"Brazen Loot And Sale": Push For Jammu & Kashmir (IOK) Land Sale Draws Sharp Criticism

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">J&Ks special status was illegally revoked to dehumanise, dispossess & disempower the only muslim majority state in India.GOIs brazen loot & sale of our resources shows that the sole motive is to annihilate our identity & change the demography. <a href="https://t.co/MhYXEEWixY">https://t.co/MhYXEEWixY</a></p>— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) <a href="https://twitter.com/MehboobaMufti/status/1475431074247294977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Once again the true intentions of the government are brought to the fore.While offering to secure the land, jobs, domicile laws & identity of the people of Ladakh,J&K is being put up for sale.People of Jammu should beware,“investors” will buy up land in Jammu long before Kashmir. <a href="https://t.co/2xlxoWIr0b">https://t.co/2xlxoWIr0b</a></p>— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmarAbdullah/status/1475435283873099778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Srinagar: A first-of-its-kind real estate summit in Jammu organised by the centre and the J&K administration to encourage people from across the country to buy land, or a second home, in Jammu and Kashmir, has drawn sharp political reactions in the erstwhile state.

Outsiders - those not classified as 'permanent residents' - had earlier been barred from purchasing or owning land but this was changed after the centre scrapped Article 370 in August 2019, thereby removing special status for J&K.

Local protesters and regional political parties have accused the centre of "putting J&K up for sale".

Organised jointly by the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs and the J&K administration, the Jammu and Kashmir Real Estate Summit (2021) was held today. Officials said 39 MoUs, or Memorandum of Understandings, were signed; 19 dealt with the construction of residential homes.

Calling it a "historical transformation in J&K", the government said it had changed laws to allow external investment in J&K - including the purchase of non-agricultural land.

Lt Governor Sinha has said a similar event will be held in Srinagar in May next year.

"Under the new J&K Development Act, the term 'being a permanent resident of the State' as a criteria has been omitted, paving the way for investors outside J&K to invest," the agenda for today's conference said.

"As a result, any citizen of India can buy non-agriculture land in J&K," it said.

Last week the J&K administration, headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, changed land use laws and allowed re-classifying agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. The decision triggered strong criticism from regional parties, who said the land would be used to settle non-locals.

Recently the centre told Parliament that only seven plots of land had been purchased in J&K following the scrapping of special status. Allowing people from outside J&K to buy land in the UT was one of the major talking points for the BJP and the centre, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case.

Opposition parties have urged the government to focus on job creation rather than investment, given J&K is facing a massive unemployment crisis.

According to a recent Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) unemployment survey, J&K's unemployment rate is over 21 per cent. The all-India average is 7.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, just a few kilometres down the road there were protests against the summit and demands for the restoration of constitutional safeguards and statehood.

"J&K is being put up for sale. They are trying to change our demography, history, identity and culture. We don't accept any such development which changes the character of J&K. They are auctioning J&K," Sunil Dimple, President of Mission Statehood J&K, said.

Recently, the J&K administration was forced to suspend its decision to privatise the power sector, including transmission, after 20,000 employees - who alleged government resources were being systematically sold off - went on strike. The Army had to be called in to operate grid stations.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/j-k...government-push-to-open-up-land-sales-2673709

 

[Romali_rotti]

Was wondering when this topic would be posted.

I saw a video about this the other day. If this takes full affect in 10 years RIP to the wahabbi extremism and terrorism...

You have to feel sorry for Imran, article 370 got vapourised when he is PM and now the start of the demography shift. It is high time Imran stopped being a keyboard warrior on Twitter and declare war on India to liberate Kashmiri..

 

[MenInG]

Was wondering when this topic would be posted.

I saw a video about this the other day. If this takes full affect in 10 years RIP to the wahabbi extremism and terrorism...

You have to feel sorry for Imran, article 370 got vapourised when he is PM and now the start of the demography shift. It is high time Imran stopped being a keyboard warrior on Twitter and declare war on India to liberate Kashmiri..

Think you may have missed the point.

The article states

Local protesters and regional political parties have accused the centre of "putting J&K up for sale".

This is an India issue so best keep it to that.

 

[Itachi]

Think you may have missed the point.

The article states

Local protesters and regional political parties have accused the centre of "putting J&K up for sale".

This is an India issue so best keep it to that.

Any Indian can buy lands in other parts of India. After revocation of the article 370, it was coming anyway and I am surprised that people didn't expect it.

If I want to buy a land in South India, should I be forbidden to buy? Why J & K should be different after revocation?

 

[MenInG]

Reminder to all that valid criticism of a country's domestic policies isn't the sole purview of that country's citizens.

Any posts denigrating someone's right to post an opinion will be deleted.

Read this.

 

[Zaz]

Any Indian can buy lands in other parts of India. After revocation of the article 370, it was coming anyway and I am surprised that people didn't expect it.

If I want to buy a land in South India, should I be forbidden to buy? Why J & K should be different after revocation?

J and K is disputed territory Its indian occupied
Indian govt can revoke the article on its special status illegally That doesnt change the above fact

 

[Itachi]

J and K is disputed territory Its indian occupied
Indian govt can revoke the article on its special status illegally That doesnt change the above fact

According to treaty of annexation, J&K was handed over to India.

If you don't want to accept it, it's your prerogative but that doesn't change history.

 

[Romali_rotti]

J and K is disputed territory Its indian occupied
Indian govt can revoke the article on its special status illegally That doesnt change the above fact

Exactly its disputed, so Pakistan doesn't have any rights to exchange Kashmiri land with the Chinese..

Don't preach from a glass house.

 

[MenInG]

I find this funny that the news item is mentioning concerns being expressed in INDIA but Pakistan has been pulled into the discussion. Go figure.

 

[Local.Dada]

I find this funny that the news item is mentioning concerns being expressed in INDIA but Pakistan has been pulled into the discussion. Go figure.

What is the economic situation or growth of Kashmir on the Pakistan side? Has that ever been a debate?

It can’t be that Pakistan is facing economic crisis and a disputed territory like Azaad Kashmir is a land of milk and honey, is it?

Pakistan has been pulled in because the concern seems to be “changing the demographics”. Debate around the politics aside, As an Indian I can buy property in any state of India. Why should Kashmir be any different if India considers it a formal state?

It seems a Pakistan concern more than an Indian one, isn’t it?

 

[MenInG]

What is the economic situation or growth of Kashmir on the Pakistan side? Has that ever been a debate?

It can’t be that Pakistan is facing economic crisis and a disputed territory like Azaad Kashmir is a land of milk and honey, is it?

Pakistan has been pulled in because the concern seems to be “changing the demographics”. Debate around the politics aside, As an Indian I can buy property in any state of India. Why should Kashmir be any different if India considers it a formal state?

It seems a Pakistan concern more than an Indian one, isn’t it?

Read the article.

Answer the concerns in it.

Leave Pakistan out of it - its getting tedious.

 

[LaLoco]

What is the economic situation or growth of Kashmir on the Pakistan side? Has that ever been a debate?

It can’t be that Pakistan is facing economic crisis and a disputed territory like Azaad Kashmir is a land of milk and honey, is it?

Pakistan has been pulled in because the concern seems to be “changing the demographics”. Debate around the politics aside, As an Indian I can buy property in any state of India. Why should Kashmir be any different if India considers it a formal state?

It seems a Pakistan concern more than an Indian one, isn’t it?

There you go with same repeated response, the money. lol

what is the situation in illegally occupied kashmir? how many troops India need to abuse, rape and murder in Indian occupied Kashmir for any Indian to buy a land in illegally occupied Indian Kashmir ( against the will of the local Kashmiri) - lol

Off course, any Indian could buy property in any illegally occupied territory in India, it was such a generic comment, lol

 

[offstump]

I find this funny that the news item is mentioning concerns being expressed in INDIA but Pakistan has been pulled into the discussion. Go figure.

This is the Indian mentality. It’s subconsciously engrained in their minds, they can’t approach any issue without looking at it through a Pakistani centric lens. The anti pakistan brainwashing has inadvertently gone too far and changed the physiology of their brains.

 

[Itachi]

Read the article.

Answer the concerns in it.

Leave Pakistan out of it - its getting tedious.

depends who has raised the concerns.

e.g. if NS raises a concern, most pakistani posters dismiss it stating that he doesn't deserve to raise one. Should we take a different approach if India is the subject?

 

[Itachi]

This is the Indian mentality. It’s subconsciously engrained in their minds, they can’t approach any issue without looking at it through a Pakistani centric lens. The anti pakistan brainwashing has inadvertently gone too far and changed the physiology of their brains.

It is a reaction to an action which has been going for far too long. In any thread about pakistan where policies/circumstances are criticized, India is also dragged in to it. At some point of time, the reverse will also start.

Difference is, our own bias makes us blind to these facts.

 

[LaLoco]

depends who has raised the concerns.

e.g. if NS raises a concern, most pakistani posters dismiss it stating that he doesn't deserve to raise one. Should we take a different approach if India is the subject?

You are mistaken, he deserve to raise concern but his concern is always about protecting the looting wealth which is disguise as promoting democracy in Pakistan and this is what most posters criticize, not his right to raise concerns.

 

[Local.Dada]

what is the situation in illegally occupied kashmir?

l

Under control.

 

[LaLoco]

Under control.

with over million troops.

 

[Local.Dada]

with over million troops.

Let me save this back and forth rhetoric.

Firstly neither Indian government nor Pakistan government actually care for the common Kashmiris. It is more of a political issue and a matter of prestige.

If Pakistan had so much love for Kashmiris then the Pak side of Kashmir would be a paradise to live with employment opportunities, business, educational institutions etc. The fact that only excuse since 75 years has been “Islamic demography” etc that means it is also a political tool for Pakistan.

Yes there are troops and there is insurgency. Not breaking news by any means.

Also the slogan from Kashmir protestors is Kashmir ka matlab la illa illallah. Factually it’s not right. Kashmir was named after the Hindu sage Kashyap.

If this was an ethnic battle it would make sense but this isn’t anymore. That privilege was lost when the Kashmiri Pandits were driven away from the valley. You can’t have a Kashmir without the Pandits simple. There is already a Sindh in Pakistan without the Hindu Sindhis who are one of the most economically successful communities of India and about time we don’t displace another community on basis of religion. No talks till some of the wrongs are corrected starting with Pakistan troops on the Pak side of Kashmir and some compensation for the Kashmiri Pandit genocide.

 

[LaLoco]

Let me save this back and forth rhetoric.

Firstly neither Indian government nor Pakistan government actually care for the common Kashmiris. It is more of a political issue and a matter of prestige.

If Pakistan had so much love for Kashmiris then the Pak side of Kashmir would be a paradise to live with employment opportunities, business, educational institutions etc. The fact that only excuse since 75 years has been “Islamic demography” etc that means it is also a political tool for Pakistan.

Yes there are troops and there is insurgency. Not breaking news by any means.

Also the slogan from Kashmir protestors is Kashmir ka matlab la illa illallah. Factually it’s not right. Kashmir was named after the Hindu sage Kashyap.

If this was an ethnic battle it would make sense but this isn’t anymore. That privilege was lost when the Kashmiri Pandits were driven away from the valley. You can’t have a Kashmir without the Pandits simple. There is already a Sindh in Pakistan without the Hindu Sindhis who are one of the most economically successful communities of India and about time we don’t displace another community on basis of religion. No talks till some of the wrongs are corrected starting with Pakistan troops on the Pak side of Kashmir and some compensation for the Kashmiri Pandit genocide.

India still need over million troops to have other Indians to buy a land in illegally occupied Kashmir.

compare to illegally occupied Kashmir, Azad Kashmiris in Pakistan, are Azad.

rest of your comment is rhetoric and repeating of historical events in an attempt to minimize the fact, India need over million troops in illegally occupied Kashmir for other Indians to buy a land, which translate into, the local Kashmiri do not want other Indians within their territory

 

[JaDed]

I thought this was the whole point of doing it..

 

[PakLFC]

Kashmiris problems are with India not Pak. India needs to deal with it by exiting the valley otherwise keep dying.

 

[rvd]

Whatever you think of it the BJP has always believed that changing the demographics of the valley would end the insurgency. Demography is destiny.

The militancy lost any legitimacy when they ethnically cleansed the Kashmiri Pandits and embraced extremism. That transformed the movement from Pan-Kashmiri to Islamist.

As long as the government guarantees that Kashmiri remains an official language, the Kashmiri people get preference for jobs it's over. If Modi was smart he would also fund language and cultural institutions/universities.

This will make Kashmir like any other place in India where people can practice their language and culture without interference ala a West Bengal or Tamil Nadu.

There is nothing any country can do. States have the right to reorganize their territory as they see fit.

And given that Pakistan has given away Aksai Chin to China and reorganized Gilgit Balochistan it really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

 

[Hassaan HS]

Six rebels, Indian soldier killed in Kashmir: Police

Kashmiri rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces for more than 30 years, demanding freedom or merger with neighbouring Pakistan.Government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed six suspected rebels in two incidents overnight, police said, rounding off another bloody year in the disputed territory.

“Six militants, including two Pakistan nationals, have been killed in two separate encounters with the security forces in Anantnag and Kulgam districts of Kashmir,” the region’s police chief, Vijay Kumar, said on Thursday.An Indian army soldier was also killed in the back-to-back gun battles that took place in southern Kashmir, Kumar said.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces for more than 30 years, demanding freedom for the region or its merger with neighbouring Pakistan, which also controls a part of the region.

Officials say at least 380 rebels, nearly 100 civilians, and more than 80 security forces personnel have been killed in the region since August 2019.

That was when New Delhi revoked the region’s limited autonomy and brought it under direct rule, adding to anger among locals and galvanising support for self-determination.

This year, the death toll was 264, compared with 321 in 2020, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.Police say with intensified military operations against the rebels, the number of local fighters has dropped to fewer than 100 for the first time in a decade.

Kumar, the police chief, told the Economic Times newspaper this week that some 70 percent of the youth who joined rebel ranks this year “were either killed or arrested”.

Most of those arrested are being held under harsh anti-terror legislation, called the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The law allows people to be held for six months – often rolled over – without being charged and bail is virtually impossible.

One of those in custody since November is Khurram Parvez, programme coordinator for respected rights group, the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).

On December 1, the UN Human Rights Office criticised the arrest and said that the UAPA “raises serious concerns relating to the right of presumption of innocence along with other due process and fair trial rights”.

The Indian government said the statement “betrays a complete lack of understanding on the part of the OHCHR of the security challenges faced by India from cross-border terrorism”.

Earlier this year, the disputed region witnessed a wave of civilian killings, with rebels seemingly targeting non-Kashmiris, including migrant workers, and members of the minority Hindu and Sikh communities in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.

Indian forces in the heavily militarised region – numbering an estimated 500,000 – responded with a widespread crackdown.

India has long accused Pakistan of stoking the rebellion in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral backing for the self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

The two nuclear powers have fought two of their three wars over the region and came close to another in 2016.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/30/india-kashmir-rebels-soldier-conflict-police?sf157548795=1