Figures reveal that the state loses around Rs 130 crore everyday during any strike or curfew Junaid Kathju As a cub reporter, out of sheer curiosity, I once asked ageing Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani, what have we achieved by observing hartal for so many years? Frail yet unrelenting, he replied, if you have a better option, please tell me. I was dumbstruck. On October 16, 2016, the current unrest in Kashmir registered the longest ever continuous hartal of 100 days, to once again remind people in the power…
Read MoreCategory: Articles
Articles
Calendar-ising Kashmir
This week-by-week validity is making us invalid AJAZ UL HAQUE Every new protest calendar looks like a `recharge pack’ fed to us before the old one expires. Every seven days our validity as occupation-resisting people is renewed. And here we are – into the fourth month of this back-to-back scheme of calendars. Once again we are experiencing a `calendar-isation’ of our existence as a nation. We are riding a racehorse – a wild racehorse. We don’t control it, it controls us. Our hands don’t hold the reins and our feet…
Read MoreThe land of Kashmir is with us but the people of Kashmir are not with us: Santosh Bhartiya to Modi
Dearest Modiji: This is the truth about Kashmir The land of Kashmir is with us but the people of Kashmir are not with us Santosh Bhartiya I just returned from Jammu Kashmir. I was there for four days; hence I thought to make you aware of the real situation in Kashmir. As a matter of fact, getting the reply of letters by PMO is not in culture these days as per your colleagues, but even then I take a chance to write this letter to you, not wishing your reply…
Read MoreThe 100 day’s “Message”!
The longest mass uprising in Kashmir has conveyed a definite “Message” to New Delhi and to the World at large! M.Ashraf The mass uprising which was triggered by the killing of Burhan Wani has already crossed 100 days. The uprising had resulted in total shutdown throughout the valley with massive protest marches. To prevent the marches and public meetings for “Azadi”, the government came down harshly on the marchers resulting in clashes all over the valley. Most brutal and harsh methods were used to quell the marches. Pellet guns, tear…
Read MoreIs there a Government in Kashmir now?
Professor Rattan Lal Hangloo When day in day out the story of contemporary Kashmir is displayed by electronic and print media to the rest of the world, one is bound to ask oneself if there is any state or government functioning in Kashmir region. In mainland India democracy, global networks, world economy and above all digital world is talk of the day yet there is a region so neglected from all these things for past few months. Imagine life without emails and mobile connectivity in the main land India but…
Read MoreHow Kashmir has risen up against the state in one of its most intense uprisings
Fahad Shah After a long day of strict curfew on 15 August, Independence Day, 15-year old Yasir Salaam Sheikh walked out of his dense neighborhood in Srinagar’s Batmaloo area towards the main road, only to find a group of youth demonstrating against India. Within half an hour, the demonstration was countered by government forces, who fired tear gas shells, pellets and bullets. Sheikh was shot in the chest. He died, while his father Abdul Salaam Sheikh, 52, was told that his son was injured by pellets. It was only when…
Read MoreKashmir’s High Price for Demanding Independence
Tariq Mir At his home in Baramulla, in Indian-administered Kashmir, my father tuned his old Philips radio to Radio Pakistan. The people of Kashmir turn to the station in moments of despair or distress, of which there is no shortage. It was early July, and a gentle voice came on: the crescent moon had been seen and therefore the festival of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, would be celebrated in Pakistan on Wednesday, July 6. Across the eastern border in India, no one had caught sight of the…
Read MoreKashmir Issue and Relevance of UNO
UN has failed to play a constructive role in pushing for a peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue Samir Ahmad Thus began the modern epoch, almost hundred years ago. The valiant upsurge which characterized the so-called civilized era in 20th century in the shape of World War I and II, and unsatiated thirst for the world gains even at the cost of human lives is still looming large over the mankind. It was death and destruction, psychological and emotional disintegration and the shaky human psyche which the World War I and…
Read MoreKashmir’s Political Vultures!
Mohammad Ashraf A general observation made by most of the Kashmir watchers is that there has so far been no sincere and upright leader who could lead the people to salvation. Since 1586 the country of Kashmir has been under the occupation of outsiders who took turns in capturing it one after the other. After Mughals came the Afghans. Then came the Sikhs and finally, the Dogras purchased it from the British for a paltry sum of rupees seventy five lakhs along with its inhabitants. All the foreign rulers oppressed…
Read MoreThe Curfewed Eid of Kashmir
Putting the entire valley of Kashmir under curfew on the most important Muslim religious festival of Eid-ul-Adha is the first event of its kind in the entire recorded history of Kashmir! M Ashraf Eid-ul-Adah is the most pious and revered festival in the Muslim world. It is in remembrance to the symbolic sacrifice which God asked Prophet Ibrahim to offer. Well, Kashmiris too have offered a similar symbolic sacrifice for their cause on this occasion. Kashmir has seen many periods of extreme suppression during its history of last four centuries.…
Read More
