THE BEST HALF

Falling in love while in her teens, a lady put an exemplary battle - after her marriage, to secure the release of her husband who was framed in a case and eventually proved innocent. But the battle rendered the family jobless and homeless, reports Saba Gul and Saifullah Bashir

A BRAVE BATTLE SOCIETY

While putting up a brave fight against a life-threatening disease and even losing his wife to discord, a young man ensured that he completes his PhD in time, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

‘WE WILL NOT ALLOW JOBLESS POLITICIANS TO ENTER PANCHAYATS'

Shafiq Mir, Chairman All J&K Panchayat Conference, tells Hirra Azmat

TREKKING FOR 2G

Not far away from the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector, students climb to a hilltop to catch the low-speed mobile signal to access their online classes, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

BAND MAKING

Singing might have been a simple exercise at some point in time. Not anymore. A city singer had to struggle hard, lift a loan from the bank and the family to purchase instruments that his ideal band required. Many years later, he tells Saba Gulzar that he is happy that he owns a band that has a brand value

LAND, BRICK & MORTAR

The immediate fallout of dismantling the protective provisions in August 2019 is that outside entrepreneurs have become an intermediary between the government and the local businessman. This is showing up in a sharp spike in the prices of construction materials, be it sand, bricks or bajri. Added to this has been an increase in the cost of labour making it all the more difficult for the average middle class local to own a dwelling, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

KASHMIR'S SIKH ANNEXATION

One of the worst misgovernance that Kashmir witnessed was during the 27 years of the Sikh rule when Kashmir was part of the Lahore Durbar. This annexation was prior permitted by the British, writes Khawaja Zahid Aziz

A BIDEN'S WORLD

As Joe Biden takes over as the new US president replacing Donald Trump, many US policies are expected to change. Here we reproduce and analyse how the media across the world sees this change in regard to policies towards India, Pakistan, world and the US itself

‘THIS WINTER, HAVE GOOD FOOD, STAY WARM AND AVOID COLD'

SKIMS Pulmonary Medicine Dr Mudasir Qadri tells HirraAzmat

TRADE ROUTE FOUNDATIONS

For the last more than six months, more than 50,000 troops from China and India are facing each other in a state of high alert and at huge costs. They are expected to stay put in the inhuman conditions for this winter as the series of talks between the two countries have failed to manage peace. The same heights were in questions exactly 150 years ago when the British India and the Kashmir government entered into an agreement to lay a formal trade route between Ladakh and the East Turkistan. The agreement signed by Maharaja Ranbir Singh and Viceroy’s representative, Thomas Douglas Forsyth (1827-1886) on April 2, 1870 was ratified by the Governor General at Sialkot on May, 2, 1870 on whose behalf C U Aitchison, Secretary Foreign department signed it. Based on the agreement, the rules guiding the Joint Commission were issued in 1872

MISSION KASHMIR

Last week when the film Mission Kashmir’s cast celebrated 20 years of the ‘landmark’ film, a federal investigator raided the charity where the protagonist of the flicker was managed to come out of his PSTD and helped to live a normal life, all happening coincidently after two decades, writes Masood Hussain

LAND UNLOCKED

The new land laws promulgated by the central government for Jammu and Kashmir have triggered a new wave of insecurity, reports Umar Mukhtar

A PENCIL VILLAGE

A small village in Pulwama supplies more than two-third of the raw material to one of India’s major pencil makers pushing Chinese and German suppliers out of competition reports Umar Mukhtar

A 100 LAKE RECORD

Pushed into nature by the melancholic hypnosis at Tosamaidan, Mahmood Ahmad spent 15 years trekking and hiking to document Kashmir’s 100 high altitude lakes, rare feat he achieved in 2015.

‘What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger'

A Specialty Registrar Doctor in Psychiatry in the hospitals of Oxford Deanery, Dr Shah Tarfarosh is an Oxford University post-graduate with an impressive track record. In a virtual interview with Hirra Azmat, he details his Kashmir outreach through various NGOs and social groups in helping Kashmir students and professionals to develop mental toughness

COMMUNITY GRAVEYARD

With burial land getting scarce by the day in Srinagar, an NGO has taken upon itself the task of burying the unclaimed bodies and those who are not residents of the city, reports Umar Mukhtar

DEEPER DESIGNS

After dismembering the Jammu and Kashmir state and downgrading it to twin Union Territories, the focus of reorganising is now the third tier of governance which is being changed uniquely and irretrievably, reports Masood Hussain

TAILS FROM TOWNS

Unlike Back to Village programme that saw a reasonable participation of people, ‘My Town, My Pride’ was struggling to draw crowds, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

MAKING APPLE ROT

As the scab invaded Kashmir’s apple orchards, more than two-thirds of the crop is unworthy of the market. This fruit could easily be diverted to the industry for better use and reduce the loss to some extent but the death of an earlier marketing intervention scheme (MIS) is the real villain, reports Tahir Bhat and Shakir Ashraf

1931 A MEMORANDUM

Months after July 13, 1931, marked the beginning of the demands for political reforms and basic rights by the Jammu and Kashmir Muslims and a number of Committees and Commissions were constituted, the Kashmiri Pandits presented a detailed memorandum to the Maharaja Hari Singh. It was presented by the Sanatan Dharam Young men’s Association in Srinagar on October 24, 1931. The document is of historic importance and is being reproduced on its 89th anniversary

Mohammad Ashraf

(August 25, 1943 – October 14, 2020)

ROSHNI'S LOAD SHEDDING

The High Court verdict on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought forth the serious crises the 2001 Roshni Scheme had. While the new set up must investigate it, the verdict should not be used to peddle a politics that does not exist on the ground

DEED AND DECLARATION

In the new dispensation cranked up by the centre after Article 370 decision, all the PAGD like organization’s moves have been anticipated and the structures put in place to forestall them

MATCHIL MOORINGS

For most of Kashmir, Matchil is a border sector where the rival armies shell each other’s positions. Mahmood Ahmad, who visited the places in the region’s most happenings year, said the valley is the youngest inhabitation of Kashmir with breathtaking locations and impressive people that holds the future for organic farming

COVID-19: 1370 DEATHS AFTER

Seven months into the Coronavirus pandemic, Jammu and Kashmir is struggling to cope with the rising number of infections and deaths. With winter approaching, the government needs to get its act right before infections multiply causing more deaths, reports Umar Mukhtar while assessing the impact of interventions and counter-pandemic measures in Kashmir

Politics Of Silence

No released politician wants to talk about Article 370. All are waiting for the release of top leadership

THE OTHERNESS OF APNI PARTY

Going by the nature of its politics, Apni Party is unlikely to find spontaneous support among people. Its relevance, if any, hinges on an absence of political opposition

RELEASED NOT FREED

Even after moving out of the special jails and from the home detentions, Kashmir politicians will be haunted by the memory of the seven months they spent almost under lock and key

IS PDP DEAD?

With almost half of her cabinet and a huge section of lawmakers out of the PDP, will the Mufti Sayeed’s dream project survive the new test of the new times

CAUGHT IN BETWEEN

As people accuse them of betrayal and the government of destabilization, the ground zero political workers in Kashmir periphery have nowhere to go