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Features
Batting on a sticky wicket
Kashmir which is widely known for exquisite shawls, carpets, papier mache etc has had another specialty up its sleeves for decades – manufacturing cricket bats and hockey blades. Presented under the garb of brand names like Reebok, MRF, Adidas, the fact that these bats have been hand crafted by dexterous Kashmiri craftsmen remains elusive to the world. Abdul Mohamin and Yawar Kabli travel to Anantnag in South Kashmir- the hub of bat manufacturing to see why has this industry failed to make...
Pran at Rs 1,200 makes onions look good
Srinagar: If you are worried over the soaring prices of onions, wait till you hear about the sky rocketing price of Kashmiri Leek or pran - a special variety of onion, which has seen a 400 per cent increase in its price over last winter.
One kilogram of pran will cost you Rs 1,200 this season as against the price of Rs 250 per kg last winter. Pran has become a priced and scarce commodity in the markets owing to its massive crop failure last summer.
Fayaz Ahmad, a grocery and spice dealer at...
One kilogram of pran will cost you Rs 1,200 this season as against the price of Rs 250 per kg last winter. Pran has become a priced and scarce commodity in the markets owing to its massive crop failure last summer.
Fayaz Ahmad, a grocery and spice dealer at...
Kashmiri narrative makes space
New Delhi: Days after an emotional book reading of Mirza Waheed’s debut novel in Srinagar, a large number of people turned up for the Delhi launch and reading of 'The Collaborator' that was organised here by Penguin on Feb 3 in the British Counsel Library. The audience comprised of Kashmiri students, journalists, artists, academics, businessmen – and even strangers turned up to listen to a moving book reading session that ended with people eagerly queuing up to get their copies...
Vanishing wetlands
Srinagar: At the crack of dawn in central Kashmir’s Budgam district a beeline of trucks loaded with clay arrive to dump it on an erstwhile wetland – Rakh-i-Arth. The purpose is to raise a swathe of land to rehabilitate the people who illegally dwell on the land in and around the Dal Lake. “It is preservation of one water body at the cost of other,” says Professor Ashok K Pandit of the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Kashmir University, who has worked extensively on lakes...
Till death do us apart
Srinagar: His youthful innocence died the day he picked up gun and left cricket bat behind. Saleem Ganaie became Faisal when he left his first love cricket in 2008 and joined Hizbul Mujahideen and became area commander of the outfit. He was active for one year, when all his colleagues got killed. But he was not alone he still had Gowhar, his best friend.
A close aid laments about their friendship. “Gowhar always accompanied Saleem but he never carried any arm. One day I saw Saleem and...
A close aid laments about their friendship. “Gowhar always accompanied Saleem but he never carried any arm. One day I saw Saleem and...
‘Police intervention would shrink academic space’: Bhat
Gandhi College lecturer, Noor Mohammad Bhat was released from the jail after nearly month’s detention last week. Bhat who was put behind bars for setting up an “anti-national” question paper is relieved to be back with his family, but is worried about the shrinking academic space. In conversation with Kashmir Dispatch correspondent UZMA FALAK, he stresses that police has no role to play in academic affairs. Excerpts:
To begin from where it started – the controversial question paper...
To begin from where it started – the controversial question paper...
11 years on, Bandipore Town Hall under CRPF occupation
Srinagar: Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continues to occupy the Town Hall in Bandipore district of North Kashmir for the last 11 years, even as the voices for the troop withdrawal turn louder by the day.
In 1999, paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) ‘forcibly’ occupied the complex, popularly known as Panchayat Ghar that housed the offices of the municipal committee. The occupation prompted the municipal committee to run its activities from the two dingy rooms in the nearby...
In 1999, paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) ‘forcibly’ occupied the complex, popularly known as Panchayat Ghar that housed the offices of the municipal committee. The occupation prompted the municipal committee to run its activities from the two dingy rooms in the nearby...
After bullets, pellets shatter Teli family
Srinagar: Like many families in Kashmir, the Teli’s of Arampora, Sopore have borne the brunt of the turmoil. In 2008, during the Muzaffarabad Chalo march, Fatima and her son Arif were hit by bullets. While the mother recuperated Arif couldn’t. But that wasn’t the end of family’s misfortunes. This year another tragedy struck the family when Fatima’s 19-year-old son, Wasim lost his eyesight due to a pellet fired by government forces.
“It was Saturday, November 6. Wasim returned...
“It was Saturday, November 6. Wasim returned...
We will talk to separatists, says Padgoankar
In an effort to stem the growing discontent in the Kashmir Valley, New Delhi has appointed three interlocutors to resolve the Kashmir crisis, with veteran journalist Dilip Padgaonkar leading the pack. In an exclusive interview to Kashmir Dispatch’s Jalees Andrabi, Padgaonkar, who is expected in the Valley soon, says his team would have a huge responsibility and the role initially would be to listen to all shades of opinion. Padgoankar says they would approach Hurriyat leaders despite some...
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