Grow up please!
“India cannot have talks with Pakistan unless it stops cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.” This is a line that India has repeated without miss for the past many years. Past week too in the wake of agreement to put through Kartarpur Corridor, India spurned Pakistan’s latest offer for talks with the same line — […]
Why this discrimination?
With each passing day the situation in Kashmir seems to be going from bad to worse. The public anger is touching unprecedented levels and it continues to spill over on the roads and streets every now and then over slightest of pretexts. All that the people of Kashmir have got so far is just promises […]
Popular cynicism
The official assertions often want us to think of the political traditions and concepts of democracy and citizenship in Jammu and Kashmir same as shared among other states in the Indian mainland. But as the events of Kashmir’s history would indicate – especially the difficulty with which common masses are attempting to reclaim their right […]
Wasting precious land
The J&K High Court has made it clear more than once that violation of its orders vis-à-vis putting an end to the constructions in arable agrarian land won’t be tolerated, and that on case of any violations the Divisional Commissioner would be held personally responsible. But despite such directions, conversion of agricultural land into concrete […]
Talk they will have to …
For the past couple of years almost on every single day we have seen India and Pakistan accuse each-other of ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak international border as well as the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. While India accuses Pakistan of resorting to firing and mortar shelling in order to “facilitate infiltration […]
Unplanned constructions!
Of the many developments that have become a fad thing here is the mushroom growth of residential colonies, shopping malls and other such business centres. As has always been the case with most of things, this sector too is growing in the most unplanned manner. And this is indeed where the biggest worry lies. The […]
Transport mess
The transporters here are seemingly in no mood to run their services after it gets dark here, which leaves the ordinary people high and dry in the absence of buses and cabs to take them to places. However, completely unmindful of the problems faced by the people on transport front, the concerned government agencies are […]
Conflict-sensitive policy
Subjectivities that define and determine ‘good’ and ‘bad’ differently for different people are very much there defining almost everything prefixed or suffixed by these adjectives. No wonder everything labeled as good or bad automatically becomes the focus of debate and controversy. There are some broader elements and factors that can be weighed against certain general […]
Unreliable highway
The recurring closure of Jammu-Srinagar national highway, particularly during the winter months is a sad old commentary on the affairs of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. While day-in and day-out tall claims are made suggesting that the state was not far behind other states, a slight drizzle and a mild snowfall throws everything out […]
Lack of unanimity
The lack of unity and unanimity of thought and action among the Kashmiri leadership has been there all along. This has always been taken as a given by everybody, including even New Delhi. This is perhaps why even ‘symbolic’ political unanimity originating in the Valley would come as such a shocker to the Centre that […]
