In a detailed interview SAR Geelani spoke to Imran Muzaffar at his residence in New Delhi on Kashmir, his political beliefs, why the state wants to ‘eliminate’ him, his time in jail and a host of other issues The Indian state is against me. It has always been against me. It is not just […]
As the rocking events of the JNU story move out of the news cycle, a stream of sub textual themes is slowly making itself felt. The way the Indian government dealt with slogan-raising students makes a bitter commentary on the Indian state. The slogans may have been unacceptable to most Indians, but they were just […]
‘These curbs could now extend to the classrooms’ What happened on 9 February and onwards does not constitute a crime and in no way sedition. There have been some alleged slogans in bad taste but that should have been dealt with at the internal level. A university is a place where different ideas, opinions and […]
It is never easy to write about a person who is no more. It was never easy to write about Mufti Mohammad Sayeed even when he was living. The man had a method to his brand of politics–leave a wide enough room for ambiguity; never give out your mind on critical issues; keep the folks […]
Acting snobbish after having watched a lot of western art movies, I once superciliously dismissed Bollywood as trash. A very wise friend, a maven of many disciplines, cinema among them, corrected me saying that Bollywood movies were an altogether different genre that should not be judged by the analyses one would apply while appreciating the […]
Nasir Mirza Journalism teacher There are many grey shades in this respect. Mufti’s image was severely dented when he joined hands with BJP. It was like the North Pole joining the South Pole. Power is not the final objective of great leaders. His long cherished dream to be the Chief Minister was not only short […]
Journalist Somebody said this about the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat: He is an enigma, inside a riddle, wrapped in a puzzle. This description exactly befits Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. We could never understand what actually was on his mind when he would speak on a particular issue. He would speak in half sentences. For example, he […]
There has been much debate in the Kashmiri and Indian media about the political legacy of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (1936-2016). Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was never a popular leader in Kashmir except in small pockets which supported the Congress. It is quite likely that Mufti will go down in history as a pro-India Kashmiri politician who […]
I see Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as a very mature and seasoned politician. He conducted politics with ethics and on his own terms. He belonged to that class of politicians for whom politics was a passion rather than a profession. In his individual life as well as political life, honesty was the buzzword. Even after being […]
