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Bhat Yasir On Monday, a group of transgender persons gathered at Jiwal Chowk, Jammu, blocked the road and protested against the violence unleashed on them by some goons sent on Sunday evening. The protesters alleged that many of their companions were thrashed by unknown goons using bats and sticks, after which they suffered severe injuries. Reportedly, some of them were attacked with swords as well, after which, one of them lost legs. The protesting group of the transgender folks demanded justice and said that since the abrogation of Article 370, they have been facing immense hardships due to people from outside Jammu Kashmir, who would threaten them and make them feel unsafe. "They (non-resident of JK) were here long before the abrogation of Article 370, but the situation has ...

Lone Imran/ Mir Junaid Two years after the abrogation of special status of Jammu Kashmir on August 05, 2019, as political activities have picked up in Kashmir, pro-establishment groups have started organizing public meetings at various tehsil and district levels of the valley. With these meetings, the strength-show is gaining the central stage. Amid this political hustle-bustle, a heart-wrenching story of an old woman emerged from Bandipora where a hundred year old woman attended a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Baniyari village to get her son, who had been languishing in jail for the past 10 years, released. ALSO READ: ‘They Promised me, They will release my Son, if I Attend the Rally’- 100-year-Old Woman Attends BJP Rally in Kashmir Months after Fazli Begum alleged that so...

Piyush Goyal, the Commerce and Industry said that the recently announced industrial policy for J&K has “generated a lot of interest” and several people have approached the administration regarding investment in Jammu Kashmir. Goyal who is currently attending the Expo 2020 Dubai said the UAE government has committed to invest $75 billion sovereign funds in India and the two partners have shared vision for clean energy as they are working together to start manufacturing of equipment for solar power. “We’ve recently announced industrial policy (for J&K) & the home minister launched a registration portal last month. We’re seeing a lot of interest. People have approached the local administration for land & other facilities,” Goyal said as per news agency ANI. He added: ...

Hashim Manzoor By Mid-September, the fields in Kashmir are abuzz with activity. As the dawns and dusks grow chillier, the rice straw in the paddy fields across the valley turns gold. Stretched to twelve districts of Jammu Kashmir, Rice is the staple food in Kashmir. This crop has the distinction of being the most extensively cultivated in Jammu Kashmir. The area under the rice is distributed by both the regions in which about 40 per cent is from Jammu while as 60 per cent from Kashmir division (Statistical Digest, 2015-16). Because of the extreme climatic conditions in Jammu Kashmir, rice is only grown once a year. Furthermore, the diversity in the agro-climate, when combined with farmer preferences, results in a wide range of grain preferences, ranging from bold, coarse grains in...

Lone Imran  The walnut business is considered as the backbone of Kashmir's economy. Amid consistent decline in the prices of kernels since the past four years, the walnut growers and sellers have seen tough times. The process of harvesting the walnuts is manual in the Valley. So, once the nuts have matured, the process involves a person climbing up the tree and thrashing the branches, while the walnuts that fall are collected on the ground. The walnut that we see in the market is dried several months after being harvested. The walnut, widely known as ‘Akhrot’, or its Kashmiri name 'Doon/Dun', has been indigenous to Kashmir. Since the walnut trees are immense in size, the labour that goes into thrashing their branches is extremely strenuous. Hence, the pluckers, who risk their l...

On September 24, last year, Advocate Babar Qadri got a call on his cellphone around 6:20 PM. The caller asked Babar to come out of his house as he had to discuss some accident related case. When Babar came out, he was shot multiple times in his head, resulting in his on-spot death, bringing an end to his short-lived career as a lawyer in the Kashmir valley. Often in controversy for targeting the existential power circles in the Bar council of Srinagar, Babar on September 24, just hours ahead of his assassination had hit out at Mian Qayoom, the president of High Court Bar Council. In his video circulated on Social media, he had accused unnamed lawyers associated with the Bar of planning to kill him. Lawyers associated with the Bar, however, rubbished his claims, saying they had no role i...

On Thursday, #Justice4AsifSultan is trending on twitter as Kashmiri Journalist Aasif Sutan as completed more than 1100 days in Jail. Several international organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded the immediate release of Aasif Sultan who worked as an editor with Kashmir based news magazine- Kashmir Narrator. Sultan who was arrested on August 27, 2018 has been repeatedly denied bail. His trial began in June 2019 and has been moving at a slow pace, CPJ said. Sultan was detained during a nocturnal raid from his home in Batamaloo area of Srinagar on charges of ‘harbouring militants’ and subsequently booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Sultan was accused in a case related to a gunfight that took place in the Ba...

Sajad Hameed/ Jaskamal Bains Kashmir's veteran pro-freedom leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani breathed his last breath at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Since the news of Geelani's death broke, the valley has remained in a state of shock. The IGP Kashmir declared restrictions and internet blockade in the region immediately after the news spread. Geelani was 91 years old. And owing to his prolonged illness, he is said to have died of breathing complications. Also referred to as Bab by the Kashmiri masses, Geelani was laid to rest at a cemetery located near his residence at Hyderpora, Srinagar at around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. Only a few members of the family were reported to be the part of the funeral. The funeral took place in haste and in a tight security. Minor stone-pelting inci...

Meer Irfan A 21-year-old youth was allegedly murdered over a love affair in the Shopian district of South Kashmir on Tuesday night. Speaking to The Kashmiriyat a Police official said that the body of Shahid Ahmed Ganie son of Manzoor Ahmed Ganie, a resident of the Urpora area in Shopian Nagbal was found in the Tukrwangam area of Shopian. The Locals called the Police who rescued the body and have taken it for autopsy. Shahid's family memembers speaking to The Kashmiriyat have alleged that he was murdered by the family of her girlfriend in Turkwangam where Shahid had gone to meet his girlfriend. "He was in love with the girl who lives in the Tukrwangam locality of Shopian for the past five years, however, the family of the girl never accepted the relationship," one of the fami...