Category: Community

Abdul Haq Khan offers to resign if proven corrupt in MGNREGA Scam

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Minister of State for Rural Development Abdul Haq Khan today offered to resign if the allegations of corruption against him were proved right in a Centrally sponsored scheme. He said this in response to the allegations levelled by Congress MLA from Banihal Waqar Rasool Wani over ‘unfairly’ distribution of money to waive the liability under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). As soon as the proceedings of the J&K Legislative Assembly began, Wani raised the issue of Ramban district being ignored financially to wave the MGNREGA liability. “There…

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Not against dialogue, but oppression must end first: Joint Resistance Leadership

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The joint resistance leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Tuesday hit out at the chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, calling her statement that the separatist leadership was “shying away from participating in the dialogue process” as “mischievous and misleading.” “No sane person would oppose a meaningful dialogue process as a means of conflict resolution, especially when the entire nation is reeling under grueling repression and paying so dearly. But the dialogue has to be aimed at that end,” the leaders said in a…

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AI launches Online & Postcard campaign to end use of pellet guns in Kashmir

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Seeking ban on pellet guns, human rights group, Amnesty International India has launched an online and postcard campaign to seek support from people across Jammu and Kashmir with an aim to petition region’s Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti. In a statement, the Amnesty International said that the campaign aims to bring people from across Jammu and Kashmir to write postcards to the state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. “It is shameful that the serious concerns raised repeatedly regarding the use of pellet-firing guns have failed to receive sufficient attention from the state…

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Hangul struggles to survive, count dips to 138

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The only Asiatic survivor of the red deer, hangul is struggling against extinction as the latest census puts the lower limit of its total population at an alarming 138. The latest census carried out by the state’s Department of Wildlife Protection in technical collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India has found grim statistics with no significant improvement in the hangul population. “The population estimate of hangul is 182, with upper and lower limits of 214 and 138, respectively,” the latest census report said. The latest limit is the lowest…

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Kashmir: Where the writing is on downed shutters

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The writing is not just on the wall — but also on the downed shutters of Kashmir. Political scientist Navnita Chadha Behera, with over 25 years of work on the troubled region, believes that to decode Kashmir, you have to start your research afresh every time you are there. Calling the troubled state a steep learning curve , Behera said on her last visit there, she gauged the mood by observing the downed shutters in the Valley. During my last visit, I decided to just walk around and take pictures…

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Army Chief’s prescription reflects RSS thinking: Saifuddin Soz

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Reacting to the army chief’s statement on Kashmir, former union minister and senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz Sunday said it has evoked considerable “alarm” in Kashmir. In a statement issued Soz said, “One does not understand why the General was drawn into making an extremely political and controversial statement which has added a new dimension to the strife in Kashmir,” he said. “Kashmiris have a feeling that the General wants nothing short of the RSS prescription on resolution of the Kashmir problem. The assessment in Kashmir is that he (the…

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People of Kashmir are being forced to pick up gun: Bilal Kawa’s family

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The family and relatives blamed the media for projecting an “innocent civilian” as a “terrorist” and demanded his immediate release. The family members of Bilal Ahmad Kawa ,who was arrested in Delhi in connection with the Red Fort attack case, on Friday termed his arrest illegal and accused police of framing him in a fake case. They also said that he was never absconding and also owns a house in Delhi. The family and relatives blamed the media for projecting an “innocent civilian” as a “terrorist” and demanded his immediate…

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From ‘Brave’ pupil to dead militant, story of a Kashmir teen

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Farhan Wani:  The 16-year-old was killed in a firefight with Indian security forces near Kokernag Last June, Farhan Wani left his house in the village of Khudwani, in south-western Kashmir, to attend his physics tuition class. He never came home — instead, he joined a group of militants fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India. On Tuesday, Farhan, 16, was killed in a firefight with Indian security forces near Kokernag, an hour’s drive from Khudwani. Militants opened fire when police launched a cordon-and-search operation in a forested area, officials told reporters…

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Kashmir much more than conflict: Chitralekha Zutshi

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The Kashmir issue is more than a conflict, said the editor of a book that brings together essays by different people on multiple aspects of both the region and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. “Kashmir is much more than the conflict and this volume aims to understand that,” Chitralekha Zutshi said during the launch of the book ‘Kashmir: History, Politics, Representation’ here on Thursday. The book brings across the limitations of postcolonial nationalism and citizenship as exemplified by the situation in contemporary Kashmir. From Kashmir to Jammu to Pakistan-administered…

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Kangri still keeps Kashmir warm during winter

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Besides woolens, one thing that Kashmiris think of while making preparations for combating the chilling cold of winter is kangri, an earthen bowl encased in an exquisitely woven wicker basket. Kashmir experiences harsh winters, with temperatures as low as -8 degree celsius, but Kashmiris have traditionally used kangri and pheran for fighting against the cold. The kangri, or kanger as it is locally known, is filled with embers and held against the body under a pheran, an overgarment unique to Kashmir, for providing warmth. Kashmiris call the kangri a mobile…

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