News Kashmir Magazine

Promoting Handicrafts 

News Kashmir Analysis 

Kashmir is known all over the world for its exquisite handicrafts products. Preserving traditional arts should be our priority.  One such art is the Kani Shawl art .Handicrafts is an age old industry in Jammu and Kashmir having history of centuries,  it has thrived and kept the economy of region moving. The artisans of Jammu and Kashmir are famous for making some of the exquisite Handicrafts of the world. 

Sozani embroidery, Walnut wood carving,Hand-knotted carpet, Pashmina, Papier Mache etc are some of the world known Handicrafts of Kashmir.

One of the important handicraft products of the valley of Kashmir has been the Kani shawls. Kani Shawls are woven on a fame-loom using fine wooden sticks locally called ‘Tooj’i, which have coloured woolen threads attached to them. A Kani shawl takes about three months to a year for an artisan to complete depending on the embroidery and fetches a very handsome amount nationally and globally.

Over the years fake handicrafts sold in name of handicrafts of Kashmir is a matter of serious concern.

The adverse  impact of this unscrupulous trade is that now one of Kashmir’s oldest handicraft legends and legacy, the Pashmina, is threatened by its imitations as the high-priced handmade fabric is increasingly being eased out from markets by its cheap, machine-made namesake.

It is also learnt since long  that some fake elements are selling cheap Handicrafts of Amritsar and seeling it in name of the Brand Kashmir in other parts of the country.

But Jammu and Kashmir Government along with Union Government is taking multiple steps to revive the legacy of Handicrafts of Kashmir.

In a major achievement, Jammu and Kashmir has become the first region in the country to issue Quick Response (QR) labels for its 13 different GI and non-GI registered handicrafts.

The QR code labels are a step towards providing global recognition of the traditional arts and crafts of the Himalayan region. The government has been aiming to make J-K products popular across the globe through special marketing strategies and schemes.

Recently, The Director Handicrafts & Handloom, Kashmir  launched 8 online Services for the artisans, weavers, trainees and other stakeholders. These services are integrated with the Single window system, with aim to provide all Handicrafts and handloom services under “One Umbrella-Single Window System.

The main objective of this system is to facilitate the artisans and other stakeholders to get digital clearances and other benefits in a time bound manner.

The visible efforts are being put in to  promote  revive Kashmir Handicrafts, thereby bringing visible change in the lives of Artisans and Weavers. 

The export picture is improving much .

2021-22, handicrafts products worth 563.13 crore were exported to different markets. Carpets topped the list with exports touching Rs 251.06 crore. It was followed by shawls and rumals with exports touching Rs 165.98 crore. 

One hopes all the efforts given with reference to promotion of handicrafts of Kashmir would be given.

Year 2023 Hopes

News Kashmir Exclusive

The new year has dawned. Lot of hopes and optimistic feel is in air . 2023 (MMXXIII) will be a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2023rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2020s decade.

The year has started on right tone of hopes.

On insistence of India, The United Nations declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM 2023) on Tuesday at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters. A widely popular Indian food staple, millets, which encompasses a diverse group of cereals including pearl (bajra), propo, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop and others, is an important source of nourishment for millions across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

The hope throughout the world including in Kashmir is that year 2023 would be a year of peace and hopes. People pulse hopes that no more bloodshed will take place in Kashmir or any other part of the world. Humans will learn to live as one Global Family. 

People of Kashmir would be hoping that in the year 2023 the multi headed monster of Unemployment,  Drug addiction and inflation in form of price rise would be solved . 

The expert pulse has been that the from every analytical  spectrum, the rising levels of unemployment especially among the educated youth has emerged as a serious issue with a little headway witnessed in this context. The need to increase Government jobs and widen private sector would help to create more jobs.

The rise in drug addiction among the youth of Kashmir over the years has been a constant cause of concern calling for immediate attention from all the stakeholders.  Drug addiction is the most severe issue faced by the people of Kashmir ruining the life of scores of youth.

Power cuts is a severe issue faced by masses especially in harsh winters.

The load shedding problem especially in the harsh winters has made life in Kashmir quite miserable, and one has seen this problem been a regularity in Kashmir. The lack of quality power supply in winter months has hit every sector of life  . One hopes that in the year 2023 it would be resolved .

People in the year 2023 would also be hoping that rapid strides would be taken towards building education and health infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Verdict 2022

News Kashmir Analysis 

The Gujarat election result ,The Himachal election result and the Delhi MCD result all gave surprising results .

In the Gujarat elections BJP won record breaking victory , In the Himachal Pradesh elections Congress pulled off a surprise victory , In the Delhi MCD election results AAP pulled off a decent victory.

Gujarat voting the BJP back for the seventh straight time, this election has made history in the state: it gave the party over 50 per cent of the popular vote and the highest seat tally in the House at 150 plus minus a ‘Hindutva wave’ but at the same time making room for a new political party in the Opposition space. 

BJP, which has been ruling the state since 1995, had set a target of 150 seats and campaigned aggressively across 182 Assembly constituencies. The party’s battle was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who addressed dozens of public rallies and road shows.

While addressing party workers at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Narendra Modi said, “BJP has got the biggest mandate in the history of Gujarat. People have created a record in breaking records. When i was in Gujarat, I had told people that Narendra’s record should be broken.”

The surprise was overwhelming performance of BJP in tribal areas. In the  2017 elections , Congress party’s tally of 77 seats and a vote share of 41.4 percent was its best performance in over two decades. The party, however, failed to build on the 2017 performance and has shrunk to 20 seats with a vote share of 27.04 percent.

The party has lost ground in its tribal strongholds. The tribal belt of Gujarat has 27 seats and the BJP is leading in all tribal seats.

Gujarat has a tribal population – 89.17 lakh – comprises 15 percent of its total population, as per the 2011 census data.

Congress got the happy news from the hill state of Himachal Pradesh by bagging 40 out of the 68 seats.  Often, Himachal Pradesh has never repeated a government in power in the last 37 years. The pragmatic Himachali voter has always thought it best not to let any party get too comfortable in the seat.

Priyanka Gandhi aggressive campaign is also the reason behind Congress party massive victory. 

On the otherhand, 

AAP has won a majority in elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). AAP has won 134 seats, BJP 104, Congress 9 and Independent 3 in the 250-member MCD.

For several hours fortunes swung between BJP and AAP, with Congress nowhere in the picture. For a while BJP even topped the leads tally.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the people for AAP’s victory in the MCD polls and sought the cooperation of the BJP and the Congress as well as the “blessings” of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve civic amenities in the national capital.

Overall , the results of Delhi MCD, Gujarat Elections and Himachal election were a surprise .

 Jk Women aspire Free and comfortable Public Transport 

News Kashmir Exclusive 

With increasing movement of women for purposes of work, buisness and family the needs of transportation of women have increased. 

It is a matter of great pain that Public transport still is an uncomfortable and costly affair for women of Jammu and Kashmir.  While as many other states of country have made progress on it .

Stree Shakti – The Parallel Force organization  has done appreciable work all across country in highlighting and resolving the burning issues of women as it aims at pulling together individual and collective knowledge engaged in women welfare. It is a movement to rouse and activate women of every age, class and creed to empower them so that they work as catalysts for fundamental social change. The Forum provides a platform for joint action through research, networking and advocacy since 1998.

The Background

Female mobility has always been a matter of concern for socio-cultural –economic development for both rural and urban women. Research indicates that in lower strata of society one women annually spend around Rs 2500 on clothes , 1500 on medicines , 1500 on hygiene and Rs 2000 on unforeseen expense. Total Rs annually Rs 7500 on her personal expense. Where as on the bus travel alone her minimum annual expense is Rs 8000 alone.

In case of elderly women things get worse as their income dwindles and medical expense goes up they often face isolation resulting in serious health issues both physical and mental. Our research of one year conducted in different part of India pointed out that elderly women due to reasons like financial insecurity & instability confine themselves to the household only. 59% of the elderly women are widowed. Many of them have no bank accounts and levels of income are also very low. Many elderly women face desertion and live alone. Then living alone is remarkably higher among elderly women (9.6%) as compared to men (2%).

Free Travel Pass : A silent Revolution

A travel pass on public buses to the women will encourage them to travel and free link up with the world. The Free pass introduced by three prominent states of India , Delhi, Punjab and Tamilnadu have exciting findings. Different states have taken a different route to fund it.

Who is paying for the free rides for women : Delhi Model

For every free journey undertaken by a woman commuter, the Delhi government will extend a flat subsidy of Rs 10 to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the DIMTS (Delhi Multi- Modal Transit Ltd) under which the city’s public bus fleet operates.

States with Free Travel:

AAP government New Delhi October 2019

BJP Haryana ( Partial ) January 2022

Indian National Congress Punjab April 2021

DMK Tamil Nadu July 2021

AINRC and BJP Puducherry (Intention) December 2021

The voices in Jammu and Kashmir are also urging free and comfortable public transportation for women of Jammu and Kashmir.

Aam Aadmi Party leader and prominent Public Rights Activist Jibran Dar ,while talking to News Kashmir Stated :” The Delhi Government has been able to give free public  transportation to women via issuing pink slips. Millions of women have so far taken so far benefits of it. Many states are doing same.  We need to bear in mind Delhi has much higher population than Kashmir as whole country visits Delhi for different purposes so if they have made efficient public transportation why can’t we. It is a matter of great misfortune even with uniform our girl students don’t get 50 percent concession. Also, with huge number of private vehicles issued and operating in Kashmir rampantly the focus on public transport has been very less. We need to bear in mind a small percentage of women mostly students and working go out in Kashmir and still we are failing to provide them quality public transport. “

The need of the hour is to provide quality public transport for the women of Jammu and Kashmir.

Shrinking waters 

News Kashmir Exclusive 

Waterbodies are important source of water. As we all know water is life. It is the limited number of water bodies that provide water for drinking , as ocean and sea water can’t be used due to its saline nature.

Kashmir valley was once the hub of water bodies. Ponds, Lakes, Rivers have formed the important part of topography of Jammu and Kashmir along with scores of wetlands. 

The encroachments of these waterbodies by the selfish interests among common people and the ineffective attitude of successive Governments have devastated these waterbodies. 

It is matter of great misfortune that Most of the well-known lakes in Kashmir have been deteriorating in the past few years. As a matter of grim worry some of the once renowned water bodies are breathing their last and are craving for attention from the concerned stakeholders. The dilapidated condition of once renowned lake of Kashmir-Anchar Lake is the prime example in this regard. On account of human lust and lazy attitude of government this lake is breathing its last.

Even the all important Dal Lake is also not much in good health despite number of efforts from the government in this regard.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently sought a comparative analysis report on encroachment of water bodies using latest and earlier data.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that addressing a convention of GIS professionals, government officials, entrepreneurs and young students that was organised to mark the World GIS Day here, the LG highlighted the significance of the emerging GIS technology to address new challenges and explore a new horizon of opportunities.

He said the encouragement to spatial thinking, development of new Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, and real-world applications are accelerating the growth in business, government and society.

Pollution is also hitting hard our waterbodies. Pollution in Dal lake began more than four decades ago  due to the growing number of tourists resulting in increased commercialization of the place with the establishment of many hotels and houseboats. Thus, the amount of waste generated began to rise and new sewage lines were also developed. The untreated sewage since then has been released into the lake, causing pollution. in a span of over two decades, the lake has shrunk by more than half to just 11 square kilometres and lost over 10 meters of depth.

The resolve of LG Manoj Sinha with reference to saving water bodies of Kashmir is an appreciable step that should be welcomed by one and all. Sane voices hope that lost glory of water bodies in Kashmir would be regained .