Author: Kashmir Newsline

The predominantly black colours, with some red, green, white and yellow were seen across Srinagar—amid reverberating chants of ya Hussain—as the 34-year long ban on Muharram was revoked by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, Jaspreet Kaur The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday decided to allow the 8th Muharram procession through the traditional route of Srinagar on Thursday, the 27th of July, after a ban of 34 years. Despite the decades-long ban, Shia mourners would take out processions from Guru Bazar each year, defying restrictions, which would invariably end up in confrontation with local police and paramilitary forces. Smaller processions…

In a three-part series on the smart city project, Kashmir Newsline had warned of a potential disaster. Jaspreet Kaur After last night’s heavy rainfall, which is nothing unusual in the month of July, the social media is inundated with photos of flooded shops of Polo View Road, Srinagar. Was this unexpected? Absolutely not, considering the design and layout of the now pedestrianized stretch, which was manicured as a smart city project and more as a showpiece for the G-20 summit. During the summit, with stringent rules and heavy security, the road bore a rather forlorn look. More than boosting shopping,…

Once the internet is restored, we could be in for an avalanche of visuals flowing into social media. Sanjay Kapoor The viral Manipur video of two women being paraded naked and molested by men amid public frenzy generated widespread outrage not just in India but around the world as well. Human rights organisations and India observers are raising serious questions on how such barbaric acts could be allowed. But, for the BJP government at the Centre, and in Manipur, the major issue isn’t the horrific incident but how the video made its way to social media. Media Gag Did the…

A tribute to cricketer Salim Durani by friend Partha Chatterjee. Salim Durani, who died on April 2, 2023, at the age of 88, was one of the most entertaining cricketers in independent India. He batted and bowled left-handed with complete ease and fluctuating interest — inexplicably so. His batting average of 25.04 in 29 Tests and 75 wickets at 35.42 runs per wicket would be considered moderate at best, but those who saw him playing in the ’right mood’, as did this writer, first, in the 1962 Calcutta Test versus  Ted Dexter’s Englishmen, would vouch for his prodigious gifts with…

The family played a key role in shaping the politics of the Indian subcontinent.  Jaspreet Kaur The Nawab of Dhaka (originally spelt in English as Nawab of Dacca) was the title of the head of the largest Muslim zamindar family in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of nawab, similar to the British peerage, was conferred upon the head of the family by Queen Victoria as a recognition of the first Nawab’s loyalty and contribution to the social welfare activities. Though they had nothing to do with the Mughal Nawabs of Dhaka or Murshidabad, they…

T.N. Bharti Aligarh: Professor Syed Ziaur Rehman, Department  of  Pharmacology J N Medical College and Hospital  Aligarh Muslim University has been appointed  as coordinator  of the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre (A M C) and Medical Devices Adverse Events Monitoring  Centre  (M D M C) at J N Medical  College  A MU. Both AMC and MDMC  works under the National Pharmocovigilance  Program 0f India ( PvPI) and Metriovigilance Program  of India  ( MVPI ) under the Ministry of Health and  Family welfare , Govt  of India . Professor  Rehman has been working in the field of Pharmacovigilance  for the last 23 years . He…

The book begins with the experiences of the author as an entitled American who sets out to find answers to questions in the wake of 9/11 and ends with his understanding, through his stay in Kashmir and Turkey, of the predicament of the persecuted peoples.  Jaspreet Kaur January of 2019 was my first visit to Kashmir. While I was soaking in the wintry black, white and grey, with the occasional day of bright blue sky when the sun shone at its brightest, what struck me were the heavily armed men in uniform dotting the entire landscape. I have since referred…

I contemplate how a specific word and situations associated with it, and our willingness to till our inner being towards a better self, create a learning path towards self-progression.  Debatri Das May 01, 2006. When Bengal offices were closed on the Labour Day, I joined my new work place – the Consulate General of Japan in the city of joy- on a two year contract. As I was entering the main entrance of the Consulate, a Japanese gentleman welcomed me with a charming smile. He introduced himself as one of the Vice Consuls who too joined his office that very…

If Modi manages a third term, there will be plenty for other authoritarians around the world to learn from him. Sanjay Kapoor Mevlana in the Turkish neighborhood of Mulheim at Cologne, Germany is teeming with people a day before the runoff to the Turkish Presidential elections. There is a perceptible levity in the air. A waiter helpfully explains the reason: “Recep Erdogan will win the Presidential polls tomorrow; that is why his supporters are celebrating.” Next day, expectedly, the results are declared, Erdogan’s supporters won by a handsome margin. In Germany alone, which has a large population of Turks -…

Like the classical nudes and seminude sculptures of the West, Daagh infused his poetry with an element of eroticism. Salim Arif Known as the poet of love, Daagh Dehlvi remains the last of the classical Urdu poets who traversed various shades of ishq-e-majaazi (physical love), leaving behind a body of work that carries an underlying ocean of feelings and emotions. Shayar-e-Mashriq Allama Iqbal commemorated and acknowledged this master of Modern Urdu Poetry as his mentor in transmission of sensibility and sensitivity. He said:  Janaab-e-Daagh Ki Iqbal Ye Saari Karamat Hai Tere Jaise Ko Kar Dala Sukhandaan Bhi Sukhanwar Bhi (It…