Author: Kashmir Newsline

Staff Reporter National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the Delhi High Court seeking death sentence for Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik. Malik is lodged in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The petition is listed for hearing on May 29 before a Division Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh. Malik, who had pleaded guilty in a terror funding case, was awarded a life sentence by a special NIA court in May 2022. The investigation agency had sought capital punishment for Malik before the trial court as well. However, it was turned down by the special…

With people still reeling under the impact of the 2016 demonetization, this could be yet another bolt from the blue. Shome Basu 2016: I was in Calcutta, waiting in an ATM queue to withdraw Rs 10,000 for my mother’s medical tests. It was 7:30 in the evening when my wife called me from Delhi saying that Prime Minister Modi would be on TV in a while for some urgent announcement. Okay, but suddenly? I got my cash, went home and turned the television on. At 8 pm came a firman that changed India forever. Demonetisation. I had only read about this…

Mirwaiz Maulana Muhammad Farooq’s assassination brought to a close one of the most significant chapters of religious and political movement of Kashmir. by M. S. Rehman Shams In his brief lifespan of 46 years, Shaheed-e-Millat Maulvi Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq’s immense contribution to the Muslims in general and Kashmiris in particular would always be remembered. His multiple roles as  chief cleric, Islamic scholar and thinker, an agent of social change and a political leader makes his life one of  the most significant chapters of Kashmir’s collective religious, social and political movements. Formative Factors Mirwaiz Farooq was born on December 14, 1944…

While a lot is made of his love for Krishna and 11 Hajj pilgrimages, his contradictions and shifting positions, what gets obscured is the quality of his poetry and his Sufi-like sincerity to the cause of humanity.  Salim Arif Known by the sopbriquet Raees-ul-Mutaghazaleen (The Lord of Ghazal Writers), Maulana Hasrat Mohani can be credited with revitalizing the poetic form with a new flair in the 20th century. Classical in nature, his poetry brought in fresh, everyday feel to subjects of different shades and stages of love, with nostalgia and reflection, creating moments of charming passion. Chupke Chupke Raat Din…

As the much hyped counteroffensive begins, the Ukrainian forces are faced with multiple disadvantages.   Saurabh Kumar Shahi            After months of dithering, the much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive is about to start, weather permitting. Ukrainian regime, which thrives on optics and PR victories, considers WWII Victory Day celebrations month of May, as a perfect month for such an operation. It also makes sense bearing the weather in mind. The spring has been unusually rainy in Ukraine, and it has turned the black soil of the Donbas into sludge. Any counter-offensive in such a situation will falter before it starts. Therefore the date got pushed…

Can India wriggle out unscathed from the competing demands of G20 and SCO? Sanjay Kapoor As the host of the Group of 20 (G20) nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) later this year, India finds itself in a pickle. Although, the global attention is welcome but what follows could be unpalatable. In the best of times, it would not have been easy to balance the competing demands of the two groups, but due to the raging war in Ukraine, the exertions from both the groups have acquired an unexpected intensity that is posing a major foreign policy challenge to…

 Jaspreet Kaur Ask Kashmiris what they had for lunch or dinner, the answer is always batte – rice – whatever the accompanying dish. That is perhaps why the popular food street of Srinagar is known as Batte Galli. The Food Street, located at Lal Chowk, was started by the Jammu & Kashmir Tourism in the 1960s. It has since been the go-to destination for clean and affordable food that includes non-vegetarian, vegetarian, especially the Kashmiri haakh, cheese, pickles and dals. A plate of vegetables with rice is served at Rs 50 and the meat dishes at Rs 100 0nwards. The…

The party, along with its allies, needs to get the electoral arithmetic right rather than dabbling in soft Hindutva. Sanjay Kapoor Immediately after Congress’ humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP in 2014, senior leader A K Antony was given the task to ascertain the reasons. His advice was succinct: Congress was perceived to be anti-Hindu and it should do something to correct that impression. There were also suggestions that the party should celebrate Hindu festivals in the party offices around the country. In other words, conduct itself the way BJP did. Interestingly, Antony, who had an incorruptible lily…

Although the café is known for its quality and delectability across delicacies, the aromatic, succulent kebab remains its pièce de résistance.  Farooq Shah There are kebabs, and then there’s the Kashmiri kebab – uniquely different in taste, texture and the lingering aftertaste that it leaves you with. No gathering in Kashmir is complete without the mouth-watering kebab and as one of the seven authentic elements of the traditional wazwan cuisine, it garnishes the platter, known as traem, like no other dish. A restaurant menu in Kashmir is considered incomplete if it doesn’t have kebab on it. Almost every single restaurant…

This is the first chapter from Dr. Qazi Ashraf’s forthcoming book, Religion: A Brief Story from Big Bang to Baghdad, that examines God, religion and history. This is a story of the long walk of the humankind on the edge of uncertainty and invention of religion.    Religion – Its Divine Origin The Universe is big. Very big. And old. Roughly 14 billion years. In comparison, our planet Earth is young. Only 4.5 billion years old. For the best part of more than 4 billion years, Earth was undergoing Evolution. The conditions were harsh. Only rudimentary life forms could exist.…