Please note that the words in italics belong to Samia Mehraj & and the non-italicised ones to Ifsha Zehra It is 1990, I am not born. Someone peeks through the window of my mother’s house. In the vicinity, suitcases are being quietly packed with the essentials of olden days. Secrets of … Read more →
‘When Kashmir wept, I wrote a poem’ by Premjish
To the Kashmir I’ve never visited, not even in my dreams. I know you will understand, my fear for the uniforms, the masculine parades, the gun holding men who look like Indian gods with elongated genitals, who look like my father with their moustaches, you know I despise my father, … Read more →
Ghazal for February by Ananya Pandey
There is a dog on the road looking up at the city every day With eyes of a poem’s tireless wonder – I too try, every day On Rani Jhansi road, the houses have been half demolished for years Here, construction and livelihoods carry on every day At the chowk … Read more →
For a Child of Kashmir and other poem
Saima Afreen Poem No. 1 | For a Child of Kashmir Child, Look A little paper-boat sways On violet waters Of butchered lullabies On which your mother once put A tiny tear of your dreams And a firefly from her face. Bullets pierce mouth of the molten … Read more →
When the army men hanged my panties, bras on the wall hooks, littered my sanitary pads…
Sara Ahmad In the year 2006, I would always wake up early in the morning to prepare for my competitive exams. I would leave the bed every day at 6 am. Before opening the books, I would lazily stand near the window of my room to see the happenings outside. … 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 →
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 →
Under this Chinar
Nadeem Under this Chinar, where I lay dying—is dead my whole nation. My family and friends and all my dear ones. There, under this Chinar is the unmarked grave of my Shaheed Moul. Under this Chinar, deep there—is sleeping my half widow Mouj. There, buried are the tortured limbs of … 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 →
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 →
At the Park
Tapan Mozumdar At the parkEarly morning,doing my health recovery walkin the neighbourhood park,I chanced upon this child.Safe in his mother’s lapon a newly painted bench,making noisesthat only mothers can understand. After a couple of lapsof my speed walking,I stopped and looked at the child.He, advised by his mother,Waived at me … Read more →
Elegy of a Pellet Victim
Abdul Azeem Now I cannot see the color of my clothes I clad everyday…. Now I cannot see how my brother looks as a groom!!! I find myself in a colorless world, as my eyes have stopped their main work!!! It is because I tilted my tongue for my Basic … Read more →
Kashmir under Curfew
Nusrat Bazaz It is summerMy garden is a riot of coloursSilver dewdrops sparkle on the green carpetAnd tall gladioli stand erectResplendent in red and yellowDemure balsams blush pinkHeads lowered like shy bridesYellow marigolds huddle in a cornerGlittering like the sunFragile spider lilies raise their crimson headsFlanked by tender tendrilsCheery periwinkles … Read more →
To beloved Kashmir
Manisha Manhas My love is betrothed to cloudshe sings of blooming shroudsI see withering vapours in his eyeshe sings of sorrows in snow lit dazzling ice his eyes speak up achings of disfigured blueswatching the nights and their darkest hueshe witnesses burning tulips in the flames of fireand takes me … Read more →
THREE POEMS ON PELLET VICTIMS OF KASHMIR
Muhammad Nadeem VULTURES AND DOVES ALL OVER AGAIN it’s apple seasonDoves are under curfew, againa filthy scenario all aroundfrom all quarters—(leftists, rightists,secularists, nationalists, cynics, critics andcrazed, nihilistic zealots)catch and killin the most highly militarized zone in the worldVultures and Doves all over againbullets, bombs, and bands of cowards hunt in … 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 →
What you need to know about the current crisis in Kashmir
The Daily Vox The situation in Indian-administered Kashmir has worsened in recent weeks. Eighty-two people have people killed in clashes with Indian security forces, while thousands of civilians have been injured. Why the unrest though?Kashmir’s summer of discontent was stirred by the killing of a popular militant, Burhan Wani on 8 July. … Read more →
Poems: Metal of the night and Green lights of the Dawn
Ashfaq Saraf Metal of the night Metal of the night grows heavy with rust when evenings bathe in cold salt of stupor and wishes — those never tried, though, for their hazard. Wearing garments soaked in last decade’s rainfall (some delayed by months and more some early by days flooding … Read more →
Counterpoint: Is it really so difficult to hear what Kashmiris are saying?
Mohammad Junaid Among a series of articles that have been written on the Kashmir uprising of 2016, Chitralekha Zutshi’s piece, “The new wave of anger in Kashmir is not just about poor governance but about preserving an identity“, published recently in Scroll.in, took me by surprise. The author makes two broad … Read more →
From Exile with Love
Poems by Amjad Majid In memory of going to an “Indian passport office” to get a passport: 1. Pehchaan Patr (“Permanent Residential Address:”) They drafted it out From ink and paper Printed and laminated Stamped, notarized, authorized From bureau to bureau From a filing cabinet To stained yellow decrepit bureaucratic … Read more →