Leaders And Suffering Uncertanties in Kashmir
PUNCHLINE Z.G. Muhammad Sipping tea amidst clinking of knives and forks in a busy city restaurant, a columnist friend, with an intriguing smile on his face said that “now they have decided to take head-on any opinion makers or leaders who oppose their moves for a dialogue – reconciliation.” He was referring to a statement by a group of ‘leaders’ in the morning newspapers. Initially, I dismissed the remarks as premature and out of context. Ostensibly … Read entire article »
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Memomirs of Munshi Ishaq- An exposure of Kashmir’s hideous politics
Z.G. Muhammad The whole truth about the ‘actual happenings’ and behind the scene developments between 1946 and 1947 in Jammu and Kashmir is yet to be told.’ End of the autocratic rule in 1947, did not usher in a ‘popular rule’. In fact, the struggle against the autocratic rule, which started in 1924, with the presentation of a memorandum to Lord Reading, ended up with the installation of a ‘neo-fascist’ regime in 1947. The neo-fascists, while … Read entire article »
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Is Urdu being driven out of the land it lends an identity to
Z.G. MUHAMMAD A few days back Syed Ali Geelani sent out an ‘SOS’- a distress signal not to the United Nations or Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), imploring for preventing human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir or sending succor for victims of violence but asking his own people to rise against systematic killing of Urdu – the official language of the state. His concern has been genuine. Even average person has started seeing a sinister design in publishing of forms for ration cards in English instead in Urdu by the Department of Consumers and Public Distribution Department. This department is one of very few departments were most of the official business is largely transacted in the state language- a language read and understood by overwhelming population across the state. Changing language … Read entire article »
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Hurriyat Conference Battle Of Ideas
Hurriyat 3 What does this third chapter signify? Z.G. MUHAMMAD “‘Birth with a bang and death with a whimper’, since fifties has been most prominent attribute of our political organizations fighting for right to self-determination. Is it going to be the fate of the Hurriyat Conference also, this question bothered me a few days back, when this multi-party combine suffered yet another fragmentation and the third Hurriyat Conference was born. The first major crack in this multi-party combine took place in 2002. It caused a vertical division in this organization that despite inherent contradictions had remained together for about eleven years and fought some toughest political battles. The causes for this break up have been analyzed in this column in the past and these continue to be part of public memory to … Read entire article »
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New White Paper on Article 370
The chapter 370 Z. G. MUHAMMAD It is a political naivety. To say debating Article 370 is being sucked into the ‘dominant discourse’ or falling in the RSS trap. On 25 December 2030, some best legal minds and constitution experts of Kashmir had gathered on a chilly day in a local hotel and dusted off this Article of hackneyed interpretations. During brainstorming deliberations it became evident that the Article under debate with all its historicity and dynamics does not strength the ‘dominant discourse’ but bolsters the ‘Kashmir narrative’- that many of us prefer to call as the peoples discourse. Mian Abdul Qayoom and Zafar Shah, two important legal wizards of Kashmir analyzing Article 370 along with other allied Articles, such as 307, 368 and 253 with all provisos attached to these convincingly made … Read entire article »
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Of A Dream Merchant And His Goals
Of Dreams and Goals By Z. G. Muhammad It is not a political enemy’s dig at his arch-enemy. It is not an opponent’s last-ditch attempt to challenge political ideology of a leader. Calling a leader as ‘dream merchant’ is in fact an acknowledgment of his greatness- all great people dream high. I have no idea, what might have crossed the mind of the scion of the Abdullah family when he used this phrase for Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Nevertheless, he deserves kudos for naming the octogenarian leader, who has been on the political scene of Jammu and Kashmir for over fifty-five years as ‘dream merchant.’—it is the highest honor that could be bestowed on a leader. When, I read phrase ‘dream merchant’ in the screaming headlines, the famous speech of Martin Luther … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk