Category: Union Territory

Lucknow: Screenwriter and director Vivek Agnihotri on Sunday said that the row over his latest film ‘The Kashmir Files’ was unnecessary and that the movie was based entirely on facts.
He alleged that certain people were running businesses by using Kashmir and the row was created by them. “Some groups have been using Kashmir as a business. Our movie has tried to put an end to this. So, those who benefited from this are trying to create a controversy. But there cannot be any controversy over terrorism,” Agnihotri told the media here.
“We have tried to show that when militancy enters a community and is given ideological support from a part of the society, it leads to disaster,” Agnihotri said, adding that his movie was based entirely on facts.
He, along with actor Pallavi Joshi, met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Yogi Adityanath earlier in the day.
“I congratulated him (Adityanath) for the victory in the elections and he assured me to expedite the work of Film City in Uttar Pradesh so that the state can be turned into a hub of filmmaking,” the director said.
‘The Kashmir Files’ has rejuvenated the business of multi-screens, shopping malls and YouTubers, thereby boosting the economy, he claimed.
“The movie has opened the eyes of the people who failed to admit the crime against Kashmiri Pandits. Now, people of the country and abroad are realising it,” Agnihotri said, adding that the movie has broken the blueprint of filmmaking.
PTI

Srinagar, Mar 19: National Conference (NC) President and MP from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah on Saturday stressed on the need to identify internal and external enemies of Jammu and Kashmir, saying it is the unity of the people of J&K that will not let the nefarious plans of such forces work.

This, he said, while addressing a public gathering at Harinara, Singhpora, Pattan. He said that the incumbent regimes normalcy, peace and development narrative is hardly visible on ground. “People are yearning for their democratic, constitutional and human rights, which have incessantly been abridged since 2019,” he said, as per a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

Cautioning people against the divisive forces contriving to divide people of JK on religious, regional and sectarian lines, Dr Farooq said that the people of J&K are confronting a two front battle, one with those peddling divisive agenda nationally and the other one locally.

“Sher-e-Kashmir always maintained that a day will come when there will be a leader in every street and corner of Kashmir. The prevailing circumstances have attested to his forewarning. Today we see mushrooming of political parties and leaders in every nook and corner of Kashmir. The risky political vacuum created by the decisions of August 2019 cannot be filled by such airdropped leaders. It is a genuine popular representative government that will meet the challenge of instilling faith in the hearts of people,” he said.

“In spite of their failures to make inroads into Kashmir even with the help of their A, B teams, the communal forces are now up to creating leaders in every Mohalla, street and village. It is a warning sign for us. The people of Kashmir must remain cautious of such forces who want to divide our society on regional, religious, communal, and sectarian lines,” he said.

Earlier, Dr Farooq Abdullah visited the bereaved family of late Jalal Ud Din Wani. He was accompanied by senior party leaders Aga Mehmood and Reyaz Bedar on the visit. Joined in by party’s local unit functionaries and senior leaders, Dr Farooq offered Fatiha for the deceased and extended profound sympathies and condolences with the bereaved family—(KNO)

Pune: Veteran actor Nana Patekar on Thursday said both the Hindus and Muslims belong to India and divisions in society are not desirable.
He was replying to reporters’ questions about the film “The Kashmir Files” on the sidelines of an event here.
Asked about raging debates over the film which deals with the issue of exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, Patekar said, “Hindus and Muslims very much belong here, and it is necessary for them to live together and they must live together.
“If division is taking place, it is wrong,” he added.
Patekar, however, also said he had not watched the film yet and would not be able to make any comment on it. “But a controversy erupting over a film is not good,” he added. PTI

‘Criminal’ silence of majority community responsible for KP ‘exodus’, claims Sandeep Mawa

Srinagar, Mar 17: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ blames directly Muslims for the ‘migration’ of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. The film is garnering support and criticism in equal terms. Social media is abuzz with the messages of ‘hate’ and videos are viral showing how cinemagoers are spewing venom against a particular community after watching this movie.

There are some Pandits who describe the movie as mere propaganda, however, equally important is that some of the Pandits blame Muslims of Kashmir Valley for the migration saying the majority community remained silent when Pandits left Valley.

Sandeep Mawa, founder of Jammu and Kashmir Reconciliation Front (JKRF) and who runs a dry fruit shop in old Srinagar city blamed Muslims for the ‘exodus’ of Kashmiri Pandits. Mawa’s Muslim Manager Muhammad Ibrahim was shot dead by militants at his shop in Bohrikadal Srinagar last year. Mawa had claimed that it was an attack on him but his Muslim Manager sacrificed his life for him.

When news agency Kashmir News Trust contacted Sandeep Mawa to get his reaction about ‘The Kashmir Files’, he responded: “Everyone suffered in Kashmir, but the ‘criminal silence’ maintained by majority community in Kashmir proved costly for both Muslims and Pandits in 1990. Holy Quran says Majority should protect the minority, but Muslims maintained ‘criminal’ silence. If silence paved the way for the killing of 50 or 500 Pandits, it also facilitated the killings of other people,” Mawa said.

He said ‘The Kashmir Files’ is just the tip of the iceberg of facts. “Bita Karate himself admitted he killed Pandits. Didn’t he kill his friend Satish,” he said.

When asked the data from the Government of India shows only 89 Pandits were killed while the number of Muslims is much higher, Mawa said, “Muslims wanted ‘Aazadi’ that’s why got killed while Pandits didn’t yearn for ‘Aazadi’ and still got killed. My father Roshan Lal Mawa was shot four times in 1990. I was attacked in November 2021 in which my Manager (Muhammad Ibrahim) was killed.”

Mawa said that it is being claimed that Muslims are innocent but I am asking you, how much innocent they (Muslims) are? “Why there is an anti-Muslim wave in France. Are people crazy there? There are some elements in Muslim Community who are ‘terrorists’ and the media promote these ‘terrorists,” Sandeep Mawa claimed.

When asked who suffered the most, Mawa said that he can’t comment but added that Pandits were loyal to their country and suffered immensely. Mawa added that from this year, Pandits will hopefully return to their native land.

Pertinently, as per official data 89 Kashmiri Pandits have been killed during the past over three decades.

In response to a query raised by RTI activist PP Kapoor from Haryana’s Samalkha (Panipat), Jammu Kashmir Police has informed that as many as “89 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in attacks since the inception of militancy in 1990”.

According to the information, “Apart from the 89 Kashmiri Pandits, 1,635 people of other faiths were also killed during the same period.”

Chairman, ‘Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants,’ Satish Maldhar also said that ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie is based on ‘facts’ but it is also one-sided. He said Pandits were ousted in the name of religion but at the same time Muslims were also killed in the name of ‘informers’ and the film is silent on that issue.

“Kashmir Files has ignored the fact that during migration of Pandits, the government of India was run by VP Singh with the support of BJP. That government released top militants from the jail which proved disastrous. Kashmir Files is silent on the issue and in fact, it is a one-sided approach,” Maldhar said.

“When Pandits were asked to leave Kashmir, State and Central Government had been collapsed. Why the government didn’t arrange transit camps for the Pandits in Anantnag, Baramulla or some other place and why Pandits were asked to leave Kashmir abruptly,” Maldhar said adding that after reaching Jammu, the government informed Pandits that they have to stay in Jammu permanently.

“If BJP Government has patronized Vivek Agnihotri’s movie, why then the government is reluctant in declaring ‘genocide’ of Pandits. It was BJP then and it is BJP now.”

Chairman, ‘Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants,’ Satish Maldhar added that migration of Pandits is a fact but it is also a fact that over 800 Pandit families and Sikhs are still living in Valley. “It is also a fact that Muslims were killed but the Vivek Agnihotri’s film didn’t show this.”

“Instead of relying on films, why the government is not ordering inquiry about the migration of Pandits. Why the government is not ordering inquiry about what happened in Gawkadal, Kunanposhpora, Chatisinghpora. If we believe that we have nothing to do with Muslims, what about Sikhs who are part of Hinduism. Didn’t they were massacred in Chatisinghpora and doesn’t it deserve an inquiry,” Maldhar said adding that Kashmir is his land and he loves the people of Valley.

When asked you are now being called as Kashmiri Hindus and not Kashmiri Pandits, Maldhar said that Kashmiri Pandits are distinct from Hindus as Pandits don’t do ‘Murti Puja’ unlike Hindus.

As hashtag #KashmiriPanditGenocide is trending on social media platforms, and hate-filled videos are making rounds, KNT found an interesting thread from a netizen called Malcolm Urdustani. He writes that it is alarming to see massive misinformation being spread today. Many Hindu ‘fanatics’ are tweeting fake casualties in tunes of lakhs and alluding to a fictitious “Kashmiri Pandit Gen0cide”. He adds that being responsible citizens, it is our moral duty to debunk this dangerous propaganda.

The thread read: “Firstly, there was no “genocide” of 5 lacs KPs in 1989-90. There were not even 5 lacs Kashmiri Pandits in 1989. According to 1981 Census by GoI, there were 124,000 KPs in the valley & it is difficult for they would have even reached 1.5 lacs in 1989.”

“Secondly, the total number of KPs killed over the period from 1989-2004 is 219. The killings were political, not communal in nature.
And this 219 number intentionally excludes the thousands of similar political killings of Muslims, because of which even many M (Muslim) families left Kmir (Kashmir).”

“The militants had a hit list of those people who were popular governmental or influential figures, who they had issued a warning so that they disassociate with the government. The list included the majority of Muslims, belonging to govt service & political parties like NC.”

“ According to Mehboob Makhdoomi- “Communal color to these killings was given by Guv so that KPs temporarily leave Kmir (Kashmir) and he gets an open field to kill Ms (Muslims) to quell the uprising, which is what happened right from the next day when all KPs left, starting from Gaw Kadal massacre.”

“Subsequently, in shady circumstances, KPs were shifted out of the valley overnight on 19th Jan. KPs (20-25% of whom were employed in govt) were told that they will be allotted accommodation in Jammu. Thus, their state-sponsored migration took place.”

“The fact that their migration was state sponsored can be easily verified from Delhi high court docs (documents) too. After facilitating their exit, KPs were provided free land parcels in Delhi-NCR, free housing, government jobs, and getting a monthly pension from last 31 years.”

“Keep in mind, the KPs were no way discriminated or backward before their shifting outside valley. According to Govt data, among the KPs who migrated 26,000 had govt jobs. KPs hardly accounted for 2% of the population but consisted of 22% govt jobs.”

“Has such a planned evacuation & resettlement ever been done for victims of Bombay massacre, Gujarat or M’nagar genocide? In the 90s, there was also an exodus of thousands of Tamils from B’lore. Did they get similar state support? Or is their exodus even remembered?”

“Few yrs (years) back, an old letter, written by some KPs to their neighbors was unearthed. In the letter, they expressed remorse over betrayal & detailed the conspiracy of a planned migration. They also talk about humiliation by Dogras & abt (about) some opportunistic KPs.”

“It is very necessary to put the KP state-sponsored migration in context today. It has long been highly exaggerated & weaponized to call for & justify atrocities against Muslims of India & Kashmir,” the thread read. (KNT)

Firdous Qadri

Srinagar, Mar 16: The rise in depression and various ailments in Kashmir can be cured by Cupping Therapy (Hijama) believes Basit Bashir who is expert in Hijama and Chiropractic.

Detailing out the nitty gritties of ‘Cupping Therapy’ (Hijama), to Kashmir Glory Basit says, in cupping therapy special cups are put on a person’s skin for a few minutes to create suction. Cupping therapy might be trendy now, but it’s not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures, he says.

“One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C. Cupping therapy was also introduced in Muslim world by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who promised Hijama to be cure for all aliments expect death”, says Basit.

“Hijama is an Arabic word for cupping therapy and is widely used in Asian countries.”

People get it for many purposes, including helping with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage, Basit says.

This therapy, he says, addresses a wide variety of issues including chronic pain and migraines, immune enhancement, disease prevention, anxiety, depression, health maintenance and various ailments.

With six years of experience in cupping therapy, Basit is one of Kashmiris foremost specialists in alternative healing.
He also specialises in acupuncture and Chiropractic. He brings with him a diverse range of experiences and has worked extensively in Kashmir.

He started his career with one of the renowned Unani hospital – (Unani and Panchkarma Hospital) – where he got expertise from Kashmir’s famous Unani and Panchkarma doctor Dr Nazir.

He received one year of cupping training from ‘Cupcare Training Institute’ Mumbai and subsequently joined Rajasthan Jodhpur in Acupressure, acupuncture and cupping therapy for two years.

Basit opened his own ISO Certified clinic at Pandach crossing outskirts Srinagar City where he is treating hundreds of patients with different aliments with other healing modalities which provides unique perspective in diagnosing and treating chronic health and wellbeing issues.

Basit has been conducting various Hijama camps and has treated many youth with depression and other problems.

As per Islamic traditions, Hijama is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) even as science over the time proving that Hijama can help us in treating various ailments in our body. “The aim of organizing such camps is to increase awareness among people regarding the benefits of Hijama”, says Basit.

“During my practice I came across with patients suffering from different ailments like uric acid, cholesterol, Triglyceride, thyroid, hypertension thankfully they got satisfactory results but I was not personally satisfied treating patients with ortho ailments which prompted me to opt for chiropractic training. I joined a chiropractic training center in Hyderabad and it took me one year to complete this training course,” he further adds.

Each day the clinic of young doctor witnesses a huge rush to get their treatment through traditional means.

I have done Hijama before and I felt a lot of relief and it cured me to a great extent that is why I came again,” says Tabish Ahmad, a patient suffering from fatty liver, high triglycerides and cholesterol.

Bilal Ahmad, another patient who felt relieved after receiving the Hijama therapy says “I was suffering from depression, I feel very much relieved after doing my first Hijama.”

Basit has started his own Hijama training centre in order to teach unemployed youth and create employment avenues in Kashmir.

A female patient Saima Jan hailing from Shopain says she was suffering from pimple and acne problems and had been treating it for the last seven years. “I spent a lot of money on my treatment but finally I did Hijama and Alhamdulillah, my face is fairly glowing now. I have a very strong belief in Hijama now and I’m very much thankful to Basit Sahib who cured me in just a few sessions.”

Basit has started awareness initiatives regarding Hijama wherein he has organised many free Hijama campuses.

Basit has opened his own Hijama training centre and fervently appeals youth to come forward and join his training centre to create their own employment avenues.

Srinagar: The aggressive manner in which the Centre is promoting ‘The Kashmir Files’ film and “weaponising” the pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes its “ill intention” obvious, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said instead of healing old wounds and creating a conducive atmosphere between the two communities, the Centre is “deliberately tearing them apart”.

“The manner in which GOI (government of India) is aggressively promoting Kashmir Files & is weaponising pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes their ill intention obvious,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s.

It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi among others.–(PTI)

Srinagar, March 14: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Monday said most people in Kashmir valley do not need to wear masks under new guidelines.

“Masks can come off in schools too,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

Dr Hassan said according to new CDC guidelines, people who are living in areas of low Covid-19 levels no longer need to wear masks.

“Under new norms, masks are not recommended if average new cases fall below 200 per 100,000 population, there are fewer than 10 Covid hospital admissions per 100,000 people over the past one week and Covid patients are taking up less than 10 percent of available hospital beds, based on seven day average,” he said.

“If cases exceed 200 per 100,000 people, masks are recommended if new weekly Covid admissions exceed 10 per 100,000 people and patients are taking up 10 percent or more hospital beds based on a seven day average,” he added.

The DAK President said the recommendations no longer rely only on the number of cases in a community to determine the need for restrictions such as mask wearing.

“CDC has shifted focus to hospitalization and bed occupancy, rather than infections alone, to determine when masks are recommended,” he said.

“Based on these metrics, Kashmir now is a low risk area and we can lift mask mandate including school mask mandate,” said Dr Nisar.

He said with minuscule cases in the community and negligible hospital admissions, we can ease the guidance on mask use – not everyone in every place needs to wear a mask.

“We need to realize that we have to live with the virus and get back to normal life.

The new guideline of lifting mask mandate is a nod to that reality, and allow for a more sustainable approach to the living with the virus,” he added.

Srinagar, Mar 11: An encounter broke out between forces and militants in Chewakalan village in Zadoora of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Official sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that following specific inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a Cordon and Search operation (CASO) was launched this evening.

During the searches, the hiding militants fired upon the security forces, which was retaliated, thus leading to an encounter, they said.

The operation was on when the report was last filed—(KNO)

Kulgam: A Sarpanch affiliated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at Audura area of Kulgam on Friday.

Official sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that a Sarpanch identified as Shabir Ahmad Mir, son of Abdullah Mir was fired upon by unidentified gunmen at Audua area.

He was immediately taken to DH hospital here where doctors declared him brought dead.

MS DH Kulgam told KNO that he had received bullet in abdomen and was brought dead at hospital—(KNO)

Srinagar, Mar 10: Police on Thursday said that a “Pakistani” militant who was active from last six months in Srinagar was killed in a brief shootout in Hazratbal area of the summer capital of J&K.

“A police party was tracking him and his aim was to carry attack on the police guard at the shrine and snatch his rifle,” Inspector general of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters at the scene, minutes after the he tweeted about the incident.

“Soon after seeing the police party he fired with pistol and the fire was retaliated, leading to the killing of the militant,” the top police officer said, adding, “He was a Pakistani and was active from last six months. His video had also gone viral recently,” he said. He said two more militants fled from the scene and “we are tracking them using CCTVs etc.”
He said intelligence network is very strong in Srinagar.

To a question by a journalist that how police see the attack near Hazratbal given the faith of the people from all religions with the place, he said, “The aim, like the incident in Pulwama mosque today and at this shrine, was to hurt the religious sentiments and create law and order problem.” He said that pistol has been recovered from site at Hazratbal.

Meanwhile, the IGP told GNS that killed militant has been identified as Haider and he was a TRF commander. (GNS)