Round The
States
New Delhi, 10 August
2019
New Chapter Begins
KASHMIR, A PARADISE AGAIN?
By Insaf
What lies ahead and
for how long will the voices in the Valley be suppressed, are questions among
many others, which beg an answer. Indeed, the Modi-Amit Shah team has gone down
in history, by stripping J&K of its special status and fulfilling the
Hindutava party’s seven-decade old promise of integrating the troubled State
with Union of India a reality. The decision has been welcomed across the
nation, though the same may not be said the way the unprecedented operation was
undertaken. But the die has been cast. The Amarnath yatra being cancelled mid
way, complete lockdown, two former Chief Ministers put under house arrest et al
is mind-boggling and yes unimaginable in a democratic society. But there would
be few different opinions that there could have been no other way. Be that as
it may, what plans the government has ahead, is anybody’s guess.
However, the primary
concern is that normalcy must return. How soon will the restrictions on
movement in the Valley be removed? When will telecommunications be restarted?
How soon will people get a chance to choose their representatives again?
Obviously, a brute majority won’t work and neither will it help to gain
confidence. Friday, was the establishment’s first test. Confined to their
homes, people in Kashmir offered Friday prayers in local mosques thanks to
easing of restrictions. Officials said the Valley was largely peaceful, barring
minor incidents of stone-pelting in Sopore. In Jammu, the situation was better.
The officials said phone services have been restored and arrangements are being
made to restore normalcy. There word is all what people and the outside world
has, for the ground reality sadly is unknown. The real big test comes next week
as the calendar is marked with Eid al-Adha, Independence Day and Raksha
Bandhan. A challenge that must be met, and well. Inshallah!
* * * * * * *
Tripura
Land Request
Tripura wants a piece
of Bangladeshi land! No, eyebrows needn’t go up as it is for better
connectivity, not in country alone but with the neighbour. The land is sought for
upgradation and expansion of Agartala airport and Union Civil Aviation Ministry
has asked South Block to make a request its counterpart in Dhaka, which has sought
technical details. If agreed, the airport will be the third international
airport in the North-East and State government is targeting to complete it by
year-end or early 2020. However, as of now signs of the neighbour obliging seem
remote given its Home Minister reportedly saying “there should be no question
about it.” This despite not only Dhaka-Agartala flights will increase but also
to other cities like Chattogram and Sylhet. The airport, 20 km north of Agartala,
sits just along the Bangladesh border and thus questions of immigration,
currency, sovereignty, security and political implications, shall pop up. Plus,
though the two nations are ‘friends’, there are anti-India sentiments which raise
the big question: Will the plan take off?
* * * * * * *
Monsoon
Blues
Monsoon season brings
shudders to many a State every year and relief in some. While Kerala, western
Maharashtra and Karnataka are already facing flood fury, Madhya Pradesh, Goa,
Gujarat, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, are keeping fingers crossed that the rain god
doesn’t turn brutal. So far 37 people have died in floods and lakhs evacuated
in Maharashtra’s Kohlapur and Sangli districts (27 dead, 205,000 people
displaced) plus District administrations and local urban bodies have had to establish
temporary shelters for the affected in urban areas, and Kerala (10 dead, 5000
displaced, 25 missing in Wayanad district). In Karnataka, 15000 people have
been evacuated as 15 of the 30 districts have witnessed heavy rainfall. And
while alarm bells have gone off with rain continuing to lash the Western Ghats,
the delta region, rice bowl of Tamil Nadu is relieved as it continues to be
parched. And there is hope that the rains will bring some relief to the
drinking water crisis. Be that as it may, there is one certainty, the country’s
disaster management planning is shoddy, to say the least. Will we ever learn
from the adage ‘a stitch in time saves nine’?
* * * * * * *
Goa
Reservation
The reservation bug
has bitten Goa too. After Andhra Pradesh introduced a Bill for reservation in
private industries and Madhya Pradesh saying it’s proposing a similar policy,
Chief Minister Sawant is all set to join in and appease the youth. In fact, he
seeks to do one better as while AP announced 75% quota in private sector and MP
70%, Goa proposes to go all out for 80%. The reason cited is that unfortunately
Goa has ‘no employment policy, no labour’ and it is ‘necessary to finalise one.”
That being the case, it seems that it would like to make the best of the
opportunity to go for the kill. Sawant gave himself 6 months to deliver, much
to the chagrin of the business houses. Voices against such a policy are
emerging with some advocating that the Government cannot make it compulsory
unless an industrial unit is taking benefits from it. He would need persuasive
skills, but is preparing for a contingency plan too. His government is at the
same time thinking how to raise revenue as tax collections have taken a major
hit since GST. One option is to further lower car registration so that many
more people come to Goa, as they have done in the recent past. Time will tell,
whether the roadmap is right.
* * * * * * *
Ladakhi’s
Overnight Success
Ladakh is jubilant
alright. Its long-pending wish of being separated from Kashmir has come true.
But the limelight, at least on Tuesday last was on its lone BJP MP Jamyang
Tsering Namgyal, who delivered an outstanding speech. Not only did the young
firebrand have MPs from both Treasury and Opposition thump their desks in
appreciation, but got a thumbs from Prime Minister Modi. After the voting was
over on Article 370, Modi gave him a pat and later tweeted: “He coherently
presents the aspirations of our sisters and brothers from Ladakh. It is a must
hear!” Plus, he posted the link to his 17-minute speech. And, within 24 hours,
Namgyal’s FB account was flooded with friends’ request. But he had to
disappoint many as he wrote: “I cannot accept more as the limit of 5000 is
crossed. So may please hit like and stay tuned with my official Facebook page
attached here.” Indeed, he was sharp in his speech and took pot shots obviously
at those who opposed the resolution. In particular was this jibe: “Honourable
member from Kashmir was saying after Article 370 is abolished what we would
lose. Well I would say ‘two families will lose their livelihood’.” He would
have got a hero’s welcome back home alright. However, he mustn’t forget those
‘two families’ who gave him a platform to come into the limelight overnight.
---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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