R L Talashi Kashmiri folk literature is a treasure trove of unwritten socio-cultural history spanning centuries. It is particularly true of our folk songs. These songs depict life in various hues and moods as well as the dark and colourful aspects of the traditional Kashmiri society. Rich in depicting emotions, dreams and miseries, these folk […]
Bilal Bhat My understanding of the world is rather convulsed and complicated. It is because of the difficult conditions I live in. Or more accurately, that I’m forced to live in. For me, dreams began with notions. These notions were created through assumptions and assumptions through tales. I live in a conflict-ridden […]
Srinagar: Pakistan has once again called on the United Nations to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Kashmir, a Pakistani news agency reported today. Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, said that India’s rejection to allow one was in fact acknowledgment of the grave atrocities being committed by its occupation forces, the agency reported. Ambassador […]
Srinagar: A Deputy Superintendent of Police was injured in a stone-pelting incident today at Soura. The Dy SP was identified as Sajad Ahmad who is currently posted in Soura area of Srinagar. Eye-witnesses said that a protest march took out in Anchar, Soura post Friday prayers which was thwarted by the police by firing tear-gas shells. The […]
Srinagar: Authorities today imposed heavy deployment of forces in different parts of Srinagar primarily to thwart pro-freedom post Friday prayers’ gatherings. However, there were no restrictions on civilian movement in various parts of Srinagar. The pro-freedom leaders in their weekly ‘protest calendar’ have asked people of different districts of the Valley to march towards their respective […]
In a long monologue recently delivered by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in the assembly, there were a few words of significant import. Usually Mehbooba’s belaboured statements have little substance but a lot more self-serving rhetoric, self-defence inanities and perpetual references to her late father’s imagined ‘vision’. This statement, made in the context of the alleged […]
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 […]