WRITE-UPS

Mahjoor, the poet of Kashmir was born on 11 August 1887 and died on 9th of April 1952. His actual name was Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad and his father’s name was Peerzada Abdullah Shah. He was a patwari by profession and possessed great power of imagination which he used in creating art with distinction. It was this ability that earned him the title of the Poet of Kashmir. His contemporary writers/ poets were, Zinda Koul, Abdul Ahad Azad and Dinnath Nadim He is noted for introducing a new style into Kashmiri poetry which pushed it into great realms of art created for arts sake. He introduced his pen name Mahjoor when he visited Punjab and started writing poetry under the influence of great Urdu poet, Shibli Noamani. He followed in the academic footsteps of his father, who was a scholar o...

Shabir Khan On December 23, 2022, Kashmir woke up to the horrifying news of a man killing his mother and three others in Anantnag's Aishmuqam area, bringing the valley to a standstill. The accused Javed Ahmed was said to be under the influence of Alcohol and other drugs, as was claimed by officials and locals. The incident triggered panic and disbelief among most of the Kashmiris. There has been a sharp increase in crime in the valley. In 2021, The Jammu Kashmir Police's DG claimed that there has been a 15.41 percent increase in the crimes registered in 2020. Months later, another news has shook the Kashmir valley, at least many of its residents. A woman has been murdered by her son in the Dangerpora area of Sopore in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. The man allegedly choked hi...

“Only a week ago, as a marker of Herath, Sanjay Kumar had distributed Walnuts as prasad among his neighbours and friends,” recalls Mohammad Maqbool, his friend who also works as a security guard at the ATM Sanjay previously worked at for a few thousands, while detailing how the nuclear family of five led a simple life in the neighbourhood. However, all hell broke loose the week that followed Herath as Sanjay was shot dead Sunday morning at around 10:30, nearly a hundred meters from his home. Sanjay (41), was on a stroll with his wife this morning when his wife stopped at the neighbourhood shop for a moment while Sanjay led on. A sudden sound of a bullet made his wife turn around, only to find Sanjay lying down in a pool of blood. Everyone including Sanjay’s wife rushed to the spot an...

Duwa Bisati Making of one of the notable handicrafts 'Gabba' (embroidered Kashmiri rug) has been carried out since the late 16th century, i.e., from the Mughal period. Gabbas are made up of wool blankets. The old blankets are dyed in vegetable colors and are attached together along with a cotton backing. Gabba making, one of the oldest surviving and popular handicrafts of Kashmir valley has its cropping clusters in many districts of the valley. By examining various historic sources, it is clear that there is no particular birthplace of Gabba making in the valley, but its roots touch the far-flung areas of the valley. In earlier times, Gabba was used as a source to keep warm during long and harsh winters. During the Mughal era, the Gabba was used by both the wealthy and the not-so-...

Ishfaq Ahmed Sheikh (28), saw several reports of demolition drives across Jammu Kashmir, which frightened his family, who dwell in Tangmarg's Kunzer area, just 20 kilometers from Kashmir's feted tourism destination, Gulmarg. "I was afraid that the bulldozers would come here at any moment and wreak havoc here. Today is just the beginning of that," the 28-year-old said, sipping a cup of tea, wearing a worrisome expression on his face. Ishfaq is not the only one who is concerned about this demolition in the Kunzer area. Several others have received eviction notices from the Revenue Department of Jammu and Kashmir, declaring that their properties are built on 'state land' and must be vacated within four days. "If you do not evict the building within four days, action will be taken against y...

Hijaj Bin Yousuf The majestic mountains of Kupwara cradle the stories of resistance etched into the books of history, particularly those who witnessed the harrowing massacre of Kupwara in 1994. The bullet-ridden memories of the massacre still haunt residents as a heavy reminder of the ongoing conflict. The conflict in Kashmir, nurtured through a series of massacres, has intensified the call for the right to self-determination. These gruesome events have piled up insecurities, deepened scars on the psyche of the people, and fueled the sufferings that continue to sustain the long-standing conflict. On January 27, 1994, soldiers from the 31 Madras Regiment, the Punjab Regiment, and the Rashtriya Rifles, under the command of GDS Bakshi and VK Singh, opened deliberate and indiscrimi...

Sumbul Khan Early in 1990, widespread arrests, curfews, and crackdowns were daily occurrences in the Kashmir valley. The Gawkadal Bridge in Srinagar, Kashmir, was the inspiration for the massacre's name. The survivors recount that a group of Kashmiri protesters were shot at by Indian paramilitary soldiers from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). On January 19, 1990, the Indian government appointed Jagmohan Malhotra as the governor of Jammu Kashmir, and just two days later, a massive protest rally was taken out in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. It started when the reports that some women in the Chotta Bazar neighborhood of downtown Srinagar had been assaulted during the nighttime in a crackdown on the preceding night of January 20 broke out on January 21, 1990. As soon as t...

"My son was an honest individual. He drove a vehicle to take care of the needs of his family. We belong to a poor household. The army finds militants and their ground workers in moments, how is it possible that they have not been able to find the whereabouts of my son despite a month having passed?  If they have killed him, we must at least have his dead body back, the politics are so helpless," a mother wailed in Srinagar's Lal chowk on Monday afternoon. Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_cWQvWrV-k Scores of Kashmiris turned out on the sunny Monday afternoon to protest seeking the whereabouts of a youth who allegedly went missing in Army custody. The protest was led by Khera Begum, the mother of Abdul Rashid Dar from Kunan Poshpora area of Kupwara along with some soci...

“Batih Daedi Marekh Kaeshir Musalman, Hai Toofan Hai Toofan” (Kashmiri Muslims are now being deprived of food grains, what injustice, what tyranny!). This Wanwun was recited by the local women who took part in the protest outside a ration depot in Srinagar’s Mehjoor Nagar area recited in traditional Wanwun’. Wanwun, the traditional Kashmiri songs, also sung during Kashmiri weddings have been used as a form of protest by locals ever since the onslaught of successive oppressive rulers. It was this Tuesday that the residents of Nowhatta, Srinagar locked down a ration depot, outraged at the reduction in the food allocation quota for Kashmir valley residents. According to the residents, the quota per person was initially reduced from 15 kilograms to 10, and has now been reduced further to...

Dr. Rahi Shoaib Antibiotic misuse and mishandling blame on the first line goes to the Chemists, who do this in order to accelerate business and earn a few extra bucks on a daily basis. The topmost and rating supplies go out for antibiotics. Secondly, People who fall sick with acute infections or sudden environmental exposures are fully dependent on these drug retailers. The main reason is “Google doctors”- those who surf the internet and rely upon self-decision counts for first-level misuse. Thirdly there should be a difference between the Modern Medicine prescription and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) doctor’s prescription in which (AYUSH) there is 95% of unethical professionalism and malpractice in writing modern medicine antibiotics flashing to the highest seco...