SRINAGAR, INDIA // Political parties in Indian Kashmir are trying to stitch together a coalition after recent elections.
The results have been seen as a vote for better governance in the disputed region rather than acceptance of Indian rule.
The National Conference, the region's single largest party, said it would talk to the Congress party, which heads India's ruling coalition, on a possible alliance. No clear winner emerged at the end of a month-long, seven-phase poll.
"We will formally approach Congress for the formation of the government," National Conference president Omar Abdullah told reporters.
Mr Abdullah's party won 28 of the assembly's 87 seats, the Congress 17, the regional People's Democratic Party 21, Bharatiya Janata Party 11 and other parties and independents won 10 seats.
Despite a boycott call by separatists and Muslim militants, the election had a turnout of more than 60 percent of Kashmir's 6.4 million voters.
The National Conference and People's Democratic Party strongly back greater autonomy for the region to help end a two-decade separatist rebellion. The Congress party believes Kashmir is an integral part of India.
The large voter turnout has encouraged New Delhi, which now hopes to blunt separatist sentiments and bring peace by investing heavily in development projects and job creation.
"The high voter turnout is a clear victory of the large majority who wish the restoration of peace and normalcy," N.N. Vohra, the governor of the Jammu and Kashmir state, said in a statement.
Separatists saw the high voter turnout as a desire to choose a good government that can build roads and improve civic amenities and did not believe that undermined the independence movement.
"Undoubtedly people voted, but they voted for water, electricity and employment, not for Indian rule," senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said.
"The freedom struggle will go on until it reaches its logical conclusion."
* Reuters
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The Perfect Couple
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
