Jammu and Kashmir administration

J&K Admin Seizing Land Nearly Equivalent to Hong Kong in Anti-Encroachment Drive Since Last January: Report

The FIDH report underlined that the land takeover, which has adversely affected the tribal Gujjar and Bakkerwal communities, was possible after a series of new rules were extended by the Union government to J&K administration post 2019.

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration is taking over land nearly equalling the size of Hong Kong under the garb of removing illegal encroachments since last January, after the erstwhile state’s special status was revoked in 2019, a report by a global rights advocacy group has said.

In a 56-page report published on its website on Wednesday (October 2), International Federation for Human Rights (Fédération internationale pour les droits humains or FIDH), a French group which works in 116 countries across the globe, has said that the “drastic” legal and policy changes post 2019 have had a “disastrous impact on the human rights of Kashmiris, particularly with regard to land and related human rights issues.”

“The changes in Kashmir’s land laws have enabled the Indian authorities to forcibly evict and dispossess thousands of Kashmiris from their homes, without due process, and in violation of India’s international human rights obligations,” the report has said, calling for a “full, independent and transparent” investigation into the allegations of unlawful land seizures and compensation for those whose rights were violated in Jammu and Kashmir.

New laws and rules promulgated by the Centre after 2019 have allowed any Indian citizen to become permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir which grants them the right to purchase land in the region, apply for jobs, vote in elections and others.

Also read: Tradition, Boycotts, Propaganda: Why Srinagar Saw a Low Turnout This Time

Referring to the United Nations guidelines, the FIDH said that by “removing protections and rights to land that existed in Jammu and Kashmir prior to August 2019,” the Bhartiya Janta Party-led (BJP-led) Union government has “implemented policies… that risk causing significant alterations to Jammu and Kashmir’s socio-demographic composition, with severe ramification for socio-economic and political rights of Kashmiris.”

“Changes made to land laws after August 2019 (which)… allow for land acquisition by any Indian citizen… has intensified fear of demographic changes, with many Kashmiris perceiving them as acts of ‘demographic aggression’ that threaten the identity of Muslim-majority Jammu & Kashmir,” the report said.

‘Land takeover’

In January last year, the J&K administration launched an “anti-encroachment” drive to free about 2.24 million kanals of “illegally encroached” land in the Union Territory. The FIDH report has said that the drive against “encroached land,” “roughly the size of Hong Kong,” has left the residents of J&K terrified as they fear losing their land and property.

The report underlined that the land takeover, which has adversely affected the tribal Gujjar and Bakkerwal communities, was possible after a series of new rules were extended by the Union government to the J&K administration post 2019 and the old land laws, which were in force when Jammu and Kashmir was a state, were amended or scrapped entirely.

“Ten lakh kanals (250,000 acres, or approximately 1,011.7 sq km) of land … including shamilat (village common land) and kahcharai (common grazing land)” were taken over by the administration within a month after the eviction drive was launched in January 2023, the report said, adding that there are raging concerns that the move was “part of the Indian government’s ethno-nationalist project of targeting Muslim households, dispossessing locals of land, and engineering a demographic change.”

The rights advocacy group has noted that most of the land seized by the administration was not allocated, even as some of it was “already being developed for infrastructure projects.”

“Many of these projects have significant human rights and environmental impacts,” the report said.

The report added, “The government did not release official data on the number of structures demolished or seized, the number of trees the revenue authorities felled, or crops that were destroyed during the campaign. Many affected residents reported the loss of their shops and homes without prior notification from the authorities.”

Questioning the proposal for the development of J&K’s summer capital which has sought 19,700 acres of land in Srinagar metropolitan region to “transform the urban landscape of Srinagar” and accommodate “an expected three million people by 2035,” the report has noted that the “plan to more than double the population of Srinagar in a decade has given rise to significant concerns” that “large numbers of new residents” were going to be settled in the city.

At present, Srinagar has a population of about two million and the master plan envisages nearly 4.5 million residents in the city by 2035. According to a United Nations report, the population of New Delhi was expected to grow from the present 33.81 million to 43.3 million by 2035, a jump of approximately 30% only.

The French group, which was set up in 1922, has criticised the proposal of J&K administration to set up a “Special Investment Corridor” in Srinagar for “creating over a million new jobs”. It said that the corridor “has raised concerns among Kashmiris about its potential to attract non-locals.”

‘Changes in political makeup’

The FIDH report has also noted that the changes in the permanent residence rules, land laws and lease agreements with the promulgation of J&K Reorganisation Act in 2019 could alter the “political makeup” of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The new rules could cause ownership change in significant areas of Jammu & Kashmir, including all of Gulmarg and parts of Srinagar, Pahalgam, and Patnitop. Business owners, particularly in the tourist industry, face expropriation of their infrastructure and the closure of their businesses, as most tourist facilities were built on leased land,” the report said.

Quoting an official, the FIDH stated that 2.5 million new voters were added to J&K’s electoral list in 2022 which “has been accompanied by several moves by the Indian government to fundamentally alter the electoral boundaries and… dilute the Kashmiri Muslim vote,” while pointing to the 2022 Delimitation Commission that led to the creation of seven additional constituencies in J&K with six in Jammu, the Hindu-majority region, and only one in Kashmir.

Also read: At Over 130 Years Old, a Pre-Partition Railway Station Linking Jammu With Sialkot Lies in Ruins

“This is despite the fact that Jammu’s population is 5.3 million, around 1.5 million less than Kashmir’s population of approximately 6.8 million, according to the last census in 2011. In the revised electoral map, the average population of a constituency of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly would be 140,000 in Muslim-majority Kashmir and 120,000 in Jammu,” the report said.

The report has alleged that the new reservation rules rolled out in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 under the garb of “empowering historically marginalised communities” are “aimed to unduly benefit predominantly Hindu, privileged, high-caste, and pro-BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) ethnic groups”, adding that the strategy was also aimed “to woo sections of marginalised Muslim communities in J&K… for electoral gains (by the BJP).”

The report has called on the government of India to restore the democratic rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir by repealing the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act and the colonial-era sedition law.

The advocacy group has said that the research for the report was conducted between January and August 2024 by conducting interviews with primary sources including academics, lawyers and journalists based in Kashmir while media reports and history books on Kashmir have been cited as secondary sources.

The Paris-based group has dedicated the report to human rights activist Khurram Pervez who was arrested by the National Investigations Agency on November 21, 2021 under the anti-terror law.

J&K Admin to Monitor Social Media of Employees, Says No Pay for ‘Errant’ Officials

Along with personal details, including addresses, the heads of government departments have been asked to provide details of social media accounts.

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has asked its new employees to submit details of their social media accounts for police verification, a step that experts fear may further undermine free speech in the recently-created union territory.

The J&K government issued a list of dos and don’ts for its employees, who have an active presence on social media, in 2017, but this is the first time that the police have been tasked to scrutinise the social media activity of new employees.

A circular issued by J&K’s General Administration Department (O9JK-GAD of 2021) on Thursday asked all the administrative secretaries, divisional commissioners and heads of various departments to get security clearance of unverified government employees from the J&K Police’s criminal investigation department (CID).

Along with basic details such as name, date of birth, and address, the heads of government departments have been asked to provide details of “social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc)” of employees whose verification has not been carried out.

Also read: Human Rights Violations Continue in J&K, Govt Still Prioritising Counter-Insurgency: Report

“Many individuals with dubious character antecedents and conduct have been paid salaries and other allowances, without obtaining their mandatory CID verification,” the GAD circular says, adding that the verification of such cases should be “completed expeditiously and no new entrant in the Government Service (will be) paid salary/allowances till verification” is completed.

A new order with long past

Manoj K. Dwivedi, commissioner secretary, GAD, who issued the order, told The Wire that the union territory administration has identified “a few employees” who were drawing salaries without obtaining the mandatory police verification certificate.

“To ensure that the new employees are following all the norms, the administration has decided to issue fresh instructions to all the departments to carry out police verification of their employees before releasing their salaries,” he said.

Photo: nominalize/Pixabay

The administration has tasked the senior superintendent of police of the elite criminal investigations department to collect details of employees from the heads of departments.

Other than verification for government service and passports, the CID deals with the “collection, collation and dissemination of intelligence” about “undesirable elements,” according to the J&K Police website.

A senior police official, who has served at the CID headquarters in Srinagar, said the verification is carried out at multiple levels, depending on the nature of the case for which the police clearance is required.

“How the verification process is to be carried out is a secret,” the officer, who didn’t want to be named, said, adding that the processes involved change from case to case.

“In case of government service, the process is different from, say, when an individual is looking for a passport to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. In my time at CID, social media activity was not our concern,” he said.

However, after the BJP-led Central government took control of the J&K administration after reading down Article 370, social media platforms, as well as their users in Jammu and Kashmir, have come under increased scrutiny.

Soon after the August 5, 2019 move, the Centre asked Twitter to take down some handles that were accused of “spreading rumours and misinformation to disturb the peace and calm in the Valley.”

In November 2019, three employees were suspended after a photograph circulated on social media showing them participating in a political function. Earlier in April 2019, a power department employee was suspended for an “objectionable post” on new domicile rules.

A news report last year said that 500 to 1,000 government employees “posing threat to security and integrity of the State” could be dismissed in the next two or three months.

Earlier this year, the J&K Police invited volunteers to patrol social media and flag posts on “radicalisation” and “anti-national activities” among other issues to the government.

Curbs on free speech, say activists

Now, the latest GAD circular has sparked fears that it will be used to trample an individual’s fundamental right of free speech under the garb of “national interest”.

Free speech activists believe this is another step to push J&K into “democratic anarchism” where the government is allegedly resorting to overarching measures to curb dissent. New Delhi has already exerted pressure on Twitter and other social media platforms to remove hundreds of thousands of posts that focussed on Kashmir, according to an analysis by the global media-watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Also read: Cyber Whispers: Why the MHA’s Volunteer Programme Needs to be Carefully Thought Through

Accusing the government of India of using ambiguous legal processes to “suppress Kashmiri journalism, commentary on Twitter,” the CPJ has said that hundreds of Twitter accounts, the vast majority of them related to Kashmir, have been suspended.

Last year, the government of India asked Twitter to remove 2,772 accounts or tweets.

“The message is clear – if you have to stay in the government, you have to shut your mouth. It looks like a warning to those employees who use social media platforms for expressing their opinions about government policies,” a professor at the University of Kashmir said, wishing anonymity.

Dwivedi, however, said these fears are “unfounded”. “The government servants have fewer rights than others. We are governed by service rules, and I don’t have the same privileges as others in the non-government sector.” He said those youngsters aspiring to join the government service must be “mentally prepared to discipline themselves,” according to the rules of the government.

“We are not curtailing anyone’s freedom,” he said, “We are just asking them to follow the rules and use social media within limits.”

File photo of journalists protesting against the restrictions on the internet and mobile phone networks at the Kashmir Press Club during the lockdown in Srinagar last year. Photo: PTI

The GAD circular comes more than three years after the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government restricted its more than five lakh employees from using their social media accounts for political and other activities.

On December 26, 2017, the coalition government issued an order, barring the employees from “discussing or criticising on social media any policy pursued or action taken by the Government,” or “participating in any such discussion or criticism that takes place on social media pages/communities or microblogs.”

“They shall also not use their personal social media accounts for any political activity or endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure and also shall not use their accounts in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that the government endorses or sanctions their personal activities in any manner whatsoever,” the order had said.

Asked how the social media activity of an individual was relevant to the hiring process for new employees, Dwivedi said:

“In old times, a person was known by his neighbourhood. But the times have changed. A person is known by his or her virtual address more than a physical address. And the government has a right to know about the social media accounts of new entrants. It will add another credential to their identity in the government systems.”

Another CID official said the GAD circular is “nothing new”. The officer said the CID has the mandate to carry out verification of individuals and organisations. “Whether the verification is required for government employment, registering a society or publishing a newspaper, the CID clearance is mandatory.”

Professor Noor M. Baba, a political analyst in Srinagar, said the circular is seemingly aimed to regulate even the private space of employees which should normally be theirs as citizens.

“This seems to be in line with the policies of the present regime because of which India’s rating as a free country stands undermined internationally,” Prof Baba said.

Jammu and Kashmir: 18 Out of 20 Districts to Continue With Restricted Internet Speeds

High-speed data services will continue only in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts.

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday ordered the continuance of 2G mobile data services in 18 of the 20 districts of the Union Territory until November 26, 2020, citing apprehension about the misuse of high-speed Internet to disrupt the district development council and panchayat polls.

Principal secretary (home department) Shaleen Kabra issued an order on Thursday night and said high-speed data services will continue only in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts, while elsewhere, the Internet speed will be restricted to 2G only.

Postpaid SIM-card holders shall be provided Internet access. However, the same facility shall not be made available on prepaid SIM cards unless verified according to norms applicable for postpaid connections, the order issued by the home department said.

Fixed-line Internet connectivity with mac-binding shall be available, it added.

The order stated that these directions shall be effective immediately and remain in force up to November 26, 2020.

Kabra said that terrorists and separatists will make all efforts to disrupt the democratic process concerning the polls of 280 constituencies of DDC polls and 13400 panchayat and urban local body vacancies. Such unlawful acts rely on high-speed internet for disruption, he said.

J&K’s New Domicile Order: Disenfranchising Kashmiris, One Step at a Time

The changes are an erasure of Kashmir’s history and a project in creating homogeneity – so that there is no legal difference between a Kashmiri and someone from any part of India who has lived in Kashmir for a specified period.

In the absence of any representative government in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has exercised undiluted and direct control in the region through a bureaucratic administration since June 2018.

Nine months ago, India’s parliament, acting on legislation moved by the Narendra Modi government, unilaterally terminated Jammu and Kashmir’s unique constitutional position, ending its autonomous status within the Indian Union.

Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir administration notified the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (procedure) rules, 2020. These rules provide a fast-track procedure for issuance of Kashmiri domicile certificates, within 15 days, to people from any part of India. The sense of urgency to legalise the region’s new status is further underscored in the new rules since non-compliance with the time frame provided therein attracts a penalty of Rs. 50,000 from the salary of an errant officer.

The domicile certificate has been made mandatory for employment in Kashmir following amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services rules. Eligible individuals from any part of India will also be granted the right to purchase immovable property in J&K, something that has not been possible till now in J&K and is still not possible in those parts of India governed by special laws and provisions.

Over the past one year, we have observed a grotesque, euphoric celebration by a broad cross-section of people across India on the disenfranchisement and dispossession of Kashmiris through these legislative changes. In response, Kashmiris have realised that we cannot indulge in the luxury of despair and despondency. We need to, and will continue to, engage in the persistent labour of resistance and hope, despite the reckless violation of our rights, and of democracy, by the Indian state.

The new ‘domicile’ rules are a major departure from an established body of historical precedent, law and jurisprudence. This position was guaranteed to Kashmiris under the Delhi Agreement of 1952, the Presidential Order of 1954, Article 35A of the constitution of India and Part III Section 6 of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

Also read: J&K Govt’s New Domicile Certificate Rules a Move to Undercut Resistance from Kashmiri Officials?

These instruments and articles recognised the right of Jammu and Kashmir to define its citizens, known as “permanent residents” or popularly called “state-subjects” based on a 1927 notification by the erstwhile king of Jammu and Kashmir. Through the new rules, with retrospective effect, a “permanent resident” has now been replaced with “domicile” even though no instrument has ever granted such power to the Indian government.

The rules grant eligibility of domicile to new classes of people, including migrants, Central government employees, Indian armed forces personnel and their children who meet the eligibility criteria.

It is pertinent to add that in this new arrangement, there is no space for a diaspora Kashmiri whose parents do not have an existing certificate of permanent residence, to obtain domicile without living in the region for 15 years or serving the Indian government for 10 years. Effectively, the child of an Indian citizen from any part of the country is eligible, even if the child has never lived in Kashmir, but the child of a diasporic Kashmiri may not be eligible if the parent does not possess an existing certificate of residence.

Despite the Indian state being overwhelmed with the economic collapse, migrant labour crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, the desire to subdue the Kashmiris has been funnelled with astringent and virulent zeal. It drives home the message to the people of Kashmir that nothing, not even a medical emergency, can prevent the Indian state from doing what it wants to do in J&K.

The rules do not merely grant people from all parts of India a right of residence in Kashmir. They also engineer a situation where Kashmiris must submit a certificate of permanent residence for verification of domicile if Kashmiris want the jobs where a domicile certificate is now required.

The certificate of permanent residence was a constitutionally valid document and has been held by numerous judgments to be a “conclusive proof of residence”. Under the new rules, it merely carries evidentiary value for residence. Therefore, if a Kashmiri fails to meet the new criteria, whether by malice, manipulation or by design of the new rules, the revocation of residency rights will inevitably lead to their involuntary transfer from Kashmir in search of shelter and employment. All these initiatives have sparked fears of demographic change, militarised settlements, dispossession and alienation of land in Kashmir.

Also read: Centre Backtracks, Amends Domicile Order to Reserve Govt Jobs in J&K for Residents

It is relevant to mention that since 1995, Israel has been escalating the use of residency revocation as a punitive measure when the Israeli interior ministry started reinterpreting the 1952 Law of Entry. In 1952 Israel enacted its own Nationality law and repealed the Palestine Citizenship Order of 1925.

Israel uses three discriminatory (and illegal) criteria to forcibly transfer Palestinians:

If they have been living abroad for an extended period.
Based on a 1995 high court judgment, Palestinians need to establish that their “centre of life ” is in Jerusalem in order to maintain residency rights.
Accused of breaching “allegiance” or “minimum loyalty” to Israel. In 2006, this provision was first used against four Hamas members elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council. International humanitarian law explicitly forbids the occupier, in this case, Israel, from demanding the allegiance of an occupied population.

The revocation of residency forms part of a widespread and systematic policy to transfer the protected Palestinian population, and may amount to a crime against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, to which Palestine is a party.

For Kashmir, the new domicile rules are just another reminder that the Indian government can alter its position at any point to suit the circumstances. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had given an assurance to a delegation of members of a pro-India political group that the interests of J&K residents would be protected in government jobs and land laws. However, by these changes, all eligible Indians can compete against J&K residents for jobs and benefits, indicating how much respect the prime minister has even for pro-India politicians, as well as how much he values his own words. While earlier, a total of 480,000 government jobs were only for permanent residents, the new law opens the field for any Indian citizen who has been living in the state for a certain period.

This is especially disconcerting at a time when the 2016 Economic Survey Report had pegged a quarter of J&K’s population between 18 and 29 as unemployed. The diminution of our rights is set to increase the levels of unemployment as well as hasten the disenfranchisement of Kashmiris while setting the stage for demographic changes. With the dilution of their ‘domicile’ status, Kashmiris will find it difficult to obtain work in most sectors of employment. While the rules are silent on this aspect, there are fears that through incremental displacement of rights, Kashmiris could also lose benefits from welfare schemes for food, health care, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

Also read: It’s Been 9 Months. What Did the Revocation of J&K’s Special Status Achieve?

These changes are an erasure of Kashmir’s history as a princely state that was not under direct British rule, and a project in creating homogeneity – so that there is no legal difference between a Kashmiri and someone from any part of India who has lived in Kashmir for a specified period.

Kashmiris were once state-subjects of a princely state. We were then made permanent residents of an autonomous state within the Indian Union. Today we are being made ‘domiciles’ of a Union territory, that too, without our consent. Extrapolating from the developments taking place, it is not hard to imagine the Kashmiri landscape seeded with predatory militarised settlements similar to Palestine. The implications can only be calamitous.

The threat of demographic change, loss of livelihood and increased competition for scarce resources is bound to electrify an already incensed population. In any sensible democracy, this situation would be alarming but authoritarian and xenophobic actions seen over the last year suggest that Modi’s government is neither sensible nor democratic.

Mirza Saaib Bég is a Kashmiri lawyer and an alumnus of NALSAR University of Law. He is a candidate for Master’s in Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford as a Weidenfeld-Hoffman scholar.

J&K: Leaders Criticise Move to Drop ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ from Conference Centre’s Name

The title was used attributed to former chief minister Sheikh Abdullah and the centre has been used as a subsidiary prison since August last year.

New Delhi: The move by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to drop the ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ title from the famous eponymous conference centre in Srinagar has been criticised by politicians Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, a CPI(M) leader, and former Union minister Saifuddin Soz.

The Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) will now simply be called as the Kashmir International Conference Centre. The title ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ is attributed to the erstwhile state’s former chief minister, Sheikh Abdullah.

The conference centre, which is located on the banks of the Dal Lake, has played host to a number of international and national conferences. After the Centre’s decision to dilute Article 370 in August last year, the centre was turned into a subsidiary. Politicians such as People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone, PDP leader Naeem Akhtar, National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar and bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal were among those held at the centre.

In a statement, CPI(M) leader Tarigami said dropping the Sher-e-Kashmir title is an “attack on the history of J&K”. The move attempts to undermine the contribution of the leadership headed by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, who preferred secular India over Pakistan by rejecting the two-nation theory, he said.

“Sher-e-Kashmir is not just a title but a glorious chapter of history in Jammu and Kashmir. We might have difference with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah but that doesn’t mean we should undermine his and his colleagues’ historic role which they played right from their advent on the political scene,” the statement reads.

He said the contribution of the ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’ led by Sheikh Abdullah for the upliftment of the people and “revolutionary changes” in the agrarian and education sectors laid the foundation of ‘Naya Kashmir’. This idea has been under attack since the BJP came to power at the Centre, especially after the August 5 decision last year, Tarigami said.

He also recollected that July 13, observed as Martyr’s Day and on the birth anniversary of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, has been dropped as a public holiday. This, when seen in conjunction with removing the title of ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’ from the state award and police medal, “exposes the dubious stand of the BJP time and again. BJP can welcome with open arms any body when it feels its need but will not hesitate in punishing him/her, when it opposes their disastrous policies”.

“We cannot look at the emerging situation in isolatation. That will only amount to playing in the hands of those working behind the scene and aiming at disrupting our unity. The time demands all of us to stand together at this crucial juncture of our history and safeguard the interests of our people,” the statement concludes.

Saifuddin Soz, former Union minister and Congress leader, said that the people of Kashmir never changed the names of old institutions, as they were part of history. “So, Hari Parbat, Jogi Lankar, Amar Singh College, Sri Pratap College, SMHS Hospital, Vishwa Bharti College, Gandhi Memorial College and dozens of other titles of institutions have continued to be the same,” he said.

He said that the current administration, “even though, it is an intermediary arrangement before elections”, continues to change the names of institutions when it does not have the mandate.

“We know very well that we have fallen to the very bad times; but, we did not know that the government has become so impatient to impair every element of our identity, before it completes its tenure,” he said.

J&K Admin Drops ‘Sher-E-Kashmir’ From Name of Police Medals

Last month, the administration dropped Abdullah’s birth anniversary from the list of official holiday of 2020, drawing a strong reaction from the NC, the Congress and other parties.

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Saturday announced a change in nomenclature of police medal for gallantry and police medal for meritorious service, removing the word ‘Sher-e-Kashmir’, a reference to former chief minister and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

“It is hereby ordered that the words ‘Sher-i-Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry and Sher-i-Kashmir police medal for meritorious service’ wherever appearing in the government order No.332(P) of 2001 dated 01.08.2001, as amended from time to time, shall henceforth be read as ‘Jammu and Kashmir police medal for gallantry and Jammu and Kashmir police medal for meritorious service,” principal secretary, home department, Shaleen Kabra said in an order.

On the eve of Republic Day, three officers including the Inspector General of Police S.P. Pani were awarded Jammu and Kashmir police medal for meritorious service.

Pani, who was recently relieved of the post of IGP Armed Kashmir, is presently on Central deputation. After approval by the competent authority, he was appointed to the grade of Director-I in the class executive cadre of the cabinet secretariat, on deputation basis for a period of four years.

The other two are SSP Koshal Kumar Sharma and SSP Suhail Munawar Mir.

Last month, the administration dropped Abdullah’s birth anniversary from the list of official holiday of 2020, drawing a strong reaction from the NC, the Congress and other parties.

Meanwhile, 11 persons have been selected for ‘Jammu and Kashmir Government Awards’ on the occasion of Republic Day.

Rinku Raja Pandita, an employee of tourism department who lost his life during a rafting in Lidder river at famous hill resort of Pahalgam in June last year, was awarded for bravery, an official spokesman said, adding that his family will get Rs 1 lakh, a medal and a citation.

Others who have been awarded include Krishan Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Lone (award for achievements in the field of literature), Abu Sufyan Malik (performing art), FAyaz Ahmad Mir, shawl weaver, (excellence in Arts and crafts), N A Qureshi (social reforms and empowerment) who will get a cash award of Rs 51,000, a medal and a citation each, the spokesman said.

He said Principal Secretary, Home Department, Shaleen Kabra, Secretary, Department of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Achal Sethi, Director General (Planning Development) Tariq Ahmad Khan and Additional Secretary, home department, Khalid Majeed have been awarded for their meritorious services.

They will receive a cash award of Rs 51,000, a medal and a citation each.

In the outstanding sports persons category, the spokesman said Shivani Charak (climbing) will get a cash award of Rs 51,000, a medal and a citation.

Sixty police officers and personnel were awarded Jammu and Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry.