WRITE-UPS

Junaid Abdullah Known for its serenity, snowy mountains, and lush valleys of shepherds, Pahalgam was once home to fertile agricultural land that produced high-quality crops, vegetables, maize, paddy, walnuts, and apples. Pahalgam played a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and was also a vital source of food production. However, due to rapid urbanisation, the landscape is now being replaced by concrete buildings, threatening the ecology. As construction accelerates, environmentalists and local farmers warn of long-term consequences, including pollution, ecological destruction, and threats to food security and wildlife. Over the past two years, farmland in the Pahalgam region has been shrinking as local and real estate developers purchase agricultural land and use it...

Danishwar Hameed  For more than a month, Kashmir was dry. The rivers had receded and the sky had remained an unrelenting shade of blue. But in the village of Panzath in south Kashmir, hope had not yet dried up. Nazir Ahmad Dar, a respected elder of the village, took it upon himself to revive a centuries-old tradition. As the drought persisted, he gathered the villagers for Niyaz, a religious offering of food, and Khairat, a collective charity. Hundreds of men, women, and children came together in the open fields, their hands raised in unison as they sought relief from the Almighty. The cries of supplication filled the valley. And then, as if in answer, the heavens finally opened.  "When our hearts move towards Allah, anything can happen," Nazir said, watching the rain soak the...

Suhail Dar/ Shah Hilal Javid Ahmed Khan, a resident of Sarnal Bala, visited Rani Bagh every evening. He had been coming here for decades, long before it was a public park, back when a historic building stood in its place—one that elders in Anantnag believed dated back to the Mughal era. Today, all that remained were benches, dust, and the silence of a forgotten past. "Tis was not just a park," Javid said, watching children play where the old structure once stood. "It was a piece of our history, but we dismantled it with our own hands." Despite being one of the first towns in the Valley, Anantnag lacked documented records of its architectural heritage. Oral histories suggested that the structure inside Rani Bagh was once a Mughal caravanserai or a military post, but there was...

Luqman Ahmed Language is more than just a means of communication; it carries history, culture, and identity within it. Growing up in Kashtwar (Kishtwar), a region nestled in the Chenab Valley, I spoke Kashmiri in a way that felt natural and familiar. It was only when I moved to Delhi in 2018 for my Bachelor’s degree that I realized how different some of the words I used were from those spoken in Kashmir. Also read: ‘Speaking Kashmiri wrongly associated with backwardness’: The social stigma silencing a language and the need for revival My interactions with Kashmiri students revealed something peculiar—many of the words I used were unheard of by them. They often pointed out my vocabulary, questioning whether certain words were even Kashmiri. This puzzled me. Had I been using words th...

Bhat Yasir Kashmir's Pir Panjal mountains, typically ablaze with snow at this time of year, present a haunting spectacle - largely bare and exposed, a stark departure from their usual winter splendor. The patches of white were scattered, struggling to hold onto the rugged slopes. From above, the lack of snow was glaring, a stark warning of the water crisis that experts have long feared. The Meteorological Department in Srinagar has recorded an 80% precipitation deficit this winter, marking one of the driest spells in recent memory. "February is usually a month of heavy snowfall, but this year, the mountains remain mostly bare. This will have severe consequences for our rivers, lakes, and overall water availability," said Mukhtar Ahmed, Director of MeT Srinagar. The Jhelum Ri...

Makhan Din's wife, Zona Begum, is four months pregnant and now faces an uncertain future with their two daughters, three-year-old Yasmin and one-year-old Saima Akhtar. The grief-stricken family struggles to come to terms with his sudden death. "He was the one who held our home together," Zona said, sobbing as she held her children close. "He worked day and night to feed us. Now, what will I tell my daughters? How will I raise them without him?" On February 5, 25-year-old Gujjar Bakarwal man, Makhan Din, who was a resident of Balawar in Kathua district, allegedly took his own life after what his family describes as “brutal police torture.” His death has sparked outrage, with political leaders demanding a fair investigation. Makhan Din's father, Muhammad Mureed, accused the police o...

Suhail Dar By the banks of the Jhelum in Batengoo, Anantnag, Abdul Ahad Gilkar stands in silence, watching the water that has drastically gone down. His eyes, heavy with age and sorrow, reflect the anguish of a man who has witnessed the river shrink year after year. He murmurs to himself, recalling a time when the Jhelum was vast and alive, when its waters stretched far and wide, nourishing fields and quenching thirsts. "This river was once our lifeline," he says, his voice low. "We built our lives around it. Now, it is struggling to survive." A few kilometers away in Bijbehara, 65-year-old Ghulam Hassan Dar sits outside his small shop, rubbing his hands together as he gazes at the riverbed. Hassan says that many see the Jhelum as just another water body, but those who are Kash...

Bhat Yasir Kashmir has slowly started shifting  focus towards environmental issues, a much needed change from the usual social media  debates about ethnic divides. The environmental crisis affecting everything from our drying springs to erratic weather patterns. The Urban discourse on environmental challenges , for example in the case of Achabal spring's drying up, often blames "global warming" for all the environmental shifts, presenting it as an unavoidable global phenomenon. This narrative, however, oversimplifies the situation. It is spoon-fed by the very powers, capitalists and urban elites, whose interests thrive on urban expansion, not agricultural preservation. These narratives serve to keep us passive, as they conveniently downplay local agency, especially when it comes t...

Zeeshan Rasool Khan Molana Mushtaq Ahmed Khan was a Sufi, Islamic scholar, orator, poet, and educationist who reigned supreme on the spiritual, scholastic, and literary landscape of our valley from the 1990s to 2019. Though every aspect of his life merits attention, his love for the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) makes him unique. In contemporary times, when our hearts and tongues do not sync, and there exists a disconnect between our thoughts, words, and actions, Molana Mushtaq Ahmed Khan remained unwavering in his principles. His philosophy, ideas, and approach to any matter were consistent, both in public and private. This attribute was most pronounced in his love for the Prophet (SAW). Whether in public or within the four walls of his home, an observer would never notice even the sl...