India News

Ensure Kashmiris are not boycotted or attacked, Supreme Court orders states

Published

8 years ago

February 22, 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Supreme Court, on Friday (February 22) issued a slew of directives to the Centre and state governments to ensure prompt action to prevent any incidents of violence, intimidation or harassment and social boycott of Kashmiris and other minority communities in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices LN Rao and Sanjiv Khanna was hearing a petition filed after several reports of Kashmiris, especially students, being targeted by mobs in wake of the communal hate campaign orchestrated against them in the aftermath of the recent terror attack in Pulwama, J&K, which claimed lives of over 40 Army and CRPF personnel.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves urged a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that in wake of the hate campaign against Kashmiri students, the Supreme Court must issue an order similar to its directives issued last year for crackdown against lynch mobs.

The petition filed by advocate Tariq Adeeb was taken up urgently as the first item for hearing even though it was numbered 51 in the day’s list of cases.

The petition sought the court to direct the Centre to “forthwith take steps to prevent threats, assaults, violent attacks, social boycotts, ostracism, evictions and other coercive acts committed by groups and mobs against Kashmiris and other minorities, particularly in the wake of the Pulawama attack.”

Two suspected terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed group arrested from UP’s Deoband

The petitioner had also mentioned controversial tweets by Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy who endorsed a call to boycott “everything Kashmiri”.

Attorney General KK Venugopal informed the court that the Centre had already appointed nodal officers to deal with complaints of harassment and violence against Kashmiris and that their contact numbers were being circulated widely so that grievances can be conveyed to these officers round the clock.

The States of Punjab and Maharashtra, where stray incidents of such acts intimidation against the Kashmiri people and Muslim community have been reported, have also been issued notice by the court with directives that their respective chief secretaries be impleaded in the case as respondents. Notices have also been issued to the Centre and eight other State governments

Pulwama terror attack: Amid outrage and talk of war, need to face facts, decide policy

The court has said that the nodal officers must take all necessary steps to prevent violence against the Kashmiris and members of the minority communities and that the Union home ministry must widely publicise the court’s orders. The bench also directed the Union home ministry to ensure that all acts of violence and intimidation are brought under control and advisories for the purpose are issued from time to time.

Police chiefs of all States and Union Territories and the Delhi police commissioner have also been directed to take prompt action to prevent any incident of violence.

The court will hear the petition further next Friday.

Soon after the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, many Hindu right-wing groups had begun a hate campaign against Kashmiri people, especially students, in different parts of the country.

Jaish-e-Mohammed planning more suicide bomber attacks in next 2 days: Intelligence inputs

Right-wing organizations in Dehradun had demanded that Kashmiri students across Uttarakhand should be sent back to Kashmir. The BJP-led central government is yet to take a firm public stand against such hatemongers. Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy, known for his hard-line anti-Muslim rhetoric too had supported calls for a complete boycott of Kashmir, going to the extent of stating that he agreed with the view that Hindus from across the country should boycott the famous Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage for a period of two years and that Indians should stop buying Kashmiri products.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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India News

Yogi Adityanath takes a dig at Akhilesh Yadav over Ram Temple visit plan

Yogi Adityanath’s remarks came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12.

Published

3 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday took an apparent swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his planned visit to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying those who had fired on Ram devotees should first apologise to them and to the saints.

Yogi made the remarks while addressing the 10th edition of Deepotsav in Ayodhya. He did not name Akhilesh Yadav directly.

Yogi’s remarks come after Akhilesh’s Ayodhya visit plan

The chief minister’s comments came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12. It would be his first visit to the temple since its inauguration, according to the report.

Yogi said those who had earlier neglected and insulted Ayodhya, opened fire on Ram devotees and subjected saints to lathicharge should come to the city only after seeking forgiveness.

“Let them apologise to the devotees of Lord Ram; let them apologise to the saints,” Yogi said, adding that they should repent for their past actions.

Reference to 1990 firing on kar sevaks

Yogi’s remarks referred to the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. At the time, the Uttar Pradesh government was headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s father.

The chief minister said those who had once “bloodied” Ayodhya were now remembering the city. He also criticised political leaders over their conduct at religious gatherings, referring to the decorum of a katha.

Akhilesh has not yet visited the Ram Temple

Akhilesh Yadav has visited Ayodhya earlier but has not so far visited the Ram Temple. The SP leader was in the city on October 8 to attend a Bhagwat Katha organised by party leader Pawan Pandey.

According to the report, Akhilesh and his wife, Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, are scheduled to offer prayers at the Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi on December 12.

The planned visit comes amid political activity in Ayodhya ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due by February 2027.

Yogi highlights Ayodhya’s transformation

During his Deepotsav address, Yogi also spoke about the changes in Ayodhya and described the city’s transformation as an ideological victory.

He said those who had previously neglected Ayodhya were now witnessing its development. He also said Lord Ram represented India’s national consciousness, culture, values and self-respect.

The chief minister further recalled the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said Ayodhya had regained the glory for which kar sevaks and saints had struggled.

India News

Ahead of Diwali, Yogi govt hikes DA by 5% for UP government staff

The Uttar Pradesh government has increased Dearness Allowance by 5 percentage points, taking it from 58% to 63%. The revised rate will benefit lakhs of eligible employees ahead of Diwali.

Published

4 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees ahead of Diwali. With this revision, the DA rate has increased from 58 per cent to 63 per cent, providing financial relief to lakhs of eligible employees across the state.

The revised allowance will be effective from July 1, 2026, according to the government announcement. A government order was also issued on Saturday, November 7.

The enhanced DA will be paid along with employees’ regular November 2026 salaries.

Which employees will benefit from the DA hike?

The decision covers regular state government employees and several other categories of eligible staff.

These include employees of aided educational and technical institutions, regular and full-time employees of urban local bodies, work-charged employees and personnel drawing salaries under University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales.

The revision is expected to benefit a large section of the Uttar Pradesh workforce ahead of the festive season.

What happens to the DA arrears?

The revised DA rate will apply retrospectively from July 1, 2026. Consequently, employees will also be entitled to arrears for the period preceding the November salary payment.

The government has made provisions for the payment of the arrears for July to October 2026. These amounts will be credited to employees’ provident fund accounts, according to the reported payment arrangements.

The enhanced allowance for November will be reflected in the regular salary for that month.

The decision comes ahead of Diwali and will provide additional financial relief to eligible government employees in Uttar Pradesh.

India News

Himanta Sarma to approach court over threat to gherao home in Zubeen case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government would approach the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court over a threat to gherao his residence if two prime accused in the Zubeen Garg death case are granted bail.

Published

6 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the state government would bring before the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court a threat by a group to gherao his residence in connection with the Zubeen Garg death case.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma described the threat as a serious matter, saying it posed a danger to his family and could amount to a direct attempt to murder.

The development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on November 30 of the bail petitions filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma, the two prime accused in the case.

Why Himanta Sarma plans to approach the courts

Sarma said he had instructed the state government’s legal department to bring the matter to the notice of both the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court.

The Chief Minister objected to the group threatening to target his residence rather than holding a protest near the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said those questioning the judicial process should approach the Supreme Court or the high court instead of targeting him. Sarma also maintained that the courts should be allowed to carry out their work.

According to him, attempts to question the judicial process in this manner could obstruct the path of justice.

What the group said about the bail pleas

The Zubeen Garg Nyay Samiti, led by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, had announced on Thursday that it would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence under certain circumstances.

The group said it would carry out the protest if Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma were granted bail or if the Assam government failed to mount an effective legal opposition to their bail pleas.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail petitions of the two accused on November 30.

Bail granted to two accused in the case

The Gauhati High Court granted bail to singer Amritprava Mahanta, an accused in the Zubeen Garg death case, on October 9. She was granted bail against a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

The high court has also granted bail to Sandipan Garg in the case.

Referring to the bail order concerning Amritprava Mahanta, Sarma said it mentioned that 160 witnesses had not named her during the court hearing, despite having done so during the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Responding to questions over the development, Sarma said the witnesses should be questioned about the discrepancy rather than him.

What happened to Zubeen Garg?

Singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea.

Police in Singapore had said that no foul play was involved in his death. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).