Latest news with #SafetyAct
Mint
6 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Omar Abdullah invokes Faiz's iconic couplet on hope to draw tourists back to Kashmir: ‘Lambi hai gham ki shaam'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on 28 May chaired a meeting of administrative secretaries and other top officials in Gulmarg health resort as part of his governmentís efforts to bring back tourists to Kashmir after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. The visit came a day after he held a symbolic cabinet meeting in Pahalgam, the site of the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Abdullah is leading from the front the campaign for revival of tourism in the Valley, which was hit by the unprecedented terror attack. The chief minister's visits have infused a new hope among stakeholders and increased the chances of a turnaround after the tourist season this year was washed out due to the terror attack. In Gulmarg, speaking with media, Abdullah also quoted a couplet of Pakistani Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, 'Dil na umeed to nahi, nakaam hi to hai, lambi hai gham ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai,' as he tried to explain why optimism is pivotal in adversity. 'These lines, which I also quoted at the recent NITI Aayog meeting, serve as a reminder that even in dark times, hope must prevail. What happened recently marks one of the most difficult phases in recent years, but we have endured worse over the past four decades and always found a way to bounce back,' Abdullah was quoted as saying by local newspaper Greater Kashmir. The couplet loosely translates to: 'The heart is not hopeless, just defeated for now. The evening of sorrow is long, but after all — it is only an evening' Born in British Punjab (now in Narowal District, Pakistan), Faiz was considered one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time. His revolutionary ideas remain widely influential in Pakistan and beyond. People who analysed his work often say that it was difficult to differentiate if Faiz's beloved in his Ghazals is his country or a person. Urdu poetry lovers cite this and other couplet as an examplify Faiz's ability to blend sorrow with resilience. The 'Dil Na Umeed to Nahi..' line is actually a couplet from Faiz's famous Ghazal 'Hum par tumhari chaah ka ilzam hi to hai…(All I am accused of is loving you)' that he wrote in 1954 while in Rawalpindi's Montgomery prison. On March 9, 1951, Faiz was arrested with a group of army officers under the Safety Act, and charged with the failed coup attempt against Liaqat Ali Khan's government that became known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case. He was sentenced to death and spent four years in prison before being released After chairing the meeting at the Gulmarg Club on 29 April nestled in the meadows and surrounded by mighty pine trees and sparsely snow-clad mountains, Abdullah took a Gondola (cable car) ride to Kongdori, a bowl-shaped area that lies between Gulmarg and the summit of Apharwat mountain range where the first phase of the ropeway ends. At Kongdori, a group of tourists from Gujarat and Mumbai requested the chief minister's security detail for a meeting with Abdullah. The chief minister promptly acknowledged the request. He met the tourists with warm hand shakes and smile, and sought from them feedback about their Kashmir visit. Abdullah lauded the courage of the tourists, and happily posed for photographs and selfies with them. The chief minister appealed to the tourists to promote the Valley as a safe and peaceful destination. The visitors expressed gratitude for Kashmir's hospitality. They lauded the government for the arrangements that made their stay comfortable. The visits by Abdullah are seen as an effort counter the "boycott Kashmir" campaign. "Terrorists also want this, that you don't go to Kashmir. Those people are enemies of this country. They are not only enemies of Kashmir, they are enemies of the country. Of India. They are enemies of India who are running such a campaign. Because they are doing the same work as the terrorists did on April 22," Abdullah told NDTV. Two weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack, India on 7 May conducted precision strikes on at least nine terror camps in Pakistan in what is now known as 'Operation Sindoor'. India and Pakistan indulged in four days of military action post Operation Sindoor. The two nations agreed on an understanding to halt military action on 10 May. The CM also said that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could convene a meeting to review tourism in J&K and tour operators from Maharashtra and Gujarat could visit the region voluntarily, not because they were invited, but because they want to contribute to the normalisation process. 'Then it was imperative for the J&K government to take the matching steps,' he said. Dil na umeed to nahi, nakaam hi to hai, lambi hai gham ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai.
New York Times
27-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Challenges California on Transgender Parental Notification
The Trump administration announced an investigation Thursday into the state of California, saying its new law protecting transgender students from unwanted disclosures to their parents violated federal law. The move could empower conservative school boards and parent activists in California and across the country, who have resisted efforts from liberal educators and policymakers to affirm transgender identities. The California law, known as the Safety Act, prevents school boards from requiring staff members to tell parents when a student asks to use a different name or pronoun. It was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, in July and went into effect on Jan. 1. The act came after more than a dozen school boards in conservative areas tried to mandate parental notification. Democratic leaders in the state have criticized disclosure requirements as a 'forced outing' that would harm the well-being of students. 'Choosing when to 'come out' by disclosing an L.G.B.T.Q.+ identity, and to whom, are deeply personal decisions,' the law states, 'impacting health and safety as well as critical relationships, that every L.G.B.T.Q.+ person has the right to make for themselves.' But Republicans have said that notification was a matter of parental rights. The Trump administration argued on Thursday that California's policy contradicts FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law that allows parents to access their children's educational records. 'Teachers and school counselors should not be in the business of advising minors entrusted to their care on consequential decisions about their sexual identity and mental health,' the education secretary, Linda McMahon, said in a written statement. 'That responsibility and privilege lies with a parent or trusted loved one.' California's law does not prohibit conversations about gender identity between school staff members and parents. But it does prevent schools from adopting policies requiring disclosure. California Democrats, including the state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Thurmond, and the attorney general, Rob Bonta, have been outspoken in fighting such policies. Alberto Carvalho, the leader of the state's largest school district, in Los Angeles, has also vowed to resist Trump administration efforts to prevent schools from affirming transgender identities. Governor Newsom, in his recent podcast interview with Charlie Kirk, a conservative youth leader, defended the state law as giving teachers 'the freedom not to snitch.' Mr. Kirk had confronted the governor for signing 'a law where school districts can't even tell parents if their kids are trans.' 'Not true,' Mr. Newsom replied. 'They can. They just can't get fired for not doing that.' That exchange, however, came during the same interview in which Mr. Newsom bucked other Democratic leaders by saying that it was 'deeply unfair' for transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. Mr. Newsom's office did not immediately respond Thursday to the investigation announced by the Trump administration. The governor has withheld criticism of various moves by the administration as his state seeks more than $40 billion in federal aid to recover from the Los Angeles wildfires. Leaders of California's Education Department disputed the Trump administration's assertion that the state law violates the federal act. They said that parents can still access their child's records upon request. 'I have heard from so many students and families whose safety has been impacted by forced outing policies,' Mr. Thurmond, a Democrat, said in a statement. 'To our L.G.B.T.Q.+ youth and families, I want to make sure that you hear us as loudly as we hear you: You are heard, you are protected, and you are loved.' Few issues in education have been more divisive than transgender notification requirements, both around kitchen tables and on the political stage. California's Safety Act has been of keen interest to Elon Musk, the Tesla chief executive and Trump donor who is leading the administration's government efficiency efforts — and who has a transgender daughter from whom he is estranged. Mr. Musk called the law 'the final straw' in his decision to relocate his SpaceX headquarters from California to Texas. Several Republican-leaning states have passed laws requiring that parents be informed when their children question or change gender identities. The issue is a major priority for the conservative parental rights movement, which gained energy during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. For educators and counselors, the issue is complex. They often seek to balance a student's nervousness in approaching parents with the knowledge that familial openness and support is crucial to the well-being of children and teenagers. They also seek to protect students from abuse or neglect, and they are concerned that in rare cases, parents' reactions to gender identity disclosure could present a threat. Professional guidelines from the American School Counselor Association emphasize the importance of family engagement when counselors work with L.G.B.T.Q. students. They also state that counselors should affirm students' chosen gender identities, names and pronouns, even in cases where parents may be unaware. Chris Ward, a Democratic assemblyman who wrote the California law, said that he was confident it would hold up to legal scrutiny. 'Requiring government school officials to expose students without their consent runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution,' he said Thursday. 'We believe it's morally invasive and it's counter to overwhelming mental health evidence on the subject.' The federal investigation of the country's largest public school system, in its most famously liberal state, represents a bold move from the Education Department, an agency that President Trump has vowed to shut down. Previous efforts have been much smaller in scope. For example, the administration began an investigation into Denver Public Schools, for transforming a restroom for girls into an all-gender one. Mr. Trump has also signed an executive order threatening to withhold federal funds from schools that recognize transgender identities. But his ability to do so is limited by the fact that Congress controls most federal funding to K-12 schools. Those federal funds account for only about 10 percent of school budgets nationwide.
