Kashmir Halcyon:

I would love to serve my own people and leave no stone unturned: Athar Eight youth from Jammu Kashmir cracked the highly-competitive civil services exams this year. An engineering graduate from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district secured second rank in the prestigious exams. It is only the third time that anyone from Kashmir achieved this feat. This year, Athar Aamirul Shafi Khan from Devipora village joined the ever-growing list of Indian civil services from Jammu Kashmir. In an interview with Rising Kashmir’s Daanish Bin Nabi , he speaks about his life and preparations, and gives out valued advice to aspiring candidates. Excerpts · The only way to crack IAS is hard work · No need for a candidate to be a meritorious · Candidate of any educational background can crack civil services · There is diversity in IAS · You have to convince yourself first, then only can you crack it · I am ready to serve in other states as well · Honesty, dedication and belief i...

Daanish Bin Nabi Writing about Syed Ali Geelani is never easy. Whenever Geelani stoked any issue in the political spectrum of Jammu Kashmir, it spread like wildfire. From opposing Musharraf’s four-point formula (when almost everyone was on Musharaff’s boat) to opposing Sajjad Gani Lone and his lifetime enemy India, Geelani has always stood like a rock, and a beacon of hope for the people of Jammu Kashmir. It is our tragic fate that we may have to see the end of this hope anytime now (Allah knows best). Geelani’s recent heart stroke has again brought to the fore the old question: After Geelani, who? This question has been fervently tossed about some time, and has dominated the opinion pages of newspapers.  Geelani’s all weather Friend Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, Geelani all weather friend, is seen by many as his shadow. Many say Sehrai is tipped to be the next leader of the resistance camp. He does not have unanimous support, though. Not everybody is convinced that ...

Daanish Bin Nabi reports on how the Handwara case is proof that narratives are routinely changed in Kashmir to justify abuse of power Five civilians, including four youth and a 70-year-old lady were killed in the border district of Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, less than a month ago during protests against the Indian Army. As summer once again comes to the now ill-fated valley of Kashmir, the ghosts of violent summers past (2008 and 2010) loom large over it.  Controversy Follows Death On the afternoon of April 12, massive protests erupted in Handwara after an Army Trooper belonging to 21 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) attempted to molest a girl in a public washroom. The students started protesting near the army bunker where the accused trooper had sheltered himself. The police resorted to aerial firing and  lathi  charge, but the angry protestors refused to budge. The Indian Army who has AFSPA for refuge, fired volley of bullets on the protesters resulting in on spo...

Daanish Bin Nabi Cricket wasn’t colorful and vibrant in 1980s, it was plain white clothed men do their bit on our Black & White 12 inches TV screens. So much were people addicted to cricket and team Pakistan that clumsy aluminum TV antennas supported on huge iron poles were put on roof tops to be able to catch a signal from Pakistan. It was snowy and grainy due to poor reception, still people used to tune in. On April 18, 1986, it was the last match with Pakistan chasing India to lift the cup. Javed Miandad was batting, a very eccentric and what would be called a Pakistani hard-line player. The entire play reached its climax to the final ball of the match. It became a symbol, the victory of Pakistan, after Miandad put the ball away for a six. The ball disappeared but the victory bugle sounded for years and even decades, enthusiastically celebrated in Kashmir. Then Jammu was just a small one district town and Kashmir was much bigger than it is today. From then till now the celeb...

Daanish Bin Nabi Almost every attribute has been used to describe Kashmiris, except one. There is one attribute that has either been deliberately omitted or suppressed – the attribute of hypocrisy.   On one hand Kashmiris shout themselves hoarse over Army’s presence in the state and subjection of the people an issue that surfaces in the wake of killings. On the other hand Kashmiris give a darn while associating with the same Army for benefits.  In elections we join the massive election campaigns and vote the politicians to power. In sport, which is cricket, we support team Pakistan, we cheer for Parvez Rasool and his performance in Indian Premier League, but we want India to lose every match, whosoever the opponent be.  Remember what we used to say in the 1990s? “ Azaharuddin gasi century karun magar India gasi harun ” (Azaharuddin should make a century but India should lose). Almost three decades down the line not much has changed, at least not with us – inst...

Daanish Bin Nabi Mehbooba Mufti has made history by becoming the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Born on 22 May 1959 at Akhran, Nowpora in district Anantnag, Mehbooba did her schooling from Presentation Convent Srinagar, graduated from Government College for Women, Parade in Jammu with English literature and then studied law at University of Kashmir. She was married to Javid Ahmed and is mother to two daughters – Irtiqa and Iltija. But her marriage later ran into problems. She shifted to New Delhi in October 1989 and worked with Bombay Mercantile Bank for nearly five years. She also worked with East West Airlines for sometime before moving back to J&K to help her father Mufti Muhammad Sayeed in his political work.  Mehbooba took a plunge into politics in 1996 as a Congress candidate when Government of India decided to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The unassuming, soft-spoken Mehbooba was an unknown face till she filed her nomination...

Daanish Bin Nabi Like the other political dynasties in South Asia, the Muftis have made their mark on the political landscape of Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmir knows two Muftis. The first was the patriarch, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The other is his daughter and political heir, Mehbooba Mufti.  Mufti Sayeed will be remembered by the people as “Delhi’s Man in Kashmir” and the “Healing Touch” leader. His daughter, the dauntless foot soldier of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has come of age to become J&K’s first woman chief minister. This is the story of the woman who donned the green pheran to reach out to soothe the bleeding hearts in Kashmir – from militant-associated families to conflict victims, brutalised by the use of force. Early Life Born (May 22, 1959) at Akhran Nowpora, she went to Srinagar’s Presentation Convent, graduated from state-run Women’s College in Jammu in English literature, and then law, from the University of Kashmir. When Mufti was th...