View this email in your browser MAY 31, 2017 Set up email authentication this week so the emails don't end up in spam/junk. Hit "Reply" in case they still do. Here's Saturday's update in case you missed it. HIZBUL LEADER SLAIN, PROTESTS ERUPT



Separatist movement Hurriyat Conference Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, believed to be the successor of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, was gunned down on Saturday in an overnight raid by security forces at a hideout in Tral. The incident sparked violent protests across the valley that left one civilian dead and many others injured. As protests spread to J&K capital Srinagar, the government cut mobile internet access in the area. Traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was suspended; train services were stopped; and classes in all schools, colleges and varsities were called off.Separatist movement Hurriyat Conference called for a two-day bandh to pay tributes to Bhat and seven other militants. The organisation also called for a for a march to Tral on May 30, a plan which was foiled by the government by locking down all the roads in the area. CASE TOH YAHIN BANEGA A Special CBI court in Lucknow found "sufficient evidence on record" to charge senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti with criminal conspiracy in the December 9, 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. They all, however, were allowed bail on personal bonds of ₹50,000 each. The new ruling adds to their previous charges of (among more) rioting and promoting enmity between different groups. JEEP THRILLS



The move comes as a shock to Kashmiris and human rights activists who have



Farooq Dar (who was tied to the jeep) was part of minuscule population that voted in the Lok Sabha bypoll on April 9 but now Major Leetul Gogoi, the officer who tied a civilian to an army jeep to stop stone pelting, was awarded the Army Chief’s Commendation medal for "sustained efforts" in counter-insurgency operations. General Bipin Rawat Rawat said that as the Army chief, it was his duty to lift the morale of the army personnel in J&K and he did so by awarding Major Gogoi. He further stated, "It is a dirty war.... That is where innovation comes in. You fight a dirty war with innovations."The move comes as a shock to Kashmiris and human rights activists who have sharply criticised Gogoi's actions. The Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol 1 and the Rome Statute that set up the International Criminal Court all prohibit human shields in armed conflicts, and consider their use a war crime . However, their legality in internal conflicts in India is being debated as we await the Court of Enquiry's ruling on this particular case.Farooq Dar (who was tied to the jeep) was part of minuscule population that voted in the Lok Sabha bypoll on April 9 but now stated , "I will never ever step out of the house on election day, that’s my promise to myself. I want to ask only one thing: was I a buffalo or a bull [...] that I was tied and exhibited?" Rhetorical but interesting legal question there, maybe the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules prevent cattle from being used as human shields? More reads... The stolen childhoods of Kashmir in pencil and crayon