Articles Archives | Page 7 of 51

Kashmir the epicenter of Depression

January 5, 2022 Editor

By: Azhar U Din Among every five people in Kashmir, one shows symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (IMHANS). Kashmir has been entitled as “the saddest place in the world” by psychiatrist Dr. Arshad Hussain. It is not easy to live in Kashmir, for in Kashmir everyone is vulnerable to disasters at every time. Ages-long political turmoil, sky-high unemployment rate, earthquakes, floods, avalanches make this beautiful place a living hell for the local residents. “When elephants fight, it is the grass…

How the Article 370 Move, India-China Tensions and Erasure Politics altered Kashmir Forever

December 27, 2021 Editor

Sumantra Bose’s ‘Kashmir at the Crossroads’ is an insightful and fascinating narrative that has succeeded in keeping the focus on the people of Jammu and Kashmir, notably those in the Valley. Kapil Kak In his preface to the 1997 book, The Challenge in Kashmir: Democracy, Self Determination, and a Just Peace, Sumantra Bose, the well-known academic and expert on the Kashmir conflict, raises the question: “Why another book on the conflict in and over Kashmir? Hasn’t the vexed topic been flogged to death already?” And then, unsurprisingly, given his deep…

J&K HC Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal makes controversial remarks at RSS-Linked body’s event

December 9, 2021 Editor

Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal said that the inclusion of the terms “secular” and “socialist” in the Preamble of the constitution had “narrowed” India’s “spiritual image”. Jehangir Ali The presence of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal at a seminar organised by an outfit linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), where he said that the inclusion of the terms “secular” and “socialist” in the Preamble of the constitution had “narrowed” India’s “spiritual image” has triggered controversy. The controversy erupted after Chief Justice Mithal delivered…

Kashmir: Then, and Now

December 6, 2021 Editor

Seven decades of transformations in Kashmir Valley through the eyes of a frequent visitor By: Dr. Upendra Kaul I have been traveling to Srinagar, Kashmir from Delhi very often since my childhood with a lot of sensitiveness and love for the place. My homeland, the beautiful and fragrant valley, whose inhabitants used to be always smiling, hospitable, cordial, sympathetic, and religiously tolerant are not the same today. I have spent a large part of my life in Delhi because my parents moved to Delhi in 1948 for economic reasons and…

Kangri & Pheran during winters in Kashmir

December 4, 2021December 4, 2021 Editor

Kangri is proving to be the most effective for combating cold. Kashmiri people have been using Kangri for centuries, Kangri literally means earthen hearth or fireplace By: Feroz Ahmad Climate change is a natural process and the whole world is aware of this process. Seasons change all over the world. Each season has its own importance and usefulness. The importance of spring, summer, autumn, winter, any season can not be denied. Although winter brings the gift of winter everywhere, winter has a special significance and uniqueness in Kashmir. Kashmir gets…

Lolab: Home to ancient springs

December 3, 2021 Editor

By: Jahangir Sofi One of the greatest poets, Allam Iqbal describes the beauty of the Lolab Valley, in one of his dedicated poems to the valley. He wrote: Pani Tere Chashmon Ka Tarapta Huwa Simaab, Murghan-E-Sahar Teri Fazaon Mein Hain Betaab, Ae Wadi-e-Lolab! Your springs and lakes with water pulsating and quivering like quicksilver, the morning birds fluttering about the sky, agitated and in turmoil, O Valley of Lolab! The government may have identified the ‘Lolab’ among the 75 lesser-known destinations for bringing it to the tourism map but, the…

Ghosts of graveyard: Where does Kashmir’s dead go?

November 26, 2021 Editor

Fahad Shah Kashmir is plunging into an uneasy silence, the blood is flowing on the streets, but the dead are missing. The graves dug near homes by fathers still lie empty, covered in dirt. “My son is 3-year-old; am I raising him to be killed in a gunfight?” asks a distraught mother. A sister sits by the window in Sopore, waiting for her brother who never returned home. Not even in death. Amid cries, a testament of mourning is missing. Where does Kashmir’s dead go? Among other areas, we found…

Dotted with Security Bunkers & Frisking Points, Kashmir has ‘Returned to the Nineties’

November 16, 2021 Editor

Locals, political observers, and opposition parties say that the increased presence of security forces is disrupting lives and fuelling resentment By: Auqib Javeed When 65-year-old Mohammad Ramzan was recently passing through the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar—the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, he witnessed the “return of the nineties” in Kashmir. “Stop and check” by security forces was routine back then when armed insurgency was on the rise in the valley. Ramzan, a businessman from the Bandipora area of North Kashmir, remembers people standing in long queues with hands…

Versatile Women’s of Modern Era

November 14, 2021November 14, 2021 Editor

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life “ (Mohammad Ali) By: Aubaid Ahmed Akhoon Human life in the world is as much dependent on women as it is on men, while naturally, women are handling the most important affairs of creation such as birth and training of children. There are many such talented and enthusiastic women in the Kashmir Valley in sports. Somewhere they face a lack of basic amenities and their work is not appreciated in government and public circles. Speaking of…

Throttling the press in J&K

October 11, 2021 Editor

By: Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami By denying the media freedom, the government is building its own narrative and providing space for fake news A major casualty of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, has been press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This has led to the problem of disinformation and is causing great anxiety in the region. The feeling of alienation in the Kashmir Valley is inimical to the national interest besides the interests of Kashmiris. Historically, the press in J&K used to highlight democratic, anti-feudal and…