'A former Indian Army officer, Retired Major General SP Sinha, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the year 2013, sparked controversy after he advocated "rape for rape and death for death" on live TV on a news channel. In the video shared and denounced widely on Twitter and social media, the Major General can be heard saying that if a rape has taken place, it must be avenged by a rape and that death should beget death...'
'An EU non-profit group researching disinformation campaigns has said that the controversial European parliamentarians’ visit to Kashmir is linked to a network of fake local media networks and think-tanks across the world. Last month, the Indian government allowed a group of Members of European Parliament, a majority of whom were from far-right parties, to visit Kashmir for the first time since the state was put under lockdown following the reading down of Article 370...
'A former Indian Administrative Service officer who quit the service in August in protest against the “denial of freedom of expression to the people of Jammu and Kashmir” on Wednesday lashed out at the Union Home Ministry for filing a chargesheet against him. Kannan Gopinathan, who was the collector of Dadra and Nagar Haveli when he resigned, has been accused of insubordination. On Tuesday, he tweeted that an official from Daman had called him and asked him for his address. The official reportedly told him that he would receive a chargesheet.
'Dilshaer Ali, 33, runs a small wood carving workshop in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. After the Valley shutdown to protest the dilution of Article 370 on August 5, Ali didn’t return to his hometown in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Many of Ali’s colleagues and associates from states like UP, Bihar, Orissa and Uttarakhand, who worked in different parts of Kashmir as woodcarvers, plumbers and painters, left the valley in the weeks after August 5. He, however, preferred to stay back with his family in Budgam...
'The government of Jammu and Kashmir, which is under the direct control of the Union government, has put over 450 people – including journalists, lawyers, businessmen and politicians – on a ‘no-fly list’, preventing them from travelling abroad, the Economic Times has reported. The move, which comes in the wake of the Centre’s decision to rescind J&K’s autonomy, is aimed at ensuring Kashmiri voices do not influence international public opinion.
'A rebellion is brewing within the ranks of the Press Council of India over the way chairman Justice C.K. Prasad has allegedly stymied all efforts by a fact-finding team to visit Jammu and Kashmir. Soon after the Union government ended the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir and decided to bifurcate the state, the PCI on August 22 held a meeting and decided to send a fact-finding team to understand the impact of the communication lockdown on the press. However, even after three months, the team has still not been able to visit the state...'
'At least three photojournalists on Friday alleged they were beaten up by police personnel as they covered stone-pelting in downtown Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. Several other photo and video journalists, including a woman, alleged that police personnel chased and verbally abused them. “Around 4 pm, we reached Khanyar to cover clashes in the area,” Muzamil Mattoo, a freelance photographer, said. “There was minor stone-pelting.
'A group of 27 European Union lawmakers is in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday to observe the situation in the restive following the government's decision to abrogate article 370. According to reports, in all, 22 of the 27 members of European Parliament (MEPs) are Right-wing politicians in their home countries.
'Twenty-seven Members of the European Parliament are touring Kashmir today. They are reportedly visiting in their “personal capacity”, meaning the trip is being sponsored not by the Indian government but by a relatively obscure organisation, the Women’s Economic and Social Think Tank, or WESTT. Before leaving for their whistlestop holiday in the valley, the MEPs got to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in New Delhi. The “visit in personal capacity” then is being made to look pretty official.
[In light of the appointment of G. C. Murmu as J & K's first lieutenant governor, it is worth reading this blogpost about Murmu by former IAS officer Sanjeev Sabhlok, written in September 2013.]
