Srinagar, Feb 8: Seventy three people including 65 Kashmiri students with China travel history are being quarantined in Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi. However, no one has tested positive for Coronavirus so far. In Jammu, six people who have travel history from China and Thailand are being quarantined along with an elderly couple. Out of there two business men arrived from Thailand and four of a family had gone to China on tourist visa. The four family members have elderly couple in the family who are also being quarantined and their samples have also been sent for testing, Out of 8 samples taken from Jammu, 7 have tested negative and report of one is awaited. In Kashmir, 31 students arrived from China over the last two weeks and samples of 9 have been taken for testing. One test report of a female student is negative and results of the other samples is awaited. They are all being quarantined in their homes and a Health department team of officials visit them daily for medical check ups. And in the meantime, 34 Kashmiri students arrived from China early this week in New Delhi and they are being quarantined at a medical facility that has been set up by Ministry of Health Services Government of India in national capital. The Nodal Officer for J&K UT to deal with the Coronavirus, Dr Shafqat Khan, told Excelsior that Financial Commissioner Health Atul Dullo held video conferencing with Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudhan to discuss the measures being taken to deal with the coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir. Dullo said that UT is fully geared up to deal with coronavirus. He said that four more sample taking facilities have been set up at Kathua, Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla Medical Colleges. The Financial Commissioner Dulloo has asked all the Chief Medical Officers across the UT to maintain the SOPs strictly. They have been asked to transport such people from airport and home to test lifting facilities in designated ambulances. He said that Health Department of the UT is in continuous touch with National Center for Disease Control in New Delhi and National Institute of Virology Pune. It may be mentioned that Government has established 33 bedded isolation ward at Government Medical College Jammu for Coronavirus cases and 22 bedded such facility at GMC, Srinagar, SKIMS Soura and Maternity Hospital Sanatnagar in Kashmir valley. Government is not taking any chance on the issue of Coronavirus and all those arriving from China, Nepal and other countries are being monitored. The new strain of Coronavirus, which originated in Hubei province in central China late last year, has so far killed more than 630 people amid more than 31,000 total reported cases Globally with maximum cases reported from China.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Srinagar: Senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Naeem Akhtar has been booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), Hindustan Times reported.
Former minister and legislator Akhtar is now 6th regional leader to be booked under the PSA, which allows detention from 3 months to 2 years without a trial.
Akhtar will be lodged in M-5 hut located on Srinagar’s Gupkar Road.
Kashmir crown jewel of India, my Govt has faith in Kashmiris
Describing Jammu and Kashmir as the crown jewel of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said the identity of Kashmir was buried when the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits began in 1990. He said no one can side with the statements of three detained chief ministers of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who had said that abrogation of provisions of Article 370 will separate Kashmir from India. “Who made Kashmir only about land grabbing? Who made Kashmir’s identity only about bombs and guns? Can anyone forget that dark night of January? In reality, Kashmiri identity is closely linked with harmony,” he said replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha. Modi said Kashmir’s identity was buried on January 19, 1990 when Kashmiri Pandits started leaving the valley due to militancy. The prime minister said statements made by former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah on the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 are not acceptable. “Many said that Kashmir will be on fire if Article 370 is removed. Many are questioning us for detaining some political leaders. On August 5, Mehbooba Mufti said that India had betrayed Kashmir and we would have been better with deciding otherwise in 1947. Can we accept such people? “Omar Abdullah said that removing Article 370 will separate Kashmir from India. Farooq Abdullah said that if Article 370 is removed then no one will unfurl the national flag in Kashmir. How can we side with them,” he asked. Modi said such statements made by the former chief ministers were unacceptable. “These are leaders who don’t trust Kashmiri people that is why they used such language. But we trusted Kashmiris and abrogated Article 370,” he said. The prime minister said Kashmir is the crown jewel of India and his government has faith in the people of the valley where development measures are being taken. “The abrogation of Article 370 has led to the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country,” he said. He said the real identity of Jammu and Kashmir is its egalitarian attitude towards all faiths and its Sufi tradition, and added that the region cannot be left behind. The prime minister said the restrictions imposed in the Union Territory are being removed and union ministers are going to various of parts of the region, getting direct feedback from the people. “The government would definitely act upon the feedback”. Modi said his government is committed to work for the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and for its all round development. He said Ladakh would be developed as a carbon neutral Union Territory.
Srinagar: Terming the decision of abolition of J&K Cadre of Civil Services as unwarranted and arbitrary, former finance minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday demanded that the decision be rolled back in light of the promises of restoration of Statehood made by the Country’s Prime Minister on the floor of Parliament.
Bukhari also expressed strong reservations on doing away with five years age relaxation granted to Jammu and Kashmir youth in the Civil Services examinations. “The decision of abolition of J&K Cadre and doing away with the five years age relaxation are capricious and have come as a shocker for the people of Jammu and Kashmir especially its aspirants for Civil Services careers,” Bukhari remarked. The former finance minister observed that these decisions are confusing and make no sense because at the time of temporary conversion of J&K from State to Union Territory, the Central Government had assured there will be no fiddling with the J&K Cadre. “These decisions seem to have been taken without proper application of mind. Not only the sanctity of Caderization of Civil Services has been put to a question mark but the decision to abolish J&K Cadre will be a strong factor for de-motivation of J&K youth who aspire to join the prestigious civil services in the country,” he opined. Bukhari observed that the five years age relaxation was granted by the government of India to J&K civil service aspirants because of topography, inclement climatic conditions and the hostile security scenario in Kashmir Valley. “However, the contenders from all the regions of Jammu and Kashmir were equally benefitted by this special provision of age relaxation. Doing away with this advantage has not only brought cynicism among them but has also disillusioned thousands of J&K students who have gone outside State for coaching, thereby wasting their precious time and resources,” he added. The former finance minister demanded immediate review of these decisions in the larger interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir especially its huge number of qualified, unemployed youth. “The status of Jammu and Kashmir may have changed from a State to Union territory but unfortunately there is no marked change on the ground situation sofar. These hostile decisions are bound to alienate our aspiring youth further,”: Bukhari observed, while appealing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister to intervene into the matter and ask the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to revoke its decisions without any delay. He said that the civil service aspirants of Jammu and Kashmir appear in the examination conducted through UPSC after facing tremendous hardships including inclement weather, intimidating security situation and frequent internet shutdowns. “Our youth have always braved all odds with a hope that they will get a chance to prove their mettle in the prestigious civil service examinations. That hope, trust and confidence of our students need to be restored by the leadership of our country,” he advocated.
Srinagar: This year visitors will get to witness beautifully arranged tulips here at Tulip Garden as are mostly found many gardens in Europe. The department of Floriculture has planted the tulips in wave pattern and its water stream would be extended up to second terrace. Shayiq Rasool who is Field Officer (FO) at Department of Floriculture said the number of tulip bulbs will be about 13 lakh this season. He said with the addition of four new varieties will be added to have 55 different varieties of tulips. “The garden was a formal type earlier. Now, this season, we are stressing on wave patterns to make it more attractive. It will similar to gardens tulip gardens in Europe,” he said. Some new elite varieties of daffodils, hyacinths and ranunculus would also be added this season. “We are also working on different flower varieties also which can bloom in spring only,” he said. The department has also appealed visitors not to bring any food inside the Garden to maintain its upkeep. Deemed as Asia’s largest tulip garden, it is spread over an area of 30 hectares and is situated on the foothills of Zabarwan.
The Tulip garden has attracted many Bollywood film makers. The opening of the famous garden marks the beginning of tourist session in Kashmir.
“When the testing facility is available, we will be able to have the test results in 4 hours time,”
As of now, we are shipping the samples outside Kashmir and wait for the response, and the process takes days to weeks’ time.
Srinagar, Feb 07: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday has sought testing facility for coronavirus in Kashmir.
“That would detect cases faster and speed up the diagnosis,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“When the testing facility is available, we will be able to have the test results in 4 hours time,” he said.
Dr Nisar said as of now, we are shipping the samples outside Kashmir and wait for the response, and the process takes days to weeks’ time.
So far, 9 samples have been sent to NIV Pune, only one sample result has come that is negative and rest of the test results are pending.
He said in order to combat the potential pandemic threat of new coronavirus, and to improve the surveillance and ability to track the spread of the disease, US FDA has approved authorization of diagnostic tests for the novel virus in any qualified laboratory. Now, labs can use the test on-site rather than having to ship the samples to other places.
“We have the recommended biosafety level 3 lab at GMC Srinagar and machine to do the tests. We have the laboratory expertise in molecular detection of the virus. We need diagnostic kits and we will be doing the tests,” Dr Nisar said.
He said the diagnostic kit is designed for the detection of novel virus in respiratory samples like nasal or throat swabs.
“Any person with fever and cough and who has been in close contact with a confirmed case or has a history of travel to the affected area within 14 days of symptom onset should undergo diagnostic testing,” Dr Nisar said.
Quoting a paper published in the Journal The Lancet, he said persons who are not showing symptoms can still be carrying the virus.
“Because asymptomatic infection appears possible, persons who have travel history or history of contact should be considered for testing even if they do not exhibit the signs and symptoms of the disease,” said Dr Nisar.
Srinagar, Feb 05: A student hailing from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district currently in China has appealed the union government especially External Affairs Minister Dr. S J Shankar to evacuate the Indian residents who are suck in Wuhan province in China.
According to the wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Manzoor Ahmad Dar, son of Abdul Majeed Dar, resident of Trichal village of Pulwama in his Facebook post said that many of the people from India are stuck in Wuhan since the deadly Coronavirus spread in China and so far claimed almost 450 lives.
He said that after the spreading of infectious virus in China, he was not allowed to board the Air India flight arranged by the Government of India for the evacuation of stranded Indian residents from Wuhan due to slight higher body temperature (37.5).
The Kashmiri medical student he along with two other students were assured by Indian embassy that they will be airlifted by the next flight, but they were not airlifted so far. “After being disallowed to board in the flight, I have no symptoms of infections or virus. I made several requests to the Indian Embassy to airlift me to India, but to no avail,” he said.
“Although University provides everything whatever we need but every day in Wuhan is marked by fear and frustration. Back home, my parents are very much worried. My mother is a heart patient,” he said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, the Kashmiri student appealed the Union government especially the External Affairs Minister Dr. S.J.Shankar to kindly intervene and rescue him from Wuhan.
Nonetheless, his family in Pulwama has said that they are very much worried about him and requested concerned authorities to kindly evacuate him. (KNO)
Historians state that Thorpe’s life is shrouded in “myth, memory and history”.[3] He is regarded in Kashmir as a martyr who died for the cause of Kashmiris.[4][5][6]
Gravestone of Lt. Robert Thorpe in Kashmir.
Lieutenant Robert Thorpe (1838–1868[1]), an officer of the British Indian Army,[2] visited Kashmir during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh and wrote about the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. His writings were compiled into a book Cashmere Misgovernment and published in London in 1870. Thorpe also appealed to the British soldiers, who raised funds for Christian Missionary Society to send medical help to the Kashmir Valley. This eventually led to the founding of the British Mission Hospital in Srinagar.[2]
Family
According to Jane Strand, a surviving relative of Robert Thorpe, Robert Thorpe was born in 1838 to parents Thomas Thorp (died 1854), a solicitor in Alnwick in Northumberland, and Elizabeth Jane Tudor (died 1890) from Bath, Somerset. Robert had a brother William Tudor Thorp, who was a vicar and the great grandfather of Jane Strand.[7]
Other versions of his background are current in Kashmir. According to writer Fida Hassnain, Robert Thorpe’s father was Lt. Col. R. Thorpe of the British Army. On a holiday to Kashmir in 1833, Col. Thorpe is said to have fallen in love with a Kashmiri woman named Amiran, the daughter of a landlord in Shoguin, and the two were married. Then they are said to have gone back to Britain, where Robert Thorpe was born.[8][9]
According to another version from Justice Yusuf Saraf, Robert Thorpe’s mother was Jani (Jan Bibi), the daughter of Daim Rathore (Dayim Rathore) of Kishtwar. To get married to her, Col. Thorp had to convert to Islam. Robert Thorpe is said to have been the youngest of three children.[10][11][12][13] Kumar and Dar note the inconsistencies in the various narratives.[14]
Life and career
According to Jane Strand’s information, Robert went to school first in Durham and later in Surrey. He was commissioned in the 98th foot regiment of British Army in India (British Indian Army in modern terminology) in February 1858. He resigned from the Army in February 1867.[7]
When Thorpe entered Kashmir around 1865, he was a Lieutenant.[2] Scholar Sheikh Showkat Hussain believes that Thorpe was sent to Kashmir on a mission, to prepare the case for British intervention in Kashmir.[15]
Writings on Kashmir
Between 1865 and 1868, Thorpe travelled extensively in the villages, collecting information about the living conditions, economy, taxation, and the state apparatus.[10] He wrote scathing articles on the Dogra rule in Anglo-Indian newspapers.[16] He wrote to the British officials at Lahore (provincial capital of Punjab) and Calcutta (capital of British India).[10] But his writings also contained a strong political message. He was advocating the British annexation of Kashmir, a prevailing view among the British officials at that time.[17] His attack on the Dogra rulers and the Treaty of Amritsar that transferred Kashmir to the Dogras were scathing:
…by a government into whose hands British statesmen sold the people of Kashmir, by a government, therefore whose existence is a disgrace to the British name. It is at once a memorial of that foul act, when like the arch traitor of old; we battered innocent lives, which fate placed into our hands for a few pieces of silver. [18]
His writings did not lead to annexation of Kashmir. However, the British government brought the state of Jammu and Kashmir into a subsidiary alliance, placing a British Resident in Kashmir.[19]
Other than the political messages, scholars find Thorpe’s writings valuable for the detailed information they provide on the state of the early Dogra administration. They describe the patterns of land tenure and revenue administration, the tax administration of the shawl industry, transport of supplies for troops and the system of begar (forced labour for the state). They bring to fore the “poverty, oppression and degradation” that characterised the early Dogra administration.[20]
The writings were compiled into a book Cashemre Misgovernment published by Longmans, Green and Company in London in the year 1870. The book has been republished many times, two modern editions including those edited by S. N. Gadru[21] and Fida Hassnain[22].
Death
Thorpe died in Srinagar on 22 November 1868 under mysterious circumstances. The cause of death was determined by the British doctor as a rupture of the heart. Poisoning was alleged and continues to be suspected even though the doctor ruled it out.[19]
Why was Thorp murdered? Thorp was shocked to see the miserable plight of the people in his mother’s birthplace. He raised his voice at the time when there was total sanction on information reaching the government of India. Thorp took it on himself to inform and educate the British people about the situation in Kashmir by writing to the British Press without caring for consequences. Thorp felt the British were responsible for the plight of Kashmiris, as it was they who had sold it to the Maharaja under the “Treaty of Amritsar.” Thorp pleaded before the government to release Kashmiris from the wretched condition, oppression and misery. He believed that public opinion was paramount to influence the government to do what was needed. Thorp traveled to Valley’s nook and corner collecting information about the plight of the people and thoroughly investigating the facts. He later on published a book titled Kashmir Misgovernment and dedicated it to the people who, according to him “do not approve of cruelties upon human beings, and to those who are exalted from the moral, religious and social point of view and do not like oppression”.Thorp pleaded that the British were the first nation, which led the way to the abolition of slavery. When resistance was shown by one Sheikh Imam-ud-Din, the Britishers forced Sheikh to obey the new Sovereign of Kashmir or consider himself as an enemy of British power. Sheikh yielded and Gulab Singh’s troops were permitted to occupy Srinagar without any resistance. Thorp pleaded that British government had committed a wanton outrage and injustice by handing over Kashmir to the unjust Maharaja. He pleaded to the British government to establish the facts as he had done by laborious investigation in Kashmir itself. However, trouble came upon Thorp and he was ordered to leave Kashmir. Undeterred, Thorp returned to Srinagar on November 21, 1868, and next morning after his breakfast he died, possibly because of poisoning. Thorp was found dead on the Sulaiman Taing Hill. Some misinformed people believe that thorp was a British agent and had come here to pursue some ulterior motives. However, his book speaks for him. Nothing more is needed to prove his credentials. [27]
Cecil Tyndale-Biscoe, who went as a Christian missionary to Kashmir in 1890, informs us that prior to his death, Thorpe was ordered out of the state by the Maharaja. When he refused to leave, he was tied to his bed and carried to the pass. Thorpe is said to have escaped and returned to Srinagar. His death occurred the following day.[23][11]
Fida Hassnain, on the other hand, states that the Maharaja’s men attacked Thorpe when he went to the Shankaracharya Hill near the Dal Lake (also called the Takhat-i-Sulaiman), and he died on the spot. The source of this information is not specified.[24]
Thorpe was buried at a Christian cemetery at Shaikh Bagh. The carving on the grave states, “He gave his life for Kashmir”.[1]
Legacy
Robert Thorpe’s appeals for help mobilised other British officers such as Sir Robert Montgomery, who was the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, Sir Herbert Edwards, Colonel Martin and Colonel Urmston, who got together and raised funds for sending a medical missionary to Kashmir with the help of the Christian Missionary Society. Doctor William Jackson Elmslie went as a missionary doctor in 1864. His work is said to have been obstructed by the Maharaja’s administration, but he continued until his death in 1872. Afterwards, the Society sent Doctor Theodore Maxwell who was able to get land from the administration for building a basic Mission Hospital at Rustum Gari, close to the Takhat-i-Sulaiman. Dr. Arthur Neve, who succeeded him, built the present hospital.[25]
In 1967, Fida Hassnain wrote an article on Robert Thorpe in a local newspaper calling him “the first martyr” of Kashmir. Major Afzal arranged the first anniversary memorial at the grave of Robert Thorpe, and since then it is remembered every year.[24][26]
^ abc Mir, N. A.; Mir, V. C. (1 April 2008), “Inspirational people and care for the deprived: medical missionaries in Kashmir”, The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 38(1): 85–8, PMID19069044
^Kumar & Dar, Marginality and Historiography 2015, p. 43, note 33: “For some, Thorpe’s mother was Janna, for others it was Janni, for some she was the daughter of a landlord from Budgam, while for others she was daughter of the ruler of Kishtwar. For some, Robert Thorpe was a Muslim, because his father had converted to Islam, while for others Robert Thorpe was a Christian whose cemetery can still be seen in the Sheikh Bagh Christian graveyard in Srinagar.”
Kumar, Amit; Dar, Fayaz A. (26 September 2015), “Marginality and Historiography: The Case of Kashmir’s History”, Economic and Political Weekly, 50 (39): 37–44
Srinagar: The technical teams hired by the government to block access to social media sites have faced issues in banning social media websites in the process which has resulted in delay in restoration of Broadband internet services in Kashmir. According to a report restoration of Broadband is likely to take more time as the software experts hired for the purpose to block the access to social networking sites and other applications through use of broadband or using Virtual Private Network (VPN) and other proxies have not been successful Pertinently teams from Bangalore and Chandigarh were called to Kashmir by home ministry for blocking the social media sites and also to put ban on other proxy servers.
