Category: Articles

Articles

Can Mehbooba be the Indira Gandhi of Kashmir?

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Daanish Bin Nabi The life and times of Nehru-Indira and Mufti-Mehbooba appear to bear likeness in many ways. Indira was shadow of her father from mid-1930s till Nehru breathed his last. Indira learnt every trick and trade of politics from her father. When Nehru was ill there were talks on who was going to replace Nehru after he is gone. Speculations were rife that Indira would take over Nehru once he escapes the political landscape. However, Indira did not and waited for appropriate time to do so. She went on…

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No Kashmir, no Kashmiris!

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Ghulam Nabi Khayal Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden air dash to Lahore on December 25 took even his own India by surprise. This was indeed a great gesture of mutual understanding demonstrated by Modi, earning laurels for himself as a seasoned statesman and capable of any action he intends to take in a larger interest. The wisdom demands that one should read much more beyond Modi having lunch with daal, saag, Kashmiri tea, his touching feet of Nawaz Sharif’s mother or Nawaz donning Modi’s present, a pink turban. By and…

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Modi: Reducing the Art of Diplomacy to What Matters Most

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Modi: Reducing the Art of Diplomacy to What Matters Most Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai                             December 30, 2015 “The most difficult thing in any negotiation, almost, is making sure that you strip it of the emotion and deal with the facts.” SenatorHoward Baker There’s a lot to be surprised about in the recent visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lahore.  The summer-long problems at Kashmir’s Cease-fire Line, persistent efforts by the BJP to usurp political…

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VDCs: The new Ikhwan

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The Village Defense Committees (VDCs) were set up in 1995 to fight the militancy in Jammu Kashmir. Under this strategy, the civilians, preferably, notorious hooligans and habitual offenders were armed. The government gave the justification that VDC will assist the government forces in counterinsurgency operations. VDC is a mercenary group armed, organised, and funded by the State government. In April 2013, the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the Jammu Kashmir legislative assembly that “26567 persons were working with the VDCs in 10 districts of Jammu division and Leh district…

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Kashmir: Tales of unfinished probes and denial of justice

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Justice continues to be a casualty in strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir, thanks to incomplete and abandoned probes into major political ‘mishaps’ and rights abuses. According to human rights defenders, the probes into political ‘mishaps’ and rights abuses in the state are ordered “only to quell public anger.” Noted human rights defender, Advocate Parvez Imroz, believes the Government of India has “hampered the criminal justice system by its overt and covert operations.” It’s believed that the “Institutional Denial of Justice’ in Jammu and Kashmir started way back in 1963 when Jawaharlal…

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Redeeming for lost Pride of Kashmiri Pandits

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Recently I read a story about a teenage boy who was complaining his mother about the way he had been ridiculed among his peers and friends. His friends were taunting and making of fun him. Reason being he did not know about his aboriginal place, his family history and was unable to converse in his mother tongue. That narrative was about a young boy belonging to an indigenous tribe in Papua-New Guinea. He had been adopted by the Christian family and taken away from his ancestral village to New Zealand. He had…

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Milad Processions in Kashmir

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How the political history of modern Kashmir is suffused with a purely religious event Zahir-ud-Din The Milad processions have played a significant role in Kashmir politics since Sher-e-Kashmir’s times. The processions helped him mobalise people.  He would lead the procession every year and recite naa’ts in his melodious voice. His naa’ts evoked massive response from the people and added to his popularity. He continued to take out processions for some years after converting Muslim Conference into National Conference. However, he had to abandon the practice following severe criticism from the…

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Why use Meadows for Artillery drills!

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Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat Around two years back extension of lease agreement between Jammu & Kashmir Government and Army for Tosamaidan filed firing range had created lot of tension and disturbance in Kashmir. The move was being resisted not only by the villagers surrounding Tosamaidan meadow but people in general were against the lease extension. Kashmir based Civil society organizations, political parties, writers, elected panchayat representatives, NGOs, tour and travel associations and many more groups had continuously lodged their protest against using Tosamaidan as a filed firing range. The sustained…

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Aar paar autonomy for Kashmir

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Shahnawaz Gul Advocates of Aar paar (both sides) autonomy will have to educate the groups from all sides that the concept is to accommodate and not alienate them. Aar paar autonomy needs to be presented and pitched as a win-win situation for all. It is also an imperative for the conflict resolution process. Aar paar autonomy means autonomy given to both the parts of Kashmir. Autonomy, as a compromise solution, provides for the possibility to share sovereignty between the states and sub state regions with unique history and geographical proximity.…

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Leave it Mufti sahib!

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Ghulam Nabi Khayal It is high time that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed now save his bruised skin from more bites being inflicted upon him by snakes he has been feeding with sweet milk for about a year now. His hugging the communal political organisation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a born enemy of Kashmiri Muslims and patron and mentor of Kashmiri Hindus, has given this veteran Kashmir politician nothing except unrest and mental disturbance out of this dangerous accord between a liberal regional organization and a pack of unbridled deadly…

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