Media Impact

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Today’s world is Global Village courtesy media.Media is termed as the fourth estate of a democratic setup. Today impact of media has become debatable issue. We often hear that the media has an appalling influence on society.   This is true in some cases, but we have to also add this to the statement; society also influences the media by what it chooses to promote or watch.   Media is a very important part of society today.   Even with its adverse effects, we could not survive without it.

To start with, it is only fair to ask why society thrives off the media.   Society, at least the past few generations have always had an influence from media in some form or another.   Media in most circumstances is a way for the members of society to keep themselves informed on what is happening around them, which is even more vital with our world becoming globally connected.   Media is also a major source of entertainment.   Some forms of media are made for the sole purpose of entertaining the masses.   However, the media is forced to produce entertainment that the society requests.

On the otherhand, Media has a very significant impact on the society by acting as a bridge between administration and people. It plays a crucial role in highlighting the plight of oppressed masses, but is also said to have imparted some negative effects on the society which mainly include-Desensitization of society, general sense of panic and disorder, disconnection from God and morals, loss of imagination, and an excuse for laziness.   Studies have found that by the age of sixteen years, most children have watched more television than they have spent time in school. The media has also been alleged of promoting vulgarity at some instances. The media on a holistic base has imparted both positives as well as negatives into our social set up.

End of an ERA

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News Kashmir special

With the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on 7 th January 2016 marks an end of political era for the Jammu and Kashmir state. He left a noted impression on the political spectrum of the state via his political skills and knowledge. Pertinently  on 24th December, the 79 year-old leader was airlifted to AIIMS in the national capital from Srinagar after he complained of exhaustion.

 

 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was born in Baba Mohallah at Bijbehara in January 12, 1936. Having graduated from S.P. College in Srinagar, he went on to obtain a degree in law, and a post-graduate degree in Arab History from Aligarh Muslim University. He started a law practice in Anantnag / Islamabad.

 

Pertinently  since childhood days   Mufti Sayeed was interested in the world of politics as he in 1950s, had joined the Democratic National Conference (DNC) led by G.M.Sadiq. He was appointed district convener of the new organisation, the first formal post he held.

 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was elected to the Assembly from Bijbehara in 1962, and retained the seat in 1967.

 

As a result, he was appointed a Deputy Minister by G.M. Sadiq. In 1972, he became a Cabinet Minster and also Congress party’s leader in the Legislative Council.

 

In 1975 he was made the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and president of Pradesh Congress. In 1986, he was appointed as the Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He quit as tourism minister in 1987, left the Congress and co-founded Jan Morcha with V.P. Singh. In1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh as a Janata Dal candidate and became the Union Home Minister in Prime Minister V.P. Singh’s cabinet. He achieved the distinction of being the First Muslim Home Minister of the country . However, saw his image dented to an extent when the  government headed by V P Singh accepted the demand by a militant group that five of their men be set free in exchange for release of kidnapped Rubaiya, one of his three daughters.

 

After national stint Mufti Sayeed focused on local politics once again. In 1998, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed won the Anantnag / Islamabad Lok Sabha seat, but soon resigned from both his position and the Congress party to launch his own party Peoples Democratic Party in the state. He was unanimously elected the first president of the party.

 

PDP participated in 2002 assembly election and went on to form a coalition government with Indian National Congress.

 

In 2002, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for a term of three year and in 2015 surprising all he formed alliance with BJP.

Political Highlight

During his more than 5 decade long political career, Politically, the highlight of Mufti Sayeed’s career is that he stood firm against the Abdullah family’s and the NC Party exclusive dominance over the Jammu and Kashmir’s politics. He had opposed the Rajiv-Farooq accord through which the Congress forced an NC-Congress alliance in 1986 – with catastrophic consequences, including the ham-handed rigging of the 1987 elections. Without a hint of ambiguity he would  have obtained a senior ministerial position for himself in the state if he had fallen in line. But he took the much tougher decision at that juncture of the history and it was to leave the party with which he had been associated since his youth.

 

Noted Obituaries

As the news of death reached the online world as well as the real world got filled with tributes and even rivals cutting across political divide paid tribute.

“Mufti Sahab’s demise leaves a huge void in the nation & in J&K, where his exemplary leadership had a major impact on people’s lives. RIP. What stood out about Mufti Sahab was his statesmanship. In his long political journey he won many admirers across the political spectrum. Mufti Sahab provided a healing touch to J&K through his leadership. He will be missed by all of us. Condolences to his family & supporters.”

Narendra Modi (Prime Minister)

 

Heartfelt condolences on the passing away of J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

Pranab Mukherjee (President)

 

Deeply pained to learn of J&K CM’s demise.He was known for his love for common people, specially the underprivileged.

Rajnath Singh (Home Minister)

 

Deeply saddened by the demise of Mufti Sahab, he was a rare politician. My condolences to his family & supporters in this hour of grief.

Amit Shah (BJP President)

Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Dr Molvi Muhammad Umar Farooq has also condoled the demise of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

“Condolences on the demise of Mufti Mohammad Syed, express my sympathy with the bereaved family,” Mirwaiz said in a tweet.

On the otherhand, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani condoled the demise of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

In a statement issued  the octogenarian leader expressed sympathy with the family of Sayeed, who passed away early morning today at AIIMS in New Delhi.

“Death is an ultimate truth. Whether one is a king or a commoner, everyone has to die,” Geelani was quoted as saying in the statement. “Every death is a lesson for a wise human being and a reminder that his name should be remembered for good even after his death.”

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed his shock and sympathy at the demise.“Just heard the terrible terrible news of Mufti Sahib’s passing away. I’m shocked & deeply saddened. May he rest in peace,” tweeted Abdullah.

“My heartfelt sympathies to Mrs Syed, Mehbooba & the entire family in this most difficult of times. My & my family’s prayers are with them,” he added.

 

 

 

Conclusion

Under the  visionary leadership of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed  PDP has now emerged as a dominant force in Jammu & Kashmir politics and is considered a strong political force and contributions of Mufti Sayeed in this regard stand out.

Be it political, negotiating, diplomatic, building grassroots, bold decisions and above all maturity Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had all of them and logically the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir will miss him . From an simple  lawyer to becoming the only Muslim Home Minister New Delhi has seen so far was an achievement in itself . Mufti Mohammad Sayeed carved a unique position for himself in national and Jammu and Kashmir politics. This demise definitely marks an End of an Era.

 

2016 HOPES

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2016 has dawned and It’s the time to retrospect the year that was and set goals for future.

2016 (MMXVI) will be a leap year starting on Friday (dominical letter CB) of the Gregorian calendar, the 2016th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 16th year of the 3rd millennium, the 16th year of the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2010s decade.

2016 has been designated as the International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

All sane humans are hoping that wars, civil wars that have pained this planet earth and we are seeing lot of bloodshed will come to end in year 2016 and better sense would prevail among all parties of conflict will use better brains in 2016  to solve their disputes via dialogue.

In Kashmir too masses who have been hit very hard by the lingering political conflict and violence due to it are highly hopeful that Kashmir in 2016 will see an end to mad cycle of violence and disputes would be solved amicably.

Kashmir’s health and education sector has been constant worry for masses.The public health sector of the Jammu & Kashmir state especially that of the Kashmir Valley is in utter crisis. The hopeless scenario pertaining to health sector calls for the implementation of drastic measures.  . We confront to face problems on the all important education sector of ours. The poor and dismal performance of government schools despite being staffed with sufficient manpower and quality aptly describe the status of our education system.

One hopes in year 2016 the health and education sector would improve. Above all we are hopeful that world will be a better place to live in 2016.

Gasping for Breath

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News Kashmir Exclusive

Health sector, which is one of the main indicators of the development of any concerned nation, society or region has always presented bleak picture in Kashmir. Ventilators are key component of any concerned health sector. A medical ventilator (or simply ventilator in context) is a machine designed to mechanically move breathable air into and out of the lungs, to provide the mechanism of breathing for a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.

 

While modern ventilators are computerized machines, patients can be ventilated with a bag valve mask,

 

a simple hand-operated bag-valve mask. Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive care medicine, home care, and emergency medicine (as standalone units) and in anesthesia (as a component of an anesthesia

machine).

 

When one takes a look at availability of ventilators in the Kashmir hospitals it provides dismal picture. Even the prime public hospitals in Kashmir are failing to have the desired number of ventilators. The lone pediatric hospital of Valley, GB Pant, too faces the shortage of ventilators. There are only 18 functional ventilators. Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, Srinagar has only 12 functional ventilators

Dr Nasir –ul- Hassan , Doctors Association Kashmir President , while talking to News Kashmir stated -” Ventilators are key to every health sector in the world. Ventilators have a key role in saving human lives everywhere but be it tertiary or peripheral hospitals ventilators are in very short supply in Kashmir .SKIMS with just more than two dozen ventilators and SMHS has just a dozen odd ventilators and rural hospitals are having no concept of ventilators at all. Our patients are dying for the want of ventilators as basically all critical patients need ventilator support .We are building big hospitals which I prefer to call recreational centres as they are not able to save patients and are just feeding employees. Ventilator related paradigms need a big overhaul if we want to achieve desired excellence in the health sector.”

A look at emergency of the most of the rural hospitals is enough to prove the sick nature of hospitals. Ironically, the crucial department like emergency is marred by widespread chaos and huge flow of patients. Virtually, the all important ventilators are nonexistent in our rural hospitals . Worryingly enough, there is no concept of ventilators in rural healthcare of Kashmir.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior Doctor at Bandipora District Hospital stated – ” Lack of ventilators is direly marring the health sector of Kashmir and it is the patients who are at the receiving end of all this .We have just one ventilator at Bandipora Hospital and this shabby condition especially with reference to poor availability of ventilators in our health sector is a big drawback in our health sector .”

There should be five ventilators for 100 beds and no hospitals in our part of the world are matching this set criteria. Experts and masses are urging on the government to improve the healthcare facilities in Kashmir and in this regard increasing the number of ventilators and providing every hospital with ventilator is the need of hour.

C-section in Kashmir crosses Dangerous Thresholds

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Rameez Makhdoomi

 

Caesarean section rates in the maternity hospitals of Kashmir have witnessed an abnormal rise over the considerable period of time. The harmful effects of caesarean section rates on maternal and newborn have been found by research .  According to research ,Caesarean sections can cause significant complications, disability or death, particularly in settings that lack the facilities to conduct safe surgeries or treat potential complications.

Statistics with reference to deliveries at Kashmir’s largest Maternity Institute, Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar clearly point out an increase in the rate of caesareans. In a decade, the percentage share of Caesarean Sections in deliveries has risen from 45 to 60 percentile.

At G B pant hospital  in the year 2014-15 more than 70  percent women have undergone Caesarean Section .Even in private hospitals of Kashmir 75 to 80 percent deliveries take place by caesarean section only. This high percentage of Caesarean section across the valley based hospitals according to medical experts is a worrying facet.

Sameena Malik, Who recently gave birth to a baby via caesarean section states- “ The fact of the matter is that both patients and doctors are equally responsible for rising caesarean sections in Kashmir. On their part ,Patients have lost the patience to bear pain and at instances the doctors also encourage caesareans.”

 

As a matter of fact,  higher rate of maternal morbidity is associated with Caesarean Sections compared to natural births. WHO notes a maternal mortality rate of 20 per 100,000 births with Caesarean Sections, while the figure stands at just 2.5 per 100,000 births for normal deliveries in US. Pertinently, there is a risk associated with anesthesia. Not to mention the immediate and delayed complications of surgeries.

Dr. Sameena Sultan, an eminent  gynecologist is of opinion that multiple reasons are behind rising caesarean sections in Kashmir. “ The reasons behind the upward trend in caesarean section in Kashmir are multiple- Rising age of marriage .Small family norm ,non availability of labour anesthesia and continuous fetal monitoring . Also to add to it the  fear of labor pains rising litigations against health care professionals are main reasons behind rising caesarean sections in Kashmir .”

 

 

 

Recently health minister of Jammu and Kashmir Choudhary Lal Singh  directed the CMOs to take measures for encouraging institutional deliveries. He expressed concern about rising number of caesarean sections being done in various health institutions. He stressed on normal deliveries and suggested rate of caesarean sections should not be more than the permissible 20 percent of all the deliveries in the hospitals.

Undoubtedly, the pulse is that all out efforts should be taken to minimize the rising caesarean sections in Kashmir Valley .

J&K urges RTE Implementation

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Rameez Makhdoomi

A vibrant  education system is the cornerstone of a developed and progressive nation. Several Legislations have been passed to change the face of education towards betterment. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE),  an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009 is one visionary act, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010 barring Jammu and Kashmir as Jammu and Kashmir enjoys the special status under Article 370 of the Constitution. Central laws are not automatically applicable to J&K state under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and have to be passed via state legislature.

Right to Education act contains a number of positives that can really change the dynamics of education sector Of Jammu & Kashmir.  Right to Education Act makes education makes it a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools.

The Right to Education Act also aims to contain undue influence of private schools as It requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children from poor families (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan). It also prohibits all unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and in added brighter paradigms no interview of the child or parent for admission.

Pertinently, the non-implementation of Right to Education Act in Jammu and Kashmir has worried many sane voices who point out that when we are at forefront of getting draconian laws implemented why not brighter legislations like Right to Education Act. Despite assurances government has not implemented this visionary act.

“Considering the poor educational status  of our state. Right to Education Act is a very bright act as  It envisages that  all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children from poor families (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan). It also prohibits all unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. when we are at forefront of launching the black-laws why can’t we have the bright laws like right to education act ,” states Faizaan Bhat, a columnist on education issues.

Sheikh Sameer, Educationist states – “Right to Education act should be without any ifs and buts implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. As we are very well aware that this historical legislation has been implemented across India except J and K pending passage by Assembly. This act makes elementary education fundamental right from six to 14 and also tames the monopoly of private education system. Education is cornerstone of every civilization. It will be panacea for child labor also. Some capitalistic and hegemonic private schools associations might try to scuttle the implementation of this act as it envisages some reservation for deprived sections and thus we have to remain focused to get this act implemented soon .”

Certainly the opinion shapers, masses and intellectuals in unison are calling for immediately implementing Right to Education Act in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Hopes of Good Governance

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Jammu and Kashmir is moving into 2016 with lots of hopes and expectations. The long running violent conflict has been paining the masses especially people of Kashmir as pain, death and destruction has defined the life in Kashmir. One added thing that has accelerated and added to continued chaos in all three regions Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh is the lack of quality governance. The hopes of people about good governance have been dashed time and again  , barring few short intervals of  time the state has witnessed not that much of what can be termed as good governance.

The voices are hoping that in the upcoming New Year the Jammu and Kashmir Government would focus on mantra of good governance.

Good governance and reaching via it to grassroots of the populace is the need of the hour and to an extent providing it can douse the angry fires in the state and ease out the overall paradigms of frustration. Let the government brainstorm and provide good governance to the masses of state.

Good Governance should involve taking series of steps on ground zero. The steps that should be taken should include giving the Thrust to employment and income generation,  Expanding provision of basic services , Reviving the traditional industries of Kashmir, Improving the face of public health and education sector, Relief & Rehabilitation for the dislocated and bereaved people.

Let the 2016 be the year of good governance for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

News Kashmir Expresses Heartfelt condolences with Umat Zahoor

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News  Kashmir Magazine entire team offers condolence to Umat Zahoor on demise of his Father Ghulam Nabi Patoo, a resident of

Khanyar  . Pertinently, he  was currently retired Government Employee, who was known for his honest caliber and humane nature.

News Kashmir Team prayed for the eternal peace of departed soul . Farzana Mumtaz, Editor-in- Chief News Kashmir while expressing obituary stated – “ We express full solidarity with bereaved family of Umat Zahoor in this hour of grief and pray to Allah to grant heavenly abode to the departed soul.”

Heavy battles between Iraqi Army and ISIS at Ramadi

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The battle to drive out Islamic State  of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters out of the centre of Ramadi is entering its second day as Iraqi special forces fight the militants street by street.

Officials are optimistic that the city will be recaptured by the weekend.

But a spokesman for the US-led coalition has been more cautious, saying a tough fight is in prospect.

Iraqi forces are heading towards the main government complex, and have come up against snipers and suicide bombers.

Ramadi fell to IS in May in an embarrassing defeat for the Iraqi army.

Security sources told the BBC troops and allied tribesmen, backed by US-led air strikes, had already retaken two districts, and entered two others.

Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service spokesman Sabah al-Numani said its troops, supported by soldiers, police and Sunni tribesmen, began the assault on central Ramadi at dawn on Tuesday.

Barkha’s Unquiet Land Generates Interest in Kashmir

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Rameez Makhdoomi
Barkha Dutt debut Book The Unquiet Land has generated lot of interest among the readers of Kashmir on account of Barkha being throughout her prolific career as a Journalist closely associated with Kashmir via her ground reports on diverse realms of conflict ridden Kashmir.
Pertinently, the book Unquiet Land tells the truth about the India’s secrets and lies, its torments and triumphs, and its heroes and villains. This is the first book by Barkha Dutt, India’s best known journalist. In this book, Barkha Dutt recounts the stories that have left an indelible mark on her. Taken together, they provide a vivid, devastating and unforgettable portrait of the unquiet land .
Some of these stories go back centuries, others are of comparatively recent origin.

While talking to News Kashmir, Sheikh Sameer, a vivid reader Stated – ” The book penned down by Barkha Dutt is awesome and offers lot of interesting stories and is worth a great read. I made it sure to buy the book as soon as it was available here in Srinagar. Barkha Dutt has done Wonderful job by writing a really inspiring book especially bringing to light the stories that deserve attention.”
From the ground feedback, the youngsters are taking much interest in knowing what has been written in her first book by renowned journalist Barkha Dutt and reviews from Kashmir on this book will soon be penned down.