Video: After Pahalgam, young voices from Kashmir
We were too upset to eat dinner after hearing about the Pahalgam terror attack, said Yasmin Khan, a journalist with Awaz the Voice.
All the political parties and religious organisations in Kashmir condemned the attacks but unfortunately, India's television channels did not bring this news to the attention of the public, said Nasir Khuehami is the National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association.
In this episode of Karwan e Mohabbat's Yeh Daag Daag Ujala series on the state of the republic., writer and peace activist Harsh Mander speaks with Khuehami and Khan about the impact of the attack on their lives and those of their community.
As news of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam spread, reports emerged from several parts of the country of Kashmiri students, traders, and workers facing threats, harassment, and, in some cases, physical assaults.
Khuehami and Khan describe an atmosphere of fear, suspicion and isolation that has deepened in the wake of the violence. They also reflect on the role of mainstream media in amplifying hostility and hate, which they argue contributes to their marginalisation and recent attacks.
They share personal accounts of how Kashmiris mourned the terror attack and extended support to those affected, even as they came under intense scrutiny. They describe the emotional toll of being targeted, despite their clear expressions of solidarity.
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Scroll.in
18 hours ago
- Scroll.in
Ramachandra Guha: It is time for India to redeem its betrayed promises to Jammu and Kashmir
In August 2015 – almost exactly ten years ago – I visited the Kashmir Valley, and spoke to a cross-section of people from different walks of life. One of them was the journalist, Shujaat Bukhari. In January 2015, I had bumped into Bukhari in a Delhi bookshop, and he urged me to visit his home state. When I turned up in Srinagar later in the year, we had a long, and for me, most educative discussion about Kashmir past and present. As I prepared to leave, Bukhari remarked, half-jokingly, that he was grateful that, unlike the government of India, which had left unhonoured almost all the promises it made to Kashmiris down the decades, I had kept my word to him and come. In June 2018, Shujaat Bukhari was tragically murdered by assailants whose identities and motives remain unknown. The following year, the government of India abrogated Article 370, in a legal sleight-of-hand whereby an unelected governor was deemed to represent the democratic will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. For the first time in the history of independent India, a full-fledged state of the republic was downgraded to a mere Union territory. The home ministry then appointed a Bharatiya Janata Party loyalist as lieutenant governor. A betrayal The abrogation of Article 370 was a betrayal of a constitutional promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. However, it was not entirely unanticipated, since it was now the BJP and not the Congress that was in power in New Delhi, and the party had long advocated the junking of Article 370. Notably, while annulling the Act, the government of India did make a fresh promise in Parliament – that it would restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. It is now almost six years since that promise was made, and there is no sign of it being honoured. This delay is not a case of bureaucratic apathy but of malign political intent. The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah government allocated just one month for the revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar. In Jammu and Kashmir, whose population is one-tenth of that of Bihar, it took them five years to organise elections. There was a reallocation of assembly constituencies which favoured Hindu-dominated Jammu at the expense of Muslim-dominated Kashmir. In Kashmir itself, the BJP sought to promote a third, and even a fourth, party as alternatives to the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party. The press within Kashmir was muzzled, with independent-minded journalists being harassed by the police, arrested, or forced into exile. In the event, all these efforts by the BJP to manipulate the electoral process to its advantage failed. The National Conference, a party which Vajpayee's BJP was in partnership with but which Modi's BJP detests, won a comfortable overall majority in the assembly. Several months before the elections, the Supreme Court had called for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. But once the results came in, and the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP had to sit in the Opposition, there was little incentive for Modi and Shah to heed its call. Jammu and Kashmir now has an elected chief minister, Omar Abdullah. In an important symbolic act, the National Conference appointed its sole Hindu MLA as deputy chief minister. But with all effective decision-making in the hands of an unelected lieutenant governor, the chief minister and his cabinet can do little to move Jammu and Kashmir in the direction of peace and prosperity. Since he took office as chief minister, Omar Abdullah had largely chosen the path of reconciliation, even deference, over confrontation. He eschewed direct criticism of the lieutenant governor, while politely pleading with the Union government to restore statehood. Earlier this month, however, Abdullah was compelled to take on the lieutenant governor directly. On July 13, 1931, some 21 Kashmiris protesting against the autocratic rule of Maharaja Hari Singh were killed by the Maharaja's police. Ever since, July 13 is commemorated as Martyrs' Day in the Valley, much as January 30, the day that Mahatma Gandhi was murdered in 1948, is marked as Martyrs' Day in other parts of India. This past July 13, however, Kashmiris of all political tendencies were prohibited by the lieutenant governor from any commemoration of the event. After being confined by the police to his house on July 13, the next day, the chief minister defied the lieutenant governor by climbing over a fence and paying his respects to the martyrs in the cemetery in which they were buried. Till August 5, 2019, July 13 was a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir. However, after the state became a Union territory, it was removed from the list of holidays. Instead, the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh was made a public holiday. This was an act of spite, and possibly also of majoritarian intent. After being denied permission to visit the cemetery, Omar Abdullah tweeted: '13th July massacre is our Jallianwala Bagh. The people who laid down their lives did so against the British. Kashmir was being ruled under the British Paramountcy. What a shame that true heroes who fought against British rule in all its forms are today projected as villains only because they were Muslims.' While the first sentence quoted here is somewhat hyperbolic, the other sentences ring true. Between 1857 and 1947, all Maharajas and Nawabs, almost without exception, were British toadies. And even by the standards of princely India, Hari Singh was a thoroughgoing autocrat. However, that he was a Hindu, and those protesting his autocratic rule were largely Muslim, may be behind the revision of the list of public holidays in Jammu and Kashmir. The refusal to grant statehood is a betrayal of a solemn promise made by the Modi-Shah government. Yet the ill-treatment of the Kashmiris extends beyond this issue, while responsibility for this ill-treatment also lies with Indians outside of government. On August 12, 2019, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, promised that his group would set up a 'special task force' to make a series of investments in Jammu and Kashmir. There is no sign of that happening yet. Nor have other Indian companies taken up the baton. Industrial investments in Jammu and Kashmir are meagre, leading to an ever-increasing exodus of the best and brightest, as captured in a recent report in the Deccan Herald newspaper, which documents how 'across villages, towns and cities in Kashmir, young professionals, graduates, and even school students are slowly turning away – not just from home, but from hope'. Also culpable are the Indian media. In my experience, the most reliable information on Jammu and Kashmir comes from reporters on the ground, usually writing for newspapers and websites that are not headquartered in the National Capital Region. In the matter of Kashmir especially, the 'godi media' in the NCR fully lives up to its lapdog status, with newspapers suppressing reports that might show the Union government in a poor light, and television channels actively promoting falsehoods, as when a peace-loving Indian citizen of Poonch, who died in shelling from across the border, was demonised as a 'Pakistani terrorist'. In everything they have done – and not done – since August 5, 2019, the Union government has made it manifest that it wants Kashmiris to be submissive and docile subjects, not free and self-respecting citizens. Tragically, the aam aadmi of peninsular India have, in deplorably large numbers, likewise displayed their hostility towards the people of Kashmir. Unceasing demonisation The manner in which Kashmiri students in other states were abused and made to flee their colleges in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the lack of gratitude to the Kashmiris who acted with such exemplary bravery and decency to rescue tourists and take them to safety, the regular and unceasing demonisation of Kashmiris on social media, speak of a mindset in which too many Hindus either unconsciously or willingly project our Kashmiri fellow citizens as disloyal and unreliable only because they are Muslims by faith. Pakistan may have once had a tenuous legal case when it came to Kashmir, yet by its regular, sustained, and cynical promotion of terrorists and terrorism, it has long since abrogated any claim to the territory and its people. However, for Indians to make their own case more robust and more credible, more worthy of themselves and the values they claim to uphold, it is past time that we begin redeeming promises made by successive governments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Restoring statehood, and doing so immediately, is a necessary first step. At the same time, we shall have to do much more to make Kashmir and Kashmiris feel properly and honourably part of the Republic of India.
News18
a day ago
- News18
TRF Echoes Pakistan Foreign Minister's Protest Of US Ban On Terror Outfit
Last Updated: This clearly exposes the synergy between Pakistan's diplomatic machinery and its terror proxies, said sources Hours after Pakistan's foreign minister and deputy PM Ishaq Dar expressed disagreement with the United States' ban on the TRF, the terror outfit issued a statement opposing the decision. The Resistance Front justifies its armed resistance in Jammu and Kashmir as a lawful and necessary response to what it describes as the 'unlawful Indian occupation". The TRF claims that its designation as a terrorist organisation by the United States is unjust and influenced by Indian pressure on American institutions. The group maintains it is a legitimate, local freedom movement fighting against the so-called 'Indian occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir, rejecting the terrorist label. It asserts that the US and other powers label Kashmiri groups as terrorists out of frustration. TRF's statement rejects the US decision, framing its struggle as a rightful liberation from an oppressive Indian regime. Top intelligence sources reveal that the TRF is not an indigenous movement but a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba. 'The timing of the TRF statement, issued just hours after Ishaq Dar criticised the US designation, clearly exposes the synergy between Pakistan's diplomatic machinery and its terror proxies, confirming state-sponsored narrative warfare," said a source. The TRF has been involved in targeted killings of civilians, migrant workers, and minority communities in Kashmir. This is evidenced by confessions, forensic recovery of weapons, and intercepted communications with handlers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, said sources. Financial trails tracked via hawala and crypto channels link TRF operations to Pakistan-based facilitators, confirming that the group is part of a hybrid warfare doctrine combining terror and propaganda, they added. view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 22:31 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
State challenges Mumbai train blast acquittal, but appeals in key terror cases continue to face delays
The Maharashtra government recently announced its decision to challenge the Bombay High Court's acquittal of 12 men in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case in the Supreme Court. The government's decision to challenge acquittal and discharges in past terror cases, including its appeal against the discharge of nine accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case, filed in 2016, has however seen little progress in the Bombay High Court over the past eight years. Interestingly, two of the men— Shaikh Mohammed Ali (57) and Asif Khan Bashir Khan (54)—acquitted in the train blasts case were also among those discharged in the Malegaon case. The Maharashtra ATS had named nine men in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. The accusations against these men of having carried out the blasts was first investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and later endorsed by the CBI, which took over the case a year later. However, in 2011, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which took over the probe, filed a chargesheet absolving the nine men, including Khan and Ali, of all charges. Instead, the NIA named four other individuals, allegedly members of a Hindu extremist group, as the main accused. The nine men were released from prison in 2016, but the state government immediately challenged their discharge. While the trial of the four Hindu men named by the NIA is ongoing and all four are currently out on bail, the high ourt's hearing of the state government's appeal against the discharge of the nine original accused has barely progressed. While the seven men who were freed in 2016, along with Khan and Ali, are now outside prison, the delayed legal process has left them in limbo, with the fear of returning behind bars still hanging over their heads. 'We have been living a free life for over nine years now. However, the fear of being called back to prison definitely looms over our heads. The appeal by the state government against our acquittal has hardly moved in all this time. While we are thankful that the judiciary discharged us from the case, I also believe that there is a need to fast-track cases so that people can get closure,' said one of the men discharged in the Malegaon 2006 blast case. 2006 was a pivotal year for Maharashtra when it came to terror-related incidents, marked by three major cases. First, in May, the Maharashtra ATS intercepted a Tata Sumo near Chandwad in Nashik district in the Aurangabad arms haul case, where police seized 43kg of RDX, 16 AK-47 rifles, 3,200 rounds of ammunition, and 50 hand grenades. Subsequently, on July 11, 2006, a series of blasts in Mumbai's suburban trains claimed 187 lives. Two months later, on September 8, 2006, four blasts in Malegaon killed 31 people. During its investigation, the Maharashtra Police arrested and put on trial 44 people in connection with these three cases. Among them, three accused Mohammed Faisal Attaur Rahman Shaikh, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam, and Asif Khan Bashir Khan were common links across the incidents. Faisal was named in both the Aurangabad case and the Mumbai train blasts. While he was convicted in the Aurangabad arms haul case, he was acquitted in the Mumbai train blasts by the Bombay High Court. He is currently incarcerated in Aurangabad. Two other men, Asif Khan and Mohammed Ali Shaikh, were seen as main conspirators in both the Malegaon and Mumbai train blasts. Police alleged that they were central to Pakistani-sponsored subversive activities in India. In the Malegaon case, both men were accused of attending a meeting in July 2006 in Mumbai to plan the blasts, along with other co-conspirators and a few Pakistanis. They were also alleged to have taken these Pakistanis to Malegaon, where the bombs were assembled. These individuals then reportedly left Malegaon with Khan and Ali after assembling six bombs and storing them in a godown. Khan and Ali were among the nine men initially named in the Malegaon blasts before being discharged in 2016. Asif Khan Bashir Khan (54) – Status: Free The elder son of a scooter mechanic from Jalgaon, Asif Khan was locally known for his social activism, particularly on issues affecting slum dwellers. In 1996, at the age of 23, he took part in a protest against the demolition of homes in Khwaja Nagri. The protest turned violent, police opened fire, and two people were killed—one of them Asif's cousin—which spurred Khan's deeper involvement in activism. Later that year, Asif moved to Mumbai to work as a civil engineer. Police allege that around this time, he was radicalized, became a member of SIMI, and was in contact with Pakistani terror groups. He was arrested in 2006 and accused of procuring pressure cookers and assembling bombs for the Mumbai train blasts, including planting one at Borivali. He was also linked to the Malegaon blasts and accused of ferrying Pakistani nationals to Malegaon, who allegedly manufactured the bombs that exploded in the city. Khan, however, denied the charges, claiming he was at his Kandivali office on the day of the Mumbai train blasts. Shaikh Mohammed Ali (57) – Status: Free Shaikh Mohammed Ali was accused of traveling to Pakistan via Iran to receive subversive training. He was also accused of being part of the conspiracy and of allowing his residence in Govandi to be used for assembling the bombs used in the Mumbai train blasts, allegedly with the help of Pakistani nationals. He was further linked to the Malegaon blasts, accused of participating in the conspiracy and facilitating the travel of Pakistani individuals to Malegaon for planning the attacks. A resident of Shivaji Nagar ,one of Mumbai's poorest localities, Ali worked at a cooperative bank before moving to Dubai. He reportedly returned within a month and started a small business supplying Unani medicines. During this period, he was allegedly active in SIMI and had launched a campaign against video parlours in his locality. He had been previously booked for being a SIMI member and was summoned by police several times, including after the 2002–03 Mumbai blasts. According to investigators, his 100-square-foot home was used to assemble explosives and remained under constant police surveillance. Mohammed Faisal Attaur Rahman Shaikh (50) – Status: Incarcerated (Aurangabad Jail) Mira Road-based Faisal Shaikh, 50, was accused of heading the Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT) Mumbai unit and convicted for being the key financier of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. He was accused of planning the conspiracy, acquiring hawala funds, harboring Pakistani operatives, assembling the bombs, and planting them. Faisal is the eldest of three sons of Attaur Rahman, who worked in Saudi Arabia. After spending time in Pune, the family shifted to Mira Road, where Faisal was allegedly indoctrinated by SIMI. Faisal is accused of conspiring as early as 1999 of waging a war against India by training Indian Muslim youth in terrorist activities. In June 2001, he obtained a valid Indian passport with the intention of traveling to Pakistan. Six months later, in January 2002, he allegedly crossed the border via the Samjhauta Express and trained with LeT operatives in Muzaffarabad and Lahore. He was also accused and subsequentyl convicted for being a part of a conspiracy in the Aurangabad arms haul case. Police claimed he was responsible for indoctrinating both his younger brothers. One of them—Muzammil (also arrested for the 2006 Mumbai train blast) was acquitted along with him while the other is reportedly absconding. His conviction in the Aurangabad case is the reason that he was not walked out free.
