Author: Kashmir Newsline

Photo essay on Kashmir’s premier tailoring shop established a hundred and eighty years ago. Jaspreet Kaur K Salama, the corner shop on Polo View Street was a chance discovery, when I stopped to look around finding the entire Polo View Road dug up. As I waked in, I met Amjid Gulzar Bhat (K Salama’s great grandson), who showed me the usual Kashmiri fabrics and embroidery. We soon got talking and I got to know that Amjid left his corporate job in 2010 to join the family business. Along with learning the nuances of tailoring from his father, he looks…

Misusing price sensitive information of a listed corporate by its custodians is an act of robbery. Sajjad Bazaz All of us know about the unpredictable and ever changing nature of stock market. It’s a market that lives with a life of its own, reacts to situations and leaves investors either reaping profits or with nothing at all. Though there are certain economic and financial indicators like inflation, interest rate scenarios etcetera that contribute to the movement of stock prices, a lot remains hidden behind this price movement game. A listed company’s corporate information is one of the most vital elements…

Excerpts from the foreword of Maulana Muhammad Abbas Ansari’s soon-to-be-released autobiography. Among the autobiographies written by Kashmiris, ‘Abbas: Journeys up the Hill’ (originally Khaar-e-Gulistan in Urdu) stands out as an account of a brilliant mind, a statesman, an emancipating leader, and a religious and spiritual head. Steeped in the Islamic values, it is the story of a person – Maulana Muhammad Abbas Ansari – who relentlessly fought for the rights of the people of Kashmir and dedicated his life to unifying the fragmented community of Kashmiris. His was a struggle to liberate his people from the shackles of ignorance, be that illiteracy, political servitude or religious bigotry, enduring political persecution and imprisonment or facing hardships throughout his life with patience and fortitude. Obviously, it is the story of this same struggle and journey – a compendium of…

The government order last week that imposed a blanket ban on storage, sale, possession and use of heavy heating appliances such as blowers, heaters and radiators in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal was so ill-conceived that it was withdrawn within hours following a barrage of criticism. A corrigendum was soon issued by the Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, the officer who had issued the order earlier, which now prohibits sale, purchase and use of “banned nichrome coil based crude water heaters and crude cooking heaters, which do not conform to the relevant specifications of the Bureau of India Standards.” The two orders – the…

Credit must be given to a visionary board. Faheem Gundroo In the late August of 1999, Nasser Hussain, the newly appointed England captain, was booed by The Oval crowd when he took his place in the balcony with its ash brown bricks in the background. The grim truth of the English cricket hitting rock bottom gritted through his teeth. New Zealand had beaten England 2-1 in the Test series, which was followed by disastrous World cup campaign – England bowing out in the preliminary round, failing to proceed to the Super Six. Cornhill Insurance—the official sponsors of test cricket in…

The progressive devaluation of Urdu is part of a greater design to rewrite our history. Sanjay Kapoor This year, Urdu journalism turned 200 (years) at a difficult time in its tumultuous evolution. As the language is being identified with a religion, the majoritarian beliefs and flawed perception about what can foster nationalism are smothering Urdu in a manner that the study and understanding of our collective past is getting increasingly threatened. The progressive devaluation of Urdu is part of a greater design to rewrite our history and make light of the contribution of people belonging to the minority community in our fight against the…

Syed Ahmad Sayeed Naqshbandi is the Imam-e-Hai of Jamia Masjid, the historic grand mosque of Kashmir. He talks to Bilal Bashir Bhat about his life, religion, Kashmiri society and the role of preachers and religious scholars among other things.   Could you please provide a brief overview of your scholarly journey? Initially, I studied Arabic at the Oriental College, Srinagar. There, I acquired a Maulvi Alim degree. After that, I went on to study at Madinat-ul- Uloom where I had the honour of being in the company of the great scholar Maulvi Abdul Kabir. It was followed by Maulvi Fazil course.…

Why the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots need closure. Shome Basu A stone’s throw from French cafes and posh restaurants at Delhi’s Bikaner House, situated at a corner of the India Gate hexagon, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) operated from a small room at the building’s annex. The founder secretary of R&AW, R N Kao, was tasked by Indira Gandhi to run his operations from the room number 7 for a special job. One of the main assignments of Kao’s team was to analyse and talk with the newly growing threat in the northern state of Punjab – The…

Click on the text below to open the pdf of the weekly print edition. Issue 21

Abdul Rashid aka Reshma died on Sunday morning, bringing an end to a life of struggle. Reshma, a trans woman who achieved fame by singing at weddings, used it to highlight the struggles of Kashmir’s transgender community. While Reshma is dead, she left behind a void in the community that is hard to fill. Reshma was forthcoming and talkative and knew the concerns and issues of her community and was sensitive about them. She represented the socially stigmatised transgender community of Kashmir and gave it a voice. Reshma’s rise to fame was powered by social media, where the clips…