Kashmir Halcyon:

Daanish Bin Nabi, tries to understand what made Dr Mohmmad Rafi Bhat turn to violence In the last forty years, Ganderbal in Kashmir has broken peace two times. One, when young Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, the childhood friend of Syed Ali Geelani and the present President of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, contested against the mighty Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1975 elections (during those days, raising voice against the Sheikh mounted to blasphemy, let alone contest  an election against him). Second and the most recent one has been the killing of assistant professor turned militant Dr Mohmmad Rafi Bhat. Barring these two incidents, the district Ganderbal has always been a citadel of pro-India party National Conference (NC). The pro-state sentiment can be gauged from this — there is not a single police, army or any other paramilitary beat, leave alone a full-fledged forces camp in the interiors of the district, a rare sight in Kashmir. But what happened on May 06, 2018, may change the...

Former Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and senior Hurriyat leader,  Prof Abdul Gani   Bhat is open for dialogue with anyone who seeks a permanent solution to Kashmir issue. In an exclusive interview with  Rising Kashmir’s   Oped Editor,  Daanish Bin Nabi ,  he speaks about the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids in Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jammu, and the role of Pakistan in the State. Excerpts How do you view the appointment of New Delhi’s envoy to Kashmir? I don’t want to dig out bones buried yesterday. Occasionally, I feel intrigued when digging graves of yesterday. This question is directly linked to the political thought of New Delhi. The political thought of New Delhi has found an expression in Kashmir. How do Kashmiris take this appointment is a different question. How do Kashmiri politician take it is different. What matters is that unless India and Pakistan start a dialogue, we can reach nowhere....

Daanish Bin Nabi daanishnabi@gmail.com Sanjay Manjrekar, one of India’s finest test batsman, has candidly written about his family and career, especially about the relationship with his father - Vijay Manjrekar. His autobiography “Imperfect” tells it all. Family affair The book opens with author’s personal story about his family and relationship with his father. Sanjay openly writes that how as a child he feared his father because of his irrational behaviour as he could not adjust with life post retirement. One of India’s best test batsman, Vijay Manjrekar died aged 52. The author says that the only thing he remember about his father is – fear. About his mother, Sanjay writes, that she was a pious and religious lady. Sanjay is very lucid in his account. In a no holds barred account Sanjay has opened-up on all front about his life. He has also accepted that he was never interested in cricket but in fame and used his cricketing advantage to get fame. He was always int...

RK@10 Daanish Bin Nabi daanishnabi@gmail.com On March 10, Rising Kashmir completed its 10 eventful years. Being part of the Rising Kashmir family, the day called for celebration as well as reckoning. At the event organized to commemorate 10 years of public interest journalism, distinguished personalities spoke on issues related to journalism, media, reporting and the society as they all exist today. Besides the celebration, we also as journalists took it as an exercise that forced the introspection. It is important for people associated with journalism or any other profession to take a moment to reflect as how things are changing and where we as individuals, the fraternity as a collective group or all of us together as a society are heading towards. As pointed out by the Editor-in-Chief Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari, journalists and media persons in Kashmir have to deal with lot of pressures. The pressure invariably increases from bottom to top. A journalist starting...

Editor's note: The following is an opinion held by the authors of this piece and does not necessarily reflect  Firstpost 's editorial position. How does the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl fit in the BJP's newfound narrative of New India? When we asked the question to those who claim to be belonging to the 'liberal and progressive' tribe, although mindful of the dangerous development, they nonetheless issued their own caveats. "We can omit the word 'Muslim'. The rape and murder of a minor should open our eyes, and it doesn't make any difference if the victim is Muslim, Dalit or Hindu," we were told. Or does it? An 8-year-old girl from Kathua in Jammu was abducted, tortured, raped repeatedly and murdered, and her body was dumped in a forest. She had gone missing on 10 January and her parents had approached the police and filed a missing person report. Her body, bearing torture marks and signs of sexual abuse, was ...