Hearing Kashmir's call for progress
In the prevailing wilderness of global and national events, public attention has partly shifted away from the Pahalgam terror strike that was followed by the response of Operation Sindoor only a few weeks ago. What may have gone unnoticed are a few signs of a move back to normalcy shown in Jammu and Kashmir.
For one, the opening of the world's tallest rail bridge over the Chenab was an affirmation that Kashmir would move forward undeterred. Tourism is again picking up. Yet, irrespective of this, anxieties and emotions triggered by the terror attack will take time to settle—both among the local population and visitors.
More than any guarantee from outside, what provides assurance is the newfound belief and determination of the Kashmiri people. Candlelight vigils, shutdowns and community leaders leading the castigation of terrorism were signs of a sure shift from past trends. There were processions of condemnation in every corner of the valley in the aftermath of the attack. The strong, united response against terrorism appeared to be an extension of the spirit of electoral participation seen last year.
The tenacity of this new Kashmir was significantly drawn from the two spotless elections in 2024, first for Lok Sabha and later for the assembly. There were no complaints of fatigue among the people even though the two elections were held in short succession. Campaigning by the parties and candidates was as combative as it could be, with a significantly larger number of candidates, especially women, hitting the ground than in the past.
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Hindustan Times
16 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shun double standards in fight against terror: Doval
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday emphasised the need to abandon double standards in combating terrorism and urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to hold accountable perpetrators and sponsors of cross-border terror, an apparent swipe at Pakistan. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval with Vice President of China, Han Zheng, in Beijing on Tuesday. (ANI) Doval made the remarks while addressing a meeting of the SCO Security Council Secretaries in Beijing, which was also attended by Pakistan's NSA, Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Asim Malik. Doval had also raised the issue of countering all forms of terrorism at a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday. During the meeting of senior security officials of SCO member states, Doval conveyed India's deep concern at the continued threat from terror groups sanctioned by the UN Security Council, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al-Qaeda and Islamic State and their affiliates, and highlighted the need to shun 'double standards' in the fight against terror. Any act of terrorism, including cross-border terror, is a 'crime against humanity', Doval said, as he urged SCO member states to hold accountable the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of acts of cross-border terror and to help bring them to justice. He sought 'decisive action' against terrorists proscribed by the UN and groups such as LeT, JeM and their proxies, as well as the dismantling of their 'terror ecosystems'. Though Doval didn't name any country, his remarks appeared to be directed against Pakistan, which is also a member of the SCO. Following the Pahalgam terror attack in April that was carried out by a front for the LeT, India conducted military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan on May 7. The move triggered four days of intense clashes that ended when the two sides reached an understanding to halt military actions on May 10. Doval explained the rationale behind India's decision to launch Operation Sindoor in response to the 'barbaric terror attack' in Pahalgam on April 22, saying the military strikes were aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure and deterring terrorists who were likely to be sent across the border into India. 'India's actions were measured and non-escalatory,' he said. He noted that The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the LeT, killed 26 people, including a Nepali national, and injured several more in Pahalgam after segregating them on the basis of religion. Doval also sought the support of the other delegations for important Indian proposals to combat terrorism, including an 'algorithm of joint actions' to counter challenges posed by international terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and its affiliates, joint measures to counter radicalisation that leads to terrorism, separatism and extremism, and a 'joint information operation' to counter extremist ideology. Besides India and Pakistan, the SCO includes China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The meeting of the security officials was part of the preparations for the SCO Summit to be hosted by China later in the year. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is set to attend a two-day conclave of SCO defence ministers at Qingdao from Wednesday, too is expected to press members of the bloc to ramp up efforts to combat terrorism in line with India's diplomatic offensive against Pakistan-backed cross-border terror. While Doval had visited China last year, Singh will be the first senior Indian minister to travel to the country after the end of a four-year military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that ended last October. Doval held a bilateral meeting with Aleksandr Venediktov, deputy secretary of Russia's security council, on the margins of the SCO meeting and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues. Both sides reiterated the importance of taking forward their bilateral cooperation based on the special and privileged strategic partnership. All the senior security officials of SCO member states also met Chinese vice president Han Zheng, who said China is ready to work with other members of the bloc to maintain security and stability in a world fraught with uncertainties and instabilities.
Indian Express
35 minutes ago
- Indian Express
M Venkaiah Naidu on the Emergency: That dark day
Fifty years ago, a state of Emergency was imposed for 21 months by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shaking the nation to its very core. This act proved to be the gravest threat our democracy has faced since India overthrew the colonial yoke. The Emergency remains a singular inflection point marking a shift towards authoritarianism in our political system and a critical moment in the lives of political leaders, activists, and the people. The disturbing crackdown on and imprisonment of Opposition leaders, the complete clamping down on civil liberties and curtailment of all fundamental rights, including the right to free speech and the right to assemble for peaceful protests, were unprecedented dictatorial measures. The clampdown on press freedom, including censorship, and attempts to curb the independence of the judiciary, among other grim developments, were pointers to a dangerous trend. For today's generation, the Emergency, which shook the foundations of India's democratic structure 50 years ago, may seem like a distant chapter in history. Young people today must be educated about this dark phase that threatened to change the fundamental nature of Indian democracy. Let us first understand the extreme conditions that can potentially force the President to declare a National Emergency. Under Article 352 of the Constitution, the President can declare a National Emergency, when the security of the country, or any part of it, is threatened by war, external aggression or armed rebellion. As we know, there were no such triggers in 1975. The Nav Nirman student movement in Gujarat and the student agitation by the Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (supported by the highly respected Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP), raised the level of popular anger against the ruling Congress, especially among the youth. As the anti-corruption movement snowballed into a massive countrywide campaign, JP called for 'total revolution' in June 1974. JP urged students, peasants, and workers' unions to bring about non-violent change in Indian society, and his popularity began to grow with each passing day. As these protests were brewing, on June 12 1975, Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court declared Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha invalid on account of electoral malpractices. With this landmark judgment, the court unseated Mrs Gandhi from the Lok Sabha and banned her from contesting elections for an additional six years. Mrs Gandhi went to the Supreme Court in appeal. On June 24, the Supreme Court stated that Mrs Gandhi could continue as Prime Minister pending the resolution of her appeal, but barred her from voting in parliamentary proceedings. Desperate to cling to her position, Mrs Gandhi took the unprecedented step of imposing a state of Emergency through a proclamation issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on June 25 under Article 352 (1) of the Constitution of India, citing prevailing 'internal disturbance.' The government suspended fundamental civil liberties, including free speech, freedom of the press, and habeas corpus. Censorship was swiftly imposed, and media outlets critical of the regime were forcibly shut down. In a particularly shocking move, power supply to newspaper offices was abruptly cut off, silencing dissent overnight. Opposition stalwarts like Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Morarji Desai, George Fernandes, Jyotirmoy Basu, Charan Singh, J B Kripalani and many others, were detained. Exercising unbridled power, Mrs Gandhi used the 42nd Amendment to extend the terms of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies from five to six years. The original five-year term was later reinstated by the 44th Amendment. The government employed harsh preventive detention provisions nationwide to suppress dissent. Opposition leaders were detained across the country, and activists and students were held for an indefinite period. I was a young student leader at the time, and was arrested and kept in detention for nearly a year and a half in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh. Some of the prominent Opposition leaders in AP, such as Tenneti Viswanadham and Gouthu Latchanna, among others, were jailed. Looking back, I see the seventeen-and-a-half-month period of my incarceration as a turning point in my journey. Had I not been jailed during this time for my student activism, I would probably have become a lawyer to fulfil my mother's wishes. The Emergency changed the course of my life and career in one stroke. Organic protests by Opposition parties and students erupted against the Emergency, building up a powerful movement of resistance. The media, to a large extent, buckled and came in for severe criticism. Notable exceptions were The Indian Express under the fiery Ramnath Goenka, The Statesman headed by C R Irani and Nikhil Chakravarty's The Mainstream. L K Advani's famous words to journalists after the Emergency had been lifted come to mind: 'You were asked only to bend, yet you crawled.' The historic general elections of 1977 constituted a watershed moment because they brought about a major transition reflecting the will of the people. The Janata Party's triumph brought an end to the Emergency and was a victory for democratic ideals, reaffirming the supremacy of the ballot. It underscored the power of democratic participation as a peaceful and effective means of achieving change — in this case, by overthrowing a powerful dictatorial regime. This is perhaps the most glowing example of the power of the ballot in our recent history. The lessons we learnt from this dark era must be passed on to India's younger generation. They must be firm in standing up to safeguard democratic principles, protect civil liberties, and ensure a foolproof system of checks and balances. Let us not forget that the role of the judiciary and media freedom also came under the lens during this draconian phase. The Emergency reminded us that 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty'. The writer is former Vice President of India
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Wings clipped in family and party, Tej Pratap on course to become a commercial pilot
Former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav has been provisionally selected for the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) course at the Bihar Flying Institute, according to a circular issued by the state's Directorate of Aviation Training. He had appeared for the interview for admission to the CPL course during the 2023-24 academic session, as part of the selection process conducted by the Bihar Directorate of Aviation Training. However, the release of the results was delayed due to ongoing litigation related to reservation provisions. Following a court order, the final merit list was published on June 20, making him eligible for formal admission to the course. Tej Pratap's selection comes over a month after he made headlines for publicly expressing his willingness to serve the country as a pilot in the wake of Operation Sindoor. It also comes weeks after former chief minister Lalu Prasad announced his son's expulsion from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and 'from the family', citing 'irresponsible behaviour' and actions not in line with the family's values and traditions. On May 7, as the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor, striking terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, Tej Pratap posted on social media: 'If my pilot training can be of use to the nation, I, Tej Pratap Yadav, am always ready to serve the country. For your information, I have received pilot training, and if I lose my life for the country, I would consider myself fortunate. Jai Hind!' Along with the post, he had also shared pictures of his flight radio telephone operator's licence. Two days later, he made another post addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 'Honourable Prime Minister, Vande Mataram. In this situation of crisis, all countrymen are together. I, Tej Pratap Yadav, son of Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav, resident of Patna, Bihar, am also capable of fulfilling my responsibilities as an aircraft pilot. I have a strong desire to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our security forces at the border and thwart the evil intentions of our enemies. I request you to give citizens like me the opportunity to serve Mother India. If my life is lost in protecting the country and its citizens, I would consider myself fortunate.' The posts had created a flurry on social media, with many pointing out that he did not have the required qualifications to be a pilot at the time. However, it was another social media post that saw Tej Pratap expelled from not just his party, but also his family. On May 25, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said in a post on X, 'Ignoring moral values in personal life weakens our collective struggle for social justice. My eldest son's activities, public conduct, and irresponsible behaviour are not in accordance with our family values and traditions…' This came a day after a post was shared on Tej Pratap's Facebook profile that showed him with a woman. The caption claimed the two had been in a relationship for 12 years. The post was later deleted, and he claimed his social media profiles had been hacked. A day before his selection to the CPL course, on June 19, Tej Pratap posted a cryptic message on social media, hinting at personal and political betrayals and vowing to reveal the truth, saying, 'Those who mistake my silence for weakness, do not think that I am unaware of your conspiracies. You started it, I will end it. I am going to break this web of lies and deceit. Be ready, the truth will come out. My role will be decided by my beloved people and the Hon'ble Supreme Court, not by any party or family.'
