News Kashmir Magazine

The Kathua rape and murder of a child has no doubt not only rattled our state but entire globe .The need of the hour was to raise our voice and concern , but the daily student protests are now becoming unwanted and adversely impacting their education prospectus. To add to it, the larger woes are that since some years students making protest activity a fun and making it a reason to not attend educational institutes.

Resonating the sentiment of advising the students to go back to classes many voices are taking to social media to voice their opinions. Pertinently, Works Minister and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Naeem Akhtar on Thursday said that there was no reason for the students in Kashmir to hold protests over Kathua rape-and-murder case when the accused were already behind bars.

“What is the occasion for protests, stone pelting [over Kathua case] when case is solved, accused in jail and trial on? Shouldn’t they be attending classes instead,” Akhtar wrote in reply to a tweet of a journalist.

The need of the hour is to guide the innocent students and not to exploit their emotions for politics, the trilateral responsibility of civil society, government and parents to ensure that our young students get maximum time in schools, colleges and universities is paramount and we need to fulfill this duty aptly. Students should with calmer head go back to classes.

The basic crux  that we hold dear to our heart as being citizens of  a democracy is that we live in a nation governed by laws and rule of law is supreme.

But the attitude shown by the Kathua Magistrate’s Court Bar Association who lodged a protest against the seven accused being chargesheeted for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old Asifa is shameful .

Not only this they blocked the office of the Crime Branch to prevent the police from filing the chargesheet.  While we all are aware about the fact that a chargesheet is merely a charge, it is not proof of guilt or innocence.

Sane and rationale voices state that If the Kathua Lawyers  thought the accused were innocent, it is an argument that ought to have been taken up in court. The law after all presumes innocence. It is no excuse to block a chargesheet. It is no excuse to prevent the police from doing their jobs and resorting to hooligan tactics.

On the otherhand, About the horrific rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua, Union minister VK Singh recently  tweeted demanding “justice For Ashifa”, and added, “we have failed her as humans”. “We have failed Ashifa as humans. But she will not be denied justice,” tweeted Singh.

The demand of the time is that communal, hooligan thoughts and methods are shun and government does everything to ensure Justice to Asifa and give exemplary punishment to culprits  who committed this heinous crimes.

The significance of airports in development of a nation is paramount. Airports play a considerable role in economic development, and the most important cargo they move is people. Airports are much more than places to catch planes, attend an in-transit business meeting, or do some duty-free shopping; they are among the largest investments a city and region make.

On the otherhand, Efficient logistics is critical for countries like India to harness trade and facilitate greater & faster integration with both the domestic as well as world economy. Keeping all this in mind 56 new airports will become functional in the next few years, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu said at the two days Global Logistics Summit being held in New Delhi.

The Minister further said that by bringing all the stakeholders together it will create the right platform to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows.

As a matter of fact, Indian logistics industry is estimated at around US $ 215 billion in 2019-20, growing at over 10 % annually. In the last decade or so, significant improvements in Railways, Roads, Highways, Inland Waterways, Aviation, Ports and Coastal Shipping have taken place. India has improved its ranking in the Logistics Performance Index (prepared by the World Bank) from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016. To keep up with the growth in demand for logistics services, it is important to develop a consistent approach to logistics across infrastructure, services and different modes of transportation.

Definitely the prospect of seeing many airports in future in India has raised hope of fast economic growth in the country .

Silk production is key component of Indian economy and has been the integral part of our civilization. The exquisite products of silk form the pride of the country at global markets.

In a heartening development, India will be self-reliant in the production of silk by 2020, said the Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani in a media interaction . The Union Cabinet’s decision approving the Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry will help increase the production of Bivoltine silk (high quality) by 62 percent by 2020. The Minister further said the aim of the government is to increase the number of people engaged in the silk sector from 85 lakhs to one crore in the next three years. She said, 50 thousand people will be trained in this sector. Smt. Irani told media that an inter- ministerial committee of related ministries will be set up under the Textiles Ministry to disburse a sum of Rs. 1000 crores for development of Research & Development.

On the otherhand, Seed production units will be equipped and strengthened, besides increasing the production capacity to cater to the increased demand for silk in the future. Elaborating further the Minister said that under Digital India, web-based solutions will be provided to farmers engaged in seed production and other allied activities. Farmers and seed producers will get all subsidy by Direct Benefit Transfer.

The minister informed that market development is a very important area and 21 cocoon testing centres are being set up in the main silk producing states of the country. Apart from this, 19 basic silk seed farms, 20 silk worm seed production centres, 131 chawki rearing centres and 500 acres of land is being set aside for improved varieties.

But Worryingly  in Kashmir once the booming silk production is crashing .

Spending money in a very extravagant way or any vital resources is logically a very dangerous trait. This is bad virtue from both religious as well as moral angle. A spendthrift. Is normally an individual who does not think about tomorrow? Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die. But it is this lethargic approach which has harmed  us as most solidly  as a society and is among one of the primary reasons behind our worrying collapse as a society.

Kashmir is among the  society wherein we have such great level of spendthrift and extravagant approach.

It is known fact that  our tradition cuisine world famous Wazwan  is nothing but the representation of our spendthrift nature. As a matter of fact, Kashmiri cuisine  has evolved over hundreds of years. Subsequently, it has been strongly influenced by the cuisines of Central Asian, Persia, and the North Indian plains.

The most notable ingredient in Kashmir cuisine is mutton, of which there are over 30 varieties served during a single meal  in our marriages commonly known as “Wazwan”. But nowhere in the world except Kashmir one sees such number of dishes served and hundred tonnes of food and mutton is wasted on a given day in Kashmir.

Even our social functions like celebrations, marriages   are true representations of not only overspending, but something more than overspending. We need to take a collective pledge as a nation  to avoid extravagance so that we can achieve the desired progress.

Extravagance should be avoided if we want to move ahead.

National Bank (PNB) fraud  is a matter of great worry for one and all. PNB told the stock exchange that $ 1.8 billion or over Rs. 11,000 crore had been illegally transferred abroad to select customers from a single branch in Mumbai. “Fraudulent and unauthorized transactions” amounting to around Rs. 11,360 crore benefited “a few select account holders”.

Billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi had left the country on January 1 much before the CBI received a complaint from Punjab National Bank on January 29 about a Rs 280 crore fraud, officials said.

His brother Nishal, a Belgian citizen, also left the country on January 1, while wife Ami, a US citizen, and business partner Mehul Choksi, the Indian promoter of Gitanjali jewellery chain, departed on January 6, the officials said.

It is further learnt that  at least three more Indian banks – two from the public sector and one private – are likely to have been caught in the Rs 11,000-crore fraud that hit the Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday. Union Bank of India, Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank are said to have offered credit based on letters of understanding issued by PNB.

With already many voices stating that Banking sector is in trouble the latest PNB Fraud is a matter of great concern.

 

In a big boost for the media professionals of the Kashmir valley, the Director Information & Public Relations, Mr Muneer-ul-Islam today formally handed over the possession of the 9-HB Building and the premises at Polo View, Srinagar to the office-bearers of the Press Club Kashmir.

Pertinently, the demand for press club was long pending demand of the journalists .The possession letter of the building was handed over to Mr Mohammad Saleem Pandit, President Press Club Kashmir, on the directions of the Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti to make the maiden Aiwan-e-Sahafat in Srinagar functional at the earliest.

Pertinently, the President Press Club Kashmir alongwith the Director Information had earlier called upon the Chief Minister to finalize the modalities for transfer of the building to the Press Club Kashmir.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that the Aiwan-e-Sahafat in Srinagar would not only come up as the first facility of its kind for the media fraternity in Srinagar but also become a hub of intellectual discourse.

She said the Government has initiated various measures for the welfare of the journalists in the State during the past three years and many more initiatives are in the pipeline.

One hopes with Press Club being set up the series of isasues faced by journalists of Kashmir will get due heed.

As 2017 came to an end, people of Kashmir have pinned their hopes on a better and prosperous year 2018 especially speedy journey towards peace after witnessing much human killings in 2017 . Scores of families are still grappling to come to terms so as to deal with the havoc caused by unabated violence in Kashmir in 2017.

People of Kashmir are hoping that state and central government takes the concrete steps and takes restoration of peace process, dialogue  as priority number one.

Masses in Kashmir are also hoping that 2018 would see end to corruption prevalent in our society and system. The monster of corruption is as a matter of fact  one of the serious challenge to be faced by the new State government. Painfully enough , the power crisis in Kashmir in this harsh winter is reaching crippling proportions, with the supply-demand deficit reaching a record level. Every sector is facing problem due to frequent power cuts. The prolonged spells of load shedding has become a norm in Kashmir Valley. Ending power crisis in 2018 would be a big gift to people of Kashmir by the government.

On economic front the fiend of inflation continues to haunt a common Kashmiri, especially the rising food prices. The rise in the prices of vegetables and fruits, which shot up by two to three times in such a short time, is said to be the sharpest increase in recent nostalgia in the Valley of Kashmir.

Overall the hopes of having better 2018 are high.

As the year 2017 ends we are left with both sweet and painful memories. 2017 has been a long year. From incessant breaking news alerts to the collapse of the global terror outfit ISIS in terms of the area they hold  to a string of natural, manmade  disasters marked the year 2017.

The brutal campaign carried out against the Rohingyas in Burma by Burmese army hogged the limelight of global media. Following violence that broke out last year, more than 87,000Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from October 2016 to July 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration. At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed by Myanmar security forces in one month following a government-led crackdown in the country’s Rakhine state in late August, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Iran was struck by powerful earthquake in Mid November . At least 452 people were killed and thousands injured after a powerful earthquake struck near the border of Iran and Iraq .

The most heated news event of the year 2017 took place in month of December when defying the global outrage USA President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The angry reactions to move are still pouring from many parts of the world. The deadly and damaging Syrian Civil war tilted towards Bashar al Assad regime in year 2017 with Russian airpower propelling him to many victories.

2017 year in India saw the ruling BJP propelling to many electoral victories in the State Elections. On 9 June – India became full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. 20 July – Ram Nath Kovind won the 2017 Indian presidential election with 65.65% votes against Meira Kumar, the presidential candidate of the opposition. The year 2017 was a mix bag .

Drug  menace is among  the top burning  problem confronted by humanity in the present  era of progress and technology . This vice does only leads to social, medical and psychological problems, but also have an adverse effect on the world economy. Despite concerted efforts by the world  community to prevent misuse of drugs and its illegal trafficking, it continues to flourish in several parts of the globe.

Worryingly enough, Production of drugs and its trade has so far shown no signs of decline. Instead, the trade in illegal drugs has now become a multi-billion dollar global business. According to the UN estimates, more than 50 million people across the globe are regular users of heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs like Ecstasy. The UN report claims that millions of others are directly or indirectly involved in its production, trafficking or sale.

As a matter of great pain and shame  Thousands of  people especially youngsters n Kashmir are suffering from drug addiction. NGOs working on the subject and experts fear that if government authorities do not address the problem soon, it may assume disastrous proportions.

It is a known fact  Depression, drug addiction and suicide are all interconnected in Kashmir. The easy availability of prescription drugs for depression is a quick route to addiction, and also a potential method of overdosing. It’s not surprising, then, that alongside the drug addiction rate; the suicide rate in Kashmir is climbing.

The recent vision and tough steps  shown by the Government to curb  this menace is well come step but more needs to be done.

All  the worrying realities call for all the concerned stakeholders that we as a society need to put an end to this menace and crack down on poppy cultivators and drug traffickers everywhere.