Ahad- the Pied Piper I knew no Kashmiri poet in my primary school days.  I had not heard of any poet or poetaster. There was no poet teacher in the primary department of our school; even if there might have been one he was living a life of anonymity.   I think, I only knew one songster and some troubadours- who passed through lanes of our Mohalla. The songster lived somewhere near my birth burg and the troubadours (Ladishah)– arrived into the city from some nearby villages. The only poet, I knew was lean, fair-complexioned, bespectacled teacher Pitamaber Nath Fani.  One of his poems was sung by us at the morning assembly. Yes, like many other friends knew names of many Urdu poets.  Allama Iqbal and Altaf Hussain Hali topped- their poems were … Read entire article »

Latent Dynamics of 2014 Elections The emerging scenario augurs renewal of debate on Kashmir at international level Punchline Z.G. MUHAMMAD Smaller Default Larger   Did “democracy – nee elections” triumph over the “sentiment” – the sentiment that has been emphatically resounding in Jammu and Kashmir for the past eighty four years. It is a big question. That will answer itself as time ticks on. The discourses and ‘noises’  orchestrated  by the corporate electronic media about everything going to be hunky-dory on political front  in the state after the elections have often proved to be soap bubbles. ‘Elections are a panacea’ for the political uncertainty is a cliché-ridden discourse that has been resonating in the state since 1950, when elections were held for the State Constituent Assembly. Most of the New Delhi based newspapers had projected the 1951 … Read entire article »

PUNCHLINE Z.G. MUHAMMAD     Curtains will slide on 2014 assembly election on December 29.  Two to three days after the results a new team of ministers will strut across the corridors of the grey concrete building- supposed symbol of power and authority in the state. Like all previously held elections in the state this elections will also be relegated to the footnotes of the Kashmir history. Majority of those elected like their predecessors will not be mentioned even in the footnotes. Nevertheless, this election has sparked some new debates that will continue for some time to be a tug of war between the ‘dominant discourse’ and ‘peoples discourse.’ For the Kashmir narrative, change of guard in the state or which of the  ‘accessionist’ parties wins majority is of no consequences.  Some highly optimistic friends … Read entire article »