Indonesia ponders plan to move capital from Jakarta
because that city is sinking into the sea.
Servant of the Omnissiah
Must be bad if they're just flat out refusing to consider that the plans they implemented to prevent it sinking might work.
Climate Change can be a bitch.
I hold the secrets of the machine.
On Friday, the district of Kargil observed a shutdown against the bifurcation of the Jammu and Kashmir state and the reading down of Article 370. This was the fifth such shutdown in this region of Ladakh since the Centre, on August 5, took the drastic step which now means that Kargil and Leh will form the new Union Territory of Ladakh.
https://thewire.in/rights/what-did-we-do-kargil-seethes-at-centres-bifurcation-decision/amp/
On Tuesday, the senior advocate had told the supreme court of India that the birthplace of Lord Ram was in itself a deity and Muslims cannot claim right over the 2.77-acre disputed land. The Hindu parties involved in the Ayodhya title appeals received a barrage of questions from the Constitution Bench, including whether there is any evidence on record to show that the first Mughal emperor, Babur, ordered the building of the Babri Masjid.
In Andhra’s Krishna district, a second flood warning level has been issued with the outflow in the Prakasam barrage on the Krishna River touching 7.71 lakh cusecs against the inflow of 7.57 lakh cusecs. But what’s alarming is that the present level in the barrage is 4.08 TMC, exceeding its full capacity of 3.07 TMC, according to data released by the AP State Disaster Management Authority at 6pm on Friday.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 16th 2019 at 9:57:07 PM
Servant of the Omnissiah
I also would like to note that the Hindu members asked for Prophet Muhammad's certificate of birth in response to the questions, since that would also be considered legal. It's a long court battle ahead, and it's been a long court battle so far.
Also, the Pakistanis accuse India of plotting demographic change and suppressing dissent in the Valley, while doing it themselves in the occupied territory for the past 50 years. But hey, got to keep ragging on the Indian Government just because it's not a liberal one, dont'cha know?
In addition, Landline Telephones and Cellphone Connectivity is being restored in phases across the Valley. Full connectivity expected, along with all restrictions being lifted, by next week, as per the plans laid out by the Centre.
Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) since August 9, has been put on life support, officials confirmed on Saturday.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
With that kind of arguments from the Hindu members, I am more convinced that the only reason the courts are delaying the verdict is because of fear of the inevitable outrage from one of the religious communities.
We honestly should have treated jammu Ladakh region as seperate from the valley from the beginning similar to how Pakistan did with Azad kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. The bifurcation, at the very least, came way too late.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 17th 2019 at 6:00:41 PM
Servant of the Omnissiah
Outrage or not, it's ridiculous that they're delaying the case this long. All it does is polarize both sides even more as time goes on.
No matter what they do, someone is going to be upset, because the middle ground has been systematically erased by gibbering idiots and cynical power-plays over the past two decades. If they concede to the temple demand, the liberal press will squeal and there is a chance of public unrest throughout the north. If they don't concede, Hindu conservative fury will ensure public unrest throughout the north.
At this point, it's better to just bite the bullet and declare a verdict.
I hold the secrets of the machine.
Beware the Crazy Man.
Assuming and insinuating that only the pro-BJP options are the good options is getting rather tiresome.
Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...
Servant of the Omnissiah
To be clear, I'd prefer that the thing be split midway - which was the original suggestion by moderates. One side for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, one side for the Babri Mosque.
That middle ground has long since been erased. Neither side will settle for anything less than full ownership. So unless someone can sit both sides down and force them to take the moderate option (the chances of which under this - or any other - government is precisely zero), that's all that's left.
The choices do suck that much.
I hold the secrets of the machine.
x8 That belongs in this thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14118200420a56291300&page=1, not here.
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
BBC has an article on how the Kashmir thing can be precedent for other states in India:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always fashioned himself as an advocate of federalism - someone who believes in giving the country's states more independence.
But last week's revocation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir - as the Indian state was known - and the move to split it into two union territories while imposing an unprecedented lockdown there is being seen by many as a major weakening of India's federal structure.
The new union territories (Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh) will be ruled directly from Delhi. Union territories have far less autonomy from the federal government than states. Sumantra Bose, a professor of international and comparative politics at the London School of Economics, calls them "glorified municipalities of Delhi".
By revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, ostensibly to put it on the same footing as the rest of India, Mr Modi's government, in the words of one commentator, has "upset India's delicate federal balance".
In many ways, Article 370 - as the constitutional article guaranteeing special status is known - was more symbolic, as presidential decrees over the years had already eroded much of the autonomy it guaranteed. What was more important, many say, was the spirit of the status: it signalled that the Indian constitution was malleable enough to make space for people who felt alienated or estranged from the mainstream.
India's federalism has in fact, been hard-earned and hard-fought.
Unlike more economically advanced and culturally homogenous countries with a federal system of government like the US and Canada, consensus over power sharing in a culturally and religiously diverse, poorer country like India has not been easy to forge. Thankfully the Indian constitution has provided a clear division of powers between the elected federal government and the state legislatures.
"The constitution strives to strike a delicate balance between the unitary and federal systems," says Yamini Aiyar, chief executive of Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research.
However, there have always been doubts about what some commentators call the "authenticity of Indian federalism".
State governors, usually political appointees of the the ruling federal government, have helped clamp direct rule in states where there has been a "failure of constitutional machinery". (An adverse report by the governor on the affairs of the state can become the basis of president's rule, or direct rule from Delhi, and authorise the dismissal of a state government.) Such direct rule has been declared in Indian states 88 times between 1951 and 1997.
Many believe the revocation of special status from Indian-administered Kashmir - without consulting the local people and political leaders and implemented when the state was under direct rule - is another taint on India's federal record.
"The single biggest significance of this move is that we are moving towards a unitary state, and abrogation of democratic principles. This is weakening federalism in India. People are so busy celebrating the move that they don't seem to get the big picture," Navnita Chadha Behera, a former visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution and the author of Demystifying Kashmir, told me.
"What is more worrying is this can happen to any other state. The federal government can dissolve a state government, ride roughshod over the consultative process, split the state and downgrade its status. Also worrying is the near-complete collapse of resistance to the move with most of the civil society, media and regional parties remaining silent or protesting very feebly."
Yamini Aiyar believes "federalism, which the framers of India's constitution saw as necessary to India's democracy, today has far fewer takers than it did in 1947. This is dangerous for India's democracy".
Supporters of the move say that strife-ridden Kashmir is a "special case", and a consultative process in an insurgency-hit and militarised region next door to India's nuclear-armed rival, Pakistan, would have led nowhere. Also Mr Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has for years consistently demanded the revocation of Article 370, calling it an example of "appeasement" in India's only Muslim-majority state.
However, India has a history of reconciling separatist aspirations. Where else, many say, could an insurgent leader who fought a guerrilla war for independence for a quarter of a century go on to become an elected state chief minister? But this is exactly what happened when the rebel leader Laldenga signed an accord with the Indian government in the north-eastern state of Mizoram in 1986.
Power sharing and inclusivity have only bolstered democracy in India and made the country more resilient.
India's Supreme Court, in the past, has clearly said that the "fact that under the scheme of constitution greater power is conferred upon the centre vis-a-vis the state does not mean that states are mere appendages of the centre."
"Within the sphere allotted to them, states are supreme. The centre cannot tamper with their powers," the court added.
It has also been unequivocal about the status of federalism as a basic constitutional structure.
It will be interesting to see how India's Supreme Court deals with the legal challenges against the move on Kashmir. "This will be a test case for the top court's independence," says Dr Behera.
Though locals have welcomed the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 and make Ladakh a Union territory, they fear the influx of outsiders would lead to a change in the region’s demography. Prominent leaders of Ladakh have made a fervent appeal to the Centre to declare the region a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, saying the biggest concern for its people is to protect their land and identity.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today continued to signal the country's tough stand to Pakistan, suggesting that should bilateral talks happen, it would not be on Jammu and Kashmir, but Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir - the territory under Pakistan's control since it invaded the state in 1947.
Amid fear that scrapping of Article 370 will devalue land rights in Jammu Kashmir, BJP leader Nirmal Singh assured a domicile-like option will soon be suggested to Union Government. The centre is already exploring limitations to ensure local rights will not be usurped. "Soon, we are going to propose domicile-like option for Jammu and Kashmir. Their interest shall be protected. Like in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, agricultural land cannot be bought. This option is also in the mind of the union government," said Nirmal Singh. Nirmal Singh also said that now private sector will be encouraged in J&K.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 18th 2019 at 5:45:24 PM
Authorities reimposed restrictions on movement in major parts of Srinagar on Sunday after violent overnight clashes between residents and police left dozens injured, two senior officials and eyewitnesses said.
The decision to allow Internet and mobile phone use in parts of the Jammu region was also reversed, according to one official, amid concerns about the spread of rumours
Authorities reimposed restrictions on movement in major parts of Srinagar on Sunday after violent overnight clashes between residents and police left dozens injured, two senior officials and eyewitnesses said.
The decision to allow Internet and mobile phone use in parts of the Jammu region was also reversed, according to one official, amid concerns about the spread of rumours
ISLAMABAD: The world must seriously consider the safety and security of India’s nuclear arsenal in the control of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan said on Sunday.
The PM of Pakistan is really the last person that should be questioning India's nuclear policy.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 18th 2019 at 9:38:15 PM
Beware the Crazy Man.
Imran Khan needs to mind himself. He keeps waving a red flag in front of India, they'll use the same bullhorn tactics about Balochistan....
Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...
In a significant step for India’s Moon mission, ISRO will fire the liquid engine of Chandrayaan 2 — India’s second lunar mission — on Tuesday to insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit, 29 days after it was launched.
Dhaka: At least 10,000 people are homeless after a massive fire swept through a crowded slum in the Bangladesh capital and destroyed thousands of shanties, officials said Sunday.
Hyderabad: With the Hyderabad Liberation Day on September 17 just a month away, there is a buzz of political speculation that the BJP government might be considering to carve out Hyderabad as a Union Territory to corner the TRS and the MIM.
New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has urged the Modi government to do away with the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) and replace the interview with a psychological test, along the lines of one held by the Army, for the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday said it will approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the Kashmir issue, weeks after India revoked the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s decision comes days after a rare closed-door consultations on Kashmir by the UN Security Council which ended without any outcome or statement from the powerful 15-nation UN organ, dealing a huge snub to Islamabad and its all-weather ally China to internationalize the issue.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 20th 2019 at 11:57:07 PM
President Maithripala Sirisena has named a general accused of grave human rights abuses in Sri Lanka's long-running civil war as the country's new army chief, an appointment sharply criticised as a move likely to undermine reconciliation efforts.
In a first, the Indian Armed Forces will get a human rights cell headed by an officer of the rank of Major General.
Interestingly, the cell will also have on board an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, a decision that has caused heartburn in a few sections of the Army and is being seen as as inviting unnecessary interference by an outsider. But sources within the Army headquarters say having a police officer on board is critical when it comes to liaisoning with different ministries and civil agencies, especially the police.
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49419023
Interesting now that the BBC reports a death with a police officer since Kashmir's status was changed.
"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"
Former Union home and finance minister of India P Chidambaram was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation after a night of high-voltage drama that saw CBI officers climbing walls to enter Chidambaram's home. Chidambaram was arrested in the INX Media case, in which he has been accused of wrongdoing, money laundering and misuing the post of finance minister.
Islamabad/New York: Pakistan will no longer seek dialogue with India as it has repeatedly rebuffed peace overtures, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, a charge rejected by New Delhi which has repeatedly asked Islamabad to take "credible" action against terror groups to resume the talks. Stepping up his criticism of India after it revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status early this month, Imran Khan told The New York Times that he fears the threat of a military escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pakistan-will-no-longer-seek-talks-with-india-imran-khan-2089026
Servant of the Omnissiah
Well, at least they're willing to drop the charade. The pretense of civilized behaviour has gone on long enough.
Just to hammer that point in, they deliberately released a substantial amount of polluted water, which has caused flooding in Punjab, and which has a risk of increasing disease for the region's inhabitants.
So much for invoking Godwin's Law on India - they might want to look in a mirror sometime.
I hold the secrets of the machine.
New Delhi: The new law that makes "Triple Talaq", a controversial Islamic practice that allows men to divorce their wives instantly, a punishable offense, will be examined by the Supreme Court. The top court has sent a notice to the government seeking its response.
Data from two hospitals in Srinagar reveal that at least 152 people have suffered injuries from tear gas and pellets in Kashmir after security forces launched a crackdown in the region, according to a report by Reuters.
The latest amendment in The Disturbed Areas Act, introduced in 1991 by then Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel, the common name for the ‘Gujarat Prohibition of Transfer of Immovable Property and Provisions for Protection of Tenants from Eviction from Premises in Disturbed Areas Act.’ received severe criticism as both the Opposition as well as several social activists in Gujarat claim that the Act encourages the ghettoisation of Muslim communities in the state. The Act bans the sale of property by a member of one religious community to a member of another religious community without the prior approval of the district collector. On 8 July, the government amended the Act to tighten its noose on the transfer of property in areas classified as ‘disturbed’ by giving more powers to the district collector.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 23rd 2019 at 7:39:25 PM
Arun Jaitley, the former finance minister of India and a stalwart of the Bharatiya Janata Party, passed away on Saturday. He was 66. Arun Jaitley was unwell for a large part of the last two years.
https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/arun-jaitley-passes-away-at-66-1591089-2019-08-24
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM has decided not to campaign aggressively for the entry of young women in Sabarimala temple on the basis of Supreme Court verdict. The party has toned down its previous position. It wants to go forward respecting the feelings of the believers. Though the CPM has reiterated that it was in favour of Supreme Court verdict, the party will not take a proactive stand for the entry of women as it had done last year.
Edited by xyzt on Aug 25th 2019 at 12:50:20 AM
Beware the Crazy Man.
About bloody time the CPM learned its lesson. That had caused so much unnecessary chaos in Kerala.
Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...
Give it a few months. One regionally bad harvest because the monsoons have been acting weird, and...
That medical supplies are already shaky isn't an especially good sign.