Heena Sharma Blog

The town squares of Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp were buzzing this year with people debating issues like Citizenship Amendment Act and scrapping of Article 370 with memes going viral, even as these companies battled the menace of fake news, data breaches and attempts by the government to frame rules to make social media platforms more accountable. With over 451 million Internet users (at the end of March 2019), India is second only to China in terms of monthly active internet users, as per estimates of industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Interestingly, about 66 million of these are children aged between 5-11 years, who access internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 15 per cent of India's active Internet userbase. Indians are creating and consuming content on their mobile phones -- right from TikTok videos and Netflix shows to news reports shared by friends and family members on various WhatsApp groups. A large n

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday flagged off the Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express from the New Delhi Railway Station and said it was a "big gift" for Jammu and Kashmir's development. Shah also said that Article 370 was the "biggest roadblock" in the state's development and within 10 years, it will be one of the most developed regions of the country. "Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express is a big gift for Jammu and Kashmir's development and for promoting religious tourism," said Shah, who was accompanied by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh and Dr Harsh Vardhan. Train number 22439 New Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express will depart from the New Delhi Railway Station at 6 am to reach Katra at 2 pm. En route, the train will halt at Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana and Jammu Tawi for two minutes each. On the return journey the same day, train number 22440 Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express will leave fr

President Ram Nath Kovind has declared abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The move came after both houses of Parliament passed a resolution in this regard. "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from the 6th August, 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative...," an official notification said. Article Source -> Business Standard

"I say with all respect to our Constitution that it just does not matter what your Constitution says; if the people of Kashmir do not want it, it will not go there. Because what is the alternative? The alternative is compulsion and coercion...We have fought in good fight about Kashmir on the field of battle... (and) ...in many a chancellery of the world and in the United Nations, but, above all, we have fought this fight in the hearts and minds of men and women of that State of Jammu and Kashmir." - Nehru, speaking in the Lok Sabha in 1952 Nehru’s promise lies in tatters today; as does every other promise of autonomy made by the Government of India. Article 370 gives a ‘special status’ to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, the Government effectively abolished that status. It did so without touching the provision. It also brought in a constitutional amendment, without amending the constitution. Crucially, it did all of this after zero consultation with the pe

Rajya Sabha on Monday approved a resolution revoking the special constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and passed a Bill to split the state into two Union Territories, as Home Minister Amit Shah promised to restore full statehood after normalcy is restored in the militancy-hit region. Under Article 370 of the Constitution, Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed complete autonomy and the state legislature was free to draft its own laws except in the areas of communications, defense, finance, and foreign affairs. Also, Indian citizens were prohibited from purchasing land in the state. So, what will exactly change in J&K if the Lok Sabha today passes the Reorganisation Bill? Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday moved a resolution revoking Article 370 that grants special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha, amid a din as Opposition members protested the move. The government on Monday also moved a Bill proposing the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- the Jammu and Kashmir division and Ladakh. Home Minister Shah introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill. Making the announcement in the Rajya Sabha, Shah said that the UT in Ladakh would have no legislature, like Chandigarh, while the other UT of Jammu and Kashmir would have a legislature, like Delhi and Puducherry. There was an uproar in the Rajya Sabha after the resolution was moved by the Home Minister. Reactions poured in immediately, with former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti calling it "the darkest day in Indian democracy". Mufti tweeted that the "unilateral decision" of the Government of

With speculation rife that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led central government could abolish or try to amend Article 35A and article 370 , which give a special status to Jammu & Kashmir, there is a lot of confusion as to what these two statutes entail. Political parties on either side of the debate have voiced their opinion, with some calling tinkering with Article 35A “like setting powder keg on fire”, while others have supported the idea calling it a move to unify of the country. What is Article 35A? This provision of the Constitution allows the Jammu & Kashmir state Assembly to define who is and is not a “permanent resident” of the state. To further break it down, this provision of the Constitution gives the legislators from Jammu & Kashmir the exclusive power to determine as to which people in or outside the state will have special rights and privileges granted by the state. The provision, inserted through a special Presidential order in 1954, also gives

India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party said on Monday it would remove decades-old special rights for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, making an election promise that could provoke a backlash in the country’s volatile only Muslim majority state. “ Nationalism is our inspiration,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the release of the BJP’s election manifesto at the party headquarters in New Delhi. Modi’s BJP has consistently advocated ending Kashmir’s special constitutional status, which prevents outsiders from buying property in the state, arguing that such laws have hindered its integration with the rest of the country. “ We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state,” the BJP manifesto said, referring to the 1954 amendment to the constitution. Political leaders in Muslim-majority Kashmir, where India is fighting an armed insurgency against its rule, have warned that repealing the law would lead to widespread unrest. Read More