News Kashmir Magazine

Hartal (pronounced [həɽt̪aːl]) is a term in many South Asian languages for strike action, first used during the Indian Independence Movement. It is mass protest often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law as a form of civil disobedience. In addition to being a general strike, it involves the voluntary closing of schools and places of business. It is a mode of appealing to the sympathies of a government to change an unpopular or unacceptable decision. A Hartal is often used for political reasons, for example by an opposition political party protesting against a government policy or action.

Over the past 27 years of violent conflict of Kashmir this word Hartal has echoed almost billions of times in the hearts and minds of Kashmir to register their protest and anger against killings , unaddressed political aspirations and atrocities with about two thousand strikes observed in past 25 years in Kashmir.

But since few time the Hartal as a strategy employed by profreedom polity is failing to garner impressive response. The representatives of Hurriyat Conference, an amalgam of different separatist parties in Kashmir recently decided to brainstorm at Mirwaiz Manzil in Srinagar last week to think of “alternate means” of protest.  Feedback from online platforms like twitter is being asked from youth to suggest alternative to hartals.

Will the anniversary hartals and failed chalos lead us to freedom?” a student asked Mirwaiz, the head priest of Kashmir who leads Friday congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, to which he replied, “At times, hartal becomes the only option, but I agree we have to look for alternative means of protest.”

 

People have been asking and questioning both on ground and online media to profreedom leaders  to  find an alternative to these strikes .Will the alternative come remains to be seen.

 

Currently world over due to Civil Wars and foreign interventions the people of many countries especially countries of Middle East such as Syria, Iraq , Libya and Yemen are forced to leave and become refugees.
A refugee, according to the Geneva Convention on Refugees is a person who is outside their country of citizenship because they have well-founded grounds for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and is unable to obtain sanctuary from their home country or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country; or in the case of not having a nationality and being outside their country of former habitual residence as a result of such event, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to their country of former habitual residence. Such a person may be called an “asylum seeker” until considered with the status of “refugee” by the Contracting State where they formally make a claim for sanctuary or right of asylum.
As a matter of fact many refugees are dying while undertaking dangerous sea journeys towards Europe. The world is witnessing the largest refugee crisis since the horrors of World War II.

Today there are close to 60 million war refugees, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)—“an all-time high as violence and persecution” around the world are on the rise.

It is high time world wakes to the refugee pain and root causes of all conflicts are addressed .

Bihar election have thrown an open verdict with ruling party at Center BJP and its partners receiving defeat at the hands of resurgent grand alliance comprising of JDU, RJD and Congress. Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as chief minister for the third time in a row on 20 November after the Mahagathbandhan won a majority of seats in the assembly. But the electoral verdict of Bihar has given rise to rebellion in BJP with elder voices sounding the tunes of revolt.

 

Four veteran leaders, including Margdarshak mandal members L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, issued a stinging statement — a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for London — that the party was being “forced to kow-tow to a handful”, its “consensual character has been destroyed,” and it has been “emasculated” in the last year.

While ruling out Shah’s removal as party chief, Gadkari demanded stringent action against those making “irresponsible” statements against Modi and Shah. “I have told the party chief to initiate disciplinary action against those party activists who make irresponsible statements in public and cause damage to the image of the party,” the minister said.

Nevertheless the political ramifications of the Bihar electoral verdict seem to be far reaching on the overall political scene of India .

Carpet industry has historically been backbone of Kashmir as it has provided meaningful employment to youth and been representative of our exports and in a way also represented our culture. The splendid carpet industry of Kashmir has wonderful history behind it. Pertinently, Kashmir carpet industry is of Persian origin. The trade, which has been handed down by the grand artisans of Iran, prospered and thrive to huge extent in the valley of Kashmir during the Mughal rule in Kashmir.

Nevertheless, the Persian culture influenced the Kashmiri carpet for quite a long time. It was only after a long period of time that Kashmiri carpet acquired some sought of  an aboriginal quality. On the otherhand, although in India the origin of hand-knotted carpets can be traced back more than 1800-2000 years, in Kashmir, however, its history begins with the invasion of Mughals. With the touch of local artistic splendor the Kashmiri carpet attained a sky-scraping degree of perfection and carved out an ‘elite’ place in the worldwide market.

At this juncture painfully enough the carpet industry in Kashmir does not show much healthy picture . Despite having all the potential for generating huge employment and earning bulk of foreign reserves, the low allocation by the government for this sector has reduced its growth to a limited size and curtailed its reach in the national market  and not many are taking carpet industry as a serious option and younger generation seems to be disinterested towards carpet sector.

 

The realities of the present hour state that presently the Carpet Sector  of Kashmir should be paid attention so as to strengthen the economy of Kashmir and return the lost sheen of the carpet industry of Kashmir  .

Social Networking has become reality of our lives in Kashmir and especially youth in Kashmir are taking to diverse social networking mediums like facebook and twitter to express their emotions, thoughts and ideas on the platforms. It has had overall positives on our debating and exposure related paradigms. From the teenagers to senior citizens all seem to be overawed by this phenomenon of social networking with majority having their personal accounts on Facebook or Twitter.

Pertinently, Kashmiris via this phenomenon are able to make contacts and friendships across the world and also locate their lost friends with whom they have cherished memories . Social Networking as a phenomenon has grown substantially in Kashmir. This growth has helped us in remaining touch with recent updates and makes friends with noted personas and also gather  vital information about events taking place in our part of the world and other parts

The need of the hour is to use the social networking websites for promoting love, knowledge and all positivity and not to misuse it.

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On the other side of paradigm, all these developments   can prove quiet energetic for the valleyites especially the youngsters as according to a latest survey the social internet media helps to get jobs. The survey points out that with increasing number of users globally, socialnetworking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are turning out to be happy hunting grounds for employees seeking new jobs.

 

Majority of employees surveyed felt that social media are helping them to find new jobs quickly and efficiently, according to HR services firm Ma Foi Randstad.

82 percent of Indian employees are extremely confident on using the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to enable them to find a new job quicker and more efficiently,” Ma Foi Randstad had stated.

Unquestionably, although having few negatives as well but on overall  levels of analysis the phenomenon of Social Networking is proving to be a great boon for the people of Kashmir.

Ink has always been a sacred component in the growth of civilization .Pertinently, Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, or quill. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing.

All throughout human civilization Ink can be a complex medium, composed of solvents, pigments, dyes, resins, lubricants, solubilizers, surfactants, particulate matter, fluorescents, and other materials. The components of inks serve many purposes; the ink’s carrier, colorants, and other additives affect the flow and thickness of the ink and its appearance when dry.
But as a matter of great misfortune the sanctity of ink has been badly bruised as it has been used by fanatic forces to lodge their protest few weeks back renowned intellect Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the Observer Research Foundation, suffered an ink attack just before launch of Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Relations authored by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. News reports had quoted Kulkarni as saying that he was attacked by members of the Shiv Sena, which has opposed the event and has threatened to disrupt it.
Unfortunately, merely a week after the infamous ink attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni by Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai, three men, reportedly from right-wing organisation Hindu Sena, threw ink on the face of independent MLA from Jammu and Kashmir Engineer Rashid, at the Press Club of India in New Delhi .
Ink attacks are attack on civilization considering its significance using it for attack signifies attack on the instruments of knowledge and immediate steps should be taken to halt these dastardly attacks.

Religious intolerance, rather, is when a group (e.g., a society, religious group, non-religious group) specifically refuses to tolerate practices, persons or beliefs on religious grounds (i.e., intolerance in practice). According to the 19th century British historian Arnold Toynbee, for a religious establishment to persecute another religion for being “wrong” ironically puts the persecuting religion in the wrong, undermining its own legitimacy.
The United Nations upholds the right to free expression of religious belief in articles and 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights while article 2 forbids discrimination on the basis of religion. Article 18 also allows for the freedom to change religion. The Declaration is not legally binding, however the United States chose in 1998 to pass the International Religious Freedom Act, creating the Commission on International Religious Freedom, and mandating that the United States government take action against any country found to violate the religious freedoms outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
As we know India has been the cradle of religious pluralism for centuries. We are probably the only country in the world that has been home for people of all sort of beliefs and thoughts.But growing religious intolerance in country is matter of great concern.
As of Wednesday, 41 novelists, essayists, playwrights and poets had returned the awards they received from India’s prestigious literary academy to protest what they call a growing climate of intolerance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Pertinently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condemned the murder of a Muslim man over rumours he ate beef, in his first response to an incident that has sparked concern about growing religious intolerance.
It is high time that religious intolerance that is growing all over the country is curbed by taking effective measures otherwise it will have adverse impacts.

It is sad part that communal politics is taking centerstage in our part of the world.Following threats by Shiv Sena, the world renowned singer from Pakistan Ghulam Ali concert, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on October 9, has been cancelled.

 

The Sena, earlier  had clearly  threatened to stage a protest during the performance of the leading Pakistan singer at Shanmughananda Hall, holding it will oppose cultural and sporting relations with the neighbouring country so long as it refused to curb terrorism.

 

In a letter to the management of the Shamughananda Hall, Shiv Sena’s film wing “Chitrapat Sena” said if it went ahead with the programme featuring the artist from Pakistan they would have to face the “anger of Shiv Sena and the patriotic people.”“Through this letter, we want to convey to you that if you invite Pakistan artist to the show you will have to face the Shiv Sena’s wrath… Which is why we ask you to prohibit the Pakistan artist from coming to the programme, or else you will have to face the anger of Shiv Sena’s and the patriotic people of the country,” Chitrapat Sena Vibhag Pramukh Mangesh Satamkar said in his letter.

He had further added that  it has been a long standing and of Shiv Sena that until the neighbouring country stopped terrorism activities there should be no cultural, sporting and political relations with Pakistan.

Pertinently, playing negative politics over music and sports has marred the overall environ of peace process in our already fragile region. Shiv Sena warning will add more negativity to already pessimistic outlook between India and Pakistan existing with reference to  strained relations.

Autumn session of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly begins on Oct 3. The session is expected to generate a lot of heated debate in the backdrop of several burning issues especially the expectation of fierce discussion on bill seeking lifting of beef ban.

In an significant development recently, National Conference legislators  submitted a bill in the legislative assembly seeking abolishment of the constitutional provisions criminalising slaughter of bovines in the state. It is worth pointing out here that recently the Jammu and Kashmir high court on September 10 ordered the state police to ensure strict implementation of a  law which ensures the  banning of the sale of beef after a petitioner argued the slaughter of bovines hurts the sentiments of some communities. The same move had generated lot of outrage in the nook and corner of Kashmir with many terming it as a direct interference in the religious affairs of majority Muslim community.

 

While on suggestions by some members regarding fair reporting of the session, the Speaker said the Information Department would request mediapersons to be impartial while reporting the proceedings. He said that the media has an important role in highlighting public issues and hoped that its would discharge its duties with utmost care and responsibility.

Pertinently, the Legislator from Khansahab constituency in Budgam district, Hakeem Muhammad Yasin, has also submitted a bill in the Assembly seeking ban on sale of liquor in the state.

In his bill, Yasin has however sought exemption on sale of liquor and its consumption by tourists visiting the State.“The tourists should be exempted from the ban. However Government should regulate consumption of liquor by tourists,” he has mentioned in the bill.

Overall, the upcoming Autumn Assembly session is expected to generate lot o heated debate.

Children are innocent flowers and the killing of children in any human conflict is highest form of barbarity. Killing of Burhaan by unknown gunman in restive North Kashmir township of Sopore or sweeping of Aylan Kurdi by sea waves , A Syrian Kurdish refugee boy fleeing war or killing of scores of children in conflict zones like Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia etc is a heartrending affair. When the children should be given utmost care and affection the sanity in many parts of world is turning into insanity as we see children used as soldiers by extremist groups and militias ,bombarded to death in airstrikes or mortar shelling of so called civilised states. Scores of child soldiers are losing their precious lives in conflicts and are shamefully enough used as executioners of their rivals by various extremist groups in present world of ours which speaks volumes of callousness that has hit humans in many parts of the world.

The barbarity the present day humans have shown to the children is simply baffling and questions whether we have really achieved civilization or that is mere rhetoric.Killing of any human life in violent conflict is a shameful aspect and barbarity shown towards children is more condemnable and should aghast every conscience human.

Let us for the smile of children and for their innocence learn to solve issues ,conflicts and disputes in a humane manner rather than adopting a brutalizing approach which makes us less human more beast.