It's a different Srinagar from what Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf encountered 24 years ago. Tourists throng the Kashmir Valley post-Article 370, azaadi appears dead, and everyone says one man is responsible for this change, so what if his poster is nowhere to be seen.
'100 Fayazs will bring a change in Kashmir, that's why they don't want a Fayaz.'
Pahalgam Terrorist Attack: Dombivli families shattered in grief and grit. Demand dignity, justice and answers to unanswered questions.
The story of two Adils, one a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist and the other a pony 'wallah' who died protecting tourists, highlights the contrasting realities of life in Kashmir. While the terrorist, Aadil Thokar, is accused of the deadly attack on tourists in Baisaran, the heroic pony 'wallah', Syed Adil Hussain Shah, sacrificed his life to save them. Their stories, though separated by a tragic event, reveal the deep-rooted conflict and the enduring spirit of compassion in Kashmir.
'I went to jail and met my father to convince him to join politics and believe in the Constitution.'
Many of the young Kashmiri Pandits argue that it is quite difficult to go back to the Valley, but for different reasons from their parents': there aren't enough opportunities there. Priyanka finds out what the community thinks in the aftermath of the interlocutors reports on the troubled state
It's just not a date. It's just not about selecting a candidate. It's not about helping some candidate win. It's about expressing emotion, after ten years, that could reach out in India and beyond it, notes Sheela Bhatt.
Raising slogans against Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and the administration, the demonstrators, mostly government employees posted in the troubled valley and their kin, demanded that they be provided adequate security or be transferred to Jammu. The employees also threatened en masse resignation from their jobs.
The use of freshly-made mango pickle makes all the difference to this recipe for a yum paneer starter.
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
None of its candidates won. Most of them lost badly.
'The lack of opportunities here remains the biggest worry.' 'We have seen investment summits, but if you look around, much of it is only on paper and not on the ground.'
The Allahabad high court has granted bail to three Kashmiri students, who were arrested on the sedition charge after they allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans following a cricket match in Agra last year.
'This generation has seen no communication.' 'You have not given them any stake.' 'They don't have a feeling of belonging.' 'They have only seen a man in uniform with a gun.' 'That is why it is taking a more vicious form today -- the attacks on the security forces and the retaliation is causing heavy loss of lives.'
Modi began his nearly 45-minute speech by welcoming the people who attended the rally in the Kashmiri language. "This time, the (assembly) election will decide the future of Jammu and Kashmir, which has remained the target of foreign powers since Independence," he told the gathering.
Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas.
'The people of the state can be won over by love, and not by swords.'
A government employee belonging to the Kashmir Pandit community was shot dead by suspected militants at his office in the Chadoora area of Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said in Srinagar.
The J&K CM also said that not all students are pelt stones.
'He knows India is going nowhere.' 'India will never let go of Kashmir, so he wants to settle with India.' 'Settle honourably with peace, dignity and justice.'
'The problem in Kashmir is not about pellets, bullets or tear gas.' 'It is the government's policy and intention to criminalise the protest.'
The students were booked under the Act that dates back to the British era allegedly for posting a WhatsApp status praising Pakistan players after the team's victory against India in a T20 cricket match on October 24.
The three students, two of them aged 20 and one 21, were also remanded in 14-day judicial custody by an Agra court, the officials said.
The positivity over Narendra Modi's election speech in Jammu is unanimous, but it comes with guarded optimism as many would like to wait and watch to see how the new government actually manages the 25-year-old issue, says Upasna Pandey
'You are a Kashmiri first. You are not an Arab.' 'Revisit our traditional sufi thought.'
'Anybody who speaks up, anybody who reports something that the government feels uncomfortable with, or comments on anything could be charged with criminal cases, could be summoned to police stations, slapped around or grilled for several hours. This has become a new norm.'
The Army believes the children, after returning from their multi-city tour, will narrate their experiences to other young Kashmiris, encouraging them to join the next group.
'Those who have not lived and imbibed the social and cultural patterns of Kashmir cannot quite fathom the importance of inter-personal communication in Kashmiri society,' says David Devadas.
'Irrespective of their politics, people feel happy.' 'One of the best compliments I have received is that I have made it from Kashmir to Karnataka.'
The number is an all time high for the state with south Kashmir emerging as one of the main hubs, providing cadres to terrorist groups.
The Nobel laureate's statement comes after the Indian government on Monday revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The Kashmir Files is not an easy film to watch. It makes you realise that if we are alive today, it's a privilege and not something that should be taken for granted, observes Joginder Tuteja.
Parvez, a resident of the downtown area in Khanyar, was 21 when he was rescued from Ankara, after his parents claimed he had been misguided by some people to join the terror ranks.
'We know how to kill a terrorist, but we do not know how to stop an innocent boy getting radicalised.'
'It's not only what's been done politically. It's also the way it's been done. It's the suffocating atmosphere.'
Local people, however, rushed to their rescue and informed the police, he said.
Shah said "three families" are answerable to the people for their failure to develop Jammu and Kashmir over the past seven decades.
'I come from a conservative family.' 'They had sent me to Bengaluru to study and wanted me to focus on my career.' 'I went for the Miss India auditions because it was something I wanted to do for myself.' 'My family was there and saw me perform live.' 'After I got through the finals, they supported me.' 'Now they want me to be the game-changer -- to be the first-ever Kashmiri Pandit to carve a niche in the fashion world.'
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