Waiting for the Next Big Idea

Afshana recounts challenges in keeping creative juices flowing

(Ms. Syeda Afshana, 35, was born in Srinagar. She attended the Vishwa Bharti High School in Rainawari, Srinagar, and the Government Women's College in Srinagar where she received a B.Sc. degree. She completed her Master's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Kashmir University in 1999 and was the Gold Medallist (first position holder) in her graduating class. She is currently a Lecturer in the Media Education Research Centre (MERC) of the Kashmir University and pursuing her doctorate on the role of internet after 9/11.)

Deadline pressures disfigure the creation

Here I sit, head bent, writing to you. I sense your presence, even you aren’t around. I haven’t seen you. But I feel we have known each other much before becoming absolute strangers. I envision you as a loving soul, possibly a noble one, somehow plodding the tortuous path of life.

Every week, I recall you. My desk awaits your arrival. You never turn up. The deadline freezes me. You still don’t come. Hopelessly I set out to search you. Stumbling upon the disarrayed thoughts, rummaging in the weird ideas and wading through the abstract words, I found you nowhere. I try hard to weave you. My imagination dazes, my endeavor wobbles. I disfigure you. I carve out something that’s not even a slightest shadow of your magnificent Mother Eve. It’s something that suffices only the deadline, not my mind; the harshness of editorial desk, not my imagination. I feel dissatisfied, dispirited.

Perhaps I am trying to address you: A difficult process I embark upon every Sunday, and which is still far from over. I guess you take trouble in listening to me. I am never interested in wrapping you in hackneyed issues, puffed up politics, over- rated statistics, alien doctrines or subjective interpretations. The fact is that I heard no one speaking bitter truths of life in an affable voice. I don’t know what I needed to know in order to understand myself or for that matter anybody else. May be in writing to you, I wish to correct that, for making amends.

I know you believe you can “have it all”: a pious living, a good career, a loving lifelong marriage, healthy children, and happiness, too. Your dream is not chimerical. However, it is not a piece of cake either. You cannot display a bystander behavior while living in an ambience that dampens your every kind intention. Morally, you must “take sides”. You have to be unequivocal in your stand. You may be looked down on, but there is a great advantage in knowing that at any moment you may become a casualty in this struggle. If you know that this can happen, that there s nothing you can do to avoid it, you can then learn how to sidestep some blows and endure the unavoidable ones, by keeping your eyes open, maintaining clarity, and naming each blow accurately, for what it is. You do this to aid yourself in remembering that you have not caused your own pain. It’s psychologically crucial so that you don’t blame yourself and take things personally. The truth, rather the bitter truth, is that many so-called personal things prove quite impersonal in the long run! This doesn’t mean to say that you should become fatalistic or go limp in the jaws of events. While you must understand reality with some detachment, you must, at the same time, learn how to take radical a responsibility for what you do or fail to do. You have a responsibility to see that your wounded self does not get in the way of your warrior self.

There is a great task in the way of your warrior self. There is a great task of learning about what it takes for a woman to become whole, to stay whole, and to survive with dignity. What we don’t know can hurt us. Forgetting, not knowing your own story, is dangerous. If you do so, you will have to reinvent the wheel, suffer the humiliations again and again, with no guiding motto for a purposeful life. You will continue offering yourself for exploitation, and people will keep exploiting you. It is a grave paradox confronting you.

Perhaps no one ever told you, or me, that loud words and preachy tones are only loopy notions until human being test them on the ground; that social norms and taboos are only hypocritical devices until individuals forsake dichotomy in their words and deeds. Nobody around inspired us to see our place in the historical scheme of things, so that we may choose whether and how to stand our ground in history. No doubt, one fine day we opened our front doors, came out boldly, and like Ibsen’s Nora, simply walked out. Unlike Nora, we were not alone. There were many accompanying us, rubbing shoulders with men in every domain. We named it as ’Emancipation’. We joined the bandwagon fervently. Thereupon, what followed is an open secret. Barring a few positive achievements here and there, it is not a bright story at all. You know it. I also do. And truth eludes us still!! It’s dishonesty in style.

I am reluctant. I can’t leave you mid way, undelivered, unframed and unhallowed on the lines I had conceived. You are already living a life of any “brave son” of Adam. You are experiencing the trauma of this unnatural crossover. I can see you in the dismals. I can decipher your pangs.

Yes, it’s time for you to bloom. You are still a minute seed, yet to sprout out and manifest your existence. My acquaintances accuse that I overdid you. But I feel I have yet to scribble your proper silhouette, not to speak of drawing an accurate portrait. I have yet to find right colours and tones to fill you with. Your past and present; making and breaking; tears and smiles; pains and pleasures; woes and joys; solitude and companionship; failures and success; ups and downs; blacks and whites—All dissolves in my blank papers, producing just a raw expression of what I still fail to come out with.

I am sure you know my predicament. Only you can understand. And you are entitled to. I cannot, in good conscience, send you into battle without giving you a clear idea of what may happen there. I cannot mince words for merely leading you superficial colours and deceptive contours. These will not protect you from the ravages of changed times. Nothing can. But an honest motivation and proper objective will allow you to fight back and to keep sane, to keep going, no matter what happens, no matter how critics fumble out.

Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that I was incredibly gullible when I thought you would create ripples by your humble presence on a sheet of newspaper. I was foolish, but human, for wanting that. The flush of exuberance cooled down, like many other things. It took me time to understand that unless your brain-child speaks truthfully from your own depths, unless it stands on a solid ideological base and asserts itself with some cherished beliefs, it can hardly create even a whiffle somewhere in some way. It turns to be yet another midget addition in the clutter of words, concepts, ideas, and sermons.

It passes unnoticed, unmarked. But I don’t want you to meet the same fate. Please, come out of the veil of vagueness. Help!

Reconstructing the Tourist Reception Center (TRC)

Report that the gutted TRC building will be reconstructed along traditional Kashmiri architecture is reassuring

TRC reconstruction on heritage lines

Arif Shafi Wani (Greater Kashmir)

After three years of dilly-dallying tactics, the government has finally decided to reconstruct the gutted historic building of Tourist Reception Centre with traditional Kashmiri architecture and provide all facilities for tourist under one roof.

TRC was gutted in a fidayeen attack on April 6, 2005, a day before prime minister, Manmohan Singh, flagged of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service. The incident was highlighted extensively by the foreign media, which had gathered in the summer capital to cover the revival of the bus service.

The TRC incident had for months affected the inflow of tourists, particularly foreigners after some embassies issued travel advisories against visiting the Valley.

In 2006, the PDP-led coalition government had decided to construct a five-star hotel at the spot in the City center.

However, the proposal was shelved after it evoked strong resentment from the tourism pundits and opposition National Conference had strongly opposed the proposal in the Assembly.

Officials said on the directions of chief minister, Omar Abdullah, the authorities have started the process to prepare the TRC’s design.

The director Tourism, Farooq Ahmad Shah told Greater Kashmir that reputed architects have been asked to prepare the TRC’s design. “We will try to build the TRC on the pattern of its old design. The new TRC building will showcase the architecture and culture of Kashmir. It will be a blend of tradition with modern facilities,” Shah said.

The gutted TRC building housed many government offices and tourist utilities including, Fisheries and Wildlife department besides airline and railway reservation counters and a bank.

Since the TRC building fire, the Tourism department has been operating from hutments adjacent to the site. “Tourist will get all the facilities from booking to food under one roof in the new TRC building” Shah added.

Officials said a meeting would shortly be held under the chairmanship of commissioner secretary Tourism and Culture, Tanveer Jehan, to finalize modalities for the construction of TRC and upgrading tourism infrastructure.

Welcoming the proposal, the chairman of Houseboat Owners Association, Muhammad Azim Tuman, said the construction of TRC is imperative for promotion of Tourism. “TRC has been the face of Kashmir and first abode of tourist. It should be reconstructed on its old design,” Tuman said.

IUCN Lists Himalayan Snow Leopard as an Endangered Species

Government wakes up only after naturalists raise the issue

Kashmiri snow leopard listed as endangered

Srinagar: With the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) "Red List" of Threatened Animals categorizing snow leopard as “endangered species”, State government in collaboration with Union Ministry of Environment is launching a program to conserve the wild animal in its habitat.

The program ‘Project Snow Leopard’ will be launched in the last week of February from Hemis National Park in Ladakh and will later extend to Kargil and other hilly regions of the State.

“We are starting the Project Snow Leopard by end of this month. Environment Ministry, Government of India, has agreed in principle to launch the project in five Himalayan states. But the main focus of the project will be on our State and 60 per cent of total funds would be spent in J&K as we have 60 per cent of total population of Snow Leopard in India,” Chief Wildlife Warden A K Srivastava told Rising Kashmir.

The project, as per Srivastava, is a manifestation of the Government of India's resolve to conserve biodiversity with community participation. He said the Wildlife Institute of India and the Mysore based Nature Conservation Foundation would be the supporting agencies for the project.

Besides J&K, the project would be undertaken in four states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

Scientifically known as Uncia uncia, the snow leopard is native to remote mountain ranges of Central and Southern Asia where their population is estimated to be around 7,000. In India the maximum population of snow leopards (about 60 per cent) inhabit Kashmir Himalayan mountain range at an altitude of about 3,000 metres above the sea level.

“The Union Environment Ministry will soon release Rs 1 crore to us for this project. In the beginning, the money will be spent on securing landscape for conservation, capacity building, research on wildlife and human activities in snow leopard habitat, grazing and management policies and education awareness in and around the Hemis National Park,” Srivastava said.

Regional Wildlife Warden Asgar Inayatullah said snow leopards are at the top of the ecological pyramid and suffer the most due to relatively smaller population size and also due to man-animal conflict.

“This situation has further aggravated in Kashmir due to hostile landscape and intervention of humans in its habitat. Its population has dwindled during the past two decades but the Indian Wildlife Board maintains that estimated snow leopard population in our State is around 200,” he said.

Inayatullah said the new project envisages active involvement of local communities in the conservation of snow leopards. "Our attempt is to address the identified threats besides strengthening the protected areas in Kashmir," he said. "This is a major challenge for us but the snow leopard is the heritage of the Himalayas."

The degradation of their natural habitat, poaching for their furs, reduction of their prey due to hunting and killings by local people in revenge for attacks on their livestock are some of the main threats, the Regional Wildlife Warden said.

In J&K, snow leopards are distributed throughout the Trans-Himalayan district of Ladakh and more sporadically on the Southern side of the main Himalayan range like Kishtwar, Tarsar, Liddarwat and Marsar (Upper Dachigam).

(Rising Kashmir)

Pandits and Kashmir's Civil Society: Lot of Slip Between the Cup and the Lip

Zahir speaks about displaced (non-valley based) Pandits and suggests a dialogue between Pandits and Kashmir's civil society even though it has conveniently ignored the plight of valley based Pandits so far. As a displaced Pandit, Sanjay offers a counterpoint by narrating his personal experience of forced exile and a new sense of exhilaration since

(Mr. Zahir-ud-Din, 46, was born in Srinagar. He received his schooling from the DAV School Magarmal Bagh/Jawahar Nagar. He graduated from the Government Degree College in Bemina, and completed a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Kashmir. In 1992, he again joined the Universiy of Kashmir to do complete his Master's Degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has worked as Associate Editor/Executive Editor with the Greater Kashmir from 1995-2007. In 2007 he joined daily Etalaa't as editor, and is currently a columnist for the Kashmir Times.

Mr. Sanjay Raina, 42, was born in Khardori Lane, Habba Kadal, Srinagar. He matriculated from the Tyndale Biscoe School and passed his 12th grade from the Amar Singh College, both based in Srinagar. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics from the University of Pune, and earned an MBA degree from the same University in 1992. He has a career in media/TV broadcasting industry and is currently based in Jakarta, Indonesia, working for a TV company in the field of Strategy, Brand Management, Marketing and Consumer Insights. During leisure time he plays Golf and Tennis in addition to reading books.)


Point by Zahir-ud-Din: Options with Migrant Pandits

The exodus of Pandits from the Valley in 1990 added yet another unfortunate chapter to the beleaguered history of Jammu Kashmir. Much has been written and said about the exodus. The Pandits have been blaming the Kashmiri Muslims of triggering the exodus. However, the Muslims accuse the then governor, Jag Mohan of facilitating the exodus for political reasons. The issue was politicized by vested interests and so has been the return of the migrants. And while this political drama goes on, a community is fast losing its identity in the huge human ocean called India. The resident Pandits have their own problems. Besides being an eye sore for the government, they have problems at the social front to address.

Around three thousand Pandits still live in the Valley. Like the majority community they also want the migrant back. But, the way government has been trying to lure the migrants to return to the Valley lowers their metabolism. The president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangrash Samiti, Sanjay Tickoo says: "The way return of the migrants has been planned is not going to help the resident Pandits. In order to protect and preserve our identity, we have to find boys from the community for our girls. This is not possible unless the migrants return to the Valley and stay here for ever. Return of an individual for a short span of time is useless. It may project a rosy picture of otherwise explosive situation in the Valley but the problems we have been facing will remain unaddressed."

Tickoo's argument is good but not strong enough to effect a change in the mindset of a host of actors connected directly or indirectly with the issue. Nobody can force the migrants to return to the Valley along with their home and hearth to preserve the identity of a small group of people who happen to be their co-religionists. The problem can be addressed if the state and non-state actors and the leaders of the Pandits play their part well without politicizing the sufferings of an entire community. A question arises. Why should a migrant put himself and his family to risk for the sake of three thousand resident Pandits?

But have the migrants other options? The Kashmiri Pandits held a conference at New Delhi last year. Around 2500 persons attended the conference. All of them were in tears. They did not weep for government jobs. They did not weep for their security either. They moistened their eyes for a single reason. All of them were concerned about their identity. The new generation has not seen Kashmir. They are neither nostalgic about their roots nor concerned about their identity. In fact the exodus has solved many of their problems. But the people who have lived in Kashmir, shared moments of joy and grief with their Muslim brethren are not only nostalgic but want to protect and preserve their identity any how. And, the time unfortunately is slipping from their hands. After three generations, the services of a Bhan may be needed to remind Kashmiris that thousands of Kashmiris had migrated to various parts of India and settled at such and such places.

Kashmiris cannot live peacefully and with dignity outside Kashmir. History has proved it time and again. Professor BL Bhan writes in his Paradise Lost: Seven exoduses of Kashmiri Pandits that Pandits had to migrate from the Valley seven times. He accuses Bulbul Shah of scripting the exodus of Pundits. He has not spared the Chaks, the Sultans and the Afghans. All of them, according to him, persecuted the community and forced its migration. Not to speak of Aurangzeb, he does not spare Jehangir and Shah-e-Jehan as well. The irony is that he accuses Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, GM Sadiq, Ghulam Muhammad Shah and even Dr Farooq Abdullah of engineering what he calls exodus of Pandits during their respective regimes. However, he fails to mention how many Pandits left the Valley from 1947-1989 and where in India did they settle. The only place he has mentioned is the one where Nehru's marriage was solemnized.

Professor Bhan has probably written the book in haste and without undertaking any serious research if not with ulterior motives. In 1947 Sheikh Abdullah and the National Conference workers stood guard outside the houses of the Pandits. This has been acknowledged by the Pandits themselves. The people of Kashmir have always been tolerant. The revival of Muslim Conference in mid 40s saw Muslims fighting each other. But nobody ever touched any Pandit. The former chief conservator of forests, Noorul Hasan narrates his experiences. "We lived in down town. One day when I left for college, I was intercepted by a group of hooligans near Bohri Kadal. I was asked whether I was a Sher (supporter of Sher-e-Kashmr) or a Bakra (Supporter of Mirwaiz Moulvi Yusuf Shah). I said Bakra and the hooligans gave me a sound thrashing. Somehow I managed escape but was again caught near Khankah-e-Moula. This time I again made a mistake. I was beaten, this time for being a supporter of Sher-e-Kashmir. Again I gave them a slip but only to be caught again near Narparistaan. This time I told the hooligans that I was a Kashmiri Pandit. On hearing this, I was given safe passage. Some one from the crowd said, `Oh! Leave him; he is our revered Pandit brother'."

This is how the Muslims treated the Pandits during those fateful days. When Muslims were not safe, nobody would touch a Pandit. But for paucity of space, hundreds of examples could be cited here to nullify the malicious propaganda unleashed against Kashmiri Muslims by the vested interests. And see how Pandits have acknowledged it. Professor Sheikh Showkat, in an article for Greater Kashmir dated May 27, 1999 writes: "A day before Shivratri I boarded Malva Express at Jammu railway station. After a few minutes, a Kashmiri Pandit along with his sister and two kids boarded he same compartment. The Pandit was having a problem. He had to drop his sister in Delhi and celebrate Shivratri at his home next day in Jammu. For a while he looked around, after noticing me he straight away came to my seat confirming that I was a Kashmiri Muslim, asked two passengers next to me for exchange of seats so that his sister and the two kids could share my company. After some persuasion the passengers agreed to exchange the seats. Kashmiri Pandit, his sister and the two kids came and occupied the seats next to me. After sitting for a while, the Pandit stepped out of the train. He told me that since you are here now to accompany my sister, I do not need to travel with her. He did not know me, nor did he know my whereabouts. He trusted me merely because I happened to be Kashmiri Muslim. He did not trust any other passenger in the compartment although all of them happened to be Hindus."

This happened after the exodus. Even the migration has not changed the psyche of the Pandits. Ignoring their co-religionists in India, they entrust the duty of protecting the honour of their daughters to a Kashmiri Muslim. Why? Another incident merits special mention here. A day after the Chttisinghpora massacre, I left for Jammu in connection with a defamation case. After leaving my baggage in the Circuit House, I called on a Pandit friend. Meanwhile, the authorities imposed curfew in the city. I had to say with him for three days. In the evening he looked at me surprisingly. "What is the matter? You have not offered Nimaaz today", he asked. I told him there were a number of pictures of Hindu gods in the room. He stood up and tried to remove the pictures. I stopped him. Jokingly I said: "Your wife will throw you out of the house if you remove the pictures. Do not worry, I will somehow manage", I said. What a special relationship Pandits and Muslims have shared in the Valley. The vested interests by creating a wedge between the two communities are not doing any favour to anybody.

The migrants are perceived as intruders notwithstanding the packages offered by Maharashtra, Gujarat and some other states. Slowly but surely the community is getting diluted. A human being cannot survive on reservations in technical institutions, jobs in big business houses and hollow slogans alone. Some thing else is also needed. The Pandits have to understand that they are being used in the name of employment, residential plots and economic packages. This is where Tickoo's argument holds good. A migrant is appointed and posted in a remote corner of the Valley. He joins his duties but in a month or so his officer engineers and facilitates his exit from what he calls Valley of ghosts. The migrant gets his pay but the vacancy created by his exit goes to the kith and kin of the officer. The migrants have become a gold mine for the bureaucrats. They do not want honourable and dignified return of the migrants for obvious reasons. It, therefore, is high time when the Pandit leadership, the dissident leadership and civil society in Kashmir must initiate a serious dialogue. Together they can make a difference.

Counterpoint by Sanjay Raina:

Dear Mr. Zahir - ud -din,

I read with interest your article in the online version of Kashmir Times today. I too happen to be a so called migrant and must empathize with what happened with us during the fateful years especially in the early 90's.

Zahir (i hope you permit me to call you by that name), what you have articulated is a real fact. Any of us who were born and lived in Kashmir will certainly agree with your comments and your assessment. In fact one could write volumes about the bonnie homie that existed between the two communities. I have a friend by the name Masood Hussain Qureshi and I must tell you that even after having migrated from the valley I still have only one friend and he is Masood. That relationship can only be understood by the two of us and nobody. But so is that case with a whole of Kashmiri Pandits. So that cannot be the talking point of any discussion.

However your article fails to provide the exact reasons that made us leave. You may blame Jagmohan or the central government or anybody else. The mute fact is we were failed by the same people who we thought shall protect us. The same Ghulam Qadir, the same Manzoor Wani, the same Zahir ud din, never rose to the occasion and simply vanished when we were being tormented. Did you hear the loud speakers blaring on those fateful nights? Did you know what was being spoken through those loud speakers? Did you know all the "elements" who suddenly were seen as freedom fighters were the same people who we played cricket with in the narrow lanes and by lanes? And who was there to protect us? Is there a single instance where some Kashmiri Muslims stopped KP's from migrating? No Zahir not at all.

I lived in Pamposh Colony, Natipora. My friend, it is beyond words to describe the fear that we had. And it was not due to Jagmohan. Poor guy became a scape goat. It was what was being blarred out of the mosques. Who would stay there if some one said 'aisse gasse kashir batav ros te batnev saan'. I have heard it brother and no not through some one else.What about the selective killings of Kashmiri Pandits? Who can explain that? Were they all Mukhbirs? What about Satish Galdar? What about Naveen Sapru? What about Justice Ganjoo? What about RK Raina, the same one who Bitta Karate shot dead inside a rice container. Will you still blame Jagmohan for that.

However this all has no relevance now. On hind sight we did the right thing. Why? Because we saved our honour. We suddenly found freedom. Our kids are today securing seats in professional colleges without having to depend on some moronic clerk in the GA department of the J&K secretariat. You may call this by whatever name but we call it the real freedom. There came a time when getting an admission into the least preferred courses in Kashmir University was a challenge for Kashmiri Pandits, a community whose only showcase was education. How does one explain this?

Zahir, migration was a wake up call for all of us. And we woke fine. We do not face any discrimination now. Our kids are getting jobs and our kids are getting educated too. We live a dignified life and are proud of it

The fact is KP's are Indians. We believe in the sovereignty and integrity of India and that is the reason why we were forced out. A large population, in fact majority, of Kashmiri Muslims do not toe this line. And now some of them are singing the tune of an independent state. This is at cross roads with what we believe in and the twain shall never meet. History has proven this time and again. Two co religionists are never at peace if their political idealogies are different.

We miss our kushur Hakh, our revered temples, our Khir Bhawani, Our Khrew and our various points of confluence. But we will live without it. We have done that for last 20 years atleast and shall do so for many more years to come. Yes, our leaders are theives and chors. But that's what leaders are like. One faction talks of Panun Kashmir and the other talks none. Atleast they do not have double standards of the kind exhibited by Mufti and his daughter and lately Omar with his speech in the parliament. If KM's were so protective of us, what would have it taken to have issued statements in favour of the Amarnath land. Buddy, if we can reserve Haj Terminals in airports all over india what problem is there if some small piece of land is reserved for our pilgrimage

We certainly miss Kashmir. Who won't? And certainly we will go back someday. Shall we settle there? My personal answer is no. But isn't that a better price to pay than losing our freedom? Think over it!!

Sincerely,

Sanjay Raina

Musings from Mumbai

To the envy of his colleagues shivering in the deep freeze, Bashir heads south to catch the "Bombay fever" turning him (heavens forbid!) into a sage

(Mr. Bashir Manzar, 50, was born in Chack Ferozpora, near Tangmarg in Baramulla district. He matriculated from the Government High School in Chandilora, Tangmarg, and received his Master's degree in English from the Kashmir University. He is publisher of the English daily newspaper, Kashmir Images, Kashmir's only multi-edition daily newspaper. Mr. Manzar is a poet and has published a collection of poems in Urdu - gazals and nazams - 1n 1996 under the title, "Daire Ka Safar." His interests are reading, writing, poetry, music, travel, and of course, politics.)

Let’s be what we are

Elections were over. New government was in the office. New hopes were in the air and I decided to take a break. Friends wondered why I should be leaving the place when new government was just in. Owners of the newspapers are normally expected to be around at such junctures. But…

Phir Bahar Aaye Tou Sehra Ki Taraf Chal Nikla
(As the Spring came, he again left for deserts)

But I didn’t go to any desert. My destination was the city that I love. The city which is my second home – Mumbai. I like to call it Bombay and Bombay alone. This word Mumbai – its Mum sounds obnoxious, may be has something to do with Kashmiri lingo.

Anyway, had a long holiday in the city of my dreams – my Bombay. It was so long that on 20th day I got a one-liner email from my Editor – “Sorry to disturb but I think I have a right to know your programmes and schedules.”

Sounds very casual, but knowing the Editor, I could smell the frustration, anger and helplessness that lied beneath this otherwise polite one-liner. And I started packing and am back in freezing Kashmir.

I remember my first visit to Bombay. It was in 1994. I landed at Kandeveli railway station where a friend was expected to be waiting for me. I couldn’t find her and as she was the only contact, was wondering where to go.

And suddenly the public address system of the railway station started airing my name. “Attention Mr. Bashir Manzar. Wherever you are please report at customer care counter, somebody is waiting for you.” Wow! My first visit and my name was being announced all over – a sea of people watching me rushing towards the announced destination and there she was waiting for me.

So my entry to this city of dreams was as dramatic as the city itself is. I just fall in love with this city. That day and this day, whenever I get a chance, my destination is always Bombay.

This time it was pure holiday but still I had some lectures in few colleges and earned some bucks (I needed, was really short of cash). Rest of the time I read and watched movies. Slumdog Millionaire, that is making waves all over, was, undoubtedly, my first choice. I loved the movie but couldn’t find anything great about it. Still it is all over, having nearly a dozen Oscar nominations. I think international audience loves to see ‘poor and hungry India’ and that is why the movie is doing so well in international fora.

But as far as Rehman goes, he is as superb as ever. Honestly speaking, if I have to vote for Rehman and Gulzar, my first and only choice would be Chal Chainia Chainia. That was ultimate. Jai Ho is great – but Chainia - no match.

I watched Dasvidaniya, A Wednesday, Desh Drohi, Ramchand Pakistani, Luck By Chance, Ghajni, Rab Ne Banadi Jodi and lots more. While in Bombay if you don’t watch movies, why are you there?

But what I pat myself for is reading two superb books - Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I think these books should be included in the syllabus of graduate level students of Kashmir. And if I have any authority, I will do that right now.

Both the books revolve around Afghanistan. Shah’s regime; his ouster; USSR invasion; Pak-US-Afghan Mujahideen nexus; USSR defeat; group clashes and death and destruction; emergence of Taliban and their horrible, unimaginable rule of terror and Hamid Karzai’s entry. The books are spine chilling. You can’t leave these books without finishing them and if you are a Kashmiri, you will identify yourself with lots of things in these books. I suggest the two books a must read for all Kashmiris and particularly our separatist leadership including Syed Ali Geelani and Asiya Andrabi.

I may be less religious; I may be less ritualistic; I may not be a traditional practicing one but I have strong beliefs in the basics of my religion and what most of the Taliban had been doing in Afghanistan sound religious from no angel.

But Europeans will love to call all the sick activities of Taliban as “Islamic”. They need a stick to beat Muslims and Taliban is very handy. Their long beards; their prayer rugs; their rhetorical sermons – all make them ideal sticks with which Muslims of the world could easily be beaten.

The Islam of Taliban revolves around oppressing women as much as possible; hating every sign of progress and prosperity; killing everyone who, in their scheme of things, is not Islamic. It is savagery in the name of Islam. God save us!

But who created this demon? Not Muslims, but Americans in association with a country that found its place on the globe in the name of Islam and then did every thing to trouble Muslims all over.

Today the same Taliban are up in arms against both Americans and that country – Pakistan. They killed Pakistan’s tallest leader Benazir and are dictating foreign and domestic policies of both US and Pakistan.

Sometimes I think, let it be. One who feeds the serpent is to get bitten. But then I think of the millions of innocent people residing in these two countries. They never knew what monster (Taliban) was being created by the governments of these two countries. Why should they suffer?

And here in Kashmir, some people want us to be part of this global nonsense. They want Kashmiri children to follow Mullah Omar, the one-eyed Taliban chief and Osama bin Laden, the multi-millionaire Arab who was politically and militarily fathered by America. God save us!

Why only he, Taliban too were fathered by America and mothered by Pakistan and strangely some voices in Kashmir want our children embrace the same illegitimate parenthood. Pity! Let’s be what we are. We don’t need new fathers and mothers, we love ours.

Look Around You Because God's Mercy is Everywhere

Feroz sees holiness even in unholy situations, but most of all he senses spirituality in acts of generosity big or small

(Mr. Feroz Ahmad Paray, 23, was born in Kalampora in Pulwama District. He completed his B.Sc. degree (pre-medical stream) from the Government College in Pulwama, and is currently pursuing post graduation in Business Economics from Wigan & Leigh College in Srinagar. His personal interests vary from writing poems and playing cricket to net surfing and shopping. His favorite author is Khalil Gibran.)


SPIRITUALITY

If I can ease one life the aching
Or cool one pain
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again
I shall not live in vain
(Emily Dickinson)

During the early stages of the spiritual journey, we can feel a certain deprivation when we have to keep saying “no to the senses as they clamor for things that will only add to the burden of the journey later on.”

Don't eat this. Don't drink that. Don't smoke. Don't watch that. This is what you keep hearing from your spiritual teacher. There is no rapture, no ecstasy, only do’s and don'ts.

The purpose is not to subjugate the body. We need to rein the senses to be faithful allies on our journey for two compelling reason: First, the body is our vehicle, and we need to keep it healthy, strong and resilient so that it can carry us steadily and safely to the summit of consciousness. Second, training the senses strengthens the will. A strong will is required to move out of the Valley of Death, which is our physical world. An un-trained will becomes self-will, an enemy. But a trained will is a powerful ally.

Everything that God has created is potentially holy, and our task as humans is to find that holiness in unholy situations. When we can do this, we will have learned to nurture our soul. We must remember that everything in this world has God's fingerprints on it - that alone makes it special. Our inability to see beauty doesn't suggest that it is not there. Rather it suggests that we are not looking carefully enough to see it. As long as we can find even a little of holiness in a situation, our soul will grow and feel cared for.

Nourishing our soul can be compared to nourishing our body. Sometimes we pause during a meal and truly savor the food. We realize how really wonderful it is, appreciate it and count our blessings. Other times we simply shovel the food into our mouth, unaware we're nourishing our body. The same is true of spiritual nourishment. There are times we are simply "blown away" by finding ourselves in the presence of God. When we perform acts of kindness - when we pray, give to charity or forgive someone who may have hurt us - we get a wonderful feeling inside. Each of us was put on this earth to fulfill their potential for humanity and the soul is that part of us that makes us truly human.

The soul is not a physical entity. Since the soul represents the parts of the human being (our values, memories, identity, sense of humor etc.) that are not physical, it cannot get sick, it can not die, it can not disappear. In short it is immortal. When we fulfill our soul's destiny, we feel “right." Conversely, when we get caught up in our own self-interest and forget to care for others, we feel empty and unfulfilled. Let's therefore find some way to “give back" something to the world and especially to this downtrodden Kashmir, in order to feel a sense of completeness.

Any number of things can fulfill this goal: Helping someone in studies, volunteering for community services, cheering the patients in the hospitals, and much more. Whatever we choose, we will gain a sense of giving of ourselves and of sharing ourselves with the world. In this way, we are fulfilling the destiny of our soul.

Many of us make the mistake of believing that if they only had more money or more of that, more of this, or a better looking body, they would feel the sense of “wholeness” they have always craved. Virtually without exception, this is not the case. What is actually lacking is the dimension of giving as a means of nourishing the soul. God is everywhere. The proof of the existence of God is that we often witness ordinary people doing extraordinary things and coming up with the strength they never knew they had. God doesn't take away the problem but He gives us the resources to cope with it. Religion can not change facts but it can change the way we relate to them. We “meet” God when we pray, when we are helpful and kind, when we overcome nasty habits, addictions and pettiness in our lives. The spiritual growth is like climbing a ladder. Each step nourishes our soul. In time we feel completely nourished and connected to God. We will have truly met God. So what are you waiting for? Start nourishing your soul sooner rather than later!

Thank you God for the delicious food that sustains us always, everyday, every season, every moment. Thank you Mother Nature and to the farmer who harvested the crop, the grocer and everybody. Thank your mom and dad for tasty preparations. Thank you all!

Mirwaiz's Excuse or Ruse?

Nazir says Kashmiris have a right to check the income and expenditure of Hurriyat

(Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani, 59, is a jurist. He was born in Naranthal (Jalshree) village near Baramulla and was a student at the Government Degree College in Baramulla. Subsequently, he studied English Literature and Politics at the University of Kashmir, Law at the Sindh Muslim Law College in the Karachi-Pakistan, Islamic Law at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), International Law at the Queen Mary University London, Victimology at Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik - former Yugoslavia, Peace Keeping/Humanitarian Operations & Election Monitoring from Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento S. Anna - Pisa Italy, and has a Ph.D. in the Jurisprudence of UN Resolutions and Kashmir Case. He successfully argued a constitutional writ petition in the High Court of Azad Kashmir from December 1992 to April 1999 on the question of self determination and duties of AJK Government. As a lead human rights advocate he has faced a sentence of 5 years imprisonment and 15 lashes and a death sentence during the Martial Law of General Zia in Pakistan. Dr. Gilani has introduced awareness around the title of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to a Rights Movement since 1877 and the respective sovereign claims of India and Pakistan since 1948.)


Kashmir Politics and Recession

A faction of Kashmiri leadership domiciled in the urban comforts of Srinagar, some permanently and some on a make shift basis, hats off to Kashmir politics plc, stunned a miniscule of news paper readers and TV enthusiast, that the world recession had hit their political enterprise as well. As a result of a claimed financial crisis in “Hurriyat (M) plc” it has been decreed that leaders would return to their native places, district offices would be closed, 16 office bearers relieved, salaries of rest cut by 50%, smaller parties to merge in major constituents and establish contact with Jammu Muslims.

Nobody knows when Hurriyat (M) held an open public debate on taking an unprecedented tell tale decision to declare the 132 year old Rights Movement an ‘orphan’ which needed a contribution in terms of Khairat and Sadaqa.

The leadership has disgraced itself and shamed every honour bearing man, woman, young and old Kashmiri of all manner in and outside Kashmir, when Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that “he had started a fund raising organisation 'Darul Khairaat'. Few months back, Mirwaiz said, "The response from masses has been tremendous. We are receiving huge donations and have the responsibility of using the peoples' money in a judicious way." Mirwaiz has taken this decision as a politician and pubic interest demands that we examine its merits and demerits.

The first and foremost question would be if he has floated another organization called organisation 'Darul Khairaat' few months back, why did he withhold this information so far from the general public and who were the people who took part in scrutinising the existing state of financial affairs and concluded that there was a financial crunch and required Khairat and Sadaqa. If the movement was powered by popular sentiment, which it is, Mirwaiz and others enjoying his close proximity have no right to disgrace the movement to a point that they have, without any reference to people, started a 'Darul Khairaat' to receive donations.

Public has a duty to ensure the flow of funds for the movement and Mirwaiz and others ordered by some quarters to remain in his close proximity have a duty to remain transparent in their private and public expenditures and the public has a right to examine the financial record of the movement. Mirwaiz has divulged all the areas of expenditure and he cannot claim any privilege in hiding the financial record from a member of the public. In the aggregate interests of the movement one may allow him a degree of privilege to maintain the confidentiality of a fraction of this expenditure but that too has to be examined in camera by a body of concerned people.

It seems that the announcement was cleverly timed to coincide with the observance of Kashmir Solidarity Day in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and other parts of the world to exert pressure on the hand that holds the purse in Islamabad. The announcement embeds an interesting invitation for the concerned quarters in India as well to step in and bail out Hurriyat (M) from this financial limp. And the Indian Government would not be unconcerned on the subject. It too has a contractual obligation in the State.

Since Mirwaiz has gone public in regards to finances one would ask him the reasons that have caused the drying up of the source of donations. He may equally be called upon by the authorities to disclose the sources that used to fund his faction of politics. Without prejudice to our right to seek a fuller account of the spent finances, the manner of expenditure and the source of funding we have a reasonable cause to say that Mirwaiz is not tailored to lead the Kashmir Case without fear and his understanding of the case is abysmally unreliable.

Mirwaiz does not need to float 'Darul Khairaat' and disgrace and shame us all by seeking Khairat and Sadaqa. He does not need to close the district offices, lay off employees or slash salaries by 50%. He needs to introduce austerity, transparency and accountability and has to start from himself. Kashmir Movement is rich to finance itself and the leaders are required to keep their balance sheet clean to access and demand these riches. Under the present circumstances Mirwaiz remains directly responsible in bringing the Kashmir Movement to the point of insolvency. Government of Pakistan and the Kashmiri Diaspora from the Valley helped him as Chairman of undivided Hurriyat to appear at the Islamic Summit in Casablanca, Morocco in December 1994 and present the Kashmir case. He was accompanied by another senior leader Abbas Ansari.

Islamic Summit in December 1994 under Resolution ICFM/22-94/PIL/DR.3/Rev.1, under item 10 has resolved and appealed to all “Member States, OIC and Islamic Institutions, such as Islamic Solidarity Fund, and philanthropists to mobilise funds and contribute generously towards providing humanitarian assistance to the Kashmiri people”. Mirwaiz needs to be asked in regards to the funds that have come consequent to this principal and summit appeal for the last 15 years. If these funds have been received by the Government of Pakistan, why did he and his other associates, who have been enjoying the luxury of unhindered travel to Pakistan and have continued to meet Pakistani authorities in Delhi and Islamabad not questioned in the cause of movement. If the income and expenditure record of Hurriyat (M) is clean, they need not fear and should hold Pakistan accountable for the last ‘Paisa, Riyal, Pound or Dollar’ which it has been receiving from December 1994. The people of Kashmir need to know the mechanics and real dynamics of the interest of Kashmiri leadership. And if the Genie ever came out of the bottle and started asserting right to question, I am confident that hell will break loose. A pro India, a pro Pakistan or a believer in an Independent Kashmir all conserve a right to check the income and expenditure.

Kashmiri leaders need to ask the Government of Azad Kashmir constituted on 4 October 1947 and reconstituted on 24 October 1947 to pay from its budget a due share towards the Rights Movement in Kashmir. And movement does not mean paid politics. It means welfare of the people. They need to ask the Government of Pakistan to pay from outstanding dues of Mangla Dam and the incomes collected from ‘Kashmir Properties’ spread of all over Pakistan. Pakistan is using water of Mangla Dam, a natural resource embedded in the habitat of Kashmir and it has made a declaration in this regard on 3 October 1957 at the UN.

Kashmiri leaders can negotiate with honour their due share of money from Azad Kashmir and Pakistan only if they have not and do not negotiate their private interests in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. Mirwaiz remains accountable to give the people of Kashmir (every State Subject), urban and rural, a full account of the privileges and private interests that Hurriyat leaders domiciled in Srinagar and its representatives stationed in Islamabad have negotiated and continue to negotiate with the Government of Azad Kashmir and various sections of the Government of Pakistan.

More so Mirwaiz should differentiate between his office as a religious leader and his office as a political leader. His advice to “smaller parties to merge in major constituents” is too late but better late than never. However, his advice to them to “establish contact with Jammu Muslims” is a communal statement and it violates not only the constitution of Hurriyat but remains at war with the Provisional Declaration of the Government of Azad Kashmir. The Rights Movement is all inclusive. It is for all the State Subjects of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. A careful read of JKCHR UN Document E/CN.4/2005/NGO/204 of 28 February 2005 would help the leaders in this regard.

Diminishing Stature of Separatists

Khursheed does a post mortem on a movement reduced to mostly off-site leaders and part-time workers

(Mr. Khursheed Ahmad Wani, 36, was in Tral in South Kashmir. He graduated with a B.Sc. degree from Sri Partap College, Srinagar, and M.Sc. (Physics) from the Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. He is the Srinagar Bureau chief of the Poineer, a major national daily, and is the Editor of the Etalaat group of newspapers in Srinagar that carried the following article.)

Separatists find no end to start anew

A handful of workers belonging to a constituent of Hurriyat Conference appeared on the Residency Road closer to the cluster of newspaper offices and began shouting azaadi slogans in front of some reluctant cameramen. A few cops from Kothibagh police station watched the slogan shouters from a distance. Unlike in the past, the policemen appeared less interested in flexing their muscles on the part-time protestors. There were no vehicles waiting to bundle them in after beating them ruthlessly. After ten minutes, the sloganeers dispersed returning the "press enclave" to normal.

A few months back, before the assembly elections were held in Kashmir, this was not the state of affairs. A mere presence of Hurriyat workers, or even a stray shout for azaadi in any corner of the Valley, particularly in the Srinagar city, was invitation to wrath of the cops. From pitilessly hitting the protestors with savage batons to firing tear smoke canisters and bullets, the police and paramilitary were omnipresent to quell any separatist exhibition.

The elections and their yield have not turned the cops humane. It is actually the proven ineffectiveness of the separatists that rendered them innocuous, at least for the time being. Their slogan shouting does not qualify for the headlines nor do the authorities feel the exigency to bundle them in vehicles for lodging in nearest police stations.

A plethora of reasons is cited for the diminishing stature of separatists in post-election Kashmir politics. The unusually high turnout in assembly polls made it clear to the separatist leadership that it failed to read the pulse of the people. This is a fact that the then Governor's Administration in consultation with pro-India political leadership of Kashmir took a harsh decision to put majority of the separatist leaders and their prominent followers behind bars to ensure hassle-free voting in strategically overstretched seven phases of the election. Consequently, the separatist leadership was unable to launch a massive anti-poll campaign.

But, the people voted and recorded the highest turnout, much to the chagrin of the separatist leaders. Observers say that the voter turnout was the watershed and resulted in humiliating defeat of the separatists. "The people may not have rejected the separatism but they definitely rejected the leaders spearheading this cause in the Valley", says Kashmir watcher Abdul Qayoom. "If people were definitely committed to these leaders, their boycott call would have been honoured. Grassroots level leaders rule the hearts and minds of people. It hardly matters whether they are behind bars or free at their homes", Qayoom says quoting examples of popular resistance leaders of past and present in the world history.

The separatist leaders have no option but to concede that their line of action was miscalculated. "We have to find out the reasons as to why a million people gathered at our call at Eidgah on August 22, 2008 but the same people voted in favour of pro-India politicians just after three months", says Javed Mir of Liberation Forum who is witness to the crests and troughs of separatist movement in Kashmir since 1988.

Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, leaders of the now-defunct Coordination Committee have admitted that the turnout in the elections was unexpected and morale sagging. However, a month after the elections and Omar Abdullah government in place, the two leaders have not met to ponder over the consequences of the elections. The compelled bonhomie, which the people witnessed during the peak of anti-India stir seems to be evaporating. Privately, the two leaders and their sidekicks admit that the chances of their "coordination" are minimal. The tone and tenor of their statements is an indication.

The disarray in separatist camp is visible in every constituent. Many of the jailed and house-arrested leaders were freed, days before the Governor NN Vohra passed the baton of power to Omar Abdullah. Understandably, Omar Abdullah chose to relax the restrictions on these leaders and their followers. However, they failed to gather at one floor to ponder over the consequences of the assembly elections and to chalk out the future strategy. Many of the leaders, who have their passports valid, chose to leave the Valley, on one pretext or the other. Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat overstretched his stay in Pakistan where he had gone before the announcement of polls in Kashmir. Yasin Malik, who chose to remain silent on the ticklish issue of election participation ever since he was released after two-month incarceration, found it proper to dash off to Delhi for treatment. The doctors advice to postpone the appendicitis operation for two months, directed him to Karachi rather than Srinagar, to solemnize nikah with a Pakistani artist. Sajjad Lone, leader of the People's Conference did come out with a suggestion to re-strategize the "ongoing movement" in tune with the local and international dynamics, but he also left the Valley without a follow-up on his suggestions. He is currently in Pakistan with his wife and twins whose return to Kashmir has become a diplomatic issue. Syed Ali Geelani, nursing a portion of lone malignant kidney finds it difficult to remain in Kashmir during the odd chilly days. He is also issuing statements from Delhi alone.

Barring Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, not a single recognizable separatist leader chose to stay put in Kashmir. The Government, on its part, adopted a strategy to keep the separatist camp in disarray without anyone trying to reestablish contacts of the separatist groups. This explains the continued detention of Shabir Ahmad Shah and Masarat Alam, who emerged as the prominent negotiators belonging to both factions of Hurriyat Conference.

Shabir Shah not only bridged the gap between separatist groups but also made a serious attempt to broad base the Hurriyat Conference in rural areas. It was his initiation that Mirwaiz led Hurriyat Conference opened district offices in mid 2008. however, with Shabir Shah jailed under Public Safety Act, Mirwaiz has announced to wind up the district offices. Observers say that the closure of district offices, for whatever reasons, demonstrates the contradiction in Hurriyat's future course of action. On Kashmir Solidarity Day, Mirwaiz conceded that one of the reasons for massive turnout in polls was that the separatist leadership failed to reach out to the rural masses. He suggested addressing this area more seriously and consistently. "But before this admission he had closed down Hurriyat's district offices. And also he has not ventured out of the city ever since his home detention ended", said a senior functionary of Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat, pleading anonymity.

A Night in Hell and Not a Gun in Sight

The bad news is that terrorism still lurches in Srinagar. The good news it that it is not because of guns. A scribe for the Rising Kashmir describes his personal ordeal in a city overwhelmed by roaming dogs


Who Let The Dogs Out?

Hakeem Irfan

It was the biggest in town. It never made the continuous horrific and scary noise. But the rhythmic Dolby digital breathing of it was enough to make me sweat to the level I cannot explain. I was encountering one of the biggest canines in the city.

Around 11 in the night I was walking past Zero Bridge after completing an assignment at my office. My destination was Rainawari. I was walking the distance with my colleague, but at once we crossed Zero Bridge, our ways branched off. He headed towards Lal Chowk, and I headed for Rianwari. We were walking with our mobiles acting as troches. Some of the street lights were working but they were extremely dim. It seemed to be a perfect setting for the horror sequence.

I was anticipating an encounter with dogs. I had read the news paper reports about the growing dog menace in the city. I was now looking for the some pebbles. It is the only defence of humans against the canines, in Kashmir. Otherwise too Kashmiris have only stones to throw!

Soon a gang of dogs barged out from TRC ground, barking as loud as possible. The silence of night acted as the amplifier. The long barks with a pause for comparatively longer time made horror scenes flash in my mind that I had watched in the movies till date. But I refused to succumb to the horror and continued my night stroll.

Crossing the stretch of road spanning J&K Bank Corporate Headquarters was like to be hell and back. The vocal cords of the dogs had strained a bit and the noise was now diminishing. Actually the four of them tried to run after me, but somehow they lost interest, perhaps me not going to the gym saved me! Not the right pound of flesh!

Simultaneously the sweat droplets slithered down on my body, and I could well feel it. It made me laugh at my own self. The droplets of sweat were the only physical companions.

I managed to reach the three-way, where Boulevard bears on right. Another band of canines was shouting at each other; to settle some scores, I think! I never wanted to pay heed to it but they came too close to be avoided. I thought they were asking me to be their trouble shooter. I forcibly climbed an iron grill on one side of the road and stared at all of them. Under the flood of street lights all of them were visible. After few minutes of a barking session they all showed their teeth to each other and dispersed peacefully. I took a sigh of relief. I came down of the ‘higher pedestal’ and restarted my journey.

Scores of the canines were sleeping on the shop parapets. Some of them were just staring at stars. Others were gazing at me without any noise. It was the real testing time. I continued my night stroll. I was moving towards our favorite barbeque market Khayam.

As I reached Khayam Chowk, dozens of dogs were alerted. They were resting on the huge SMC garbage bin. It was a dog regiment. Soon, like the don, appeared a huge dog. It was one my friends of the same area who had talked about the same creature earlier. It was turning horrible. Nearly fifty dogs in front of me. Few of them appeared from the backside. I had no choice. Decisions had to be taken and executed is split seconds. I started reciting whatever I remembered of sacred. I started taking small light steps. Dogs started moving as well.

Everything was frozen this time. I was benumbed. No ideas. No thoughts. It was only how to cross Khayam unhurt. All the dogs were well built and the biggest one resembled the lion that I once saw in a Zoo, in New Delhi. I think the leftover of the barbeques had made them such.

The dogs started assembling on one side as if giving me the way. But I could not trust them. I took a step back. The few on the backside were still there. I decided to walk slowly. As I started walking, nearly fifty of them walked along, without making any sound. Just their breathing was audible. It could have been a good music for the some new Slumdog movie. They all just followed me up to the Nowpora Chowk, some Kilometer away, as an escort. But it must have been the first escort to scare the escorted.

Now I was near Shiraz Chowk, Khanyar. Suddenly Manika Gandhi flashed across my mind. Does she ever had any encounter with the dogs, like the one I had? Does she what stray dogs mean to ordinary citizens!? Or is she living in the world of Tommies and Nancies who never come out their master’s garden. The high breeds that have passports and the ones who are treated in the five star clinics or the birthday canines. That is why she opposes the killing of dogs. Is she against the killing of those who she has never met and has no firsthand experience of? Those Lactogen Tommies and puppies are very cute but, Mrs. Gandhi people have to face these non-vegetarian barbeque fed dogs that could tear a human being to pieces.

Meanwhile I reached Rainawari. I was a bit relaxed though dogs were still there. I was moving in a lane near my house. It was dark and I could just see what my mobile light could allow me to. I just stepped on the tail of a sleeping dog and it cried like anything. At last things turned ugly. I started running. Dog also started chasing and barking. It was a female as the voices of few small puppies could also be heard. I managed to enter my house and it continued barking at me. It was an unhappy ending.

When I entered the kitchen I saw my Kurta torn from the back side. The dog had got something of me, at least! Soon my cell phone rang. It was my colleague. He had the same story. He was trapped near Poloview. Dogs had surrounded him. He too shouted back. He said this is what he could do. He managed to enter the office of one of the newspaper. All he could do was cursing me for the decision of taking that late assignment.

I remembered the English number, "Who let the dogs out?"

Kashmir's Roads are a Disgrace

The report in the Kashmir Images discusses how Kashmir is turning into a cesspool fed by greed and corruption

‘Not rain and snow, blame corruption for ditches and potholes of roads’

Srinagar: Though the condition of roads in entire Valley was never satisfactory, the recent rains and snow have defaced and damaged them completely. Obviously, the government is once again the butt of ridicule with people squarely blaming the corruption in various agencies for the miserable condition of roads. And if the huge ditches and potholes in the roads and streets across the Valley are taken as a pointer, people’s allegations are not unfounded! “Since the road construction is done with substandard material in connivance with and with active support and patronage of corrupt engineers, there is no wonder that these roads do not stand even minor weather vagaries,” says Altaf Ahmed, a civil engineer. “Just give me the name of a single road or street in Srinagar which has withstood the recent rains and snow,” asked Altaf, adding “and it should not be difficult to understand what will be condition of roads elsewhere in the Valley, particularly in the countryside if the condition of the roads in capital city is so pathetically miserable.” “It is difficult to walk on the roads here and one can only imagine how difficult it is to drive when there are ditches and potholes everywhere,” says Ajaz Ahmed, who works as a draftsman with one of the engineering wings of the government. “Let me confess that in Kashmir there is no concept of road construction,” adds Ajaz, and “of course the rampant corruption in various engineering wings here only adds to the misery as the concerned agencies never bother to look what kind of material is being used in laying roads, nor do they ensure that the contractors adhere to the prescribed specifications.” “It’s true, because you have to understand that Kashmir is not the only place where it snows, in fact in Europe and US or Canada the snowfall as well as cold season is much more severe, but you will never see the roads and streets getting damaged there,” says a retired civil engineer, who didn’t want to be named for obvious reasons. “…and once you compare the situation here with that elsewhere in the developed world, of course you will see that it is the rampant corruption and not rain or snow that is the culprit.”