Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR: Members of Pragaash, an all-girls rock band in Muslim majority Kashmir, have denied reports that they called it quits after their performance at a competition generated abusive comments on social networking websites.
The band, its name meaning 'morning light', received a Posted 111 days ago.
Wazwan is one of the most popular Kashmiri dishes, the preparation of which is regarded as an art in the State. Khursheed Wani tells us more about the cuisine
Kashmiris have the potential to challenge voracious meat-eaters anywhere in the world. Meat-eating is so ingrained in the culture that people here hunt for pretexts to throw a feast — be it the birth of a child or the death of a family member, an...
Posted 117 days ago.
Muzamil Jaleel
NEW DELHI: My first memory of winter is of an early morning when I woke up and looked out of the window to see the branches of a pear tree in my grandmother’s orchard surrendering to the weight of snow.
I remember everything as white, silent and peaceful as thick flakes fell like cotton. I must have been five or six. For children, winter in Kashmir meant long holidays. With schools shut and the routine work of adults halted for several months, it...
Posted 124 days ago.
Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR: A Kashmiri woman who applied for a job as a “female” but turned up for the qualifying examination as a “male” with a certificate attesting sex change, has stunned the valley, where a majority abides by conservative values.
The applicant for a junior assistant’s post in Kashmir University has become the first person from the valley to report changing gender.
When 25-year-old turned up for the qualifying examination on Sunday,...
Posted 127 days ago.
Majid Jehangir
CHARUNDA: Up in the mountains of Pir Panjal is this sleepy village covered by three-foot snow which has been caught in the unpredictable firing of Pakistan since October last year.
It was this village which is believed to be the root of the recent skirmishes on the LoC between the two countries. On Sunday last, Pakistani troops had alleged that the Indian Army crossed the LoC from here and killed one of its soldiers and injured another. After...
Posted 131 days ago.
Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR: “In his home-life the Kashmiri cultivator is at his best. He is kind to his wife and children, and one rarely hears of divorce among the villagers…The husband sometimes chastises his wife, and the men talk somewhat boastfully of the necessity for maintaining discipline in their houses. But as a matter of fact the wife, both Musalman and Hindu houses, is all-powerful, and I believe that, as a rule, the Kashmiri lives in awe of his...
Posted 138 days ago.
Shujaat Bukhari
SRINAGAR: Imagine four to six journalists ready to cram into a single room of Ahdoos Hotel in the early 90's to get coverage of the unrest in Kashmir.
Ahdoos was then the only hotel operational in Srinagar.
Militancy was spread all over the Valley and huge amounts of armed forces were on the streets. Compare that to international news organisations now winding up their operations in Kashmir – virtually deeming it a dry spot.
Kashmir was a...
Posted 139 days ago.
Naseer Ganai
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is set to become the first state to change the laws regarding rape and incorporate the provision for awarding capital punishment to those convicted.
The state's advocate general Muhammad Ishaq Qadri said: "On the direction of chief minister Omar Abdullah, minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs Ali Mohammad Sagar held a meeting to review the laws related to rape.
"We decided in principle that for the rape of...
Posted 141 days ago.
SRINAGAR: Kashmir is replete with stories of trauma, pain and lost hope, but a man, determined to fight all odds, is a living example of optimism, faith and progress — setting benchmarks for others to follow.
The 66-year-old pickle shop owner, Haji Ghulam Qadir Senoo, popularly known as the ‘Pickle king of Kashmir’, did not lose hope even after having lost three family members and a thriving transport business to the 20-year conflict in the Valley.
He instead looked ahead to...
Posted 144 days ago.
SRINAGAR: It may not top the charts as a best seller but Hizbul Mujahideen founder's book will be answer to thousands of Kashmiris who wish to know the “realities of the armed struggle" which killed tens of thousands in more than two decades of violence.
Ahsan Dar, former chief commander of Kashmir's biggest militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen and one of its founding members, has written a book titled 'Crisis in Command’ which is yet to be published.
“This book will address several...
Posted 148 days ago.
