knew a communication lockdown would become necessary, which is why we equipped the entire police force with an alternative wireless system." ....... "Trying to pre-empt large-scale violence is not immoral; rather, it is the duty of a responsible government. There is inconvenience, but it is better than having body bags pile up if violence breaks out. The restrictions in place are quite sensitive to ground realities. As and when the situation improves, they will be eased." ....... All senior leaders of political parties were either put under house arrest or taken into custody and housed in hotels in the Valley or elsewhere in the state. All those listed as potential trouble-makers were also arrested. Meanwhile, the government cut off all telecommunications-landlines, cell phones and internet-ensuring a complete communication blackout. ...... Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits the assembly of five or more people in an area and also restricts carrying any sort of weapon, was imposed. ...... As also curfews, wherever necessary. The government claimed it had made provisions to keep hospitals running as well as ensure supply of food and other essentials. ...... NSA Doval spent 10 days in the state, chairing meetings on many occasions and also meeting people to fine-tune government strategy. ...... Among the big challenges is to ensure that the upcoming apple-plucking season, which is in September and October, is not disrupted. In Shopian, apple capital of the state, Sandeep Chaudhary, the superintendent of police, said that in his recent meeting with growers, rather than anger over Article 370, the bigger concern was to get the plucking and packing of apples going and have trucks move them out of the district for distribution and sale across the country. ..... the administration has announced that it will hold elections for block development councils in October. Along with panchayat leaders, these elections would throw up another rung of leadership invested in development. ...... 50,000 vacancies for government posts will be filled up soon ..... for the long term, the government is drawing up massive plans to build tourism infrastructure and develop Kashmir as an international destination that can compete with the best. ...... plans to set up sufficient processing and cold storage units for apples, peaches, pears as well as dry fruits to make the state an export hub. ...... a major investment summit it is planning in November gets the country's top industrialists to commit to setting up employment-generating projects in the state. ....... The Modi government is keen to bring in a whole new leadership from the grassroots while simultaneously correcting the institutional maladies that have afflicted the state in the past. This means the central government is in no hurry to restore statehood to J&K, and the process may take years. Having discredited the existing state leaders and their parties, the BJP would ideally like J&K to be ruled by a national party like itself rather than a regional satrap. ........ "After the abrogation of Article 370, all launch pads in PoK are full of terrorists and we have to thwart attempts to infiltrate practically every day. On the conventional front, Pakistan has made certain movement of forces of which we are aware and taking corrective action. If Pakistan indulges in any misadventure, I can assure you, it will get a befitting reply." Till winter sets in and makes crossing the border from the mountains difficult, the Indian armed forces have to be on their guard...... If Pakistan instigates a terror strike against India, it will further turn international opinion against it. ....... Pakistan can hardly complain. It has integrated PoK and the Northern Areas as two provinces leaving them with little independence to operate. ......

The only thing India should watch out for is violation of human rights, particularly if major violence breaks out in the state and the security forces use an iron fist to put it down.

In Jammu, which has a Hindu majority, there is already concern that those from Punjab will buy up their lands and dominate them. ..... Some now call for restrictions on land ownership as in Himachal.

Khan: Pakistan Will Stand With Kashmir Traffic around the country stopped for several minutes as the anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir were played on state media at noon....... India's Kashmir-related moves have prompted Khan to repeatedly describe the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as fascist and supremacist. Khan has also compared the Modi government with Nazi Germany and has alleged that Modi's actions pose a threat to both Pakistan and religious minorities in India.
Kashmir situation contrary to Centre’s claims: Yechury The ground situation in Kashmir is “completely contrary” to what the Narendra Modi government has been saying, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said after returning from Srinagar where he met his ailing party colleague Yusuf Tarigami.

Delhi Must Restore Normalcy In Kashmir https://t.co/OKUb2bpwVt @MirchandaniYana @IndiaToday @narendramodi @AmitShah @RahulGandhi @ImranKhanPTI @AmPakFdn #kashmir #Article370

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 31, 2019

Kashmir: Might Is Not Right

Every additional day that the eight million Kashmiris are kept under curfew, with their phones and internet cut off is a blight on the Modi government and takes away from the credibility of the Modi government. Its declarations that the removal of Article 370 was to pave the way for Kashmiri prosperity will have been sham.

Article 370 is a topic of legal, political, constitutional, historical debate. It is ongoing. But the ground reality in Kashmir is day to day. Normalcy must be restored. The curfew must be lifted as soon as possible.

Modi can not make the mistake of crossing the Line Of Control. No more misadventures in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

The Modi government has done what it has done. Now let the Kashmiri people speak their minds. Let them come out of their homes. Let them protest if they want to.

India's Modi Defends Moves In Kashmir As Lockdown Continues He said the change will bring prosperity and equality to the area. ...... "It is our duty to fulfill the hopes and wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It is our responsibility to give their dreams new wings," he said at the Red Fort in New Delhi....... But as India's leader spoke, Jammu and Kashmir's 7 million people were in their 11th day of a communication blockade, with phone, Internet and cable TV services cut. ...... The authorities have effectively enforced a curfew throughout the region....... People have not been able to call anyone and access to medical services is difficult. Schools and offices remain shut. With no communication, journalists are finding it hard to report and have to fly out of Kashmir to send in their stories. ...... About 1,300 people have been detained, including 350 political leaders...... In the last 10 days, thousands have come out in protests against the constitutional move and the lockdown. ....... an excessive military presence on the ground. "Everything is being done under the shadow of military and paramilitary presence there. There are no avenues to protest peacefully," said one of the activists, Kavita Krishnan ........ "Anger and fear were the dominant emotions we encountered everywhere." They also reported people being scared to speak on camera as the activists made videos of the scene, for "fear of persecution from the government." ....... The United Nations Security Council reportedly plans to discuss Kashmir behind closed doors on Friday, following requests from Pakistan and China.

In IOK, 12 days of curfew, presence of extra troops in an already heavily militarized occupied territory, sending in of RSS goons, complete communication blackout; with the example of Modi's earlier ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Gujarat

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 15, 2019

As India's blackout leaves Kashmir in the dark, US must stand up for free expression Imagine for a moment that nearly all residents of the US state of Virginia -- population roughly 8.5 million -- were blocked from communicating with each other or the outside world. Imagine that their movements within their neighborhoods were highly restricted due to military-enforced curfews and checkpoints. And imagine they could not access reliable information because, due to the clampdown, journalists were largely prevented from reporting or publishing the news........ India has the world's highest rate of government Internet shutdowns, most of them concentrated in Kashmir.

Protests In Hong Kong

Putin And Russia

English: AGRA. Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin visiting the Taj Mahal. Русский: АГРА. Владимир и Людмила Путины во время посещения мавзолея Тадж-Махал. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Vladimir Putin with his mother, Maria Ivanovna Putina, in July 1958. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Vladimir Putin at school age (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Russia has seen three fundamental political paradigms in just the past 150 years. There was the Tsar, then the Lenin monarchy, and now a Putin monarchy. But the country's geopolitical pull has remained constant. Even if Russia were to become a western style democracy, I believe that pull will stay, likely even expand. My point being, we can't blame Putin for Russia's geopolitical pull. It is the country exuding the force.

No two democracy is alike. America is not like Canada is not like Britain is not like France is not like Germany, and so on. Which means perhaps countries are like fingerprints. Each country is going to end up with a slightly unique political system and culture. Russia is not waiting to photocopy any other country politically. Maybe Russia is a little too different.

I believe in democracy and human rights like no American I have ever met. I believe democracy is good for every country. And I am not exactly America inspired. Although it is obvious that America is the loudest example today. The world's first republic was birthed by the Buddha. We also recently found out Iraqis came up with calculus over a thousand years before Newton.

I do want to see a more western Europe style democracy in Russia. I very much want Russia to become a more robust economy. I want Russia to do double digit growth rates. But I don't believe in military intervention. Except in Russia's case that is not even an option. The species should survive.

My prescription would be the deepest possible engagement with the country. If you want a western Europe style democracy in Russia, you want  the deepest possible engagement with the country. That is the best option, that is the only option. Which means sanctions are a bad idea, and not sustainable over the long term. I understand the circumstances that brought them about. But at some point down the line they will have to be rolled back.

One mistake America made early on was while it expanded NATO right to Russia's borders, it did not at the same time respectfully engage Russia. Russia joining NATO might be an outlandish thought, but America could have offered to carry out joint naval exercises in the Pacific, for example. This is one more thing we can blame on Bush. (The list is long.) Looks like not only W messed up the War On Terror, he rekindled the Cold War too.

The Russia India friendship does not have a parallel. This is not like the friendship between America and England. India and Russia are not shared cultures. There are no shared languages. There is not even a shared border. It is almost like a friendship between two human beings, only it is between two peoples. It is not a military alliance. And business is not the primary motive. It is just friendship.

For Putin Assad Is Himself
Putin
Russia's Ego Is Geopolitical

Rohingya: India's Responsibility

श्री लंका में तामिल, बंगलादेश पाकिस्तान में हिन्दु, नेपाल में मधेसी --- इन सब पर state mechanism के जरिए screw tight किया जाता है। ये कह के कि ये भारतीय हैं। और भारत चुप बैठा रहता है।

बर्मा के रोहिंग्या भी उसी केटेगरी के लोग हैं। बहुत बड़ा अन्याय हो रहा है। और भारत चुप बैठा है। चीन के शक्ति संरचना के कुछ लोग श्री लंका, नेपाल, बर्मा सब जगह गोटी चाल रहे हैं। भारत चुप नहीं बैठ सकता। अपनों की हिफाजत करो। जागो।

रोहिंग्या को आना चाहिए भारत में लेकिन जा रहे हैं हिन्द महासागर में। चेहरा देखो, भारतीय होने का नंबर प्लेट लगा हुवा है। भारतीय हो ना हो --- भारत के पास शक्ति है, वो न्याय के काम ना आए तो वो शक्ति होने ना होने से क्या फरक पड़ा?

चाहे जितना व्यापार कर लो --- चीन के साथ मानव अधिकार के मुद्दे पर क्लैश तो होगा ही। It is unavoidable. And victory is the only option. वो शक्ति किस काम की जो न्याय के काम ना आए? Clash होगा, clash करेंगे --- खोज खोज के करेंगे। ढूँढ ढूँढ के करेंगे। Proactively करेंगे।

बर्मा पहले भारत ही तो था -- ब्रिटिश लोगो ने बदमाशी की, अलग कर दिया। फिर से भारत बना देने की धम्की दो।

जिस तरह वियतनाम में रूस और अमरिका का क्लैश हुवा उसी तरह अभी बर्मा में चीन और भारत का क्लैश हो रहा है। भारत तो मैदान में ही नहीं है। There are so many political, non military options on the table. बर्मा चीन का satellite स्टेट रहा है। चीन चाहे तो इस जेनोसाइड को युँ रोक सकता है।