Monday, January 18, 2010

British Hindu Davender Ghai takes funeral pyre battle to Appeal Court

A Hindu Funeral Pyre

    • Paul Rogers/The Times)

      Davender Ghai wishes to be creamted on a Hindu funeral pyre

    • A British Hindu could win the right to be cremated on an open air funeral pyre if appeal court judges agree with his definition of the word "building".

      Davender Ghai, 71, a spiritual healer from Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has been refused permission to be cremated on a traditional open air funeral pyre by Newcastle City Council.

      The decision was upheld by the High Court in 2009 following submissions from the Ministry of Justice that open air funerals could offend public sensibilities.

    • Today Mr Ghai’s case came before the Appeal Court where the Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger indicated that the entire case could hinge on the legal definition of the word "building".

      Clarifying the position of Mr Ghai, Lord Neuberger said: "He would be happy if there were four walls with an opening in the roof or he would be happy to have a roof if it was on pillars."

      Representing Mr Ghai, Ramby de Mello QC concurred. "What would be unacceptable to Mr Ghai is to have his body sent inside a coffin to be cremated in a chamber," he said.

      The panel of three judges considered pictures of what such a structure might look like.

    • He considers "natural cremations" necessary for him and his fellow Hindus. "I want my soul to arise from the flames like the mythical phoenix, not to be incinerated in an industrial furnace," he said.

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Jennifer Aniston gets hooked to ‘yogalosophy’

  • Jennifer Aniston gets hooked to ‘yogalosophy’

    tags: no_tag

    • Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has become hooked to a ritual that combines astrology with yoga.

      Aniston goes to “yogalosophy” teacher Mandy Ingber six times a week to align her spirit and body, reports mirror.co.uk.

      “You start to crave it. You know, you start to actually crave that adrenaline. Mandy combines her wisdom of astrology with the mind and the body and also cardio. So it’s sort of just a combination which is why I guess she calls it yogalosophy,” said Aniston.

Jennifer Aniston filming a roof top scene

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Historians exchange heated arguments - Mysore - City - The Times of India

  • Historians exchange heated arguments - Mysore - City - The Times of India

    tags: no_tag

    • MYSORE
    • The conference witnessed literary fireworks when a historian presenting his paper on Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, their conquests and
    • defence works, tried to segregate Indian history into Hindu India, Muslim India and British India.

      Historians who remained deeply divided over the subject were seen involved in a heated argument. Things cooled down only when the president of the final session on the final day of the conference and former vice-chancellor of Calicut University K K N Kurup intervened and asked the arguing historians to agree to each other to disagree, and not to make any caustic remarks against each other.
    • Presenting his paper, S K Joshi from Dharwad said Indian history could be divided into Hindu India , Muslim India and British India. He said the Hindu period saw the rise and fall of four great empires Mouryas, Rastrakutas, Palas in the east and Prathiharas in the West and Northwest. Muslim India started from 1000 AD and continued till British came on the scene in the 18th century, he added.

      Recollecting the rule of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, Joshi reportedly suspected the secular credentials of these two Muslim rulers. He went on to say that though Tipu might have bestowed some grants and wealth to Hindu mutts and temples, they were few in numbers. Joshi said most of the forts held by father and son were conquered and not built by them. He alleged Tipu Sultan of renaming many of these forts built by Hindu native rulers after establishing his supremacy on them.

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Delhi: City of conquests - Travel - NZ Herald News

The stately Tomb of Humayun. Photo / Jim Eagles
    • It's an irony I'm sure is not lost on many Indians that in a country which is 75 per cent Hindu the most impressive sights in the capital city of Delhi have virtually all been provided by Muslim or Christian invaders.

    • But almost all the places to which tourists are taken so they can marvel at the wonders of this ancient land were actually created by the Muslim invaders from central Asia who conquered the country 900 years ago.

      Even the impressive seat of the Indian Government, New Delhi, was the work of the British, who succeeded the Muslims as overlords around 1800.

    • Just to underline the message, next to it the new dynasty also built the first mosque in India, Quwwat-ul-Islam, the Might of Islam, on a site originally occupied by several Hindu and Jain temples (an inscription over one of the gates proclaims that the mosque incorporated material from "27 idolatrous temples").

    • Most of Delhi's Muslim rulers seem to have been driven by the same desire to demonstrate their greatness in brick and marble and many managed to last long enough to see their projects through to completion.

      The result was a city of extraordinary magnificence. The extent and grandeur of the ruins which dot the area today are impressive enough. But they only give an inkling of just how impressive Delhi was at the height of Mughal power.

    • The Lahore Gate, which once quite literally excluded Hindu Indians from the seat of power, is the spot chosen successive Indian leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh to deliver important speeches and it is where they come every August 15 to celebrate Independence Day.

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The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> Anchal resurfaces in Srinagar does volte face

  • The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> Anchal resurfaces in Srinagar does volte face

    tags: no_tag

    • Mohit Kandhari | Jammu
    • Blames Jammu parties for ‘exploiting’ her situation
    • Anchal Sharma nee Amina Yousaf, who disappeared in mysterious circumstances from her in-laws’ house in Jammu, resurfaced in Srinagar on late Saturday evening and made a sudden U-turn by changing her previous statement. This was exactly opposite to what she had stated on camera in front of the Additional Deputy Commissioner in Srinagar, heading a magisterial probe to ascertain the truth behind the mysterious death of her husband Rajneesh Sharma, a Jammu-based businessman.
    • If Anchal was under duress, as she claimed during her interaction with media in Srinagar outside the lower court, she was at liberty to tell the truth to the Additional DC instead of recording graphic picture of torture.
    • On Saturday, when Anchal was produced before the judge in the lower court, she introduced herself as Amina Yousaf, daughter of Mohd Yousaf Marazi, without showing any remorse.

      Before marrying Rajneesh on August 21, 2009 she had converted to Hinduism against the wishes of her parents.
    • Bullet Dissatisfied with the pace of the investigations
    • Coming out of the court, Anchal Sharma during her brief interaction with the mediapersons, raised many eyebrows as she accused political parties in Jammu for exploiting her sentiments.

      She even levelled allegations that she was not willing to convert to Hindusim but was forced to do so by Rajneesh. In her previous statements before media, she had contested these allegations of her parents and countered the same by admitting that she was having an affair with Rajneesh for a long time and she decided to marry him by embracing Hinduism as per own choice.

      In one of her statements, she had even stated: “If Rajneesh would have converted to Islam then my father would have garlanded him with marigold flowers and danced at the wedding reception.”

      “Rajneesh was killed because he had the courage to marry a Muslim,” she told mediapersons and others who called on her to share her grief in Jammu.
    • COMMENTS
    • By Anil
    • She must have got the wind of impending suffering she will have to go through while the Indian state will deliver justice to her in d-u-e c-o-u-r-s-e of time. Hence she got frustrated & decided to go back to her family. Poor Rajneesh is nothing but a statistics in secular India. Compare this with Indians been attacked in Australia and how India is demanding the justice to be delivered at lightning speed!

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Hindus don't need open-air cremation | Jay Lakhani | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

  • Hindus don't need open-air cremation | Jay Lakhani | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

    tags: no_tag

    jay
    • Jay Lakhani
    • This week, the court of appeal will revisit some of the arguments that determine whether a Hindu man is within his rights to demand an open-air cremation.

    • Hindus may at times insist on their human rights in keeping some of their traditions alive but there is at times a risk that this can show Hinduism more generally in a poor light and can undermine its potency. Such dogmatism detracts from the claim of this religion to being a living faith prepared to evolve with the times.

       

      What worries a Hindu like me is that the real motives behind such insistence may not be protecting human rights, but reinforcing good old priest-craft. Hindu priests who are in charge of liturgy should realise that though the rituals they are insisting upon are important, they should adapt and change with the requirements of modern living. Unfortunately many are not prepared to do this, putting a stubborn insistence on ritual over common sense. The spirit of Hinduism, in contrast, would seem insist that rituals should not be allowed to overwhelm or displace the philosophic foundation of religion.


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SC declines PIL to delink Sikhs from Hindu law

  • fullstory

    tags: no_tag

    • The Supreme Court today declined to pass any order on a plea that the Sikh Community, which gets the birth certificate under the Hindu law, faces an uphill task to explain immigration authorities across the globe that the community is different from Hindus.
    • "It is very difficult to convince the people abroad, especially the immigaration authorities, that though they are given birth certificate under Hindu Marriage Act, they are Sikh by religion," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.

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Uncorking myths on Indian Erotica

portal on indian news
    • Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival , a 3-day celebration of literature and arts, unraveled myths on Erotica in Indian writing here.

      The panel discussion “Sex and the City” was an intriguing session discussing Erotica with a panel including writers Ruchir Joshi, Sonia Jabbar, Anita Roy, Rimi B Chatterjee.
    • Kolkata
    • Author Ruchir Joshi raised the question, “Is the sensibility of erotica different in India than abroad? “and then adds, “It’s not. It’s just that it’s not discussed.”

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International Conference in Mumbai to release Marathi Quran translation | ummid.com

  • International Conference in Mumbai to release Marathi Quran translation | ummid.com

    tags: no_tag

    • Malegaon
    • A Marathi translation of the Holy Quran would be released on Sunday January 24, 2010 in Mumbai during the two-day International Quran Conference jointly organized by Jamiat Ahle Hadees Greater Mumbai and Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maharashtra.

    • Interestingly, the Marathi Translation of the Holy Quran that will be released this Sunday is perhaps the only Quran translation of its kind that has the name of a Hindu, Ajay Sonar imprinted on it.

       

      Ajay Sonar a computer DTP operator from Malegaon, who will be felicitated by the organizers during the International Quran Conference in Mumbai, helped Jamiat Ahle Hadees Maharashtra in composing and proof reading the entire Marathi script that runs over more than a thousand pages.


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ऐतिहासिक घटनाओं से जुड़ा है बसंत पर्व

  • ऐतिहासिक घटनाओं से जुड़ा है बसंत पर्व

    tags: no_tag

    • बसन्त पंचमी का पर्व देश में घटित हो चुकी कई ऐतिहासिक घटनाओं से जुड़ा हुआ है। जिनमें धर्मवीर हकीकत राय का बलिदान, ४९ कूकों की शहादत, पतंगबाजी का जन्म शामिल हैं। लेकिन इस बार बसन्त पंचमी के दिन सेवा सिंह ठीकरीवाल की शहादत का दिन भी शामिल हो गया है।

      धर्म परिवर्तन का विरोध कर हिन्दू धर्म न छोड़ सिर कलम करने की सजा कबूल करने वाले धर्मवीर हकीकत राय जिनका अविभाजित भारत में लाहौर के शहर स्यालकोट में जन्म हुआ था। उनके पिता भागमल और माता तारा रानी थी। वीर हकीकत का सहपाठी मुस्लिम लड़कों से तकरार हुआ था।

      जिसके बाद मामला बढ़कर काजी के पास पहुंच गया था। काजी ने वीर हकीकत को धर्म बदलने को कहा था। नौ वर्षीय वीर हकीकत ने काजी की बात ठुकरा मौत की सजा को आज के दिन ही स्वीकार किया था। हिन्दू धर्म के लिए कुर्बान हो जाने वाले धर्मवीर हकीकत राय को इस दिन श्रद्धांजलि देने हिन्दू, सिख, धार्मिक व समाजसेवी संगठनों के प्रतिनिधि शामिल होते हैं।

      जो धर्मवीर हकीकत राय को श्रद्धांजलि भेंट करते समय हर धर्म की रक्षा करने, देश की संस्कृति को बढ़ावा देने, देश विरोधी ताकतों को खदेडऩे की शपथ ग्रहण करते हैं, भारत को ब्रिटिश सरकार की गुलामी की जंजीरों से बाहर निकालने को लेकर कूका धर्म से जुड़े आजादी के संग्रामियों को तोपों के गोलों से शहीद किया गया था।

      शहीद सेवा सिंह ठीकरीवाला का दिन इस बार बसन्त के साथ इस लिए जुड़ गया है कि इसी दिन ठीकरीवाला शहीद हुए थे, जो पतंग आज विश्व के कोने कोने तक जा पहुंची है वह पहली पतंग बसन्त पंचमी के दिन पाकिस्तान के लाहौर में बनाई व उड़ाई गई थी। जो बाद में एक शौक बन गया।
    • बसन्त पंचमी का पर्व देश में घटित हो चुकी कई ऐतिहासिक घटनाओं से जुड़ा हुआ है। जिनमें धर्मवीर हकीकत राय का बलिदान, ४९ कूकों की शहादत, पतंगबाजी का जन्म शामिल हैं। लेकिन इस बार बसन्त पंचमी के दिन सेवा सिंह ठीकरीवाल की शहादत का दिन भी शामिल हो गया है।

      धर्म परिवर्तन का विरोध कर हिन्दू धर्म न छोड़ सिर कलम करने की सजा कबूल करने वाले धर्मवीर हकीकत राय जिनका अविभाजित भारत में लाहौर के शहर स्यालकोट में जन्म हुआ था। उनके पिता भागमल और माता तारा रानी थी। वीर हकीकत का सहपाठी मुस्लिम लड़कों से तकरार हुआ था।

      जिसके बाद मामला बढ़कर काजी के पास पहुंच गया था। काजी ने वीर हकीकत को धर्म बदलने को कहा था। नौ वर्षीय वीर हकीकत ने काजी की बात ठुकरा मौत की सजा को आज के दिन ही स्वीकार किया था। हिन्दू धर्म के लिए कुर्बान हो जाने वाले धर्मवीर हकीकत राय को इस दिन श्रद्धांजलि देने हिन्दू, सिख, धार्मिक व समाजसेवी संगठनों के प्रतिनिधि शामिल होते हैं।

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गौंडवाना से जब्त मांस के सैंपल लिए

  • गौंडवाना से जब्त मांस के सैंपल लिए

    tags: no_tag

    • Madhya Pradesh-Sagar
    • सागर.
    • शनिवार-रविवार की रात दो बजे रेलवे स्टेशन पर धर्मरक्षा संगठन के द्वारा गौंडवाना एक्सप्रेस से गौ-मांस के संदेह में जब्त कराए गए 2700 किलो मांस के रविवार की शाम 6 बजे सैंपल लिए गए । मांस से भरे बोरे माल गोदाम प्रभारी की सुपुर्दगी में दिए गए। यह कार्रवाई स्थानीय पुलिस एवं प्रशासन के हस्तक्षेप के बाद हो सकी। भास्कर टीम ने रात को ही मौके पर पहुंचकर पूरे घटनाक्रम का जायजा लिया था।
Meat

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चिता दहन मामले पर ब्रिटिश हिंदुओं ने तेज की लड़ाई - Videsh - LiveHindustan.com

  • चिता दहन मामले पर ब्रिटिश हिंदुओं ने तेज की लड़ाई - Videsh - LiveHindustan.com

    tags: no_tag

    Image Loading
    • तइनेशिया के 71 वर्षीय देवेंदर धई हिंदू संस्कृति से जुड़े रीति-रिवाजों और धार्मिक मान्यताओं के संरक्षण के लिए खुले में शवदाह का अधिकार चाहते हैं। लेकिन लगभग तीन साल पहले न्यूकेशल सिटी काउंसिल ने 1930 के कानून का हवाला देते हुए इसे गैरकानूनी घोषित कर दिया था। धई काउंसिल के इसी आदेश और पुराने कानून के खिलाफ देश के वरिष्ठ वकीलों के साथ ऊपरी अदालत में कमर कसकर खड़े हैं।

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Hindi News - ‘अकाल तख्त’ गंगा की सफाई करना चाहता है Josh18.in.com

  • Hindi News - ‘अकाल तख्त’ गंगा की सफाई करना चाहता है Josh18.in.com

    tags: no_tag

    • नानकमत्ता (उत्तराखंड)
    • अकाल तख्त के जत्थेदार ज्ञानी गुरुबचन सिंह ने शर्त यह रखी है कि हरिद्वार में हर की पौड़ी पर गुरुनानक देव जी की ध्यान स्थली शिरोमणि गुरुद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी (एसजीपीसी) को सौंपी जाए। उत्तराखंड के ऊधम सिंह नगर जिले में स्थित ऐतिहासिक गुरुद्वारा श्री नानकमत्ता साहिब में हिंदू, पंजाबी, सिख एकता समागम में भाग लेने आएं।  सिंह ने कहा कि यदि सरकार गुरुजी की ध्यान स्थली शिरोमणि कमेटी को सौंपती है तो वहां पर एक भव्य गुरुद्वारे का निर्माण किया जाएगा और उसके बाद हरिद्वार तथा आस-पास गंगा नदी की कारसेवा के माध्यम से निरंतर सफाई कराई जाएगी।
    • उन्होंने उत्तराखंड सरकार से मांग की कि सिखों के पवित्र धार्मिक स्थल श्री हेमकुंड साहिब को गंगोत्री, यमनोत्री, बद्रीनाथ और केदारनाथ के बाद राज्य का पांचवा धाम घोषित किया जाए। सिंह ने कहा कि सिख गुरुओं ने सभी धर्मों के अनुयायियों की रक्षा के लिए बलिदान दिया ओर सिखों के परिवारों ने कुर्बानियां दीं।

      पंचप्यारों में भी सभी धर्म के लोगों को शामिल करके देश की रक्षा हेतु खालसा पंथ की स्थापना की गई थी। इसलिए देश भर के सरकारी एवं निजी स्कूलों में पंजाबी पढ़ाई जानी चाहिए। उन्होंने कहा कि देश भर के पंजाबियों को दलगत राजनीति से ऊपर उठकर आपसी एकता के लिए काम करना चाहिए।

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Pratahkal - पिता ऊंची जाति का तो संतान को आरक्षण नहीं

  • Pratahkal - पिता ऊंची जाति का तो संतान को आरक्षण नहीं

    tags: no_tag

    • गुजरात हाईकोर्ट ने व्यवस्था दी है कि ऊंची जाति के पिता और अनुसूचित जनजाति की मां के संबंध से पैदा हुए बच्चे को आरक्षण का लाभ नहीं मिलेगा।
    • हाईकोर्ट ने अपने आदेश में कहा, भारत के संविधान के तहत यह पहले से तय है कि कोई भी व्यक्ति जिसे अगड़ी जाति में पैदा होने के कारण जीवन की शुरूआत में लाभ मिला वह गोद लेने से, शादी करने से या धर्म परिवर्तन करने से आरक्षण का लाभ पाने के योग्य नहीं हो जाता।
    • नेका ने कहा था कि उसका लालन पालन जनजातीय समाज में हुआ क्योंकि आदिवासी लड़की से शादी के बाद उसके पिता को समाज से निकाल दिया गया था। अदालत ने इस तर्क को खारिज कर दिया।

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Vijayvaani.com - Kashmiri leadership a problem for Kashmiris outside Kashmir

  • Vijayvaani.com

    tags: no_tag

    • Kashmiri leadership a problem for Kashmiris outside Kashmir       
    • Rustam

    • According to a report in a section of the print media in Jammu, “Kashmiri traders were given marching orders at the Kumbh Mela that started at Prayag, Allahabad, in Uttar Pradesh” on January 14, as they were considered a “security threat”.

       

      What actually transpired was that the Director of Exhibitions, Dinesh Chand Pasi, asked Kashmiri traders who had set up their stalls to “pack off”. This led to arguments and counter-arguments between the Director and the Kashmiri traders selling shawls, artifacts and clothes, etc. The situation turned so ugly that the Director, according to a report, “broke into the stalls and threw away their stuff;” some Kashmiri traders were allegedly “abused and beaten” by the local traders.

    • The author resides in Jammu

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Vijayvaani.com - Are Muslims the sole stakeholders of Kashmir?

  • Vijayvaani.com

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    • Are Muslims the sole stakeholders of Kashmir?
    • Nancy Kaul

    • I had received the email information before – it was a discussion organised by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, and the main speakers were listed as the new BJP President Nitin Gadkari, former J&K Governor Jagmohan, and Ladakh Union Territory Front president Thupstan Chhewang, among others.

       

      Thus it was with a sense of shock that I realized that my informant was drawing my attention to the fact that the impugned Madhu Kishwar, Editor, Manushi, was suddenly listed as one of the main speakers at the functions, sharing equal honours with the new BJP president!

    • RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Rao Bhagwat has more than once categorically stated the position of the RSS on Jammu & Kashmir, both in Jammu and in New Delhi. And if the public positions of the Sarsanghachalak can be upturned in such a daring fashion in the capital itself (powerful BJP leaders visit Jammu and say concessions ‘must be given’ to Muslims, without telling the Nation at large and Hindus in particular why), RSS needs to do a serious audit about the Hindutva commitment of its cadres and the BJP which seeks its advice and support.

       

      If a foundation dedicated to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who is widely believed to have been martyred for the cause of Jammu & Kashmir’s full and final integration into India, for one constitution and one flag (ek nishan, ek pradhan), can provide a platform for a fellow traveller of terrorists, secessionists, separatists and outright criminals,  then what is the RSS’ stand?

    • The author is convener, Daughters of Vitasta

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Vijayvaani.com - Demilitarization of J&K: Delhi yielding, mercenaries and Pakistani agents winning

  • Vijayvaani.com

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    • Demilitarization of J&K: Delhi yielding, mercenaries and Pakistani agents winning 
    • Hari Om

    • Mr. Antony inter alia disclosed that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will take over the security of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1-A from the Army from January 15. The Union Government has every right to take such a step. It must have gone into the whole issue and taken note of the prevailing security scenario all along the National Highway before reaching the conclusion that the CRPF, and not the Army, could guard the highly sensitive National Highway.

       

      What disturbed and dumbfounded observers was his irresponsible comment that the decision to this effect has been taken to “reduce the visibility of the Army.” The Minister’s comment must have pleased the mercenaries and the Pakistani agents who had assembled at New Delhi’s prestigious India International Centre (IIC) on Jan. 11 and attacked India and the India Army for full three days (Jan. 11 - 13). Actually, a number of mercenaries, separatists, murderers, communalists and Pakistani agents had converged at the IIC to participate in the India-Pakistan conference; all were hailed by a section of the media as “peaceniks” (peace activists).

       

      The Defence Minister made his mind-boggling comment at a time when the anti-India and pro-Pakistan forces, plus the Kashmiri separatists, were asking New Delhi to “demilitarize Jammu & Kashmir” and resume the stalled composite dialogue process with Pakistan, so that Pakistani views on Indian Jammu & Kashmir and the views of Kashmiri separatists, including their demand for demilitarization, are accommodated, and they get what they have been striving for since October 1947.

    • What is the political message of the Indian Defence Minister? It is, shamefully, this:

      His ministry shares the view of the mercenaries, Pakistani agents and Kashmiri separatists that the Indian Army is a bad institution and that the presence of the Indian Army in the terrorist-infested Jammu & Kashmir is illegal, provocative, and undesirable, and that the withdrawal of the Army from the State could be a great confidence-building measure.

    • The author is Chair Professor, Gulab Singh Chair, Jammu University, Jammu

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