Category: Interviews

In Conversation With Barkha Dutt

‘Media -The biggest disservice to the idea of Independence in the Valley’

Perhaps the most well known Indian journalist of her generation, Barkha Dutt, left NDTV after 21 long years this January as she was “disillusioned by TV news among other things”.  The Padma Shri winner is currently an author for columns in various publications including, The Washington Post.  Barkha emerged as a star reporter after her frontline war reporting on the Kargil conflict in 1999. Later she extensively reported from the region and conducted countless programmes on the crisis in Kashmir.

In a conversation with Nidhi Suresh, Barkha Dutt opens up about her relationship with Kashmir and how national media has dealt with Kashmir over the years.

What is the term you would use to describe the situation in Kashmir?

Tragic.

I think beyond the violence there is just the tragedy of seeing this happen in a seemingly beautiful place where you’re only left with that sense of ‘what if’.

What you think these words – ‘conflict’, ‘war’ or ‘terrorism’have done to the discourse of Kashmir?

My biggest problem with the Kashmir discourse is that it’s shaped by journalists who are very far from the land. Even when they visit, it is for very short durations which are not long enough to report. I think, I can certainly speak as reporter on Kashmir because I’ve spent quite a long time in Kashmir. There was a time in my life where I lived two weeks a month there. Somy problem with the Kashmir discourse is that it is constructed within clichés. These clichés are either used by mainstream media journalists or by very ideologically, adamant Kashmiris themselves. So in reality, you can’t escape the framework you get pushed into. Something that I’ve tried to do is to unshackle myself from the expectation of my audience both from and outside Kashmir. And it is just damn difficult because everyone comes to your story, your view point, your every word with an expectation. If you meet their expectation you’re their hero and if you defy it, you’re the traitor for the day. So I think the discourse is part of the problem. One of the things, I’ve argued in my writings is that, we are at a point where we can’t have an honest conversation about the State. Regarding Kashmir you can only be either an Arnob Gowswami or an Arundhati Roy. With regard to my own experience in Kashmir, I certainly am neither. These extreme positions only lead to oversimplifications while your lived experience in Kashmir will prove that none of these sides are fully true.

What do these ‘honest’ conversations involve?

In a place filled with multiple truths, I think the problem is that, there is a singular truth enforced on the State. The fact is that, the boy or girl on the street today is much more violent than a boy or girl was 10 years ago. The fact also is that, the Macchil encounter which the army eventually set up as an example of its own fair play has just been undone by the army itself. It is also a truth that Kashmiri policemen, some of whom I’ve personally met, wear masks to work so that people from their villages don’t recognize and target them.These are all simultaneous truths that coexist in Kashmir. So an honest conversation would at least attempt to acknowledge the existence of all of these truths.

What has changed for you over the time that you’ve spent in Kashmir?

A lot.I have a dysfunctional attachment to the state. It is a state that formed me as a reporter. I have been vocal about my views and many of my friends don’t like the change and direction I’ve taken.

How old where you when you first went to Kashmir for work?

Early 20’s. Right out of college. I am 45 now and that’s how long my attachment has sustained with the place. And it has been and remains my magnificent obsession. But I must say, while I’ve got a lot of love there, I’ve also received a lot of hatred. I’ve been repeatedly called anti-national by people here, or jingoist by people there. And I think what neither side realizes is, how can one person be both? How can the same piece of work evoke both reactions? I’ve seen a marked generational shift in levels of anger. When I was in my 20s and I used to meet Kashmiri friends there, they had a political position; there was sense of being able to talk even if you came from a completely different political or ideological perspective. But now I find that there is a hardening of anger.

And that’s dangerous?

It’s dangerous, it’s counterproductive, and it’s less tolerant of any other view. So rest of India and the present generation of Kashmir have now mirrored each other.

What was it like to be a woman reporter in Kashmir?

Well, it is a relatively conservative society. I haven’t felt discriminated but as a woman, they would wait to see how my body of work would establish itself. I’m not sure if its gender specific. Or maybe, I didn’t experience it as much because I didn’t work in a local company. When you have young men in any conservative, angry society it requires you, as a woman, to cross a few more barriers than usual.

You did a report called the ‘New Militancy’ where you said that most of the new militants from the Valley are young and educated.

You know, there has been and is a view in Delhi and across parties, that if you give young Kashmiris education and jobs, this problem will go away or at least diminish. By travelling through South Kashmir and visiting these families, I was trying to make the point that one has nothing to do with the other. The PM had made this comment on how he’d like to see laptops and not stones in the hands of Kashmiris and I was making the argument that, that’s not going to change anything. It’s not about the quality of education. I’ve met families where their son who who’d joined militancy was a school topper or take the case of the most extreme, Musa. His father had sent him to Chandigarh to do his Engineering hoping that if he changes his geography, his mind set might change. But did it? My argument was to say that this is the wrong prism to see the problem through.

How was the show received?

Laughs.

Well, let’s put it this way, my politics is certainly not secessionist. I don’t have a Roy’s view so I’m never going to be liberal enough for the Kashmiri. But neither am I going to be hawkish enough for our Prime Time channels either.

So what is your position?

Strengthen the moderates.

My position has been consistent from the time I started reporting from Kashmir. I’ve seen people lose their lives for wanting to have a proper dialogue. Abdul Ghani Lone was shot dead right in front of my eyes. Why was he killed? Simply because he was a separatist who was ready to talk to Delhi. And I believe that you have to strength the hands of those who are loyal to the Indian Union but want some kind of political freedom too. Find a way to bring militants and separatists onto the table. After all, it has been done with Nagaland so why would you not do it with Kashmir?

 You mean the binaries cause the violence?

Yes, the binary causes the tension, the unpleasantness. The truth is that India is not going to allow secession in the Kashmir Valley. If this is taken as ‘The Truth’, we can work backwards from it and ask ourselves about the possibility within this truth. We could look at what is possible within the framework of humanism and our own constitution? And I think there are many possibilities over there. You see, no one wants to hear the truth. In Delhi, people don’t want to hear the truth about depths of alienation. In Kashmir, Kashmiris of this generation do not want to hear or speak about the fact that there is a creeping Islamism. Nobody wants to hear it. The burka is not organic to the Kashmiri. A militant group declared that it was mandatory for all girls in Kashmir to wear a burka. I had gone into agirl’s school where I did a poll asking how many girls wanted to wear burka. And of course the girls said that if it was forced they wouldn’t want to. When I filed the report, there was a fatwa announced banning my entry into the Valley. And at that time, it’s interesting that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq issued a statement saying everyone is welcome into the Valley. He took that socially liberal position. Today, I feel people like him may not be able to be public with a similar position because of all extremes on all sides taking control of the conversation.

Is it possible in Kashmir to make a distinction between a religious struggle and a political struggle?

Kashmiris have always insisted that this is an ethno-nationalist struggle. So it is about ethnicity and not Islam. During the Burhan Wani protest time, I met an injured school boy in a hospital in Kashmir. When I asked him why he had been out in the streets he said he had been marching because he was a savior of Islam. To verify his answer I asked him if it was for ‘Azadi’ or ‘Islam’ and he said “Dono hi” (both). 10 years ago anyone asked this question would simply have said Azadi. The thing is, we’ve to ask ourselves in Delhi, how did it get to this point of creeping Islamism? And for that, I believe that the kind of political vacuum that currently exists is dangerous. If you don’t fill a political vacuum with a good idea, a bad idea will take its place. Also I feel that some of the wisest voices out of the valley have been the military. It may be vilified by Kashmiris but because they’re the ones who have actually lived and served there. The former Northern Army commander, the one who put away the soldiers involved in Macchil for life sentence is today, very upset that this was undone. When the Burhan Wani street protests were going out of control, instead of the politicians, it’s General Hooda who had a press conference saying all sides must come to the table. Militancy is not the problem today. The problem is that we’re facing a civilian protest cloaked over the militancy. So you have to find a political solution. Otherwise there is no solution to this.

The National media often oversimplifies the problem of Kashmir. Is it fair to simplify such a complex problem?

I know it does but isn’t everything on TV news like that? Nuance is dead in everything, not just in a Kashmir story. When was the last time you heard a story told in a complex way with all its multiple truths?

Do you think the national media is doing anything different from what the State is doing in Kashmir?

I call the media the single, biggest disservice to the idea of Independence in the Valley.

Is that why you quit television?

It wasn’t Kashmir specifically but I got very disillusioned and needed a respite from television. I’m not saying I’ll never go back to it but at the moment I just need a break.

The words ‘militant’ and ‘terrorist’ are two different words for a reason. What does it mean when national media often uses them interchangeably?

I use the words interchangeably as well. Although, there was a time when I used ‘militant’ for a local Kashmiri and ‘terrorist’ for a Lashkar or Pakistani. But now I do use them interchangeably because I think, gun for violence is a form of terrorism.

So you don’t differentiate between the two?

I walked with CRPF in downtown Srinagar and realized that the Kashmiri is no longer scared of dying. But I did not support the pellet guns because I felt that the visual of the mass partial blinding really eroded the moral legitimacy of the State.

Well, let me put it this way. I can tell you the word I would not use is martyr, rebel or gunman. These men are not revolutionaries. They are weapon yielding men, trained or self-trained in the act of killing in support of what they believe is their cause. According to me there is an eroding of moral legitimacy on all sides. I was a full critique of the pellet guns. I walked with CRPF in downtown Srinagar and realized that the Kashmiri is no longer scared of dying. But I did not support the pellet guns because I felt that the visual of the mass partial blinding really eroded the moral legitimacy of the State. On the other hand, I also think that when pilgrims get targeted or when you have violent assault of civilians or security forces, the man you’ve made a hero actually called for a caliphate in Kashmir. People only condemned Musa for this but please pull out Burhan Wani’s videos. He called for a caliphate too. Such things only make the Kashmiri lose the legitimacy of their own genuine grievances.

Do you think something changed with Zakir Musa called for a caliphate?

Yes but Musa has been disowned by everyone. To me Wani is more worrying. He also called for a caliphate. Why didn’t anyone notice that? Also, what was more important was when the USA declared Salahuddin as a terrorist, the distinction between a local militant and foreign terrorist was over. There are these weird intertwined ironies in Kashmir and no one has the discipline in the media to untangle it. It’s all broad stroke reports.

Do non-Kashmiri journalists feel a false sense of entitlement while discussing Kashmir?

First of all, hardly any journalist even visits Kashmir before talking about it. There is no substitute for an on field reportage. The problem is with claiming expertise and yes that happens a lot.

Would it help if national media journalists admitted to the fact that they don’t fully understand the conflict while reporting?

Yes, to take sides on this matter would be idiotic.

So a mere acknowledgement of a certain amount of incomprehensibility is enough to have credibility?

Yes, absolutely.

Where does the word anti-national feature in a country that calls itself democratic?

See I cut my teeth as a reporter covering Kargil. I’m very sentimental about the military but that doesn’t stop me from saying that Macchil was a mistake and those who did it must be punished. Nobody should be caught between these false binaries of enforced codified nationalism.

What direction do you think Kashmir is headed now?

Kashmir is now like a pressure cooker. You keep putting a lid on it and it keeps bubbling over until you put the next lid and that’s what the State has been doing.

What about women of Kashmir? Do you think it might make any difference if the women of Kashmir spoke more fearlessly about their thoughts?

Women have surely suffered differently from men. I met some very outspoken women in Kashmir. I’m not sure if I put the conflict through a gendered prism.

You conclude one of your articles by saying, “The bottom line: Kashmir is no longer an issue that Pakistan can get the world to take notice of.” Are you suggesting that the ‘Kashmir issue’ is an externally generated problem?

Why isn’t there a non-violent icon in the Kashmiri movement? Where is the Irom Sharmila of Kashmir? Kashmiris are very angry that I ask this. I was told that Parveen Ahangar is the Irom Sharmila but I don’t think she’s been the face of that separatist rage on the street.

I believe that the global response has changed after 9/11. There is no respect for an armed expression of anger, more so if it is rooted in Islam. When Nawaz Sharif gets up at the UN and invokes Burhan Wani as a hero while the West is not ignorant of what Wani suggested. This won’t get any kind of moral sympathy or support post 9/11. That’s one of my arguments. Also, why isn’t there a non-violent icon in the Kashmiri movement? Where is the Irom Sharmila of Kashmir? Kashmiris are very angry that I ask this. I was told that Parveen Ahangar is the Irom Sharmila but I don’t think she’s been the face of that separatist rage on the street. These are the things I’ve tried to raise, not construct a narrative that Kashmir is an externally generated problem.

What do you think would happen if Kashmiris began producing their own television news?  Would it threaten national media?

It would certainly have a very different conversation from national television but it would only widen the gap. I think the challenge is to ask – Where is that middle ground? We all need to accept that certain truths are empirical. No Indian government is going to grant secession to the Kashmir Valley.

And that is because of geographical reasons?

Yes and because there is no accepting that one part of one state should define the future of the rest of the country. Secondly, there is no definition of Azadi. If you push a Kashmiri, to define it, you’ll find different answers. Mehbooba Mufti had a great line by saying that Azadi had to be replaced with something better. You have to appeal to the young Kashmiri, who should look over his/her shoulder and say, ‘My god no, not Pakistan. Whatever I want, I don’t want Pakistan’. And how is an independent Valley going to exist between these two countries? Let’s get real.

Do you look back at your body of work and wish you could undo something?

I’ve never found myself ideologically dishonest on Kashmir. I come from a very empathetic perspective, except for the militants. Empathy has out of reporting from within Kashmir as well as from national media on Kashmir. And what I know for sure is that this ‘For’ and ‘Against’ game is not journalism.

Courtesy: Kashmir Observer

A  Kashmiri woman living in India has developed a mobile application with another person to help foreign tourists who need assistance for their travel across the country.

Foreign tourists have many questions before they decide to travel to India. Because of the travel advisories and stories in media, they think about their safety before planning their visit to India.

“We developed an application for assistance to foreign tourists. And provide assistance and distress management service to the tourists who connect with us,” says Moqierish Tak, who is the cofounder with Harish Khatri of India Assists app. Moqierish Tak is from the Anantnag district of Kashmir.

The assistance is provided to the tourists in distressing situations like theft, medical complications, transit problems or altercation with someone.

“A tourist first enrolls with us through a call, then a call is generated to our customer care through the app,” she says.

“We provide phone assistance allover India.  But ground service is provided in Jaipur, Delhi and Agra cities,” she says.

“We help them by connecting them to concerned authorities,” she says.

The app is available on Android phones and will be available on IoS soon.

The duo is in talks with the Kashmir tourism authorities and wants to provide assistance to the visitors who visit the tourist-heaven.

“We are discussing the idea with Kashmir tourism authorities,” she says.

Know the founders?​

Muqierish Tak (Co-Founder)

The dynamic professional has been associated with Sports and Event Management since 2010. She has managed the Commonwealth Games- Delhi 2010, Lusofania Games- Goa 2013 and many other major events. A Mathematics Hons. Graduate from Delhi University, she has a Masters’ degree in International Sports Management from Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.

Harish Khatri (Founder)

A visionary who founded Redwood Media in 2010 with a vast experience of 12 years in managing renowned and big ticket events. He was also a one of the founding member of GroupM ESP and worked as Regional Head- Deccan Charges.

Now as a founder of CarRentalAssist.com and India Assist, Harish has made a mark in travel and tourism industry.

KNS/ KASHMIR MAGAZINE/ KASHMIR TODAY

 

To justify 2016 killings by saying same happened in 2010 isn’t right way to go, as two wrongs never make a right. Former Chief Minister and opposition National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah in an exclusive interview Omar Abdullah, talks about the current political situation, his party’s alliance with Congress and lesson he learnt from 2010 uprising

Here are excerpts:

Q: How do you view prevailing political situation in J&K especially after the recent surge of BJP in state elections in UP and other states?

BJP’s surge in other states has limited implications for Jammu and Kashmir as its presence is confined to Jammu province and Ladakh. So there is no real need for us at this point of time to assess BJP’s ground state in the state. If everything goes as per schedule, the nearest elections in J&K is 2019 Parliament polls. Lots can change between now and then. To assess BJP today, I think is premature. Yes they have received a boost by their victory in UP, but as I said things change.

Q: By-elections for two Parliament constituencies in Kashmir are due and you have entered into an alliance with Congress. Why so?

It is not an alliance but seat sharing agreement. Alliance is normally for forming government. We have entered into a tactical understanding with Congress whereby we will field one candidate in Srinagar and they will field one from Anantnag.

Q:  Voices are emerging that National Conference has conceded south Kashmir to Congress as in 2014 Lok Sabha polls NC had fielded candidates from all three Valley seats despite being in alliance with the Congress?

It is not a question of conceding south Kashmir to Congress. Basically it is a tactics. It is no more a concession of Srinagar to National Conference by the Congress and then it is a NC to Congress in south Kashmir. We know where we are strong and where they (Congress) are strong. If you look at the ground situation today and given the current upsurge in south Kashmir and particularly in Pulwama, Shopian and parts of Kulgam, looking at all these factors we decided that it was the best option.

Q: Whom would you blame for the current spell of militancy in Kashmir?

At the end of the day, the ball is in the hands of the state government. They are the ones responsible for maintain security, peace and calm. And if there is any surge in the militancy or deterioration of law and order situation, obviously primary responsibility and the blame falls on the Chief Minister and her government.

Q: In last year’s uprising nearly 100 people, mostly youth were killed, and thousands others were injured. People question how can NC in opposition criticise the PDP-led government when they did the same in 2010 when you were Chief Minister. How would you defend?

If two wrongs make a right, then it is fine. But the fact is that very costly lessons, and I mean costly in terms of human lives, were learnt in 2010 agitation. Those lessons allowed us to ensure relative peace and calm in remaining four years of NC-Congress government. We ensured that past mistakes were not repeated. It allowed us to have a reasonably successful Parliament and Assembly elections in 2014.  I am not for a moment suggesting that we need to ignore or forget what happened in 2010. Nobody can. I personally can’t and never will and I am sure that is true for most of the people. But to suggest that because something happened in 2010 and that justifies what happened in 2016 is also wrong. If the lessons we had learnt in 2010 and had been implemented by Mehbooba Mufti and her government in 2016, we would not have this problem.

Today I am not in power and I don’t think anything will be gained by continuously asking me to explain what happened in 2010. Or anyway trying to justify at all what happened. The fact is that it is the current government that needs to explain its failures, its acts of omissions and commissions and why it allowed the situation to deteriorate to the point where it was last year.

Q: 2010 happened, 2016 happened. What is that the guarantee such situations won’t happen in future?

It is a hypothetical question. There is no guarantee. Can you guarantee anything in life? Can you guarantee anyone sitting in this room will be alive tomorrow?

Q: Then isn’t blaming the NC government in 2010 and PDP government in 2016 playing politics over dead bodies?

Why isn’t it right? Didn’t you hold me responsible and accountable for 2010, you did. By that logic don’t you have to hold current government responsible for 2016? Because the similar situation may arise in future, doesn’t mean you can absolve the current dispensation. The fat is that what happened in 2016 was the result of successive failures at the state government level, compounded by failures at central government level. They have to be held responsible. God forbid if a similar situation happens in future, whoever is in power, we will demand accountability from him/her. But let us hope and pray situation like this doesn’t happen in future.

Q:  As leader of opposition, what according to you is the immediate solution to the crisis and chaos in Kashmir?

There is no immediate solution. If there would have been, it would have been found long time ago. The problem is so deep rooted that there is no immediate solution to any of the ills. But there are certain steps that can be taken. First and foremost is an expression of desire on the part of the central government to actually talk to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. When I say talk with the people of Kashmir that doesn’t mean Mehbooba Mufti and PM Modi meeting in a room in Delhi or Home Minister and Chief Minister meeting in Delhi. I mean actual long term sustained dialogue between Delhi and all shades of opinion in Kashmir. But that is not happening.

Everybody accepts the problems that arise due to the use of pellet guns. We received assurances from everybody that it will be relooked at. But today we hear that number of pellet guns have been increased by four or five times. Basic SOPs that need to be followed around encounter sites to ensure that collateral damage to property doesn’t happen, that “stray bullets” don’t hit people. If you don’t follow SOPs to make sure that needless deaths don’t happen, then who do we blame? These are the sort of things, which may appear to be very simplistic, but actually if implemented will help to gradually reduce levels of anger. There are various reasons to this anger. We need to understand it which unfortunately neither central government nor the state government has tried to do. It is very easy to bran all protesters anti-national. These are the same people who two years ago were willing to come out and vote. Suddenly today you are telling them you are “anti-nationals.”

Q: You blame the present government for failure to initiate a dialogue with separatists and Pakistan. But the matter of fact is that the dialogue process had been derailed when you were Chief Minister?

No that isn’t true. The dialogue between the New Delhi and the separatists resumed when I was the Chief Minister and Mr Chidambaram was (Union) Home Minister. There was a track II dialogue between the separatists and New Delhi.  Subsequently, the appointment of interlocutors took place. I agree top leaders of separatists didn’t meet them, but middle rung leaders met them, whether in Anantnag, Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch or Rajouri. To suggest that no dialogue took place in my tenure is wrong. Yes if there is something which you can hold us guilty is that we didn’t follow up interlocutors report. It was not discussed in the Parliament. Even Mr Chidambaram has said that he regrets it. But to suggest that nothing happened when we were in power isn’t correct.

Q: You said in October 2011 that AFSPA will go in your tenure only. Do you regret that you couldn’t keep your promise?

Off course I have. That was an optimum time. Violence was so much lower, there were areas where militancy had ended. And that was the time when we could have taken the risky decision. Atleast selected areas could have got out of the purview of the AFSPA which would have helped. But again unfortunately it didn’t happen.

Q: Is now the time to repeal AFSPA?

It is not for me to say. If you couldn’t do it when the levels of violence were lower, how could you do it when there is higher violence. Areas which had been cleared of militancy are today showing the signs of revival of militancy. Local recruitment into militancy has increased. In this situation, if you could repeal the AFSPA, I will be the first person to congratulate you.

Q: Coming to Parliament by-elections. Some politicians in other states of the country have alleged that electronic voting machines are being tampered. Do you subscribe to this theory?

The problem with us raising doubts about the EVMs is that we only raise it when we lose elections. I am yet to see a person who has won an election and raised doubts about the authenticity of the EVMs. But yes people raising doubts about EVMs should worry the Election Commission. They should go the extra mile to reassure the people that there is no possibility of tampering or rigging. And I believe one of the ways is to ensure that all EVMs are the ones which have printout of the vote. I believe that going forward Election Commission should scrap all the old EVMs and only implement the usage of those EVMs which give you a printed receipt of your vote. But as I said when complaints of rigging and tampering come from only those people who lose elections, there is less credibility in these allegations.

Q: During last year’s unrest, NC and Congress as an opposition went to Delhi and highlighted the Kashmir problem with the Prime Minister, the President and other national leaders. But since then, there has been no forward movement from the opposition. Reasons:

That is not true at all. Whether it was our delegation to Delhi or subsequently when Home Minister led delegation visited Kashmir or even more recently concluded Budget session which issue of people we didn’t highlight. We have continuously been highlighting issues and pressing for acceptance of the political nature of Kashmir problem. But the fact is that we can only push from here. AT the end of the day it has to be the government which has to take the initiative. We can’t take delegation to Prime Minister every day.

Q: How do you see situation turning up in Kashmir in 2017?

I am concerned in terms of militancy. The level of local recruitment into militancy is a worry. I hope we don’t see similar summer agitation like last year. Tourism numbers have been very depressing this year. Even now booking are not very high. But hopefully once tulips bloom and relative calm is maintained, people will start coming. Normally after a bad summer, following year the number of tourist arrivals are less

KNS/ KASHMIR MAGAZINE/ KASHMIR TODAY

‘Separatists welcome to peaceful political activity’ 

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Police has drawn a new roadmap for restoration of peace in the State. Disclosing this during a brief conversation with The Kashmir Magazine, Director General Police Dr. S P Vaid said that from now onwards Police will serve as a link between the people and the government and is not averse to any democratic peaceful political activity by the separatists.

Announcing that separatists are most welcome to undertake any peaceful political activity but police won’t allow them to disturb peace anywhere in the State, the DGP in reply to a question on rumors about the revival of unrest like situation in April this year, said “I have also heard about this but I would like to advise people not to fall in the trap of those working on the dictations of the people on the other side of the border. Violence has only brought miseries to people but is not a solution to any problem. Last year also children lost education, properties were devastated, economy was shattered and tourism was badly hit and as such it would be better for people to help police create a congenial atmosphere for peace and development in the State. Those tending to trigger violence would be firmly dealt under law”.

Over the issue of recruitments of police, he said process is on for raising 5 more battalions as 6 hundred posts of sub inspectors have been already advertised and process is on for recruitment of 10 thousand SPOs.

Saying that Police has already started mass contact programme with people at the grass roots, DGP said police community groups comprising senior citizens, respectable, educated youth and intellectuals have been constituted by concerned SHOs, SDPOs and DSPs.

Revealing that police will get the feedback about the inability of the government to deliver essential services at the door steps of people and pass on them to concerned departments for immediate appropriate actions, Vaid said the police community groups can share their grievances about power failures, delays in repairs of power transformers, health care facilities, school education and availability of essentials.

He said SHOs will conduct five community police meetings in a month and similarly SDPOs and District SPs will hold three and one such meetings in a month at their levels.

Ruling out any scope for lobbyism in police, DGP said “from the day I have taken the charge there is no lobbyism in police. We encourage performers and work collectively for peace and law enforcement. We are one”.

In reply to question on human rights violations, he said “Jammu and Kashmir police is working in a very difficult situation where other departments do their routine work but police faces angry protestors on the streets. I have asked police cadres not to use any force on law abiding citizens and deal firmly selectively with the trouble shooters only”.

In reply to a question on issue of accountability in Police department, DGP said “CCTVs will be installed at police stations to monitor the working in office chambers of SHOs, Munshis and Lockups”.

KNS/KASHMIR MAGAZINE/KASHMIR.TODAY

Javid Parsa

When I began setting up Kathi Junction in Sarah City Center, I knew almost no one in Srinagar

I joined Facebook eight years ago, on a whim. Curiously, trying to figure out what all the hype was about. When I opened my account, I had the faintest idea that down the line, it would form a very important part of my work, well, life!

Back when I was in college, social media was a big deal. 

There were floods of requests, hundreds of messages exchanged, new people and new names everyday.

Social media was like this really big party where you got to meet a lot of people, share ideas, move beyond your social circle in college. Plus it seemed really practical that you would be able to contact the same people once you left college.

Thus I hopped on into the world of interaction through social media to have my contacts safe, post the hundreds and thousands of pictures I clicked, and share my views with people.

Little did I know that it was social media that would set the foundation of my business in Kashmir. It worked like a charm! I had the biggest tool to boost my business. I had the best way to reach the masses. I had the best strategy to take my food to the people of the valley. But this did not come easy!

To use social media to your advantage, the biggest thing one needs is to reach out to the maximum number of people possible. This being the hardest task!

Whether they are the number of likes on Facebook, or just followers on instagram and twitter.

You have to reach out to the maximum number of people possible and only then can you endorse your business.

To tell you my story

When I began setting up Kathi Junction in Sarah City Center, I knew almost no one in Srinagar. All my acquaintances were around home in Bandipora and some people around the city. Thus I began alone. I was toiling hard and had the least possible time to go out and make new friends.

Also I had not even planned on advertising my business through social media.

I was overwhelmed that I was seeing my dream come to life in the form of Kathi Junction. Thus I captured every milestone on my phone and proudly posted pictures on my social media profiles.

That’s when KJ started its online journey.

Friends on my lists were curious about the new restaurant coming up in the city. Some shared the posts, some talked. News was spreading around. Just one little picture on Facebook informed people about who I was and what I was coming up with in the city. That is when I realized the power of social media.

I began looking at it from a completely different angle. 

It wasn’t just a profile I had to keep updating, I realized it was part of my work, part of my journey to take my restaurant to the masses.

Social media has been the greatest boon for my business and the reasons are many.

Well, to start with, it really cut down on the costs of advertising.

I came to the city as an amateur and started the restaurant with all the money I had saved. Thus I was really looking for ways to cut down on unnecessary expenses. This was when social media came to the rescue.

Every new startup needs advertising. People have to know about the new things springing up around them in order for it to flourish. Instead of newspapers and hoardings I chose social media to reach out to the masses. Because that is where the people are today. Especially the youth, always accessible online.

This would ensure that we would reach out to a large number of people.

And so began the task of tagging all the people I knew, sharing more and more posts and requesting others to do the same. Little by little more and more people got connected. More people came to know about us. And today we serve people at our restaurant most of whom have come across our Facebook page or have known me through my Facebook or instagram profiles!

Also social media served my business interests since it posed as the easiest and most comfortable way to reach out to people. Today a little incident in one corner is read around the whole world because of the power of social media.

I did not have to take up efforts to establish hoarding around the city or post advertisements in newspapers and magazines. Social media ensured the frequency of posts about my place against weekly occurings on print media.

Thus I knew I had set forth into an arena where I could tell people about KJ on a more frequent basis, also at a closer level, through their phones and laptops. And let us not ignore the fact that people today are inseparable from their phones and laptops.

Other than these reasons, social media helped me create a special bonding with my customers. Today I have a KJ family, both because of the love the people have for me and also because they felt more connected to me and the restaurant because of social media.

I love clicking pictures with people and putting up selfies with them on my social media accounts worked like a charm. Whenever I clicked selfies and posted them I made sure to tag all the people in the picture. This made those customers believe that I was genuinely interested in knowing them and really happy to have them at my restaurant. When you engage with people, make them a part of what you do, talk to them and proudly show them off, they know that they are loved and are beyond customers for you.

For me, people who come to my restaurant aren’t just customers who come and dine in, they are the people who made me who I am, and I try my best to engage them in my life as much as possible. 

The greatest gift that social media gave me was the gift of my growth as a person and helped me carve out an identity. I can proudly say that today I have hundreds and thousands of people who look up social media for me and send me requests. I get hundreds of messages telling me how I inspire people and how they are dying to meet me at KJ. Reading all those at the end of the day wipes off all my worries. Talk about ‘present-day fanmail’.

All this wouldn’t have been possible without my social media accounts. People can easily access me and know my story, communicate with me and sometimes they use social media to express their criticism when they aren’t able to do that in person. I love that it brings a sense of informality. The huge inflow of messages and beautiful words from people makes me realize how far I have come and how it is the people who are the real reason of my restaurant’s success. It has taught me to be humble and always be grounded. With the people, is where I belong!

Social media is the reason why I can connect with the masses. Without it, a huge chunk of my customers would be aloof to all my activities and I too wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to bond with people.

But the picture is not always rosy, social media, like other things too has a negative side. People have long used it to spread rumors and cook up stories and spread them like wildfire. If used it the right way it can create great opportunities and help you make life easier.

For me, social media is a bridge between me and my customers. Slowly wiping away all the distance. 

Courtesy: Kashmir Ink

Shama Naqushbandi was born in London in 1983 to parents of Kashmiri heritage. After graduating from Clare College, Cambridge University, she joined one of the world’s premier international law firms and has since been working in the city. In the summer of 2011, Shama took a sabbatical to write The White House, her first book which won the ‘Best Novel’ in the Brit Writers’ Awards, 2012. 

Shama was recently in Srinagar and spoke about her book that reflects on the idea of home and juggling between multiple identities and cultures.

You were recently in Kashmir and also did a small book reading in a cafe in Srinagar. Tell us about your novel and how you came to write it?

Yes, it was a real pleasure to have such an opportunity. I’d describe The White House as a coming of age story about trying to find home in the 21st century. It is told through the lens of the narrator, Liyana, a character born in England but of Kashmiri heritage, who juggles multiple identities, and it is about her journey through different cultures, places, times and ultimately even people to try to find her place in the world. I wrote The White House because I felt it was a story that needed to be told and one that is very important and relevant for our time. With all the advances in technology, communication, travel and globalisation, I believe the subject of identity has become increasingly complex. Whether we like it or not, we are exposed to so much more in today’s world and this presents challenges when it comes to concepts of home. This is why Liyana’s odyssey is universal and her story resonates with everyone because it is a tale about wanting to belong and find love in a fundamentally broken world, a world that constantly divides, reduces and demands us to choose allegiances even when the very modes of categorisation fall short of the realities they try to contain. I also think the female perspective shines a different spotlight on the diaspora experience, because it is a voice that is often not heard.

Your book explores the idea of home in the 21st century, and your frequent visits to Kashmir over the years, of growing up in London while also being emotionally attached to the valley reflect in the narration of the protagonist.  Did writing this novel from the distance in London help you make peace with the memories of home?

Where is home? This is the ultimate question or challenge of the book. I penned The White House across many different geographical locations, including London and Kashmir. The very style of the book is influenced by writers across a rich and diverse literary tradition, from the ancient epic poets Homer and Virgil to the classical English writers who I studied during my time at Cambridge like Hardy and Shakespeare, to impressionist French poets, post-colonial writers and Kashmiri poets such as Agha Shahid Ali. Even the creative process reinforces the rootlessness of the narrative. I think it was perhaps travelling that ultimately helped me make peace with the meaning of ‘home’. Simply being a traveler, a wanderer, endows you with new perspectives that can be incredibly empowering. The White House is itself an odyssey replete with metaphors of travel, and Liyana is the quintessential go-between. The reader travels intimately with her, experiencing her growth alongside her. One of my favourite parts of the book relates to Liyana’s revelation of being a passenger in a taxi – the ultimate ferrier home of human traffic.




You have grown up in London and traveled across the world to many countries. How do you see the response of the outside world to the political and human rights situation in Kashmir? What is the role of international community in calling for a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute that can somewhat ease the suffering of Kashmiri people who bear the brunt of this decades-old unresolved issue?

I think it would be wrong for me as an outsider and someone who does not live in the Valley to pontificate about the political solution for Kashmir – I think that is best left to the Kashmiri people. The situation in Kashmir is of course desperately tragic because of the human cost involved, and I think it is incumbent on us at a human level to advocate truth, justice and reconciliation to bring about peace. As for the outside world, my personal experience has been that many people have limited knowledge about the realities on the ground in Kashmir. Sadly, I think this also extends to people within the rest of India. I often find it difficult to talk about Kashmir without individuals already having their own emotions and prejudices attached to it. It is as if everyone’s map of Kashmir is different and I draw on this idea in my book. I always encourage people to visit the Valley with an open mind and judge Kashmir for themselves.

How do you look at the emergence of young writers in Kashmir who are also writing in English, finding their own voice and telling their own stories to the outside world?

I think it is incredibly exciting. I’ve always supported art coming from Kashmiris themselves, particularly because I think Kashmir has a long history of being over-represented and often misrepresented, misappropriated and sensationalised by outsiders. It is fantastic that there is so much talent coming through the pipeline, particularly amongst the younger generation, and Kashmiris are now finding their own voices and writing back. I’ve always said Kashmir is the perfect palette for an artist – there is so much inspiration and emotion to draw from. If you speak to people in the Valley, almost every other person is a poet, painter or philosopher. Everyone has a story to tell, and it is just a question of time before people have to start listening.

Kashmir Ink

Also read: This Lady from Mumbai visited Kashmir alone and what she experienced was something absolutely beautiful

‘Won’t tolerate officials whose integrity is doubtful: Deputy CM

With the Government having ordered termination of services of 21 Government employees of various departments after declaring them as deadwood, it has been learnt that the government is compiling another list of tainted officials whose integrity is doubtful.

KM has learnt from the sources that the high-level panel headed by Chief Secretary which was constituted by the government to examine the corruption cases against the tainted officers will meet soon and examine the corruption cases of officials. “The high-level panel will meet and examine the cases individually,” sources said.

Sources told KM that the Chief Minister has categorically asked the top officials of the government to sack the tainted officials who do not improve their performance. Sources said that the Chief Minister has also asked the assessment of employees who are habitual of corruption and other unlawful activities. Sources said tainted officials including senior civil officers are under the government’s scanner.

The committee is headed by the chief Secretary and the other members of committee are Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Principal Secretary, Home, Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department, and the Secretary, Law.

It is pertinent to mention here that soon after the PDP-BJP government took over, the government shot a letter to State Vigilance Organization, to prepare a comprehensive list of officers who were involved in ‘corrupt practices’ or have been rendered as ‘dead wood’ to summarily dismiss them from services or suggest other kind of action, whose offence in corruption was minor.

The SVO was asked to prepare a list of corrupt officials to bring transparency in governance. The SVO submitted a list of 162 tainted officials to the government. On July 1, the government terminated the services of 63 officials of whom 25 were allegedly caught red-handed by the SVO while accepting bribe. According to the sources the number of complaints registered with State Vigilance Organization (SVO) against various Government functionaries since January 2015 are 309 with the highest number of corruption complaint s being filed against the employees of corporations and Revenue Department.

The Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Commission (SVC) has also received 875 complaints, since January 2015, out of which 552 were heard and disposed off and remaining 305 complaints are under adjudication. Many of these accused hold plum postings in various government departments despite facing probe in corruption cases.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh told KM that the government has already made it clear that it would not tolerate the officers and officials, whose integrity is doubtful. “We will not tolerate the officials whose integrity is doubtful but at the same time government has also taken a decision that that officers having good integrity will be given important assignment involving public dealing,” he said.

It is to mention here that the GAD on Wednesday issued individual termination orders to all 21 Government employees giving them compulsory retirement by invoking Article 226 against them. The officers-officials terminated from the Government services mostly belonged to Public Health Engineers (PHE), Power Development Department (PDD), Consumer Affairs and Civil Supplies Distribution Department and Revenue.

However, the government didn’t release the list of the employees declared as deadwood to the media. Instead, it directly dispatched termination notices individually to all the 21 officers. Interestingly, no senior or higher ranking officer falls in the list of dismissed officers-officials raising eyebrows over government’s move to weed out corruption.

Kns/Kashmir Magazine/Kashmir Today

Kns/Kashmir Magazine/Kashmir Today

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a relentless voice in Kashmir, the eldest and the most experienced politician in the state commands unmatched and unparallel popular support in Kashmir. He spearheaded 2008 and 2010 public uprisings in Kashmir and has been under continuous house detention for almost last 6 years. Now Geelani is spearheading the current phase of public uprising in Kashmir. Withstanding all pulls and pressures from different public quarters Geelani’s protest calendars are getting overwhelming public response for the last 6 months. Though an official delegation of parliamentarians knocked his doors this summer but he shut the doors on them with the contention that the delegation had not come to knock his door with an official mandate and a clearly defined agenda for political engagement on Kashmir issue. Presently heading the separatist alliance spearheading the current phase of public uprising Geelani commands the support and cooperation of even the tallest separatist leaders including the likes of Mirwaiz Molvi Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Shabir Ahmad Shah. 

Q: Patience level of the people has come to a full circle and growing tendency of the people to resume normal activities are visible on the streets and markets in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir Valley. Keeping in view the present response of the people to protest calendars would there be any change in the strategy of the resistance leadership in continuing the current phase of resistance struggle?    

Syed Ali Geelani: Yes, changes do take place. There were changes earlier and there will be changes in coming days as well.

Q: Civil Society groups are meeting people of cross section of society including resistance leaders, Journalists and Civil Society members. General belief about the visits of these Civil Society groups is that Government of India has started engagement under track II diplomacy in Kashmir. Resistance leaders excepting Yasin Malik have met these Civil Society groups. Why Yasin Malik refused to meet these groups. Is this kind of track II engagement acceptable to resistance leadership and what about the discussions these Civil Society groups have held with people of cross section of society so far?  

Geelani: Why Yasin Sahab refused to meet, you can ask this question to Yaseen Sahab only and he is the best person to answer it. What we have talked to civil society has come already in media and what discussions they had with others only they can answer it.

Q: If Government of India declares Kashmir a dispute and extends offer of unconditional dialogue to resistance leadership would you accept such an offer of a dialogue without the involvement of Pakistan in dialogue process?  

Geelani: Let government of India accept and declare it first then we will respond accordingly.

Q: In recent days some political workers have been killed. Do you thing that the current struggle is slowly and staidly shifting to eruption of yet another phase of high intensity armed struggle?  

Geelani: We have always condemned innocent killings on political basis. Whether new phase of armed struggle erupts, only time will tell.

Q: Indiscipline shown by the youth to the extent of burning down private vehicles and school buildings has worried people. Though you made fervent appeals to youth not to in deluge in activities of arson resulting in huge loss to the public property but youth did not show the response which they should have shown to your appeals what is your response?  

Geelani: Who where indulged in burning of the vehicles and schools it is to be ascertained first and it is the job of authorities to get to them. We have always condemned such actions and will continue doing so in future as well.

Q: Some Central ministers overseeing the current situation in Kashmir have already said that the current struggle will die down on its own as was experienced in the years 2008 and 2010. Obviously Home Minister thinks fatigue will force people to give in and normalcy will be restored. Do you think that uprisings erupt and consequently boil down on their own?  

Geelani: Movements are not judged on the outcome of one phase. Freedom of nations is a long path to traverse. Different phases have different intensities. But the flame of freedom is live and will remain so.

Q: Do you see any difference in the handling of street protests between the present government headed by Mehbooba Mufti and the previous Omar Abdullah led NC-Congress coalition government?  

Geelani: No, traitors and collaborators are same by conviction. They all have mortgaged their soul and mind and are only interested in power for which they can go to any extent, to get it even by trading the blood, flesh and honor of their own people.

Q: According to RBI guidelines the loans are to be recovered if borrowers fail to pay the monthly interest for three months. Four months have passed and banks have started acting against the defaulters. The business community hit by the unrest had though a meeting with JK bank chairman who assured them to restructure loan policy. However other banks have refused to offer any concession to the business community hit by unrest. What would be your response to the possible crackdown of the banks on the defaulters majority of home are running different kinds of business outlets in Valley?  

Geelani: Banks, as we have already said, are on the mutual trust bond and any defaulter due to the circumstances beyond its control, should not be held responsible. If still banks force its clients to comply, it will be treated yet another mischievous act, at the behest of the aggressor to enforce the people to subjugation.

Kns/Kashmir Magazine/Kashmir Today