This will be in addition to the forces which will be deployed for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra….reports Asian Lite News
The Centre has decided to deploy additional security forces in the Kashmir Valley in wake of the recent killing of minorities in the Union Territory, security sources said here.
According to the sources, around 15,000 additional para-military force personnel will be deployed soon to tackle the security situation in the Valley and provide better security cover to the people there.
This will be in addition to the forces which will be deployed for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra.
The decision came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and instructed that additional forces be deployed.
He directed security forces and police to conduct coordinated counter-terrorism operations pro-actively and also ensure zero cross-border infiltration to wipe out terrorism in J&K.
It is learnt that the Home Minister was unhappy over the handling of the security situation in J&K and asked the intelligence grid to provide more specific information of terrorists and to go for a coordinated counter-terror operations based on the specific intelligence inputs.
The sources also said that the recent killings of minorities have created fear among them and therefore, it was important to provide fool-proof security shield to all and to initiate counter-terror operations quickly.
The terror threat also looms over the Amarnath Yatra which commences on June 30 after a hiatus of two years, so, the security agencies need to work in tandem, they added.
On Tuesday, Shah held a high-level review meeting in his North Block office on the security situation in J&K. The meeting was attended by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Army Staff Gen Manoj Pande, and senior officials of the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
A police official from Panzath Nag explained that the benefit of this collective fishing activity could not be denied…reports Uruss Munaf
When Khadijah Begum was a little girl, she would often accompany her grandparents to a natural spring in her village. Her grandfather would catch fish along with other men, and Khadijah and her grandmother would clean them. The spring’s water was so clear, Khadijah recalled, that she and her friends could even apply kohl to their eyes through its reflection.
Today, decades since Khadijah’s trips to the spring with her grandparents, hundreds of natural water resources in Kashmir, on which local populations have depended for generations, have degraded due to pollution and waste disposal — except the spring she frequented.
This natural spring is in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district in the village of Panzath Nag, which translates to ‘the land of 500 springs’. Over the years, this perennial spring has managed to preserve its purity and pristine state, thanks to a unique annual festival that has been celebrated through generations. A celebration that “felt like Eid” for the now 76-year-old Khadijah Begum.
Rohan Posh, which translates to ‘flowering the souls’, is the traditional annual fruit blossom festival specific to the region, celebrated in the third week of May before the paddy fields are tilled. The festival happens whenever residents witness the first blossom in their orchards, which are then spread over the graves of the recently deceased. They believe that these fresh blooms will bring comfort to the dead. This festive week, the village elders of Panzath Nag choose a day dedicated to cleaning the spring. Everyone takes a day off for desilting, de-weeding and fishing. People from nearby villages, including children, gather with wicker baskets and mosquito nets, wading to filter through the waters. Later, the villagers take the fish home and have a feast with their families and relatives.
While the locals are unsure of when this ritual began, everyone agrees that it’s “age-old”.
“We inherited it from our forefathers — from the era of the maharajas between 1846 and 1947,” said Ali Mohammed Shah (63), adding that local residents had cleaned the spring water for generations to avail good water for drinking and irrigation all year round.
Moreover, the spring itself finds mention in the ancient texts of Kashmir, the Nilamata Purana and Rajatarangini that were written around the 12th Century.
Shabir Ahmad, a local resident said that the spring brings forth a rivulet, which, alongside irrigating the paddy fields in downstream villages, also provides drinking water to over 25 more villages through supply lines. However, in the summer, aquatic weeds such as algae bloom overwhelm the spring. The collective fishing-cum-weeding activity of the local community then restores the spring the following year. Deeming the festival a perfect example of a “community initiative”, environmental expert Dr Irfan Reshi said that the proliferation of weeds in the Kashmir Valley is a significant challenge that’s led to biodiversity loss and pollution.
Furthermore, a police official from Panzath Nag explained that the benefit of this collective fishing activity could not be denied.
Ishfaq Hassan, a visitor from Srinagar currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Science and Water Management at the University of Kashmir, said, “It’s an amazing experience to witness hundreds of people in the waters de-weeding and fishing in the spring.”
He added that in the rural areas of Kashmir, paddy fields are either being converted into housing colonies or horticulture orchards as they suffer from a shortage of irrigation facilities. The streams, rivulets, waterfalls, wells, ponds and rivers here had become dumping sites due to the lack of waste disposal provisions in villages.
Another visitor, Maheen from the Environmental Science Department at the University of Kashmir, echoed Hassan’s views and said, “Where most water bodies are under tremendous pressure and witnessing such de-weeding exercises without any government or organisational intervention, it’s hard to believe the unbelievable results this initiative is fetching.”
While villagers have participated in this tradition through the years, the festival has also attracted many visitors from Srinagar, much like Maheen and Hassan, who as students of environmental science were intrigued by the land of 500 springs and its self-sustaining traditions. Local residents believe the festival can help strengthen the village’s position on Kashmir’s tourist map. Shah said this will encourage authorities to take better care of it. Regardless, the villagers are committed to carrying on the tradition in the future.
“The festival is a way to connect with our friends, neighbours and family. The event is so lively and fun,” Mohammed Shariq (19), a student who lives in the village, told 101Reporters.
Appreciating the festival, environmentalist Reshi raised concerns over the alarming depletion of fresh water, of which 80 per cent is used for agricultural purposes in Kashmir.
“Despite such abundant water resources in Kashmir, there is enormous pressure on natural water resources. Nowadays, it is seen that in rural areas, the heritage water resources are polluted and choked by solid waste, household refusals, polythene bags, plastic substances, wrappers, and indiscriminate encroachments. Therefore, the government should promote such community initiatives to motivate more people towards the conservation of water resources.”
The six new Assembly constituencies in the Jammu region are expected to be carved out from Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Kathua, and Samba districts
The Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday finalised the delimitation order and submitted it to the Election Commission of India wherein it has recommended 43 Assembly seats for Jammu division and 47 seats to the Kashmir region.
For the first time, nine Assembly Constituencies (ACs) have been reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, out of which, six are in Jammu region and three in Kashmir. The constitution of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state had no provision for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly.
As per the final Delimitation Order, out of the 90 Assembly Constituencies in the region, 43 will be part of Jammu region and 47 for Kashmir region keeping in view the provisions of Section 9(1)(a) of the Delimitation Act, 2002 and Section 60(2)(b) of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Delimitation order said.
The six new Assembly constituencies in the Jammu region are expected to be carved out from Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Kathua, and Samba districts.
The one new seat for the Kashmir Valley would reportedly be carved out from the Kupwara district.
As of now there are 46 seats in Kashmir region and 37 seats are in Jammu division.
“There are five Parliamentary Constituencies in the region. The Delimitation Commission has seen the Jammu & Kashmir region as one single union territory. Therefore, one of the Parliamentary Constituencies has been carved out combining the Anantnag region in the Valley and Rajouri and Poonch of Jammu region. By this reorganisation each Parliamentary Constituency will have an equal number of 18 Assembly Constituencies each,” the order further said.
The Commission headed by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, (a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India), and Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, and Election Commissioner of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir K.K. Sharma as Ex-Officio members of the Delimitation Commission met Thursday to finalise the Delimitation Order for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The Commission also said that with regard to the relevant provisions of the Constitution (Article 330 and Article 332) and sub-sections (6) and (7) of Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the number of seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was worked out on the basis of 2011 Census. Accordingly, the Delimitation Commission has reserved nine ACs for STs for the first time and seven for SCs.
The Commission has changed the names of a few Assembly Constituencies after hearing from the people and representatives of the political parties. These name changes included naming Tangmarg-AC as Gulmarg-AC, Zoonimar-AC as Zaidibal-AC, Sonwar-AC as Lal Chowk-AC, Padder-AC as Padder-Nagseni-AC, Kathua North-AC as Jasrota-AC, Kathua South-AC as Kathua-AC, Khour-AC as Chhamb-AC, Mahore-AC as Gulabhgarh-AC, Darhal-AC as Budhal-AC, etc.
In addition to these, there were many representations pertaining to shifting of Tehsils from one AC to another and some of them which Commission found logical were accepted, such as shifting of Tehsil Srigufwara from Pahalgam-AC to Bijbehara-AC, shifting of Kwarhama and Kunzar Tehsils to Gulmarg-AC and redrawing Wagoora-Kreeri-AC having Kareeri and Khoie tehsils and part of Wagoora and Tangmarg tehsils, shifting of Darhal Tehsil from Budhal-AC to Thannamandi-AC. Additionally, there were some requests for minor changes in the territorial jurisdiction of proposed ACs, which were thoroughly analysed in the Commission and a few of them, which were logical, have been incorporated in the final Order.
The Delimitation Commission was constituted by the Centre on March 6, 2020 in exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002), for the purpose of delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The Commission associated in its work, five members of the Lok Sabha elected from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. These Associate Members were nominated by the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The Delimitation Commission was entrusted with the work of delimiting the Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of 2011 Census and in accordance with the provisions of Part-V of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) and the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002(33 of 2002).
PDP, PC slams recommendations
Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and People’s Conference (PC) led by Sajad Lone said that the J&K Delimitation Commission report is a repeat of the past trend of discriminating against Kashmir.
“The PDP, from day one, has looked at the delimitation exercise as an extension of the process started on August 5, 2019 to disempower people from a particular community and a region. The final draft has proved our fears right again,” it said in a statement.
The PDP alleged that the Centre has used or misused independent institutions to turn the electoral majority into a minority by using geography, and access as a ruse.
“It will be for the first time in the electoral history of the country that elections are being rigged long even before the first vote is cast. It’s another sad chapter of history written by the rulers sitting in New Delhi,” it said in the statement.
“Over the last six decades, Kashmir’s share of Assembly seats in the J&K Assembly increased from 43 to 47 while Jammu’s share rose from 30 to 43. Who is responsible for the systematic disempowerment of Kashmiris from 1947? Those who aided and abetted in the journey from Jammu’s 30 to 37 are the ones who aided and abetted from 37 to 43,” the People’s Conference statement said.
“Hope Kashmiris will now remember the parties which associated themselves with the delimitation process, which was essentially a tool for disempowerment. How could a party which associated itself with the delimitation process be so audacious? They actually had the nerve of submitting one memorandum in Kashmir and a separate memorandum in Jammu. Ironically, the memorandums were contradictory. The Jammu one seemed to have been copy pasted from the Hindutva brigade,” the statement added.
It added that the party will file an RTI and seek the video recordings of the meetings to expose how those who started beating their chests outside the meeting halls were bending their back to appease and please the members of the Delimitation Commission.
There are over 40+ awards to be given during the Film Festival Award ceremony and the winners will receive mentioned cash component as well a certificate and a medal/trophy…reports Asian Lite News
The Jammu and Kashmir Film Development Council in collaboration with National Film Development Corporation and the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is organising the first-ever National Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir from June 15-20, officials said on Monday.
The film festival, which will be a congregation of the best of films and music, film-makers, music artists, other allied talent, will serve as a reservoir of creativity and inspiration for anyone across the world who aspires to live, love and breathe films and music.
The idea behind this film festival is to highlight the film, music and creative ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, along with its’ natural and social-cultural beauty that Jammu and Kashmir has been blessed with, to rest of India and the world.
The Indian filmmakers and music producers, artists have been invited to submit their original films — fiction, documentary, OTT Films or shorts and Music Videos for the first National Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir for a chance to win numerous awards under three broad categories including Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Music Videos.
There are over 40+ awards to be given during the Film Festival Award ceremony and the winners will receive mentioned cash component as well a certificate and a medal/trophy.
The list of awards and prizes, rules and terms have been mentioned in the website https://filmfreeway.com/nffjk while the entries can be submitted at — https://filmfreeway.com/nffjk. The last date for receiving entries on the website is May 16, 2022.
Alongside Khushalsar and Gilsar, he also sought support to clean up the navigation channel from Pokhribal to Nalla Mir Khan…reports Asian Lite News
For some time, businessman Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo had been unhappy about the government ignoring the water channels that connected the Dal and Nigeen lakes with the Gilsar and Khushalsar lakes via Nallah Mir Khan.
Once beautiful water channels on which houseboats sailed, the Gilsar and Khushalsar lakes had turned into vast dumping grounds. Land mafiosi and locals would often throw garbage and trash into them, garbage from Dal Lake, too, would flow down into the channel and accumulate in Khushalsar.
In 2013, authorities had undertaken some work to clean Gilsar Lake, but the effort was half-hearted. The trash retrieved from it would be dumped on the eastern bank and forgotten, resulting in conditions circling back to square one.
In other problems related to the poor state of the water bodies, both the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) claimed to have no jurisdiction over them. The only solution, Wangnoo concluded, would be a people’s movement to clean up these lakes.
As chairman of the Nigeen Lake Conservation Organisation (NLCO), Wangnoo already had some experience restoring water bodies. He decided to set the ball rolling by calling upon the divisional commissioner and request support for the effort, even as he offered to restore the Khushalsaar and Gilsar lakes under his Mission Ahsaas project.
Alongside Khushalsar and Gilsar, he also sought support to clean up the navigation channel from Pokhribal to Nalla Mir Khan.
With the help of local volunteers, Wangnoo set about cleaning the lake. The SMC, on its part, sent over trucks to transport the filth, while LAWDA took the initiative to clear up the choked channels and restore them for navigation.
Local residents like Showkat Hussain had witnessed Khushalsar transform from a lovely lake into a dumping ground, in their lifetime. One Rafiq Ahmad Khan, too, was sceptical about anything being done. However, as droves of people joined the clean-up drive as volunteers, they changed their opinion and volunteered themselves. As did Lateef Wangnoo, a local businessman and environment enthusiast.
In a matter of 100 days, 1,000 trucks of garbage were removed from the lake, and Khushalsar, once again, took the form of a pristine water body, like it had been in the past.
The administration is now working on Gilsar, Nallah Mir Khan and Pokhribal. A drive has also been officially launched to clean up Dal Lake, the biggest tourist attraction in Srinagar, although a lot still remains to be done.
Honour bestowed
In recognition of his efforts, Wangnoo was recently honoured as the ‘Environmental Green Ambassador of Jammu & Kashmir’. Dedicating the prestigious honour to his parents, his NLCO team and all stakeholders who had tirelessly worked on the cleanliness drive, Wangnoo called on the public, particularly the youth, to support this cause, “as conserving water bodies will be beneficial to many future generations”.
However, it is the coming together of the general public and government that earned the appreciation of officials and environmentalists alike.
Environmentalist Dr Irfan Rashid sees this as an initiative that will motivate many towards environmental conservation, besides building pressure on organisations and individuals alike to initiate steps to conserve our water bodies.
“There’s a dire need to identify and assess water bodies and wetlands that need to be restored and conserved, before they are damaged any further. Such initiatives, of course, will need to be encouraged and supported by the government, since no community can command the necessary resources for these,” he said.
Appreciating the public-government initiative that brought the foul-smelling Khushalsar Lake back to life, LAWDA Vice Chairman Dr Bashir Ahmad Bhat lauded the district administration, SMC and the irrigation department for having supported the initiative. LAWDA, he said, was now in the process of initiating projects involving the restoration of many other water bodies within its jurisdiction, in all of which public participation would be encouraged for better results.
The successful clean-up of Khushalsar Lake has set a benchmark and made environment a major talking point among local residents, who are now keen to see the government play a more proactive role in restoring wetlands and other ecosystems. However, they invariably feel: “There’s a lot more to do to make the initiative sustainable; the government needs to have a plan in place to conserve water bodies. Without this, a restored water body can get destroyed once again.”
Significantly the change in the Indian Prime Minister’s tone and tenor vis-a-vis Pakistan and insurgency has been noticed after the change of government in Pakistan early this month. The new Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s positive response to Modi’s greetings provided an indication of Islamabad’s interest or compulsion of reconciliation with New Delhi, writes Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
On January 8, 2013, commandos of Pakistan’s Border Action Team sneaked into Indian territory in Jammu, ambushed and killed two Indian army soldiers. Their bodies were found mutilated, one decapitated.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party raised passions over the series of such merciless killings reported from the Line of Control during the UPA rule. While visiting the soldier Hemraj’s family in Shernagar UP, senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, said: “The incident that has happened, we should take revenge… If we don’t get this (Hemraj’s) head, we should get ten of theirs (Pakistani Army’s).
Apart from the routine exchange of shelling, India is known to have retaliated with surgical strikes twice: first after the killing of 19 soldiers in a fidayeen (suicide) attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad on a military installation at Uri in September 2016 followed by an Indian Air Force strike on a terrorist training centre at Balakot in February 2019. The Indian action came in retaliation to the killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama.
Previously on February 10, 2018, six soldiers and a civilian, along with the three suicide attackers, had died in an attack on an army camp at Sunjuwan, Jammu.
Notwithstanding the restoration of the year 2003 ceasefire on February 25, 2021, the ripple effects of the Pulwama fidayeen attack continue to persist.
While the militants’ capacity to attack the Police and security forces’ camps has been drastically emaciated after February 2019, they continued low intensity grenade attacks besides fatal strikes on soft targets. Over a dozen people were shot dead ahead of the Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit in October 2021.
A fresh spree of armed attacks on Panches, Sarpanches, members of the minority community in Kashmir and non-local workers has started since March 19, 2022. In a dramatic development on Friday, two days ahead of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit, the Police in Jammu claimed to have killed two Pashto-speaking terrorists in suicide gear at Sunjuwan. They had reportedly infiltrated through the International Border in Samba, a few miles from the PM’s venue of the public rally.
But in sharp contrast to the BJP leaders’ trademark diatribe, and contrary to the common expectations, Modi’s 45-minute speech at Samba on Sunday had no reference to Pakistan or that country’s hostilities in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 32 years.
“I assure Kashmir’s younger generation that they would not suffer the hardships their parents and grandparents did. This is my commitment. We will make it possible at whatever the cost,” Modi asserted without any tangential attacks on the Pakistan-sponsored insurgency.
In his address at the Panchayati Raj Diwas, Modi didn’t mention even the four Panches and Sarpanches killed in Kashmir in the last 8 weeks. He didn’t make even a cursory reference to the Sunjuwan encounter which, according to senior Police officials, signalled the indication of a plan to sabotage PM’s visit.
A large number of the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), drawn from Kashmir and Jammu, as also the BJP supporters and common people participated in the rally. It was Modi’s first civilian visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking over as Prime Minister for his second term on 30 May 2019.
It was also the PM’s first civilian visit after creation of the Union Territory in 2019. Modi visited J&K’s Rajouri district on October 27, 2019 and November 4, 2021 – both occassions to only celebrate Diwali with the troops.
Contrary to his post-2019 speeches, Modi remained concentrated on development which also dominates his public addresses in UP, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Also avoiding typical attacks on National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, characteristic of the BJP leaders since 2018, Modi didn’t speak about corruption or ‘dynastic politics’. He was content with just a cursory reference to the gains accruing out of the abrogation of Article 370.
Modi may be simply testing the intentions of the new leadership in Pakistan but there is a context to the dimmed areas of his statement.
Significantly the change in the Indian Prime Minister’s tone and tenor vis-a-vis Pakistan and insurgency has been noticed after the change of government in Pakistan early this month. The new Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s positive response to Modi’s greetings provided an indication of Islamabad’s interest or compulsion of reconciliation with New Delhi. Delhi did not take exception to a routine filler of the ‘resolution of the Kashmir issue’ in Sharif’s letter.
In his first speech at the National Assembly, PM Sharif said that Pakistan had been dismembered economically and it was in its history’s worst condition.
He said that the total volume of the world debt on Pakistan was Rs 25,000 billion from 1947 to 2018 but Imran Khan’s regime had added to it Rs 20,000 billion in just three years.
The industrialist-politician, who has served as Chief Minister of the Punjab province three times, Sharif is supposed to realise that Pakistan’s real existential threat was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt, rather than India’s military might.
Sharif is expected to realise that his country’s increasing economic dependence on China would be a big compromise on sovereignty not affordable for Pakistan. His advantage is a harmonious wavelength with the Army on economic policy.
The Army is known to be the only functional and dependable institution in Pakistan that has not only maintained equilibrium with China but also saved Islamabad’s nose-diving relationship with the US during Imran Khan’s rule. It alone can take Pakistan out of the FATF’s grey list. Diplomatic circles in Delhi insist that the recent conviction of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba founder Hafiz Saeed would not be possible without a green signal from the Army.
India is understood to have communicated its security concern and implications thereof to the Pakistani Army in view the unabated infiltration, smuggling of arms and drugs and recruitment of fresh guerrilla cadres in Kashmir.
PM Modi visits the INTACH photo gallery of Rural Heritage in Samba, Jammu and Kashmir on April 24, 2022.
Reports from Pakistan suggest that in hours of the Sunjuwan encounter on Friday, the Army swooped on the headquarters of Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammad and seized a quantity of arms and ammunition from the Centre.
Unlike Imran Khan, who claimed to be turning Pakistan into an Islamic caliphate (Riyasat-e-Madina), Sharif’s family is known for its camaraderie with India. In June 2014, PM Modi and PM Nawaz Sharif exchanged gifts of shawl and sari for each other’s mothers. However the military leadership of that period did not take it well and ultimately ensured the Sharif family’s ouster from power.
One day ahead of PM’s Jammu visit, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave the first signal of the BJP government’s change of heart on AFSPA in J&K.
“Some people believe that the Indian Army does not want AFSPA to be removed. I want to say from this forum today that the Indian Army has a minimum role in the matter of internal security. Army only wants that soon the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be completely normal and AFSPA can be removed from there too,” Singh said while felicitating the 1971 War veterans and their family members in Guwahati, Assam.
In the changing ground realities, in which the August 2019 Indian interventions in Kashmir are moulding into fait accompli, Modi’s muteness on Pakistan and terror could be a harbinger of detente and peace.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Quick to understand market dynamics, Raina notes that people now want to eat and explore regional cuisine; they’re happy to have ‘Nadru Yakhini’ and ‘Haak Saag’ or try traditional lotus stem fritters…reports Asian Lite News
“Kashmiri food is more than Wazwan, and both Muslim and Pandit cuisines of the region need due recognition,” says celebrity Sanjay Raina, who is on a mission to change traditional perceptions about Kashmiri food and its preparation.
A name to reckon with when it comes to the business of food — be it as a restaurateur, a hotelier or an award-winning celebrity chef — Raina’s labour of love is to provide the finest quality home-cooked Kashmiri cuisine and make it available across the country without ever having to compromise on quality and taste.
“It has taken me a few years to put Pandit cuisine on the map… It took a lot of information sharing, educating customers and social media posts to achieve this. I feel vegetarians always feel short changed when it comes to eating out, so I have tried to change this.
“Whether it’s at our restaurant, or food festivals or catering, the vegetarian components are as important as any other dish. With Kashmiri Pandit cuisine, I get the opportunity to highlight vegetarian options and really make them shine,” states Raina.
The chef’s culinary skills were shaped at the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi. Born and brought up in Srinagar, Raina is a self-confessed ‘ambassador of Kashmiri cuisine’.
Quick to understand market dynamics, Raina notes that people now want to eat and explore regional cuisine; they’re happy to have ‘Nadru Yakhini’ and ‘Haak Saag’ or try traditional lotus stem fritters.
Raina goes on to clear the misconception that Kashmiri food should be avoided in summers, clarifying, “When you think of Kashmiri food, you think of spices and oil. But think about it, Punjabi food like butter chicken is rich with cream and cashew nuts but it’s eaten all year round.
“Kashmiris all over the world eat their food daily, so there is no such thing that it should be avoided in a particular season. Kashmiri food is unique, and the spices are local to the region, so the fennel powder or red chilli used in our food comes directly from Srinagar and is customised to meet specific requirements.”
Being optimistic about the restaurant industry, which was one of the worst hit during the pandemic, Raina states, “I hope the worst is behind us, but it gave us an opportunity to learn a lot. The business of food really evolved during that time and what we learnt will see us through the coming years.”
To take patrons on a delectable journey, the chef is hosting ‘Paradise on a Platter’, a food festival at Four Points by Sheraton, New Delhi, from April 27-30, a must try for all food lovers.
Amarnath and Ram Chand had come to Kashmir from Gurdaspur (Punjab) in 1905. In 1915, they started a photo shop in a houseboat on the Jhelum River in uptown Srinagar city…reports Sheikh Qayoom
“You just can’t have enough of Kashmir”. Two brothers, Amarnath Mehta and Ram Chand Mehta, who came to Kashmir as tourists in 1915, proved the adage. Their visit was literally a homecoming as they decided to live in Kashmir since their passion for photography could just not have a better means of expression than in the mesmerising Valley, its royal grandeur, and the simplicity of its people.
For three generations, the Mehtas have believed that Kashmir is the Mecca for a photographer and photo lovers.
Amarnath and Ram Chand had come to Kashmir from Gurdaspur (Punjab) in 1905. In 1915, they started a photo shop in a houseboat on the Jhelum river in uptown Srinagar city.
Subsequently, they shifted to a shop on the embankment of the Jhelum river, where the studio stands today as ‘Mahatta and Co’. The change of name from ‘Mehta’ to ‘Mahatta’ is a story in itself. Ghulam Muhammad Sofi, who joined the studio on February 2, 1972 said: “The name ‘Mehta’ was mispronounced by British tourists as ‘Mahatta’ and that is what finally became our brand name”. He said Ram Chand Mehta treated his staff, including Sofi like his own children.
“After his death in 1994, Jagdish Mehta took over. He would always tell us that since the elder Mehta called us his sons, so we were his brothers.”
As coincidence would have it, Ram Chand Mehta, his wife and son Jagdish all passed away on 23rd June though in different years”, Sofi recalled. His 50 years at the Mahattas have been a saga in time and photography. “On behalf of the Mahattas, I was officially engaged as the photographer for VVIP functions in Kashmir. “I have taken pictures of late Indira Gandhi, Gaini Zail Singh, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and other senior leaders.
“Among the film stars, I have photographed Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, Rajesh Khanna and Jagdeep during their visits to Kashmir”.
He misses the old times like a child who has lost all his toys.”Taking pictures, retouching them, processing films, marching colours etc in the studio was an art which is all vanished now. You shoot with a digital phone or camera these days and that it.”
Photography has ceased to be an art it used to be earlier. The Mahattas were the first to start colour photography in Delhi and Srinagar in 1957. Except for Mumbai, these were the only two places where colour photography was available those days”, he said. For his incomplete venture, ‘Zooni’ featuring the life and times of Kashmiri Queen, Habba Khatoun, film maker, Muzaffar Ali had engaged Sofi for picking up the locales for the film. “I visited different villages with Muzaffar Ali to select the native village of Habba Khatoun. “He finally picked up a place near Harwan outside Srinagar city, but the film was never completed”, Sofi said.
The passion and business of ‘Mahattas’ knew no bounds after 1915. The studio initially became known for portraits as it was first such place to have all kinds of props and backgrounds the customers desired to have. Their business grew exponentially. They established photo studios in Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and at the Murree hill station in Pakistan.
These studios had to be closed with the country’s partition in 1947, but after that, they started a bigger photo studio at Connaught Place in Delhi which was closed just a few years back. Ram Chand Mehta’s son, Jagdish Mehta managed the studio till his death in 2016 and his wife, Anita Mehta runs the studio these days. She said, “We have spent three generations in continuing our legacy. From preservation of local art, culture, crafts, customs, heritage, tourism and politics, we have all this preserved frame by frame in our gallery”. She said the family wants to return some part of the greatness Kashmir has bestowed on them.
“For me keeping up the family tradition and legacy is a worship. My two sons work in Delhi and we have the largest photo stock agency in the World. So you understand that we have not been deterred by losses in business and other troubles which we faced like every other Kashmiri.”
Photography in its pure and traditional form has a future which cannot be taken away by anything. Technology comes as an asset and not as an enemy to the art form”, she said. Her two sons come frequently to visit their mother and take keen interest in the affairs of the studio in Srinagar. “This place is our place of worship which we can never imagine to give up”, she said while talking of the studio the family owns. “The first floor of our establishment is a work place for young, talented local photographers and artists.
“At the ground floor, we run a cafe where the young and old gather to view our photo gallery and discuss the events of the bygone days as also the impact of this grand heritage on the future of this place”, Anita said.
The photo gallery at the Mahattas is in fact a ‘who is who’ of not only Kashmir, but the entire country. There are photographers of Maharaja Hari Singh, his royal Durbar, his son and first regent of the state, Karan Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Abdullah, V.P.Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many others. These are original photographs taken by the Mahattas and none of them is a reproduction from anywhere. Similarly, they have originals photographs of the Amarnath Holy Cave taken at different points of time. The Hazratbal shrine, the Sharika Devi Temple, the shrine of Sheikh Humza Makhdoom, the shrine of Sheikh Nuruddin Wali at Chrar-e-Sharief and other Sufi shrines of Kashmir.
The photographs of snow clad mountains, rivers, springs, artisans at work like carpet weavers, shawl makers, papier machie workers, willow wicker workers, mat weavers, potters etc also dot the gallery. Different races of Kashmir, the Gujjars, Dogras, Kashmiris, Ladakhis, Dards also known as Shinas and others have been photographed in their natural settings. Since the outbreak of armed violence in early 1990s, business for the Mahattas also took a beating like everything else.
Anita’s two sons are now working in Delhi while the lady is carrying on the family legacy in Kashmir. In 2012, government of India recognised the Mahatta studio as the second oldest photo studio in the country. The Mahattas became the royal photographers of the Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh in 1930s.
“This gave us free access to the royal Durban (Court) and the palace which no other photographer had till that time”, said Ms Mehta. Visiting the Mahattas on the Bund in Srinagar is like visiting the Mecca of photography in Kashmir. Within minutes of looking at the photo gallery, one is transported into the times gone by. The glory and grandeur of Kashmir is visible, frame by frame, picture by picture at the Mahattas.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met a delegation from the UAE during his visit to Jammu and Kashmir to launch several large development projects…reports Asian Lite News
“A short while ago, I got an opportunity to meet a delegation from the UAE and I had discussions with them,” Modi said in a speech at Palli village in Samba district of the Union Territory. “The delegation is very excited about Jammu and Kashmir.”
Modi said Jammu and Kashmir is in the process of attracting private investment worth Indian Rupees 38,000 crore (US$4.97 billion). “During the seven decades since India’s independence, only Rupees 17,000 crores (US$2.22 billion) in private investments were made in Jammu and Kashmir. But within the last two years, this figure has reached 38,000 crore Rupees (US$4.97 billion). Private companies are coming here for investments.”
In 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories, Ladakh plus Jammu and Kashmir. A Union Territory is federally administered in part or wholly by the government of the Indian Union in New Delhi.
An Indian government statement released in New Delhi reiterated that before ascending the dais for his meeting in Palli village, Modi met the delegation from UAE. “The Prime Minister said that a new story of development is being written with many private investors showing interested in Jammu and Kashmir. Tourism also is thriving once again,” the statement asserted.
The government release said the total value of development projects launched by Modi in the Union Territory today would be Rupees 20,000 crore (US$2.62 billion).
The UAE delegation’s visit is a follow up to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s travel in January along with a delegation to Expo 2020 Dubai. A reciprocal visit by a business delegation from the UAE to Srinagar, capital of the Union Territory, took place last month.
“India’s relationship with Gulf countries is being translated into a vibrant, revitalised economic partnership with Jammu and Kashmir that will not only diversify our export basket, but will also create a conducive environment for expansion of the existing trade,” according to the Lieutenant Governor.
He was the son of Raj Guru of Maharaja Amar Singh, Shanker Sahib and his wife Subadhra Ji of Purshyar in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar…reports Sheikh Qayoom
He was lean, tall and awe-inspiring. Through the lanes and bylanes of Srinagar city, he walked briskly wearing a greatcoat, a big hat and carrying a long staff.
He walked so briskly that his disciples had a tough time keeping pace with him. He was known as the ‘defence minister of India’ and children followed him during his walks in the old city Srinagar. This was Swami Nand Lalji of Nuner village in Ganderbal district. Kashmiri Muslims and Hindus fondly called him ‘Nand Bab’ (Father Nand Lal).
He was the son of Raj Guru of Maharaja Amar Singh, Shanker Sahib and his wife Subadhra Ji of Purshyar in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar.
Swami Nand Lal shifted his residence to Nunar village in Ganderbal to live with his brother who was adopted by his maternal aunt there. Nand Bab was employed in the police department and posted in Ladakh. His return from Ladakh proved to be a turning point in his life.
The spiritual path
He took to spiritualism and became a mystic saint. He blessed everyone who went to him. There were no barriers of caste, creed, colour or religious belief in his companion. His disciples, from all communities of Kashmir, believed that Swami Nand Bab’s spiritual assets were inexhaustible. He would grant boons, favours from his spiritual assets. His elderly neighbours in Nuner village and other places en route to Ladakh remember vividly what Nand Bab did in 1962.
When India and China were swearing by the ‘Panchsheel’ (Five Principles of peaceful coexistence signed by India and China in 1954), Nand Bab started his walk to the Sino-Indian border in Eastern Ladakh. “Muj Ko Hamlawar Ko Rokna Hai”, (I am going to stop the aggressor), he told people who tried to find out the reason for the Swami’s emergency walk to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
It was after the Sino-Indian war of 1962 that Nand Bab came to be known as the ‘defence minister of India’. The title was truly earned by the saint because he knew months in advance what the then defence minister of India, Krishna Menon did not know till it happened.
He would carry a stenographer with him towards the later part of his life. ‘Orders’ and predictions made by the saint were dictated to the stenographer. Among some of his ‘orders’ were the removal of Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad as the ‘Wazir-e-Azam’ of J&K.
Months before the Bakshi was asked to tender his resignation under the Kamaraj plan, Nand Bab had dictated to his stenographer, “Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad May Do Dulari, Haridwar Rawana’ (Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad along with his two wives is despatched to Haridwar). Incidentally, Late Bakshi had taken a second wife months before he lost power.
Another incident recalled by elders in Fateh Kadal area of old Srinagar city is of mid 1960s.
“He came to Fateh Kadal and drew a line in front of a Kashmiri Pandit home and said, “Aaj Malik Angan Mein Atishbazi Hogi” (Today there will be a grand firecracker show of light and sound in Malik Angan).”The entire locality was gutted down in a huge blaze the same night except the Kashmiri Pandit’s home where the saint had drawn a line”, recalls G.L. Daftari, 73, who lived in Fateh Kadal area of Srinagar before the exodus.
Similarly, when the Indian Airlines Fokker F-27 Friendship 200 passenger plane crashed in the Pir Panchal mountain range on February 7, 1966, rescue teams remained clueless about the crash site, but Nand Bab told a gathering of devotees in his native village, “Jahaaz Khew Hoon Hingan” (The plane has hit the twin peak at Banihal) and that is where the wreckage of the aircraft was finally found. 37 passengers lost their lives in that crash.
Without any discrimination between communities, Nand Bab is known to have organised marriages of many orphan girls in different parts of the Valley. His reputation travelled far and wide.
The then Prime Minister of the country, Indira Gandhi had passed special instructions to the guards at the Teen Murti House not to stop the saint at the gate whenever he wished to visit the Gandhi family. Dr. Shiben Krishen Raina has written a research paper on the saint in which he says, “Swami Nand Bab stands out in the tradition of such mystics who are known for their godliness, spiritual power, prophecies, foresight, piety and holiness”.
Swami Nand Bab passed away on October 10, 1976 in Delhi after a brief illness. His message of universal love, brotherhood, compassion and tolerance lives in the hearts and minds of those whose souls are still not consumed by hatred and violence.
