Mehbooba Mufti going
down the fatal path
Editorial Team
Government of Jammu and
Kashmir and the newly formed Central government in New Delhi need to understand
that the slight lull (if any) in the infiltration from across the border is not
a sign of trend in that direction. Instead it is a cyclical phenomenon. With the
snows melting in the higher reaches, the infiltration is bound to increase.
Killing of 33 Indian soldiers and their families near Qazigund in Kashmir was
just the beginning of a hot and bloody summer in the valley.....more...
Will I Return?
Kamal Hak
There is a need for understanding
and appreciating the concerns and the aspirations of the pandits. The muslim community must understand that pandits
have progressed not because of any job reservations, which incidentally
do not exist any where in India, but because of their ability to rise
above the debris of shattered dreams. They have also struggled honestly
and competed evenly.....more...
Starting Anew, From a
Lowered Bar
Dr. Subodh Atal
Pakistan welcomed the new
Congress-led Indian government with a bang – nearly three dozen military
personnel, and their wives and children were killed a few days ago in an
attack by Pakistan-supported terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The
incident sets the stage for the further progress of the “peace process”
initiated by the previous NDA government. The question now is how will
the Congress-led government of Manmohan Singh, controlled from behind
the scenes by Sonia Gandhi and her advisors, follow through in
negotiations with Pakistan over the Kashmir issue......more...
Indian democracy in evolution
K. N.
Pandita
Sometimes one
feels the largest democracy in the world is making a fetish of what
ordinarily has to be the crucial responsibility of her political
structure. At the end of the day, political parties, though aware of the
imperative of graduating the level of election campaigning, come down to
mundane levels under the compulsion of low literacy rate of the masses
of people and their abysmal political education.....more...
J&K: Democracy Without Freedom
Praveen Swami
Several issues arising from the just-concluded Lok Sabha
(Lower House of Parliament) elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) need clear-eyed
examination. First, what do the election results in fact tell us? Has there
been, as several media commentators have claimed, a revival of the National
Conference (NC)? And what do voting patterns in J&K mean for the future of
political life in the State? As important, though, the results provide a prism
through which the working of terrorism in the State may be understood....more...
Counter-terrorism: A New Government, a
New Incoherence
Ajai Sahni
The unexpected gift of power conferred by the electorate on the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and the installation of
a new coalition Government at New Delhi, have brought critical
responsibilities on parties substantially unprepared for the challenge.
This is particularly the case with regard to broad issues relating to
terrorism and internal security, where many of the constituent parties
of the UPA have little by way of coherent perspectives to offer, and
substantial inter-party conflicts - at least some of which are already
manifest.....more...
Hindu ko gussa kyon
aata hai? (Why is the Hindu so angry?)
Vinod Kumar
The question we need to address is “Why was Hindu so angry?” - the same
Hindu whose tolerance is so legendary. Why was the response to Godhra
incidence so brutal? However we might deny, burning of sixty Hindus
trapped inside a railway bogey, horrendous as it is, is not the sole
cause that led Gujarat to this carnage. And Hindu anger is not limited
to Gujarat alone.......more...
Convulsion in the Military-Jehadi
Enterprise
Kanchan Lakshman
Security agencies have, in the recent past, remained curiously
tight-lipped on the identification of groups responsible for the various
terrorist acts in Karachi and elsewhere in the country. This is not
surprising, considering the fact that, while a constable of the Karachi
Police is alleged to have been the suicide bomber in the May 7 incident,
President Musharraf himself disclosed on May 26 that junior personnel
within the Pakistan Army and Air Force were involved in the
assassination attempts on him in December 2003 and that most of them are
presently under detention.....more...
|