Srinagar: Seven years ago, 45-year-old Yasmeen* witnessed the death of her brother, who was caught in a cross-fire between militants and army personnel in Kulgam, 67 km from Srinagar. For years, she was traumatised by the shrieks and the sight of him dying in a pool of blood. She was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorder. “She[Read More...]
How in essence, politics in India has been reduced merely to the battle of perceptions In the India of today what is passed for politics is actually nothing more than the management of perceptions which is being pursued to perfection in Kashmir. Here it is sheer rancour, malice and malevolence towards this place and its people that define how[Read More...]
On 5th August 2019, through the Presidential ordinance the Article 370, giving autonomy to Kashmir was abolished. This article was the basis of Kashmir’s accession to India and it gave autonomy to Kashmir in all matters except defense, communication, currency and external affairs. Following this there was a suspension of most of the democratic rights; internet services were suspended and[Read More...]
Press TV – June 30, 2021 United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced grave concerns about human rights violations against children in the Indian-administered Kashmir. “I call upon the [Indian] government to take preventive measures to protect children, including by ending the use of pellets against children, ensuring that children are not associated in […]
What we are witnessing in Bengal today reminds us of the saying: `It takes two to tango’, implying that in a dispute it is not one alone, but the other is also responsible. During the electoral campaign in the state, the Trinamul Congress (TMC) chief minister Mamata Banerjee coined the slogan: ‘Khela Hobey’ (It will be a game). Her rival[Read More...]
Western governments and media unrelentingly criticise China for the persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, but there is scarcely a mention of the repression of Kashmiri Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Whenever and wherever there is a discourse on the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir, everyone attempts to present this dispute with their spin. India and Pakistan narrate this conflict following their national policies, but how unfortunate that some Kashmiris who, far from the truth, repeat cliché, blame each other or the whole Kashmiri leadership for the current turmoil. Every[Read More...]
I have never overcome the nightmare of those scenes of the early 1990s when the Indian soldiers had laid pre-dawn siege to our neighbourhood one day. The soldiers had their fingers on triggers ready to shoot anybody not following their orders. Our house, which was in the lap of a green pasture, was surrounded by countless soldiers. More military convoys[Read More...]
While Imran Khan’s recent speech in Kotli has caused quite a rouse in some political circles in Pakistan, most Kashmiris living across the Line of Control have again pinned their hopes that Pakistan will never back down in helping them to achieve their complete independence from both the countries. Addressing a huge rally in ‘Azad Kashmir’ on the occasion of[Read More...]
In the Himalayan valley of Kashmir, the year 2021 was greeted by one of the heaviest snowfalls in the last 10 years in terms of snow depth accumulated during January 3 and 6. The highest accumulation of 4.49 ft was recorded at Qazigund, a highway town, 73 km south of the capital city of Srinagar, followed by 3.13 ft at[Read More...]
