Front Page
Jammu and Kashmir is the main news of the day across front pages of mainstream newspapers Thursday but the focus is different. The Times of India and The Indian Express lead with the new status of J&K and Ladakh as union territories while The Hindu and Hindustan Times focus on the delegation of European Union MPs.
It’s the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel and death anniversary of Indira Gandhi. Interestingly, the back page of The Hindu carries tributes to both by Congress chief leaders Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Capt. Amarinder Singh (Punjab).
J&K bifurcation: TOI goes dramatic with its headline, “J&K wakes up to new status, officially ceases to be a state”. Its opening sentence is a play on Jawaharlal Nehru’s famous quote when India gained independence,: “At the stroke of midnight” J&K “ceased to be a state of the Union, “making way for two new Union territories of J&K and Ladakh”.
Express looks to the future with “J&K becomes UT today amid attempts to create space for political alternative in Valley”. Express reports that “a new political alternative (is) being catalysed by the Centre” with leaders like “PDP patron and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig and several young politicians … willing to start afresh with the people and engage with New Delhi”.
The EU delegation: Hindu quotes a delegation member who says that “terrorism is a severe problem in Kashmir” and holds Pakistan responsible for it. The MPs also added that the revocation of Article 370 was “an internal issue” and “should not be used” against India.
HT also carries the news on Page 1 It quotes UK MEP Newton Dunn: “We belong to a place – Europe – which is peaceful after years of fighting. And we want to see India becoming the most peaceful country in the world.”
Pehlu Khan: “The Rajasthan High Court…quashed a cow smuggling case registered against Haryana dairy farmer Pehlu Khan” writes Hindu. The lynching of Khan is reported differently in the mainstream papers. Hindu plays it safe with he was “allegedly” lynched by a mob of cow vigilantes. Express is more decisive — Khan “was beaten to death by a mob of gau rakshaks in April 2017”. HT writes that he was “lynched”. TOI does not mention the lynching aspect in its small page 1 item.
Indian journalists, activists spied upon: Express’ lead is an exclusive story: “Whatsapp confirms: Israeli spyware was used to snoop on Indian journalists, activists”. It highlights that the “Israeli spyware Pegasus” was used to snoop on “at least two dozen academics, lawyers, Dalit activists and journalists in India”. Whatsapp has contacted all those affected by this and “a lawsuit has been filed…in a US federal court in San Francisco”, Express adds.
CJI designate Justice Bobde: A day after he was appointed the next Chief Justice of India, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was generous with interviews to the media across print and TV. Once again, each newspaper highlighted different aspects of interactions with the CJI-designate. Hindu writes, “All forms of authority under challenge, says Justice Bobde”. HT’s headline refers to the January 2018 press conference by four senior-most judges against the then-CJI Dipak Misra: “Judges’ presser was disturbing: Next CJI”. Express’ headline is a quote by Justice Bobde saying: “Privileged to be hearing (Ayodhya case)…opportunity of a lifetime”.
Climate crisis: TOI and HT carry graphic evidence of catastrophic climate changes, stating that millions are at risk due to rising sea levels. Indian cities like Chennai and Mumbai are at risk of being submerged. “By 2050, 36 million Indians could lose their homes and livelihoods to flooding caused by rising sea levels,” reads TOI’s alarming story.
Opinion
The Times of India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official trip to Saudi Arabia marks a pivotal moment, writes TOI. For years, ties between the two countries have been equivalent to a “buyer-seller relationship”. But now, the Saudi leadership, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), seeks to “elevate” its ties with key countries like India. Riyadh knows the days of the “exclusively petrodollar funded Saudi state are numbered”, due to shale oil and renewables. It hopes to transform its economy under Vision 2030 and link Saudi’s industry to global value chains and prepare its citizens, even women, for “21st-century workplaces”. If Saudi “returns to a moderate version of Islam”, it will have a huge impact on global Islam and the “ideological moorings of Islamist radicalism”. New Delhi should support this shift. Security wise, cooperating with Riyadh could “blunt” Pakistan’s strategy of sponsoring terror against India.
The Indian Express: In ‘Task in the Valley’, Express writes that the work of dividing manpower and material resources in J&K is “far from over”, even though the creation of new territories is underway. The government needs to free the political leaders and workers who have been detained, and allow people to express their views, writes Express. Most panchayat representatives today are seeking refuge in hotels in Srinagar, far from their villages. The “persistence of fear” has aggravated questioning of legitimacy of the electoral exercise. The killing of five migrant workers Tuesday, and several other attacks on non-residents show that peace remains “elusive”, even after “momentous change” brought by the government.
Prime Time
Plenty to think and chew on prime time Wednesday.
In an exclusive interview, the next CJI SA Bobde told NDTV 24×7 that the goal of any judicial system is justice.
Anchor Padmaja Joshi on Times Now questioned the inefficiency of the Kerala government in #IndiawithWalayarSisters after four persons, accused of abetment to suicide and rape of two sisters in Palakkad in 2017, were acquitted.
Republic TV sounded more like a protest march as it called to #AvengeKulgamKillings after six labourers from Bengal were killed by terrorists in Kashmir.
Sister channel Republic Bharat termed Shiv Sena’s “50: 50” demand in Maharashtra a “political blackmailing” and asked: “Why Mahabharat in Maharashtra?”
NewsX went south with Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s remark that Tipu Sultan should not be given any place in history books.
India Today: Anchor Rahul Kanwal turned to the EU MPs’ Kashmir visit. Was the “opposition outrage misplaced” over the composition of the group?
Columnist of Wall Street Journal Sadanand Dhume said MPs “who were more balanced’’ ought to have been invited. “The preponderance of the far Right does not only look like a PR stunt, but a PR stunt in poor state.”
To this, BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said: “Atal Bihari Vajypayee was considered far Right and then later became mainstream, same with Advaniji… therefore what is far Right?”
“The extreme Right in the US is currently the president of the country,” added Kanwal.
CNN News18: On ‘News Epicentre with Marya Shakil’, Delhi’s #RightToBreathe was in focus after an alarming deterioration in its air quality.
Shakil warned her panelists: “I don’t want to get into this political blame game…will the Centre play the role of a big brother and ensure that all the states sit across a table and find a solution?”
Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha said: “It is a matter of fact… that at least 35 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution is due to stubble burning.”
Environmentalist Bhavreen Khandhari suggested emergency measures: “We have to act like the house is on fire.”
Aaj Tak: The terrorist attack in Kulgam prompted anchor Shweta Singh to observe, “370 hataya…ab aatankwad hatao” (it’s time to remove terrorism after removing Árticle 370).
BJP’s Sambit Patra blamed Pakistan for the attack: “Our armed forces will take revenge, for sure.”
Aqib Renzu Shah, councillor from Srinagar, said the timing of the attack wasn’t a coincidence. “If there were no killings in the past three months, why were these people killed when the international European delegation was visiting?”
ABP News: The opposition’s questions on the EU MPs’ visit annoyed anchor Rubika Liyaquat. “Mehmanao ka apmaan kyun? (why disrespect our guests),” she asked.
Political analyst Nishant Verma questioned claims of normalcy in the Valley: “If this is normalcy, then PM Modi should immediately resign. This was clearly a planned visit, and the BJP is saying that they (EU delegation) came on their own.”
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra from the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies presented “some facts”. He claimed that before the removal of Article 370, “100 non-resident Kashmiris were killed…more than 20 migrant workers and 21 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims were also killed’’. Therefore, he concluded, to say that the Kulgam attack happened “because of the removal of Art 370 is factually incorrect”.