For the first time since 1990, the anger in Kashmir and support for azadi from India is stretched across society in the Valley. By Prem Shankar Jha Srinagar airport felt normal when eight of us – journalists and social activists – arrived on August 18. Planes were flying into the airport every hour from different parts of India. Bags came onto the conveyor belts with commendable speed and taxi drivers were waiting outside the exit to solicit passengers. But the normalcy was deceptive. My return ticket to Srinagar had cost me only Rs…
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Articles
Burhan Wani and the Power of the Internet misread in Kashmir
Derek O’Brien Years ago I read a definition of the difference between a nationalist and patriot. The nationalist loves his country, the patriot loves the people of his country. This one-liner came back to me recently as I considered the volatile and worrying situation in the Kashmir Valley, and how some people in India, on social media and on prime-time shows and in real life as well, unfortunately, seem to make a distinction between Kashmir, the land and Kashmiris, the people. As if the first is all-important to India and…
Read MoreKashmir; Controlled but Never Owned
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, most popular and acknowledged leader of his time, was quite influenced and inspired by the way India was going to emerge after its independence – democratic, socialist and secular; country with a hope for its poor and downtrodden sections of the society, constitutional guarantee of fundamental rights to its citizens. While Indian National Congress (INC) represented all segments of the population, the elite, working class, farmers and artisans, in contrast to Muslim League constituted mostly by the elites of the Indian Muslim society. Thus, Sheikh Abdullah must…
Read MoreA season of loss in Kashmir
Why is it that the deaths in Kashmir, and the blinding of more than 100 people are never referred to in the media or in drawing rooms as the death and injury of Indians? For days after the killing of Burhan Wani, every TV channel rang with acrimonious debate. Wani was described by India as a terrorist and by Pakistan as a martyr. The media resounded to argument and indignation. The number of dead and injured continued to rise relentlessly. Among the earliest to be killed was Yasmina of a…
Read More“Cries from a Bleeding Kashmir”
By Dr. Ahmed I am just returning from Kashmir and was forced to rush to the Srinagar airport at 4:30 am to escape the agitated masses and stone pelters wreaking havoc during daylight hours. I still have vivid memories of stone pelters and anarchists roaming the streets, running amok, smashing cars, intimidating shopkeepers, and distributing posters threatening people who do not follow their decree. Watching the death and destruction from both inside and outside of the valley, I would not forgive myself if I did not speak the bitter truth…
Read MoreWrath of Kashmir
The anger in the streets of Kashmir is not about economic stagnation or unemployment; it is about the people’s aspiration to live a life of dignity. It is high time New Delhi woke up to the reality. By Shujaat Bukhari The current phase of unrest in Kashmir, which began on July 8 with the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, is a replay of what happened in 2008 and 2010. At the time of writing this report, 55 people have lost their lives and 5,000 injured, which makes…
Read MoreStone rage in Kashmir
GoI is not interested to look into the root of present uprising instead GoI is inclined to push all Kashmiris to the wall Mohammad Muzaffar Thakur Parliament is the supreme representative body in our country where Kashmir unrest was also discussed recently. All the opposition members in once voice criticized the excessive use of force and impressed upon the government to exercise restrain while dealing with the situation. The members also impressed up the Government to stop the use of pellet guns. Few days later Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited…
Read MoreKashmir’s women rulers
M Ashraf Pandit Kalhana in Rajatarangini, his treatise on the Kashmiri Kings from the ancient times, which was written in twelfth century AD mentions about some of the women rulers of Kashmir. The most famous ruler has been Rani Didda who ruled for 40 years from 958 to 1003 AD. She is supposed to have been physically disabled, clever, manipulative, and ruthless. Her rule represents the peak of women power in Kashmir. She has been called the Catherine of Kashmir like the Catherine of Russia who was ruthless and ruled…
Read MoreCome to Kashmir, the Valley of Roses, Apple Trees and Corpses
Generation after generation in Kashmir are crushed in slow motion, and the longings of a people are inscribed on the scars and burns of their young. Shama Naqushbandi A man rows his boat in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Credit: Reuters I have been visiting Kashmir since my childhood. Over the years, the valley has taught me many hard lessons about the world. With my early trips to Kashmir, the terrain between history and reality blurred. It was the first time I realised that tragedy was not a foreign country. Its proximity was…
Read MoreOpen Letter to the People of India from Bleeding Kashmir
Dear People of India Greetings! I am sure that your collective conscience is yet to be satisfied. I am not Syria. I am not Palestine. I am not Gaza either. God has made me “Paradise on Earth”. But now I am as good as living hell. I am an untold story. I am bleeding land being brutally and illegally occupied by your nation which uses its military power to suppress the voice of freedom of my people. They have already killed tens of thousands of my innocent sons. The cheapest…
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