Fake Terrorists: ‘Life in jail was hell, it is no better outside’
July 9, 2011, Issue 27 Volume 8 FAKE TERRORISTS 2, A series on Kashmiri youth Syed Maqbool Shah, 32 Lal Bazaar, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir BABA UMAR WHY: Arrested for alleged involvement in the Lajpat Nagar bombings of 21 May 1996, on the basis of a car tyre found in his room that allegedly belonged to the car used […]
Fake Terrorists: ‘Came for work, got sentenced instead’
July 16, 2011, Issue 28 Volume 9 FAKE TERRORISTS 3, A series on Kashmiri youth Shakeel Ahmad Khan, 50 Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir WHY: Arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate top politicians like Murli Manohar Joshi and former J&K governor Jagmohan. Served four years and three months at Tihar Jail WHEN: 24 April 1992. WHERE: Lajpat Nagar II, New DelhiSHAKEEL AHMAD […]
Fake Terrorists: ‘I don’t feel any purpose in life now’
July 23, 2011, Issue 29 Volume 8 FAKE TERRORISTS 4, A series on Kashmiri youth Mirza Iftikhar Hussain, 40 Namchebal, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir WHY: Arrested for alleged involvement in the 21 May 1996 Lajpat Nagar blasts in Delhi. He was at that time in a rented room in Bhogal but police said they caught him at […]
Kashmir: ‘New Delhi Has Handed Over J&K To A Twitter Kid’
(Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 8 Issue 32, Dated August 13, 2011) PDP vice-president Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari tells Baba Umar that people in Sopore didn’t pelt stones at them, but at the police The government stopped People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti from visiting the family of Nazim Rashid, who died in police custody. How do you feel about it? The Sopore incident […]
Across Kashmir’s LoC, Trading In Mistrust
BABA UMAR August 20, 2011, Issue 33 Volume 8 The trade was intended to bring together Kashmiris across the border. Baba Umar reports why it’s not going according to plan IN SALAMABAD, located 12 kms from the Line of Control (LOC), Shabir Ahmad bartered Kashmiri chillies for dates with a trader across the de facto border while Asif Lone […]
Bad Power Deal With India Leaves Kashmir In The Dark
Jammu & Kashmir gets only a fraction of the electricity generated within the state. This is a huge source of angst in the Valley. Baba Umar on why this injustice continues “IF THERE is one thing I want to see in my life, it is electricity,” says 35-year-old Hafiz Khan as he smokes traditional Kashmiri hubble-bubble in the smoke-filled kitchen. Every […]
‘Kashmir Will Erupt If Afzal Guru Is Hanged’
(Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 8 Issue 36, Dated September 10, 2011) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman, Hurriyat Conference (M), tells Baba Umar why a peaceful protest is not possible in Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced the release of 1,200 youths arrested for stone-pelting. Do you welcome it? Not at all. It is political gimmickry. ‘Granting amnesty’ is the wrong term used […]
A Master Plan For Pahalgam’s Destruction
BABA UMAR December 17, 2011, Issue 50 Volume 8 IN PICTURESQUE Pahalgam, tucked in the sub-Himalayan ranges near the confluence of Sheshnag and Aru streams, villagers are fighting to safeguard an eco-sensitive region from a controversial Master Plan that is fast turning the tourist hotspot into a concrete jungle. “It won’t be an exaggeration to say […]
Kashmir: ‘CISF Killing Is Yet Another Example Of NC Mismanagement’
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti tells Baba Umar that Omar Abdullah has gone back on his poll promise of providing free power (Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 9 Issue 2, Dated January 14, 2012) What’s your reaction to recent media reports on the National Integration Council (NIC) meeting transcript released by the home ministry? It’s not the entire transcript. They (media) are […]
Why stray dogs are Kashmir’s latest threat – BBC
Baba Umar, Srinagar 13 March 2012 The streets of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, have witnessed much killing in the past two decades of conflict. However, as the violence has ebbed, residents are facing an unusual enemy – stray dogs. The canines have been storming its streets, chasing cars, pulling down bicycle riders and […]