Devotees thronged the streets with chants, bhajans, and devotional fervour, marking the occasion with spiritual enthusiasm and reconnecting with their cultural roots.
In 2022 Nanaji Dembi pulled down the Hurriyat office board in Srinagar, an act of defiance that grabbed headlines. Despite such nationalistic bravado, the BJP has denied him a ticket for the assembly election.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com comes across a Ganesh temple in Kashmir's summer capital that remains a well kept secret.
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed nominations to contest from the valley for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, aiming to ensure the return and rehabilitation of their fellow community members, whose number run up to 3 lakh.
A worker from Punjab who was injured in Wednesday's terror attack in Srinagar's Habba Kadal area died at the SKIMS hospital in Srinagar on Thursday morning, taking the toll to two in the first targeted killing of the year by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the first targeted killing of the year, terrorists on Wednesday shot dead a worker from Punjab while another sustained injuries in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar, officials said.
A bastion of Kashmiri pandits, a record 12 displaced pandits of a total 21 candidates are trying their luck from Habba Kadal segment which goes to polls with 20 other constituencies in Jammu, Srinagar and Samba districts in seventh and final phase of elections on December 24.
'I hope we can move towards peace, stability, and national unity.' 'I believe most Kashmiris want that too.'
Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Terrorists struck again in summer capital Srinagar carrying out yet another grenade attack in the Habba Kadal locality of the city injuring three persons.
However, it was not clear on what basis most of the people were being held.
The two, if convicted, will have to undergo three months imprisonment or pay a fine of Rs 20,000 or both.
Threats were often communicated to Pandit homes through notes tied to stones chucked through a window, or a notice pasted on a wall. Those sometimes came from neighbours eyeing that Pandit family's property. Those threats often worked in the atmosphere of terror during that awful season of vacuous exercise of State authority, writes David Devadas, longtime Kashmir watcher and author of two books on the Valley.
The PDP looks a distant third in the race, observes Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir politics.
The voluminous report has proposed redrawing of the Anantnag Parliamentary seat by including Rajouri and Poonch from the Jammu region, besides carrying out massive changes in the Kashmir division, they said.
The report published in the gazettes of India appeared in local newspapers on Monday and showed that Habba Kadal seat in Kashmir division and Suchetgarh seat in Jammu province had been restored.
Barely a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to launch the Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Monday sought to downplay the Sangh Parivar's long-standing demand repealing Article 370 of the Constitution.
Amidst Covid scare, hundreds of pilgrims paid obeisance at the famous Ragnya Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Friday for the annual Kheer Bhawani mela, praying for peace in the union territory and for the pandemic to end.
Only three per cent of women candidates have been allotted tickets in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.
'The larger narrative doing the rounds was anti-Hindu, anti-India.' 'Despite the affinity, one could feel the lurking hostility.'
Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been trying to shrug off the 'communal' tag, has fielded nearly 40 per cent Muslim candidates in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls under its ambitious 'Mission 44 plus' to wrest power in the state.
When minnows Jammu and Kashmir defeated 40-times Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai on Wednesday, it was perhaps the biggest-ever shock victory in domestic Indian cricket. Rediff.com's Vaihayasi P Daniel and Sonil Dedhia spent time with the J&K team after their stunning triumph to discover the inspiring story of how these fine cricketers turned adversity into advantage.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances