Pilgrims headed to the divided region of Kashmir get armed guards and national encouragement — if they’re Hindu. By Raksha Kumar This article was first published in Foreign Policy SRINAGAR, INDIA: An Indian Hindu pilgrim begins his trek to one of the holiest Hindu shrines at the Amarath cave … Read more →
How and Why to Save Articles 370 & 35 A
Two Essays A G Noorani The Rape of Article 370 THE Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, received the President’s assent on September 8, 2016. Its 20 sections made elaborate provisions on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), amended a host of provisions of the Constitution and established a Goods and … Read more →
2016 Curfew Diary: Life changing 10 minutes
Khan Ansur It was Tuesday of 13th September 2016 when I along with my maternal uncle went to buy few pieces of luggage for my marriage which was going to be held in the last week of the same month. We reached Bohri Kadal, Srinagar at 6:30 am as knowing … Read more →
What India does and what Kashmiris do?
Shafkat Raina Recently an unfortunate incident happened in Chandigarh, a union territory of India where a doctor refused to treat a Kashmiri patient citing the reason of stone pelting on Indian troops in Kashmir. In an another shocker, a threat was given to the students of Kashmir in the state … Read more →
My brief meeting with Parveena Ahangar
A young student pens his first meeting with his role model Parveena Ahangar, chairperson of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) Sheikh Saqib The first thing I saw was her hand. Dainty, holding the stick of a placard which said,” where are our dear ones?” Then more of her emerged … Read more →
A letter from the massacre
Bilal Handoo Inside her home overlooking the Chenab, the story started on a sad note. Dusk had long dimmed Doda town when she showed a bundle of nerves before narration. Everything had quietened. In that hush hour, she started with a sweater that her father wanted her young seamstress mother … Read more →
Kashmir’s Shimla Solidarity circa 1931
Khalid Bashir Ahmed The wounds of tyranny had been festering for long. The pent-up resentment against a highly repressive and hated regime that made no distinction between shooting a game bird and its subjects was only waiting to burst. The killing of 21 unarmed civilians on July 13 1931, sent … Read more →
The Day of Sabzar’s Funeral
Sheikh Saqib On an exceptionally hot Saturday morning, I along with my friends was riding to a village, to explore the destined place and trek its mountains. We stopped a few kilometers back and bought some junk food and bottles of soft drink and mineral water. Everyone was excited about … Read more →
The Patriot, Ashfaq Majeed Wani
On the martyrdom anniversary of Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Salman Shah writes how Ashfaq became the inspiration to the youth of his time. When Ashfaq returned from Pakistan, he was greeted with flower petals, slogans and “Wanwun” in the Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar. Women and Men sat along roadside to get a … Read more →
Why are People Protesting in Kashmir
A Citizen’s report on the violation of democratic rights in the Kashmir Valley in 2016 Following the alleged extrajudicial killing of 8 July, in the violence unleashed by state armed forces unarmed protests were met with sustained attack by the Indian Army, J&K police and paramilitary, including with the … Read more →
Army camps in Kashmir have succumbed to ‘Mandir’ culture: Parvez Imroz
A Civil Rights activist for decades and well-known lawyer, Parvez Imroz is the Patron and co-founder of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and possesses a long-standing experience of human rights activism in Kashmir. He also represents ‘the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered … Read more →
Kashmir from Orient to a State of Exception
[This essay has been published in The Funambulist Issue 8, Nov-Dec 2016] Ather Zia Kashmir, the Orient Historically the global imagination has often reflected on Kashmir, the erstwhile Himalayan kingdom through scenes of colonial idyll, wilderness, and romance. This imagery was fine tuned through works like “Lalla Rookh: An … Read more →
The Farewell Journey
Muzamil Rather “Dapan mujahid che fassith ” (the militants are trapped), somebody shouted, as soon as I stepped out of the main gate of my house to offer the maghrib salah, the news came as a bolt from blue. When I was informed that the three rebels are trapped in … Read more →
Post-Traumatic Hurriyet Disorder
More heads usually means better decisions. When the Hurriyat leaders put theirs together after decades of separation, one thought this basic rule would apply. But as always the Hurriyat leaders proved themselves what they are: a massive disappointment. And these are no ordinary times we are talking about. At one … Read more →
Resistance Poetry in Kashmir
Chinki Sinha My gaze has been silenced, what frenzy is this? – Zarif Ahmed “Zarif”, Kashmiri poet When she was a young girl, she wrote a poem called Laments at Bullet, where she imagined a bullet – as a piece of metal – protesting that it did not want to be … Read more →
End of Journalism
Sheeba Lone Note: This article is the extract of one of the research papers on ‘End of Journalism’recently presented by the author at her University. Journalism entered the twenty – first century caught into a paradox of its own making. We have more news and influential journalism, across an unprecedented range … Read more →
Kashmir Reader and the Journalism of Courage
Rouf Dar, Umar Lateef Misgar & Harun Lone Modern age is defined by media. Every epoch has a certain peculiarity, a marked distinction. The present epoch is characterized by a dominating incision of media and it’s round the clock surveillance of our political and social community. As a matter of … Read more →
Kashmir Reader and the Journalism of Courage
Rouf Dar, Umar Lateef Misgar & Harun Lone Modern age is defined by media. Every epoch has a certain peculiarity, a marked distinction. The present epoch is characterized by a dominating incision of media and it’s round the clock surveillance of our political and social community. As a matter of fact, … Read more →
Is Independent Kashmir Possible?
Bilal Hussain Over the decades, the people of Kashmir have expressed their desire to have an identity, a homeland, and a separate nation, in many forms at multiple times. However, the Indian state has so far successfully been able to convince the global community about the non-viability of an Independent … Read more →
Whose fault is it being a slave?
Muhammad Nadeem He was about to leave with his new cricket bat when his mother reminded him of tomorrow’s History test at school. ‘Tamim, I’ll break your legs if you take one more step towards the door’, his mother gave him the same ineffectual warning again, ‘Get your History textbook … Read more →