Mudabbir Ahmad This girl is as wonderfully surprising as her dreams. And immensely inspiring too. How difficult is it to opt for mountaineering expeditions for a Kashmiri girl? I ask Fouzia and she is already ready with an answer. “It is difficult to find acceptance in our society for what I want to do. But […]
The life story of Kashmiri nationalist leader Amanullah Khan, who recently passed away, epitomizes the rise of a territorial Kashmiri nationalism that transcended the parochial idea of an ethnic nationalism tied to Kashmiri language. Amanullah Khan’s nationalism drew upon a progressive Kashmiri Muslim cosmopolitanism and a secular internationalism. His life experiences spanning different cultural regions […]
With each killing at the hands of the Indian state, the people of Kashmir are becoming more resilient and these killings – civilian or otherwise – give them a reason to celebrate martyrdom of their loved ones. In reality, it is the Indian state that needs to be worried because it takes away from Kashmiris […]
That a large number of Kashmiris are involved in spying for the state is a fact all too well known. It is probably ‘normal’ in a place like Kashmir where people see the state as an entity of occupation and the state is constantly looking for collaborators and informers to maintain its writ. The people […]
SAR Geelani’s daughter Nusrat Geelani recalls her ordeal in and out of jail It was the holy month of Ramazan, 13 December 2001 — a day that seemed ordinary, but turned out to be the one that would change our lives forever. We had some relatives visiting us who were to leave for Kashmir next […]
After some 40 days in jail, this man is having his moment with a family reunion that seemed ever so elusive. As he slouches in a sofa, his son and daughter stand behind him clutching his shoulders as if to say, “No, Abbu we won’t let them take you away again.” But Syed Abdul Rehman […]
Imagine this. A nine-year-old girl along with her five-year-old brother are thrown into jail and held captive there. Then one day the door of the dingy room, where they are held, is left open. In the facing room their father, who is also under arrest, is walked in. His body is bruised out of torture. […]
Point The word Mirwaiz is a contraction of two words mir meaning chief and waiz meaning preacher. In Islamic tradition there is no such institution in the strict sense. However, when Hazrat Amir Kabir Mir Syed Ali Hamadani came to Kashmir as supreme daiyee (propounder of the Islamic faith), he […]
When militancy broke out in Kashmir in 1990, it was accompanied by a violent response from the state. These two opposing phenomena set-off new narratives and a new socio-political dynamic. There was a sudden movement: from life to death; from ‘order’ to disorder; from dwelling to displacement; from volume to silence; from calm to commotion; […]
Abductions and killings in fake encounters by state forces in India have been known for a long time. But such grave issues hardly find way in any public debate. The corporate-owned mainstream media also steer clear of such issues because of their largely pro-establishment editorial policies when it comes to […]