Category: Articles

Sooner the dissent is countered, better it is! Let me pay homage to late Mahendra Karma architect of ‘Salwa Judum’—movement against Naxalites in Naxal infested Chhattisgarh and condemn his brutal killing. The way Mahinder Karma was brutalized before his cold-blooded murder is not only shameful but a blot on humanity. In any kind of dissent,…

We need to stand up against these frauds who claim to be faith healers…  In nineties of previous century a small time tantrik turned Godman Chandraswami by his sheer exploitative skills attained the position of spiritual advisor to then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. He traded spirituality among rich and powerful and became self-styled godman by…

The coming elections will be unique in many ways… After much turbulent 2008 Amarnath row that ended after sixty one days violent standoff and subsequent assembly elections a different political coalition took charge of Jammu and Kashmir. Amarnath land issue changed the whole political equation inside mainstream political camp. Indian National Congress after 2008 elections…

The Homecoming… In 1990 when exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was at its peak, one of my Pandit colleagues who was much interested to stay back against all odds, asked for my suggestion, whether it is wise to stay or leave the valley. For almost three weeks I tried to persuade him with logic to stay…

This abode of Sheikh-ul-Alam stands vandalized… Valley of Kashmir once known for its alluring beauty is fast losing its charm at the hands of its own people. Its flora is vanishing, fauna getting extinct and the once enthralling environs vandalized by none other than the Kashmiri people themselves. Polluted water bodies and water ways; encroached…

The rot of ad-hocism in Government departments… When I joined government service in mid eighties I was more than enthusiastic about my profession and the expertise I intended to share with my people as a technocrat. However, during the process of familiarization with the working conditions and the overall state of affairs within the department…

Decades have passed but we still carry this attribute. Strange! Kashmir has the privilege of having a recorded history spread over many thousand years. And most of these historic chronicles are full of oppression and exploitation with few patches of prosperity and peace. Under the influence of unbridled power most rulers, their cronies and some…

Is ours an ignorant or arrogant society? The beautiful land of Kashmir and its once charming people for centuries faced exploitation at the hands of aggressors and many a time suppression by its own people. After the end of autocracy in 1947 we had some leveled field to empower and educate ourselves. It is a…

Of Public Health and Public Health Engineering! For the last more than two weeks the state’s public health engineering department is in news for allegations of malpractices leveled by none other than the sitting minister who took over the reins of the department recently. The scene is getting filthier with renewed accusations and brazen denials. …

Therein lies the key to our economic progress… After two and half years of my joining Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture production department in 1985 under T&V (trainings and visits) scheme of NAEP (National Agriculture Extension Program) I was sent on a punitive posting to Warwan valley in Doda district just for standing against hypocrisy. As…