Muzamil Jaleel

Now that the verdict is in, the polls have sharpened faultlines, as the PAGD has won largely in Muslim-majority areas while the BJP has retained its dominance in Hindu-majority Jammu.

Last week, the administration launched a drive to demolish homes and seasonal hutments in the upper reaches of Pahalgam in Anantnag.

Chargesheeted, arrested on September 23, 2013 and released on bail the same day, Khan went on to become Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir.

The SPO detained by J&K Police is Fayaz Ahmad Rather, working at the Rajbagh police mess in Srinagar and attached to a Deputy SP with the counter-insurgency Special Operations Group.

This is the first time after August 5, 2019, that the six major mainstream parties — the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Congress, People’s Conference, CPM and Awami National Conference — have come together.

Shadab, who hails from Bhaderwah town in Doda district of J&K's Chinab valley, has been at Jamia for the past four years. "It is traumatic to even think of it... it was a close shave,'' the student said.

Singh, who joined the police in 1990 as a Sub Inspector, received an out-of-way promotion to first become an Inspector and then a Deputy Superintendent of Police. Singh joined the SOG when it was launched in 1994.

Davinder Singh’s alleged role in the Parliament attack case was not probed. Asked about this on Sunday, IGP (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said: “There is nothing as such in our records nor do I know anything about it... We will question him on this.”

If, indeed, New Delhi believes the decision is for the good of the people, then what explains the siege around every household, an unprecedented communication blockade, a record troop build-up and the detention of almost everyone who has a political or social standing in Kashmir?

Before August 5, Urdu was the official language of J&K state, while official transactions and orders were also conducted and issued in English.

The pro-India political camp in Kashmir point to the irony in this: 80 years ago, the flag’s creators had conceived it as a symbol of unity — across classes, and religions.

Like the over 50 men detained, their relatives — wives, children, mothers, sisters and parents — are all former VIPs. Until recently, their faces and names were a free pass through any official door in Kashmir.

Three weeks into the lockdown, abrogation of the state’s special status, its bifurcation and downgrade into a Union Territory, the political vacuum is deepening on the ground.

Independence Day in Kashmir: “We are ready for the main function tomorrow. It will be held in Srinagar where the national flag will be hoisted by the Honourable Governor. In Jammu, the celebrations will be led by the Advisor to the Honourable Governor,” Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal said.

The government had brought satellite phones for its use, but soon found that they weren’t working. Subsequently, the cellphone companies, especially the government-owned BSNL, were asked to de-block a select number of phones.

Days ahead of New Delhi’s move, Sajad Lone was part of the all-party meet in Srinagar that had called “any fiddling with J&K’s special status an aggression against the people of the state".

Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the IAS in 2009, resigned from the service earlier this year and set up J&K People's Movement with an aim to join mainstream electoral politics.

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is set to travel to Srinagar on Thursday, but sources said he is expected to be sent back from the airport.

The Kashmir Valley’s connection with the inside and the outside world has been cut — all internet connectivity, cellular, landline, and cable TV services have been snapped.

In February, when air ticket prices surged leading to public anger, the matter was taken up by the J&K government. At that time, the Delhi-Srinagar air fare was between Rs 13,000 to Rs 17, 000.

A commander of the Islamic State Jammu Kashmir (ISJK), which operates under the banner of Wilayah Al Hind, was killed and a Hizbul militant seriously injured in the gunfight in Anantnag district Wednesday.

The entire security grid in J&K is on its toes after the alert, which came just days ago, regarding a possible attack by militants using an improvised explosive device mounted on a vehicle.

The state has been under central rule eight times, and moved from Governor’s rule to President’s rule (after six months) on two of those occasions.

What is the law, and why has it been challenged?