OPINIONS

In a recent scoop, a Srinagar newspaper pointed fingers at street vendors for cranking up the volume on Baramulla's noise pollution dial. Some locals, quoted by the newspaper, promptly tagged the vendors as the usual suspects. While it's true that street vendors add their unique playlist to the pollution mix, it's essential to recognize that our society's noise pollution ensemble already has quite the repertoire. The bulk of the decibel drama unfolds in the elite circles – where vehicle honks form a symphony that would put a heavy metal concert to shame. Rumor has it; even the staff gets in on the honking action. The streets resemble a perpetual traffic jam concert, with horns blaring for no apparent reason, other than to assert vehicular dominance. Meanwhile, there's a musical fount...

More than 1.43 lakh tourists visited J&K in December 2021 and the number of tourists who visited J&K since September 2021 is over 72 lakh, the Tourism Ministry said on Thursday. While replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the winter season has witnessed 100 percent occupancy of hotels in Srinagar and other tourist destinations. He said that on 28 June 2021 the government announced a stimulus package to boost diverse sectors of the economy affected by COVID-19 pandemic. The package comprises a total of 17 measures in three broad categories, which include economic relief from pandemic with special focus on health and reviving travel and tourism sectors and impetus for growth and employ...

Jagmohan Singh JIHAD is a sa­cred word for Mus­lims and I re­spect it. Mor­cha is a sa­cred word for the Sikhs and I re­spect it. Yud­dha is a sa­cred word for the Hin­dus and I re­spect that too. How­ever, the so­bri­quet of ‘Love Ji­had’ is a po­lit­i­cal term, coined in a deroga­tory man­ner against in­di­vid­u­als and com­mu­ni­ties pro­fess­ing Is­lam and I de­test it. Let us face re­al­ity. Whether it is Sikhs, Mus­lims or Hin­dus -all com­mu­ni­ties, per se, do not like, en­dorse or sup­port in­ter-faith mar­riages. All com­mu­ni­ties go into a tizzy in case a lady mem­ber of their com­mu­nity mar­ries or at­tempts to marry out of faith. The re­ac­tion of fam­i­lies and re­li­gious groups ranges from ac­cept­ing the will of the lady, re­gret­table res­ig­na­tion to fate, coun­...

Meher Qadri January in India hauled out a news anchor from his pompous studio, made him a news item, after his WhatsApp chats over several important issues concerning National Security was exposed by the Police in Maharashtra. From 'We won the attack like crazy' to ‘People Will be Elated’, the chats with BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta created widespread anger. Seemingly angry and anguished Goswami in the aftermath of the 14 February 2019 attack in Pulwama, when more than 40 paramilitary men were killed, used the hashtag #IndiaWanstRevenge. 'not condemnation, we want revenge', 'attack has to be avenged' were some of the catchlines used by a visibly sad Arnab, the same drums of avenge and revenge were being drummed across the sections of Indian media. But it was not just seeking reven...

Meher Qadri / Fizala Khan Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float between vice and virtue. -David Hume History is filled with people who made difficult choices. The tussle between the good and the evil. Conquering our inner evil and choosing the right thing to do. Some we remember as heroes and some otherwise. The conflict between Good and Evil is a concept that has been there since the beginning of time. The dilemma is understood and recognized across civilizations. It takes selflessness and a deep understanding of suffering and empathy to sacrifice your safety and goals for others. Throughout history, a few such Altruists have fought against conformity and helped change the order of the world. What if ...

Manan Shah Over a recent trend of bio-pics and rewriting historical narratives, Bollywood seems to be living in a dilemma. The new self-proclaimed historian, Kangana Ranaut, happens to patronize and present history only in the manner in which she wants, not to mention without any basics. Of course, the trend is old and quite vaguely followed by her rightist associates. Only in the aforesaid manner, she has announced her upcoming project. The project is based on Queen Didda, the 12th-century queen of Kashmir. She mentions that queen Didda had defeated Mahmud of Ghazni, not once, but twice. However, History states something else. “Our India has been witness to the story of many Bravehearts like Rani of Jhansi. Another such untold heroic story is that of a queen of Kashmir, who defe...

Meher Qadri “You were huddled up there, as far from your childhood as you were from the land of oranges – the oranges that, according to a peasant who used to cultivate them until he left, would shrivel up if a change occurred, and they were watered by a strange hand"- The Land of sad Oranges- Ghassan Kannafani. Despotism is by no means limited to the domain of politics. “Oppression could only be fully understood when the understanding of it integrates the domains of both the political and the psychological. The psychological impact of oppression suggests that the erasure and removal of intrinsic cultural identities influenced by oppressive practices”- Prilleltensky and Gonick (1996). For us, it started with stereotyping of the Kashmiri identity in Bollywood films. A Pheran, the b...

Shehlat Maknoon As 2020 came to an end the District Development Council election results were declared in ten districts of Kashmir, voter turnout failed to touch the 40% mark despite stentorian campaigning by top BJP leaders like Shahnawaz Hussain and Anurag Thakur who hoisted the Indian tri-color across Kashmir and claimed that the August 5 changes were welcomed by people of the erstwhile state. The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which was formed to 'fight' for the restoration of Article 370, swept the maiden polls by winning 110 seats. In Kashmir, PAGD won 72 seats while BJP could only bag three. The Alliance also won 35 seats in the Jammu division. The majority of the population in Kashmir (over 60%) decided to stay away, from what they discern as sham elections....

Hilal Ashraf Could it be argued that providing the same platform to man and woman, the same audience to listen to their words, the same mic to amplify their range, the same pen to write their poetry, the same page to write it on, the same stage to stand upon, called being equal to them? How often does the audience leave their ideology outside the venue and enter unbiased? How often is the audience a listener, a genuine non-judgmental listener? Is it possible for a man in the audience to have vaccinated his patriarchy and woman to not have systematically internalized the subtleties of patriarchy? Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! The “Let Me Speak” open mic by Captured Illusions can be called upon on the same queries. Although the magazine cannot be held responsib...

Muzamil Jaleel This is hypocrisy par excellence. This BJP government has been taking credit for the October 9 High Court judgement on Roshni calling it BJP’s “surgical strike on land Jihad”. But once the lists started to come out and it became clear that the major beneficiary of this scheme is in fact their own constituency, they now want a review of the October 9 HC judgment. The affidavit filed by J&K government says that “large number of common people would suffer unintentionally”. The most shocking revelation is that the government affidavit wants to make a distinction between common people and wealthy and influential individuals. How will Court define who are “common people” or “wealthy and influential”? Neither IPC or CRPC recognises the economic situation of a party as t...