‘Mumbai Among 15 Global Cities In Terms Of Total Wealth Held’

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NEW DELHI: India’s financial hub Mumbai has been named among top 15 cities globally in terms of total wealth held, while London topped the list, says a report.

According to New World Wealth, the wealthiest cities in the world are London with USD 2.7 trillion of total wealth, followed by New York City (USD 2.6 trillion) and Tokyo (USD 2.2 trillion) in the second and third place respectively.

Mumbai featured on the 14th place in the list with a total wealth held in the city worth USD 820 billion.

“Home to 45,000 millionaires and 28 billionaires, Mumbai is the economic hub of India. It is also home to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE),” the report said.

The report further noted that among the 15 cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai and Sydney were the fastest growing in terms of wealth over the past decade (2006-2016).

“Going forward, Mumbai is expected to be the fastest growing city (in terms of wealth growth over the next 10 years),” the report added.

Others in the list include San Francisco Bay area at the fourth place with a total wealth of USD 1.9 trillion; Beijing (5th, USD 1.8 trillion); Shanghai (6th, USD 1.6 trillion); Los Angeles (7th, USD 1.2 trillion); Hong Kong (8th, USD 1.1 trillion); Singapore (9th, USD 870 billion) and Chicago (10th, USD 860 billion).

Sydney at 11th place has a total wealth of USD 850 billion; Toronto (12th, USD 850 billion); Frankfurt (13th, USD 830 billion) and Paris (15th, USD 800 billion).

Meanwhile, total wealth held worldwide amounts to USD 185 trillion (as of June 2016). Globally, there are 13,300,000 millionaires and 1,940 billionaires in total, the report said.

‘Total wealth’ refers to the private wealth held by all individuals in a country.

It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. Government funds are from the figures.

Fired For ‘Freedom’

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By Farzana Mumtaz

 

In the latest dramatic turnaround of events, The Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir has sacked 18 officials for their alleged role in fuelling unrest in the state. More than 100 others are being watched closely, and there could be more sackings, sources said. Kashmir has been witnessing a 105 day upheaval since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani which has lead to killing of more than 90 protesters, thousands injured and arrested.

On the otherhand, scores have been blinded by pellet gun. Now, many are stating that this move of terminating services of employees is brutal assault on freedom of speech and set democratic norms. Both employee leaders and employees have threatened government with massive stir if it does not revoke the termination. Importantly, the government has written to departmental heads to issue termination letters to these employees without any delay even though the latter can approach court to question the sacking ‘without holding mandatory inquiry into the charges leveled again them’.

 

The criminal investigation department (CID) and central intelligence agencies are reportedly said to have prepared a list of more than hundred employees for ‘leading or nudging’ protests in Kashmir.

Pertinently, President Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) Abdul Qayoom Wani told news agency CNS that the number of sacked employees was more than 12.

“The number of sacked employees exceeds 12 and it is round about 40,” he said, adding that the incumbent government has crossed all the limits of “suppression”.

“All the sacked employees are lower rung employees and we will protect their interests at any cost,” he said.

 

Accusing the government of trampling the rights of people particularly employees, Wani said that EJAC will convene a special session to discuss the future course of action. While as, reacting to the termination of more than dozen employees by the state government in wake of their participation in ongoing Kashmir agitation, Prominent Employee Leader and Government Employees Conference Chairman Ishtiyaq Beigh has castigated the move terming it as murder of Democracy.

” Employees are part and parcel of society, and are bound to participate in their sufferings, happiness, lows and highs .The termination of services of employees on pretext of being part of current protests is a step taken in wrong direction. This move has sent wrong signals to the employee fraternity – spread an environment of disappointment and sadness.”

Ishtiyaq Beigh urged Government to revoke the termination soon as to avoid a large scale protests from employees on the move .

 

 

Ground watchers  say such terminations had occurred in the 1990s when armed militancy and separatism was at its peak in Kashmir. Interestingly, Education minister Naeem Akhtar was among five government employees dismissed from service by the state government in 1990 for his alleged involvement in anti-national activities.

It is worth mentioning here that most of the sacked employees are lower run and employee leadership has maintained  sacking lower rung employees this government has virtually stabbed their families.

What will the future situation lead to remains to be seen.

 

Sad Happenings in Kashmir

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Over the past near three and a half months Kashmir has become synonym of sad news and pessimistic developments. One after another bad news has dawned the sphere of life in the browbeaten valley of Kashmir .Killing, injuries, continuous shutdowns, blindings have defined the life in Kashmir during this time.At least 92 civilians have been killed and over 13,000 injured in the last 104 days of the on-going civil uprising since July 9, a day after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.Hundreds have been left blinded by the brutal use of pellet guns.

In another worrying development, The Jammu and Kashmir government has sacked over a dozen of its employees for their alleged involvement anti-India activities.“Reports on their anti-national activities prepared by the state police were forwarded to the Chief Secretary, who then directed respective heads of departments to issue orders terminating their services,” reports said.

cross Line of Control (LoC) firing  incidents have grown making innocents living on border pay a heavy price and incidents of violence have alsp grown in Kashmir.

In late 2015 and early 2016, observers of Kashmir reported growth in home-grown militancy and radicalisation of the Kashmiri population. Several reasons for this trend have been cited such as the absence of a political dialogue, the lack of economic opportunities, frustration due to high unemployment, excessive militarisation of the public space and repeated human rights violations by the security forces.

Globally noted organizations have expressed concern over the worsening of condition in Kashmir. Amnesty International accused Indian security forces were using “arbitrary and excessive force” to deal with the protests in Kashmir. It also stated that their actions were a violation of international standards and were leading to a worsening of the human rights crisis in the state. The organisation also criticized the use of pellet guns stating they had been used a 100 times in Kashmir during the first week of September 2016 even though its use was meant to be rare. It called for their ban stating they were dangerous and also expressed concern at the deployment of PAVA shells in the state as they could be used in an “arbitrary or indiscriminate manner”

Undoubtedly, sad developments have defined life in Kashmir since long.

 

BONIYAR GETS ITS CHINAR 9JAWAN CLUB

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Baramulla, 18 Oct 2016. Another Chinar 9Jawan club was today dedicated to the local youth at Boniyar by the Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua in the presence of a host of dignitaries of NHPC, Civil Administration, JKP, CAPF from Uri and Baramulla districts. The Chinar 9Jawan Clubs envision constructive engagement of the youth of Kashmir and providing them with an ideal platform to the to interact, relax, rejuvenate, play games and to develop their skills for holistic growth in a stress free environment.

The club was aptly inaugurated by the young girls of Boniyar amidst cheers from the entire gathering that included the enthusiastic local students, faculty from various schools, youth and elders. The ceremony began with an inspiring cultural show put together by the very talented children of Army Goodwill School, Boniyar who were subsequently felicitated by the Corps Commander.

The Chinar 9Jawan Club is a path breaking project in the area and has been widely appreciated by all youth and locals as an inclusive and effective platform where youth can engage in free and frank exchange of ideas, hone their skills at games, enhance their awareness levels through the medium of literature and internet based knowledge, and listen to and practice music. The project will also pave the way as an effective avenue for aspiring boys and girls to prepare for competitive exams using various reference books of a well stocked library, as also through the medium of professional career counseling. Young boys will now be also able to develop their physical health using Gym facilities.

The Chinar 9Jawan Club at Boniyar offers facilities such as a Computer Laboratory, Tailoring and Knitting Coaching, Hospitality Management Training, an Electrician training Laboratory, a Mobile Repairing Laboratory, a Carpentry Training Laboratory and a Career Counseling and Placement Cell being operated by a professional Career Counsellor. The Club also offers recreational and informative avenues such as a Cyber Cafe, a well equipped Gymnasium, a Music Room, a well stocked Library, a Volleyball and Badminton Court, a variety of other indoor games and a Cafeteria.

Speaking on the occasion, Gen Dua complimented the locals on getting this facility and urged all to optimise its potential. He said that the club “offers the youth state of the art recreational facilities alongwith career promotional opportunities, where the youth of the area can effectively work towards their personality development in a conducive environment and give wings to their dreams”.

Exams to be held as per schedule: CM Mehbooba

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said the upcoming board exams would be held as per schedule.

“The Government is exploring various options in consultation with the Education Department, the State Board of School Education (BOSE) and other stakeholders to ensure you have more options and your academic year is not lost,” the Chief Minister told the students from different schools of the city who called on her, here today.

Iraq: Mosul offensive against ISIS, Latest Developments

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Latest developments

  • Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says that Turkish warplanes have taken part in air operations in Mosul with the US-led coalition.
  • One Iraqi soldier killed early Tuesday while repelling ISIS suicide car bombs attack on government troops about 30 miles southeast of Mosul. Ten ISIS fighters were killed.
  • Coalition forces recaptured nine villages from ISIS and secured control over a significant stretch of the strategic Erbil-Mosul road on Monday.
  • ISIS resistance has come in the form of mortar and small arms fire, IEDs and suicide car bomb attacks.

100 Days

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Rameez Makhdoomi

On third day of Eid ul Fitr , July 8 , 2016, when whole Kashmir was busy with festivity the evening came with a news that would go on to alter the entire situational paradigm of Kashmir ; Hizbul Mujahedeen Commander and widely popular militant Burhan Wani was killed along with his associates in an encounter with security forces at picturesque resort of Kokernag in South Kashmir. Since then protests, killings, pellet injuries, blinding and continuous shutdown for over hundred days has defined life in Kashmir and the valley has been turned into war zone.

In between, the pellet blinded people and the dead eye of victims have defined the  tyranny faced by people of Kashmir .The killing of young children in forces action has given rise to enormous outrage. Insha Mushtaq, the 14-year-old who lost her both eyes when she was fired with pellets by state forces at Sedow Shopian emerged as the poster girl for Kashmiris protesting against pellet injuries caused by pellet  firing over the last three months.

Arrests, detentions have been the only response to calm down tempers as Public Safety Act has been profusely used to scuttle dissent. Communication gag has also been implemented over this period.

As a matter of fact, On the other hand, a  day after Wani’s death, former Chief Minister of state Omar Abdullah said that his killing had made him the new icon of the disaffected section of the Kashmiri society and further warned that more Kashmiris will join the militancy after his death as compared to when he was alive.

Yasir Zargar, a columnist reflecting on the hundred day volatile situation in Kashmir states states – “The current uprising or what we call the2016 intifada has returned to the streets of Kashmir. Its third time since this type of uprising took place on the streets, across villages in Kashmir. The 2016 uprising marks its deep roots in the hearts of Kashmiri’s which somehow makes sense that the people of Kashmir have had been oppressed since along. The current intifada almost completed three months and it may go long. In these days people came out on streets to cull de sac with a slogan that they want freedom from Indian occupation. The Indian state forces who are responsible for gross human rights violation have continued their occupation by maiming a thousand youths by hitting them in their eyes. They killed a hundred young men and women who took part in an agitation by protesting against them. They are curbing down the clamor of slogans but unfortunately that echoes out from the walls and reverberates making the voice clear that the people stand for the freedom which is their basic right and unfortunately not given to them. They stand for those young boys who have had been killed in cold blood, they stand for those young people who lost their eye sight. If India continues to treat the voices of Kashmir as filthy disdain and exploiting the sentiments by giving a name as “Pakistan back sponsored” then the time would come near soon and the ground would witness chaos. It’s clear that they haven’t yet understood that it’s not either Pak sponsored nor Hurriyat sponsored but this agitation has links with the unsettled dispute. This ire among people should make sense that people have always been stood for the cause of freedom. They may call it perversion but honestly speaking that they have to swig it. There is a renewed spirit among Kashmiris. We now believe more than ever that Azadi is our destiny.”

 

In nutshell, killings, shutdowns, curfew, internet gag, mobile gag, pellet victims, funerals, arrests, detentions have defined the life in Kashmir in past 100 days in Kashmir.

Kashmir: A Long Road to Solution

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Javaid Ahanger

People of Kashmir have become aliens in their own homeland (Apne hi mulk my paraye) Kashmir, as a geographical entity and along with its people, has since 1948 been controlled by both India and Pakistan. One part is known to the people of Pakistan and Kashmiras “Azad Kashmir” while the Indian government refers to it as “Pakistan Occupied Kashmir”. The other part is under the control of India and Pakistan quite understandably calls it “Indian Occupied Kashmir”. Both, however, prefer using the word ‘administered’ for their respective controlled regions. The grand narrative of Kashmir politics in the subcontinent has been divided into two concepts i.e., Pakistan recognizes Kashmir as itsjugular vein (sheh-rag) and India as its integral part (atoot ang). But in between there are several questions that has haunted the region for decades: like, what is Kashmir problem? Why democracy has suffered in Kashmir? Why its people are protesting even after 68 years of partition?

Why the harsh laws like TADA,PSA,DAA,AFSPA, etc.were implemented in the state? Why people were and are being ruthlessly tortured and killed? Why

India and Pakistan fought wars with each other? And one of the most important questions is why the people of Kashmir feel alienated from rest of India especially after 1990s? There are many other questions but if we focus on the above mentioned questions and try to find answers by intellectual means, and head towards the solution, all the other big orsmall questions will vanish and peace can prevail in Jammu &Kashmir and, of course, in the two countries. Kashmir problem Kashmir problem is whatformer Indian home minister P. Chidambaram once said: “It’s all about broken promises which New Delhi from time to time had made with Kashmiri’s.” The statement has logical power to understand the problem of Kashmir conflict. Clearly, the accession of Kashmir to India had been an issue as early as the time of independence and partition. As Alastair Lamb records, included in the instrument of accession itself was a special clause requiring plebiscite to determine the wishes of the people once law and order had been re-established. (Alastair Lamb, Kashmir A Disputed Legacy1846-1990, chapter VI) Unlike other princely states, Kashmir had acceded to India conditionally and that conditional integration was accepted by India’s post-independence leadership. So there seems to be no other choice for the leadership in Delhi but to come to terms with the historical legacy of Kashmir conflict. Yet they have for decades overruled that choice and instead preferred to experiment with their own versions of what they call a ‘solution’ but to no avail. Denial of Democracy Elections are one of the

important tools used as a measuring scale for democracy or representative government and its success. No doubt elections have been conducted in Stateof Jammu and Kashmir from 1951 but the “nature of elections has always been doubtful because for Indian establishment national interest becomes more important than democracy.” (Balraj Puri,Kashmir Insurgency and After,p. 49) In 1951 the State constituent assembly elections were held and National Conference won all the 75 seats Other than the National Conference politicians nobody even dared to file nomination papers in the Valley. We

witnessed the same in 1957 and 1967 state assembly elections. In 1987,the State assembly elections were entirely unfair and rigged, which is no secret, and it affected the democratic culture of the State.

 

As the Central Government rules over the State without any check and balance, in the absence of democratic structure “the discontent of people showed the first

seeds of secession.”(Balraj Puri,Kashmir Insurgency and After, p. 48) So, there have been little efforts to make J&K a part of Indian democracy. Even the leaders of the pre-1947 Jammu and Kashmir freedom struggle wereinspired by the Indian National leaders during the freedom movement. But post-independence leadership of India did not make any attempt to support the idea of democracy in Kashmir. Need of the hour is to give democracy a chance in Kashmir in real context over national interest. Post 1990s civil protests and human rights violations During early 1990s the people of the State came out to protest against the regime peacefully but the nature and behavior of the state was too brutal that it killed hundreds of civilians which lead to the deep alienation of Kashmiris from the rest of India.

Denial of such rights as civil liberties, fair trial, peaceful demonstration, freedom of press and speech, exercising of torture, disappearances, sexual assault on women and excessive force used by Indian security agencies led to the breakdown of democratic principles and people of Kashmir became aliens in their own land. It’s a matter of great concern

that the India forces have been given a free hand to kill any person they choose.

 

The killing of innocent civilians in 2008 Amarnath Land Row agitation and Kashmir Unrest 2010 in which more than 130 civilians were killed, changed the face of Kashmir politics. Even New Delhi took some measures to stop the protests and it succeeded largely. A mission was started by the UPA Government to have a dialogue with all the stakeholders,including Hurriyat, and the team of expert interlocutors was sent to Kashmir with Dilip Padgonkar as the head. The interlocutors worked very hard to find a solution and prepared a comprehensive report which they submitted to the then home ministry of India headed by P. Chidambaram. But alas! Indian government did not step forward to fulfill any of the recommendations which led to a further deterioration of the already-worsened situation. People lost faith in the process of so-called “dialogue”. The execution of Afzal Guru in Tihar and the subsequent emergence of Burhan Wani as a new face of militancy in the age of globalization was a challenge to the Indian democracy. Hailed as a hero among a sizeable section of the local youth, his rise motivated people to join militant movement again, especially the educated youth who could havebetter future tomorrow.This was reported even by the State government. The present 2016 unrest after the killing of Burhan Wani has led to the killing of more than 90 innocent civilians. Hundreds have been blinded and

thousands have been injured so far. It’s not a new phenomenon but it is in facta deep sentiment among Kashmiris from1947 which burst up during 1990s in the name of militancy and is still going on. Tail piece:

 

A lasting solution to Kashmir will only be possible if India and Pakistan are willing to be flexible on their respective positions. Compromise is the only way to deal with the Kashmir Problem. At the end of the day it is the ground situation inside Kashmir that has pivotal importance and New Delhi

has to recognize it because if the Indian state keeps on attempting to crush the upsurge in Kashmir and the aspiration of people by force, it will have to pay the price, the most important of which may be the erosion of its democratic and secular character.

 

Author is Pursuing Doctors Degree in Political science in Aligarh Muslim University

KASHMIR ISSUE AND IT”S RESOLUTION-THE NEED OF THE MOMENT.

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Imran Aslam Sheikh

 

The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been protesting against what they call illegal Indian occupation since the last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Singh temporarily acceded with India in turn of security against tribal invasion and transportation so as to escape any type of persecution at their hands. The legality of the accession has always been on the news but it is not discussed in the amount as much as it deserves. Many historians argue that Maharaja only forged this accession only to save himself from the advancing tribals. Meher Chand Mahajan’s Delhi visit to convince Nehru to send military assistance is a strong argumentation to support this point. Many believe that Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Helped Meher Chand Mahajan strike the deal with Jawaharlal Nehru.And Few persons from Jammu and Kashmir and India thus decided the fate of Millions of Kashmiris. And to whitewash their misdeeds Jawahar Lal Nehru promised Kashmiris in Lal Chowk that they will be given their birth right, the right o self determination to choose their future. Eighteen Resolutions were passed in UN recognizing Kashmir as an international Dispute. But what Kashmiris saw aftermath was just death and destruction. And from a promise of self determination the Indian leadership of both Congress and Jana Sangh shifted to the slogans of “integral Part”. Permit system was given as a goodwill coin in the begging bowls of Kashmiris which was later on abolished by India. Prime Minister was changed to Chief minister so as to simply merge Kashmir in India. One thing which remains constantly common in all those scenarios is that everybody from India to their pro indian political set up here in Kashmir have only cared about the beautiful landscape of Kashmir and their own financial status.

After witnessing a long movement of people to gain their logical goal of right to self determination from 1947 to 1980s.When people left experimenting with protesting non violently in the form of protest rallies, when people lost faith in the electoral politics when mass rigging made the popular candidates of Kashmiris lose elections and their workers beaten. Kashmiris turned to guns and from 1989 to 2016 more than 100000 people have died in armed militancy. Almost 650 graveyards of rebels have been set up across the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This move even brought much more hardships to Kashmiris with forces provided with many draconian laws like APSFA. But this also helped the Kashmir issue come out of cold storages to the spotlight. When highly educated and people from well to do families took up arms against India. Nadeem Khateeb and Yusuf Shah are among such people. While one was killed in an encounter and the other still leads an armed uprising against India under a new name Syed Salah ud Din.

Now thousands have been disappeared and lacs killed with billions of economy damaged by this conflict. Three wars were fought between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue. Human rights record is worst in Kashmir in fact it is a place where the internet gets snapped on every 15th august, 26th January, or on any festival like Eid. This happened  in Kashmir in 2016 which is thought to be the century of digitalization. There have been incidents of mass rapes like Kunan Poshpora and security forces are accused to have perpetrated these heinous crimes. The resolution of Kashmir issue is very important than it has been ever been in the past. The importance of this nuclear flashpoint needs a mature leadership in India to understand the seriousness of this dispute and the intensity of the lava which is boiling inside and waiting for an eruption with a bang. This time we have two nuclear powers India and Pakistan at the loggerheads on Kashmir. They may have fought three wars in the past but during those times both the countries were not as much militarily strong as they are today. So if a war takes place between India and Pakistan during the current times I am very much sure that both the countries won’t hesitate to use a nuclear bomb against each other. This keeps a constant fear of cleaning out population of millions from both the sides. To save the human race from any such man made calamity the resolution of Kashmir issue becomes mandatory for both the survival of India, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. The economy of India gets very much affected when it has to bear a heavy expense of 800000 army men installed at various parts of Kashmir. India has a very high number of malnourished children ,poverty is on the rise, farmers are committing suicides due to inflation and loans. The medical facilities of the country is not very good, the literacy rate is still very low in this age of computers and digital gadgets. I think the money of Indian tax payers shall be used at a place where it deserves the most. India shall not succumb to a pressure of egos created on her by her corrupt politicians. Kashmir has always been a liability for India if someone observes it seriously after taking out the prisms of egos and communal hatred. And as Mehbooba Mufti and many highly influential people of India like Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi, Manohar Parrikar have already said that only 5 percent of people in Kashmir are protesting against India in the streets of Srinagar then I think they have a golden opportunity right now to settle this dispute once and for all by holding a referendum under UN supervision and as India and it’s collaborators are well aware that they will get the support of 95 percent it is a sure win for India then. And this all will be done without any guns, grenades, atom bombs or stones. And hereafter when the result of the referendum gets public there won’t be any demand of a referendum or “Azadi”. And India will save her billions of dollars of money of Indian tax payer and use it for the development of India. Poverty in India will come down as the money spent in Kashmir to continue what Kashmiri’s see as a forced occupation will be used in the welfare of the people of India.

 

 

( The writer can be reached at E mail address:imu3133@gmail.com)

 

Student problems in Kashmir

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Protests by students against government announcement to conduct the 10th and 12th class examinations from this month across Kashmir have continued unabated,  with several groups taking to streets in the city and elsewhere.

Students state when there is political uncertainty in the Valley from the last 100 days, when Schools and Colleges remain totally closed and students were not able to attend the tuitions due to imposition of Curfew restrictions and strike calls, how could the  student community have got the mental stability to  prepare  themselves for the examinations.

On their part, student bodies have made it clear that  Government should be aware  that examinations are directly linked with the bright future of students and as such students are neither mentally nor the situation presently allows them to sit in examinations, adding, the examination are not like state or parliamentary elections to which government will expect the normalization in political situation.

Education experts  have also made it clear that the need of hour is to grant Syllabus concession to students and in case concession is not granted in syllabus majority of the students will not be able to fair good in examinations, which can cause grim mental trauma and also adversely  impact their prospects for eligibility to different colleges as well as competitive examinations.

Realities urge that examination schedule should be relaxed in Kashmir and syllabus relaxation should be given so that students fare better in the exams.