Kashmir: The Birth of a Bank
At the Receiving End
It seems that Kashmir economy will never achieve the desired and much talked about results if the circumstances continue to be what it looks like.
Trade activities In Kashmir valley, which were once paying high taxes compared to the other parts of the state, are touching the lowest ebb. All the purchases made from outside state got diverted to Jammu province. For this diversion Sales Tax Department played a key role.
Lakhanpur check post continues to play a harassment game especially for valley based traders, for whom the post is out of reach. The unwarranted activities of this post were unbearable to the extent that the Kashmiri traders avoided facing the post and finding an easy option by shifting their total purchases to Jammu province. At that time under sales tax act it suited the Valley traders because of lesser involvement of accounts and sales tax dept. This diversion of trade indeed was an easy option at that point of time but at the same time margins earned were lesser and capital involved was higher due to the tax paid in advance at first point. After the introduction of VAT same trading activities with the Jammu province are turning to be costlier because of complex accounts needs and apathy of Tax Dept.
Empowering Kashmir
Freedom, revolution and the missing links
Over powering
Police Public Relations
The recent incidents of uproar against police in valley, particularly at Shopian and Baramulla, have given indications of the poor Public-Police Relations in the State. The Police is supposed to be the friend of the people and while performing their duties, policemen have to uphold the rule of law on one hand and respect the public sentiment on the other hand. Once this balance is lost, the causality is “administration of Criminal Justice”.
Police is the principal law enforcing agency in the country. Their duty is to promote order and tranquillity in the society. But unfortunately public-police relations are strained not only in this State but in the entire India. It is the primary reason for National Police Commission in its 3rd Report to categorically state that police-public relations are in a very unsatisfactory state. The Commission has attributed several reasons for such as partiality, brutality, and failure to register cognizable offences.
Syed Ali Geelani
Police reforms are urgent
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Terror laws are being seen as a weapon to fight terrorism, but what about those who practice the law? Is our police still not a professional force? In 2006, the Supreme Court of India came out with some police reform directives in Prakash Singh vs Union of India case. J&K is the only state which has not taken any concrete steps towards reforming its police force.
Conspiracy theory, indeed
Tarique A Bhat
Franklin D Roosevelt declares, “In politics, nothing happens ‘by accident.’ If it happened, you can bet it was ‘planned’ that way.”
Is there is a methodical pattern in recent unrest in Kashmir which travelled from Shopian to Baramulla? The answer is a resounding “yes”! Many of us believe that the gore Shopian rape and murder incidents and brutally violent response to the protestors were aimed at disturbing the Kashmiri psyche. Chaos, instability and great civil unrest are the natural results. Anyone who would argue that it is a case of black and white, without shades of grey, does indeed require a snooze.
Simplistically comparing the developments in last two months, there is a clear dynamic at work spurred on by a popular discontent. The cry for justice to rape and murder victims remains unanswered. New Delhi is pretending not to notice there really is a problem at all.
Conspiracy theory, indeed. The empire, political players etc., always conspire, and no less so when people are taking to the streets with great courage to express grievances.
Rip the rapist
Among the gory crimes against women, rape is the most heinous one; it murders the soul of the victim. The man commits the crime to subjugate, suppress and force a woman into submission. Since ages, rape has least been about satisfying carnal desire, and more about gender supremacy and show of manliness. The planet earth being male dominated the womenfolk is supposed to be submissive, humble and any deviation from this set pattern warrants punishment, rape and sometimes even death.
Rape is not a crime committed just by lesser mortal, the deprived or anti-social. In our times highly placed and most powerful Bill Clinton molested his office assistant during his Arkansas governorship, mighty Mike Tyson committed rape many a times. Even age is no bar. In 2006 a 25 year old son of a top industrialist violated a woman in his mid fifties. More recently, the “shining” star of Bollywood Shiny Ahuja blackened his face by outraging the modesty of his maid.
Lost genius
Fighting polythene
