Balraj Puri | |
---|---|
Born | 5 August 1928 [1] Jammu, British India |
Died | 30 August 2014 [2] Jammu, India |
Occupation(s) | Journalist, Writer |
Known for | Human Rights |
Spouse | Subhash Gupta |
Relatives | Ellora Puri (daughter), Luv Puri (son) [1] |
Balraj Puri (1928-2014) was an Indian Political commentator and human rights activist.
A committed peace activist Balraj Puri began his career in journalism in 1942 and since then has worked in or edited several publications.
In his 68 years of public career, he has played a crucial role in Indian politics. He mediated the famous 1975 Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi accord. He worked for communal harmony across India particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. From India's first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru to the present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Puri was constantly consulted on various aspects of the Kashmir issue. He also played an important role in restoring peace in Punjab in the 1980s. [3]
Puri was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2005,one of India's highest civilian honors, in Literature and Education. [4] On 31 October 2009 he was honoured with Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration at Delhi by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Singh described Puri's book Kashmir towards Insurgency as a primer for anybody trying to understand the intricacies of Kashmir issue. Singh also remarked Balraj Puri's life has been one of selfless service to the society and to our country. It has been a life dedicated to the cause of promoting peace, good-will and communal harmony. It has been a life spent in building bridges between regions and communities. [5]
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was an Indian politician who served twice as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, during November 2002–November 2005 and March 2015–January 2016. He was also Minister of Tourism in Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet and Home Minister of India in V. P. Singh's cabinet. He started in the wing of the National Conference led by G. M. Sadiq, which later merged into the Indian National Congress. He switched to Janata Dal in 1987, eventually founding his own regional party, People's Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP continues to be a political force in Jammu and Kashmir, currently led by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti.
Ghulam Nabi Azad is an Indian politician who served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2014 and 2021. He also served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008. On 26 September 2022, Azad announced his own political party as Democratic Progressive Azad Party. He is the chief patron cum founder of Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
The history of independent India or history of Republic of India began when the country became an independent sovereign state within the British Commonwealth on 15 August 1947. Direct administration by the British, which began in 1858, affected a political and economic unification of the subcontinent. When British rule came to an end in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned along religious lines into two separate countries—India, with a majority of Hindus, and Pakistan, with a majority of Muslims. Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east of British India was separated into the Dominion of Pakistan, by the Partition of India. The partition led to a population transfer of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan and the death of about one million people. Indian National Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India, but the leader most associated with the independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi, accepted no office. The constitution adopted in 1950 made India a democratic republic with Westminster style parliamentary system of government, both at federal and state level respectively. The democracy has been sustained since then. India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newly independent states.
Bhim Singh was an Indian politician, activist, lawyer and author. He was the founder, president and chief patron of the socialist and secular Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP). Singh was Panthers Party chairman for 30 years from 1982-2012, chief patron from 2012-2021, and president from 14 February 2021-31 May 2022. In effect with over 40 years of controlling leadership, he was India’s longest serving political party leader, and one of the longest serving leaders in the world.
The Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party is a socialist and secular state political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The party was founded on 23 March 1982 by husband and wife Prof. Bhim Singh and Jay Mala, Its aim is to "demolish corruption, communalism, criminalization, drug menace" and to establish a real democracy through ultimate revolution. Panthers party has maintained power at assembly and the local level for over four decades in its stronghold within the mountainous Udhampur constituency, where in the vicinity 5.9 million tonnes of lithium, the 7th largest known reserve in the world, with an estimated value of $500 billion, was discovered in February 2023.
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed the entirety of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a dispute over the region that escalated into three wars between India and Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes. India controls approximately 55% of the land area of the region that includes Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, most of Ladakh, the Siachen Glacier, and 70% of its population; Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land area that includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan; and China controls the remaining 15% of the land area that includes the Aksai Chin region, the mostly uninhabited Trans-Karakoram Tract, and part of the Demchok sector.
Human rights in India is an issue complicated by the country's large size and population as well as its diverse culture, despite its status as the world's largest sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic. The Constitution of India provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion. Clauses also provide for freedom of speech, as well as separation of executive and judiciary and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. The country also has an independent judiciary as well as bodies to look into issues of human rights.
The following is a timeline of the Kashmir conflict, a territorial conflict between India, Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, China. India and Pakistan have been involved in four wars and several border skirmishes over the issue.
Balraj Madhok was an Indian political activist and politician from Jammu. Originally an activist of the nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he later worked as a politician in the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS).
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad (1907–1972) was an Indian politician belonging to the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, who served as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1953 to 1964. Bakshi was a member of the National Conference from its founding and rose to be the second in command to the principal leader Sheikh Abdullah. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir between 1947 and 1953, but disagreed with Abdullah's advocacy of independence for the state in 1953. He staged a 'coup' with the help of the Head of State Karan Singh, resulting in the dismissal and imprisonment of Sheikh Abdullah. Bakshi was the longest serving Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, whose rule saw the formulation of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and a normalisation of relations of Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian government.
Karan Singh is an Indian politician and philosopher. He is the titular Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. From 1952 to 1965 he was the Sadr-i-Riyasat (President) of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He is the chairperson trustee of the Dharmarth Trust of Jammu and Kashmir which maintains 175 temples in north India and works in other areas such as historical preservation.
Jagmohan Malhotra, known by the mononym Jagmohan, was an Indian civil servant and politician. After working with the Indian National Congress, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1995. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Goa, as the 5th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and for three terms as Member of Parliament for New Delhi. In the cabinet, he served as Union Minister for Urban Development and Tourism.
The Indira–Sheikh Accord signed in 1975 between Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah and then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, decided the terms under which Abdullah would reenter the politics of Kashmir. It allowed Abdullah to become Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir again after 22 years and enabled competitive politics in the State.
Nirmala Deshpande was a noted Indian social activist who had embraced Gandhi and philosophy. She devoted her adult life to the promotion of communal harmony and service to women, tribal people, and the dispossessed in India.
S. P. Varma is a social worker and peace activist from Jammu and Kashmir. He has been actively involved in peace-building efforts in conflict-ridden areas of the Kashmir valley.
Election for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held on 23 March 1987. Farooq Abdullah was reappointed as the Chief Minister.
Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over June 1977, which are generally regarded as the first 'free and fair' elections in the state. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, newly revived from the former Plebiscite Front, won an overwhelming majority and re-elected Sheikh Abdullah as the Chief Minister.
Shashi Bhushan (1924–2011) was an Indian independence activist, social worker, politician, writer and an institution builder. He was the founder of several organisations such as Rashtriya Ekta Samiti, All India Freedom Fighters' Organisation, Punjab Ekta Samiti and the Institute for Socialist Education, and represented Khargone and South Delhi constituency in the 5th Lok Sabha (1971–1977).
The Jammu Praja Parishad was a political party active in the Jammu Division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It was founded in November 1947 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Balraj Madhok, and served as the main opposition party in the state. It maintained close ties with Bharatiya Jana Sangh during its lifetime and merged with the latter in 1963. Its main activity was to campaign for the close integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India and oppose the special status granted to the state under the Article 370 of the Indian constitution. After its merger with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party, the party gradually rose in stature. As an integral part of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it was a partner in the ruling coalition led by the People's Democratic Party.
Elections for the Constituent Assembly of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in September–October 1951. Sheikh Abdullah was appointed Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Following frictions with various groups such as the Jammu Praja Parishad agitation, Abdullah was dismissed in August 1953 and imprisoned. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was appointed as the next prime minister.