Srinagar: After a delay of nearly a month, the University of Kashmir (KU) has begun the admissions for the academic session 2017-18, for which the common entrance test is scheduled to take place on April 1.The University of Kashmir had started the admissions during the last academic session from February 20. But this year, there has been a little delay due to the last year’s unrest, which wasted five precious months of students.The students can apply online for various undergraduate and postgraduate courses from today and the last date for the submission of forms is March 27. According to the notification, the tentative date of the entrance examination is April 1.“This year there has been a delay in admissions due to the delay in exams of undergraduate courses,” said Controller of Examinations of the university Prof Salam Bhat.
Author: hamid
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Promote Sufism to counter radicalisation: Sahai
Claims Lashkar-e-Toiba burnt down Dastgeer Sahib shrine
SRINAGAR: A top police officer and former intelligence chief in J&K, S M Sahai, has stressed on re-establishing of Sufi seminaries instead of “madrassas” to counter what he called as “radicalisation”.
For this, Sahai proposed introduction of Sufism department in universities of Kashmir.
Sahai was last posted as Additional Director General of Police (intelligence) in J&K before he was sent on deputation to the union home ministry in October 2016.
He claimed Lashkar-e-Toiba was behind burning of shrines including Dastgeer Sahib Shrine in Khanyar.
“The militant groups in Kashmir were introduced to start holy war. And orthodox Muslim groups roll on the back of these militant outfits to promote radicalisation for the holy war and sacred values. In 2011, the shrines were burnt down by Lashkar-e-Toiba mainly Khanyar shrine. People specially trained from Pakistan were assigned burning of shrines. We got the group in Budgam and with it the issue was stopped,” he added.
Speaking at 19th Asian Security Conference in New Delhi on Combating Terrorism: Evolving an Asian Response organised by Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis gave a presentation titled “Understanding Sufism to influence extremism in Kashmir’. Sahai showed video of iconic Hizb commander Burhan Wani, whose killing triggered anti-India uprising last year.
He questioned, “What is actually happening to the youth of Kashmir? He answered himself that the narrative in Kashmir is changing from politics to religion- “Azadi to Khilafat”.
Subsequently, he played video of Hizb commander Zakir Bhat alias Musa with subtitle showing “Boy next door to a radicalised militant”.
“There has been ideological shift in the youth of Kashmir with the introduction of the Madrassas. Youth have new role models to follow, what makes youth to be ready to take bullets when they know there is an (military) operation going on,” he said.
Sahai quoted scriptures, “And when the sacred months has passed, then kill the polytheist wherever you find them and capture them and sit in and wait for them at every place of ambush.” Another verse he quoted, “whosoever kills an innocent he has killed whole humanity and whosoever saves an innocent has saved whole humanity”.
“But unfortunately the youth focus on the first Hadith which is used to justify the jihad and no one focuses on the second one,” he said.
Sahai described religion in three parts as Islam, Emaan and Ehsaan claiming that “Ehsaan” is the beauty of Islam which believes Allah is watching when one can’t see him.
“It is where Sufism comes in picture, Ehsaan is the beauty of Sufism, If you get seminaries back then you can think of promoting Sufism in the Valley,” he said.
Sahai appealed political parties to indulge youth in the agenda at the grassroots level when they are dealing with the religious question.
While giving examples of pass percentage of government schools in Kashmir, Sahai stated that Kashmiri youth have the same aspirations as other people. “They also want what is wanted by others. They need to be occupied beyond sports activities,” he added.
“The youth of Kashmir are radicalized with the youth and children need to kept occupied beyond conventional education and sports activities alone. One strange thing about Kashmir is that every Kashmiri youth thinks that he is the kind of the guy who should be on screen. They are on social media, into advertising, and we have many success stories,” he said. (Kashmir Reader) -
Ahead Of Joint Resistance Election Boycott Campaign JKLF Chief Yasin Malik arrested in Srinagar
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik was arrested on Saturday from his office in Abi Guzar area of Srinagar, said a spokesman.
He said that a police party cordoned off the JKLF office in Abi Guzar and arrested Malik.
The move, he said, is aimed at preventing the JKLF chief from carrying out an election boycott campaign.
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Child labour shatters Sumair’s dream of becoming an engineer
2.5 lakh souls, victims of child labour in Kashmir: Report
Shouting out the names of locations where the Tata 407 mini bus treads with a hoarse voice that doesn’t match his tender age, Sumair (name changed) 14, a kid who works as a conductor on a local bus here is one of the many cases of child labour in Srinagar.
The irony is that the bus he works on every day passes the Labour and Employment department at Batamaloo which overlooks the menace of child labour in the region.
Sumair due to his strong hold on mathematics had aimed to be an engineer but destiny had stored something else for him. He unwillingly had to take the tough job of a conductor after his father passed due to the long term illness.
Months after the death of his father who was the sole bread winner of a family which comprised of 5 members, Sumair had to leave his studies half way to shoulder the responsibilities of his family. By now Sumair is associated with this profession from last 4 years. His innocence is lost to the vigorous work he does every day by travelling through the dusty roads of Srinagar city. “I never thought that life will take such a horrible turn. My dreams were levelled to the ground and I had no other option than to take this dirty job as my profession,” he says.
In his tender age, Sumair has received multiple injuries after falling from a running minibus while he was collecting the fair from passengers. “I told you I was never made for this job. I fell down three times and had to take rest for days together which again affected my family,” he said.
While leaving and entering home during wee hours amid both hot summers and harsh winters has become routine for him, the cycle of hope continues for little Sumair that someday his problems will end and he once again will resume his studies.
Child Labour Act 1986 which bans employment of child below the age of 14 years old seems to have lost relevance in Kashmir as scores of children can be seen working in many establishments in filthy and hazardous conditions.
While for Sumair, the financial problems at home are the driving force to work in his early age similarly scores of children are school dropouts and start earning due to various constraints. Today the child labour in Kashmir is widespread mostly in the automobile sector, handicraft sector, hotels and restaurants and domestic labor.
A huge number of the children can be seen working as waiters, domestic servants, at petrol pump, car parking areas, and selling flowers or dusters on the roadside.
The trend is said to be mostly prevalent in the handicraft sector where the children irrespective of their age are being involved to learn the art.
According to a report on ‘child Labour in J&K’:Social, economic and ethical dimension’ there are 2.5 lakh child labourers in Kashmir, majority of whom work in handicraft sector, automobile workshops, brick kilns, agriculture and domestic servants.
While the menace continues unabated, the Labour and Employment department ironically during the last year has not prosecuted a single establishment for employing a child to work in unhygienic conditions. As per the data, the Labour and Employment department during 2015 has made 1080 inspections but has found not a single case of child labour in the region.
In Srinagar district the department has conducted 234 inspections till July 2015 but has not prosecuted a single establishment under Child Labour Act 1986.
In Baramulla district 100 inspection has been conducted by the department with no case of child labour reported in the district. In north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, no inspections has been made by the Lobour and Employment department. Similarly in Bandipora, the department has made 19 inspection till July but has not reported any case of child labour.
In Anantnag167 inspections has been made with no recovery of any children working in filthy conditions.In Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama district 5, 28 and 37 inspection has been made with no incidents of child labour reported.
In Ganderbal and Budgam, 45 and 103 inspection were made till July 2015 and not a single establishment was prosecuted for indulging in child labour. Similarly in 2014, the department has made no prosecution under child labour act throughout its inspection in Kashmir. Further contrary to the claims made by various Non-Government Organisations that the child labour in the state was increasing, the department has booked less number of establishment for encouraging child labour.
In the financial year 2014-15, 150 establishments were prosecuted after being found employing a children below the age of 14 years to work.
In the year 2013-14, 2012-13, 2011-12, 138, 124 and 111 establishments were booked under child labour act 1986 in the state. The Central government has also launched National Child Labour Project earlier in 1996 but the stipend provided for the rehabilitation of recovered children is negligible.
Under this scheme the Labour Department was providing a monthly stipend of Rs.150 to the children besides giving them basic education and vocational training.
There are almost six Child Labour special schools in Srinagar in areas like Foreshore road, Kursoo Rajbagh and Habak where scores of children are studying who were earlier recovered from different workplaces. The officials at the Labour and Employment department blame the lack of the rehabilitation centers for the children as main reason behind the tardy implementation of Child Labour Act in the State.
“Even if we book any person under Child Labour Act but the question arises who will take care of family of the child?As these children belong to the poor families the stipend of Rs. 150 under National Child LabourProject (NCLP) is not enough for them to run their family. There is no rehabilitation part in the act. Further even if we book a person he arranges a medical certificate of a child showing him above 14 years,” said an official pleading anonymity.
Meanwhile experts claim that the labour in tender ages create an adverse negative impact on the psychology of the children. They said in most of the cases the child labour is followed by the child abuse. “Not just labour but they take it very emotionally. They expect protection from their parents which doesn’t happen in these cases. With the result they develop a bitterness towards the society and a kind of mistrust develops in them,” said Mansoor Ahmad a psychiatrist.
He said that it leads to the personality disorder among the children subjected to various kinds of works. “They become miniature adults as the work they do in teen age is to be done when they become adults. They fall prey to different kind of eccentric disorders as we usually see in them,” he added.
Kashmir Magazine/Kashmir Today
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Image Of A Kashmiri Mother Offering Milk To Dead Teen Went Viral
NAZIR MASOODI
Amir Nazir was barely 15. He was killed on Thursday and buried after his body was garlanded like a groom. The images of his mother offering milk to her dead son went viral and captured the imagination of people across Kashmir.
Amir was reportedly part of a jeering crowd, many of them throwing stones at security forces, after troops launched an anti-militancy operation in Padgampora village of Pulwama district, just 35 km from Srinagar. Two terrorists were killed after a 10-hour long, fierce gun battle. Amir was killed in firing by security forces. Whether he was a deliberate target or a stray bullet hit him has become a debate here.
Padgampora has always fascinated me on account of being the abode of Kashmir’s 14th-century mystic poet Lalleshwari, lovingly called Lal Ded. “Tas Padgampor che Lallay – yem gale Amrit chow” (Lalla of Padgampora, who drank the nectar of Immortality): lines from a famous poem describe her Padgampora connection. The Shavite mystic transcends faiths and religious identities. She belongs to one and all, and revered by everybody in Kashmir. Every courageous woman who faces tribulations with grace and patience is referred to as Lal Ded in the Valley.
After Amir’s tragic death, I wondered why Hailama offered milk to her dead son, her face stoic. Was she giving him the Amrit? Doesn’t she know Lalla drank that Amrit long ago?
The crowds that swelled at her modest home declared the young victim a martyr. And a martyr never dies, so goes the adage. Halima and her family had no option but to respond to this new normal where deaths are celebrated and not mourned. Slogans like “Amir, tere khoon se inquilab aayega” (your death, Amir, will bring the revolution) filled the air as thousands attended his funeral. But as people began dispersing, a heart-rending cry went out from Halima: “Where has my child gone, bring him back.”
The teen’s death is embedded in a larger political narrative where death defines the life of the separatist movement. Amir’s Facebook profile shows he was a Class 9 student, a selfie freak who wanted to live and enjoy life. Amir had been in school barely for a week after a gap of eight months because schools in Kashmir were shut due to the unrest of 2016 and then the winter vacation.
The teen’s death is embedded in a larger political narrative where death defines the life of the separatist movement. Amir’s Facebook profile shows he was a Class 9 student, a selfie freak who wanted to live and enjoy life. Amir had been in school barely for a week after a gap of eight months because schools in Kashmir were shut due to the unrest of 2016 and then the winter vacation.
A day after his killing, I spoke to Amir’s father, Nazir Ahmad Dar, a daily wage labourer working at a brick kiln, and his brother Shahid. They were trying to come to terms with the loss. The poor father, who was informed by people about his son’s “martyrdom”, sobbed that Amir wanted to live and see the world like other children. Before leaving the house, Amir asked for Rs. 1,500 to pay his school fee. Hours later, they received his body.
Mourning is an innate human emotion, but when the death of a victim is glorified as martyrdom, the sense of loss and tragedy is replaced by accomplishment. No wonder thousands of killings in Kashmir are not seen as a massive loss, but projected as an investment for Azadi by separatists.
Emotive social outbursts set the standards for individuals, more so for the victim’s families, often poor and voiceless.
Hours before Amir was killed, Dilshada, wife of Shafi Shergujri, the holed-up terrorist at Padgampora, was brought to the encounter site by security forces. Along with her four-year-old child Uzair, she appealed to her spouse to surrender. He preferred death.
Uzair is too young to understand why his father turned down the offer. Why did he choose death over life, his little kids, and wife Dilshada, who braved bullets to persuade him to surrender? There are no easy answers, but when Uzair will grow he may try to find one. For the last 27 years, we have not given an answer to those born and brought up in the conflict. Young boys like Amir are getting killed because they have also not got the right answers so far. Otherwise, why should large crowds of young people try to break the security cordon in an attempt to help terrorists flee? Don’t they know militants have chosen to pick up guns to fight security forces? Do they need to be rescued by civilians when they confront troops?
The reality is that frustration is pushing people to the levels of madness. Otherwise, who would risk his life when barrages of bullets are being fired from both sides? Despite orders by troops and warnings by Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, attempts by crowds to obstruct security operations are becoming common in Kashmir.
More than 21,000 terrorists have been killed during the last 27 years of turmoil. In 2007, South Kashmir was declared a militancy-free zone; today it is one of the most problematic regions in Kashmir. The fight against terrorism is not just about controlling or eliminating a terrorist. It’s about how to deal with a rebellious mindset and trust deficit. The Army and police can fight it to a point, the rest has to be dealt at a political level through sustained engagement, which, unfortunately, is completely missing in Kashmir.
The polity doesn’t seem to realise the price security forces have been paying. During militancy, more 5,600 security forces personnel have been killed in the state. The casualties suffered by the Indian army during this conflict are much higher than any war India has fought with Pakistan. In war, the army has a defined role which is a fight to finish. Alas, in this conflict, nobody knows the endgame or the exit policy.
The tragedy of Kashmir is that no one sees it as a human problem where Halima’s child goes to school but returns in a shroud. The children of Kashmir need the Amrit of life.
The Article First Appeared In NDTV
(Nazir Masoodi is NDTV’s Srinagar Bureau Chief) -
Appeal: A 24-Year-Old Down Town Srinagar Girl Needs Urgent Help, blessings
Srinagar: A resident of Surtaing Rainawari, Rumi Ji, 24, is suffering from chronic liver disease and doctors have advised her to undergo a liver transplant.
“Rumi was suffering from liver disease since she was 12 years old but after a treatment of over 12 years, the doctors have said that her condition has deteriorated and she needs a liver transplant,” said Irfan Ahmad, the youngest of her four siblings.
The treatment costs Rs 15 to 20 lacs and the family is not in a condition to bear the costs.
The family has appealed the general public to help the family for the treatment.
Pertinently, liver transplant surgeries are not done anywhere in Kashmir. So Rumi has to be operated in mainland India.
Irfan said that their father is ‘willing to beg’ but he just wishes to save Rumi. “He is jobless from last 25 years now. He was working in Gaziabad in a pharmaceutical factory but then Babri Masjid issue escalated and preferred home. Since then he is suffering from Asthma,” said Irfan who is working as a laborer with a mason. His eldest brother is a carpenter but he and another brother, are suffering from severe psychiatric ailments. Irfan and one of his sister’s (working at a glass factory) are working presently to run the family.
Rumi has been diagnosed as a case of CTP Class C with MELD score=27, portal hypertension, Ascites and recurrent SBP. The patient is registered at government medical college, Srinagar under MRD no. Gas/Hep/17/84/MC dated 11.2.2017.
Bank Account details
Abdul Rehman Dar (J&K Bank Branch : Khanyar)
SB-0101040100102861
IFSC code: JAKA0SHIRAZ
Family Contact: 9797771306, 9419317082
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Yasin Malik arrested Mirwaiz Umar Farooq placed under house arrest ahead of joint resistance camp sit-in
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik was arrested on Sunday on the eve of joint resistance leadership sit-in on detainees.A JKLF spokesperson said that Malik was arrested by police and was shifted to Central Jail Srinagar.The joint resistance leadership was scheduled to hold a sit-in protest at Lal Chowk tomorrow (Monday) against the detentions.Meanwhile Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest on Sunday to prevent from participating in a joint sit-in called by the joint resistance leadership tomorrow.
Hurriyat (M) spokesman Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam said that Mirwaiz was put under house detention to prevent his participation in joint protest against the detentions at Maisuma.
He said a heavy contingent of police was deployed around his Nigeen residence today evening.
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Congress asks Omar Abdullah to ‘focus’ more on Kashmir, less on Twitter
Srinagar: The Congress on Saturday took a dig at National Conference leader Omar Abdullah asking him to focus on ?Jammu and Kashmir issues? instead of shifting his focus to national politics.
?I think it would be good if Omar Abdullah shifts his focus towards his state and its people, instead of commenting on national politics. He needs to focus less on Twitter. He is our friend, we respect him, but he needs to focus on National Conference and matters of Jammu and Kashmir,? Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said here.
The Congress? retort to its former ally in Jammu and Kashmir state came after Omar Abdullah, in a series of tweets, suggested that there needs to be a shift in strategy and creation of an alternate agenda to voters to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
?Punjab, Goa & Manipur would certainly suggest that the BJP isn’t unbeatable but strategy needs to shift from criticism to positive alternate,? he said.
?I’ve said this before & I’ll say it again the voter needs to be given an alternative agenda that is based on what we will do better,? he added.
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Weather likely to be pleasant this week: Met
Srinagar: After a brief rain and chill, the weather in Kashmir is likely to remain pleasant and sunny in the coming week.
Director Meteorological department Snoam Lotus said that the weather will remain pleasant and sunny from tomorrow.
“From today till 14 March the weather will likely remain dry and on 15 evening there are chances of light rain,” Lotus told KNS.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Srinagar Highway continued to be closed for traffic as landslides and shooting stones occurred at few places.
The highway, which was closed for the last four days, was opened for traffic from Jammu to Srinagar but was closed in the afternoon due to shooting stones at Panthal in Ramban district.
IGP Traffic Jagjit Kumar told KNS that the highway was closed after shooting stones rolled down from hills at Panthal.
The announcement about tomorrow’s schedule will be made in the evening depending on the road clearance and weather. (KNS)
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President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan seeks free medical tests at govt hospitals
It is painful to see poor patients leaving hospitals without treatment because they cannot afford the expenses of tests.
Srinagar, March 12: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today has sought free medical tests for patients at government-run hospitals in Jammu and Kashmir.
President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said that free diagnostic tests and scans would bring huge relief to poor patients.
It is painful to see poor patients leaving hospitals without treatment because they cannot afford the expenses of tests.
Despite the availability of latest equipment at government hospitals, patients are deprived of treatment because of financial constraints.
All these advances are meaningless if patients cannot avail them.
Poor patients go to public hospitals with a hope that free treatment will be given to them.
But government hospitals are no less than private hospitals when it comes to spending money.
They charge hefty sums on diagnostic tests like CT and MRI scans.
The contrast enhanced CT scan costs to the patient Rs 3700 and for CT angiography, patient has to pay Rs 4200.
For contrast enhanced MRI and MR angiography, patient is charged Rs 3700 each.
Patient has to pay Rs 5,500 for coronary angiography which is done to diagnose blocked or narrowed vessels in a heart attack patient.
From simple tests like CBC, KFT, LFT, Lipid profile, thyroid function, urine examination to x-ray, ECG, Echo, USG and Endoscopy, patients are being charged.
While JK government has announced free drugs in government hospitals, but patients have to pay even for life-saving medicines.
If someone gets a heart attack, he/she has to pay Rs 30,000 for tenecteplase, a thrombolytic drug that dissolves clot in clogged arteries and restores blood flow to heart.
Poor have to end up on compromise in treatment as they cannot afford this costly drug.
Patients have to pay for high-end antibiotics that are unaffordable to poor patients and doctors end up prescribing less effective drugs to them.
Delhi government recently announced free diagnostic tests and drugs for all.
If delhiites get free tests and drugs, why not people in JK?