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Malaysia Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Malaysia Sun
Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora hails MP Vivek Tankha's Private Bill as a historic step
New Delhi [India] August 6 (ANI): In a landmark Town Hall convened by the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) along with leaders of major Kashmiri Pandit organizations across India and abroad came together to applaud Member of Parliament and Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha for his historic role in authoring and introducing the Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill in the Rajya Sabha. According to a press release from the GKPD, this Private Member's Bill, first introduced in March 2022 and then placed again in July 2025, is the first legislative effort in Indian history to present a comprehensive, constitutional, and rehabilitation justice framework for the Kashmiri Pandit community--recognizing their genocide, affirming their rights, and laying the legal foundation for a dignified return. Surinder Kaul, Co-Founder, GKPD USA, stated, 'For the first time, a Bill looks directly into the eyes of survivors and says--You are seen. You are heard. You are owed.' The event acknowledged that the Tankha Bill represents the culmination of a 35-year struggle, carried through the 1991 Panun Kashmir Margdarshan Resolution, the 2018 GKPD Unified Declaration, and the 2023 Vision on Return: Administrative Council. 'This Bill is a bill of firsts--and of the forgotten,' said Rakesh Kaul, Co-Founder, GKPD USA. 'It includes India's first legal recognition of genocide, A Judicial Tribunal with prosecutorial powers, Mandatory restoration of desecrated temples and shrines, Restitution of seized homes and lands, Domicile and employment restoration, Guaranteed representation in legislative bodies and public institutions. This is not symbolic. It is structural justice.' 'It is the beginning of India's constitutional awakening to the long-denied genocide of the Kashmiri Pandits,' declared Utpal Kaul, International Coordinator, GKPD. The Town Hall passed a unanimous resolution committing to a global mass movement that will call on India's Parliament to debate, adopt, and enact the Tankha Bill into law. GKPD and supporting organizations praised the vision and commitment of MP Vivek Tankha, who commands bipartisan respect and brings unparalleled legal and moral authority to this cause. As a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India, and a worthy descendant of the noble Tankha lineage of Kashmir, his leadership has elevated the Kashmiri Pandit demand from the margins to the halls of Parliament. The Town Hall ended with one resounding message: 'Let Parliament not delay justice. Let it deliver it.' (ANI)
Hindustan Times
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
KPs urge political parties to support bill on return of Kashmiri Hindus
Kashmiri Pandits welcomed the recommendation made by President Droupadi Murmu to a bill on the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley and urged political parties to vote for and support the bill concerning the community's rehabilitation. President Droupadi Murmu has recommended a private member's bill calling for the rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits for consideration in the Rajya Sabha. (HT File) President Droupadi Murmu has recommended a private member's bill calling for the rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits for consideration in the Rajya Sabha. The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Congress member Vivek Tankha on February 2, 2024, but required the President's recommendation as it involves financial implications. The bill will be taken up for voting in the Rajya Sabha in the current session. 'We welcome the recommendation of the President to the private member's bill on the return and rehabilitation of KPs in the Valley. It has rekindled hope among the community on the issue,' former Jammu Computer Dealers Association President Arvind Kumar said here. He further urged all political parties to come forward to support, vote for, and pass the bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Vivek Tankha. Similarly, businessman P L Koul also thanked the President. 'For the first time in Parliament, a private member's bill titled Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, has been recommended by the President for consideration in the House, subject to time constraints,' Tankha said in a post on X. Panun Kashmir rejects bill, calls it an attempt to subvert homeland demand Meanwhile, Panun Kashmir, an organisation advocating the cause of displaced Kashmiri Pandits, rejected the bill, saying it subverts the issues of 'genocide' and the demand for a homeland for the community in Kashmir. 'We strongly reject the Kashmiri Pandits bill currently pending in the Rajya Sabha. The bill is an attempt to derail the discourse on genocide recognition and to deflect attention from the foundational demands of the displaced community of carving out a homeland for them in the Valley,' a joint statement issued by the organisation said.
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Business Standard
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Kashmiri Pandits urge parties to back bill on return and rehabilitation
Kashmiri Pandits welcomed the recommendation made by President Droupadi Murmu to a bill on the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley and urged political parties to vote for and support the bill concerning the community's rehabilitation. President Droupadi Murmu has recommended a private member's bill calling for the rehabilitation and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits for consideration in the Rajya Sabha. The Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Congress member Vivek Tankha on February 2, 2024, but required the President's recommendation as it involves financial implications. The bill will be taken up for voting in the Rajya Sabha in the current session. Kashmiri Pandits have welcomed the President's recommendation and expressed their happiness over the move. "We welcome the recommendation of the President to the private member's bill on the return and rehabilitation of KPs in the Valley. It has rekindled hope among the community on the issue," former Jammu Computer Dealers Association President Arvind Kumar said here. He further urged all political parties to come forward to support, vote for, and pass the bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Vivek Tankha. Similarly, businessman P L Koul also thanked the President and Tankha for their role in facilitating the bill, now to be voted on by the Rajya Sabha. "We urge all political parties, including Congress and BJP, to vote for and support it. With folded hands, please honour our request for passing the bill," he said. "For the first time in Parliament, a private member's bill titled Kashmiri Pandits (Recourse, Restitution, Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2022, has been recommended by the President for consideration in the House, subject to time constraints," Tankha said in a post on X. Apni Party youth leader and community activist Muktesh Yogi also expressed his gratitude to the President and the Congress MP for facilitating the bill for voting in the Rajya Sabha. "It is our wish to see this bill through. So we urge all MPs in the Rajya Sabha to vote for, support, and pass the bill," he said. Echoing similar sentiments, the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD) said, "This is a moment of great moral and constitutional significance. A Government Bill, backed by the Executive and introduced by a Union Minister, would ensure the full weight and urgency of national legislative intent, thereby enabling structured and enforceable mechanisms for justice, restitution, and return with dignity.
Scoop
15-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
The World Bank Is Making Bad Economic Decisions: U-Turning On Its Energy Policies
12 June Yesterday the World Bank's board voted to end a longstanding ban on funding nuclear energy projects and now the Bank looks as if they are reconsidering their energy strategy altogether. We are appalled to hear that the Bank is now considering funding the production of fossil gas projects that will put communities and the planet on the line. At a time when communities in Canada, Kashmir, and South Africa, are fighting for their lives as a result of the climate crisis, the World Bank is turning up the heat. As already stated by the International Energy Agency, 'no new oil and gas fields are needed on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050.' Not only is the World Bank making poor economic decisions by choosing to fund projects that are often more expensive than renewable energy alternatives, but it is locking countries into decades of pollution and fossil fuel extraction, which will lead to stranded assets and technologies that will need to be phased out in the near future. Rajneesh Bhuee, Campaign Manager from Recourse said, 'The World Bank's move to reconsider its 2019 moratorium on upstream gas finance is deeply troubling. That policy acknowledged that new fossil fuel extraction is incompatible with a 1.5°C pathway. Reversing it now, amid escalating climate impacts, would severely undermine the Bank's credibility. Recourse's latest analysis shows fossil fuel-only energy finance rose eightfold between 2022 and 2024, reaching nearly USD 500 million last year. Gas continues to receive indirect support through mixed projects, policy lending and financial intermediaries, locking countries into high emissions, volatile prices and rising debt. With almost 90 percent of the Bank's energy finance still issued as loans, this approach risks deepening the debt crisis while failing to deliver a just transition. The Bank must instead prioritise public, grant-based investment in decentralised renewable energy that delivers real energy access and climate resilience.' Jon Sward, Environment Project Manager from Bretton Woods Project said, 'A World Bank return to financing 'upstream' gas projects in the middle of an accelerating climate crisis would show that its new mission to promote development on a 'liveable planet' rings hollow. The IEA's analysis clearly shows that new oil and gas extraction projects – which have a decades-long lifespan - are not aligned with global climate goals. All countries must phase out support for new fossil fuels production, and the Bank's wealthy shareholders must finally step up and pay the 'climate debt' they owe, through providing additional grant and concessional finance at scale to fund a clean energy future in the Global South.' Sophie Richmond, Global Lead from Big Shift, 'The World Bank's move to reconsider upstream gas financing is just the most recent example of an institution that is not committed to 'ending poverty on a livable planet'. Instead the Bank seems intent on fuelling the greatest crisis we may ever collectively face, through its continued funding of fossil fuels and sidelining of clean, sustainable, and equitable solutions. Investing in more fossil gas, whether 'transitory' or not, is a bad investment, in terms of its climate, environmental, and health impacts, and it fails to consider the real impacts it will have on countries' economies. The Bank is buying into a misinformed narrative - gas is good for energy access and development - they only need look at the numerous examples of their funded gas projects previously that have failed to increase energy access to local communities, or alleviate their debt burden. These projects have caused destruction in their areas, it is astounding that the World Bank wants to fund more.' The Big Shift Global Campaign is calling on the world's biggest public development banks to shift finance out of dirty fossil fuels and into sustainable, renewable energy to provide energy access for all. For more info visit:
