Pairokar

  The Government of Jammu and Kashmir must be congratulated for two bold recent decisions after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A from the Constitution of India. One is to make Hindi the official language of the state apart from Urdu and the second is to grant voting rights to nearly 25 lakh people, who have been living there for decades together but were deprived of their legitimate rights.    This gerrymandering and the delimitation of the state along with the new electoral rolls will go a long way in the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. Was it not an insult to lakhs of refugees who came from Pakistan and settled down in Jammu and Kashmir but were denied voting rights? So much so, that thousands of Valmikis, who gave everything in the service of J@K for generations did not have voting rights for 75 years. Sikhs, who came from the western side of the border and were domiciled in the state yet were denied their voting rights. ...

 Going through the popular column of journalist Vivek Shukla ‘Dilli dil se’ in a Hindi daily of Delhi provides enormous profit and immense pleasure. It is simply engrossing and enlightening. His pen portraits of the historical places and the history of Delhi leave an indelible mark on the mind. It is the simplest way of recounting history. However, the stories of the monumental tragedy of the partition of India in 1947 grip any reader with extreme sadness, agony, anguish, and anger. Partition of India of India, without doubt, was the most incredible human catastrophe in which lakhs were killed, millions were uprooted, and properties worth billions were destroyed. The biggest onslaught was faced by women who were raped, ravished, and killed by devils.  ‘Train to Pakistan’ by Khushwant Singh and ‘Jhhotha Sach’ of legendry Yashpal or ‘Tamas’ of Bhishma Sahni has given a vivid picture of death and destruction that was caused by the division of our motherland.  It is true th...