Kashmir’s Nagpur?

Unlike journalism, RTI has empowered people to the extent they wish to be. A Srinagar politician close to Ghulam Nabi Azad keen to know what happens to the costly space around started using RTI to understand trends. One RTI, he says, helped him trace Nagpur in Srinagar, reports Bilal Handoo

Gulsher Khan with Congress’ top state leadership.

Toward  the fag-end of 2015, when “source-based”, “insider-quoted”, “unconfirmed” reports appearing in Jammu newspapers claimed that RSS’s nerve centre is coming up in Srinagar, perhaps not many heads were turned around. By then, however, an activist from Srinagar’s Jawahar Nagar had spotted “something shady” in Rajbagh. After exhaustive exercise, the man now believes RSS has a “grand” address in Srinagar.

But a year before the revelation, the flood-ravaged Rajbagh had begun throwing surprises. Amid reconstruction boom, the activist noticed cropping up of new, unusual structures in the area. Being an RTI activist, probing came naturally to him. Among the buildings, a brick-colour building near a paramilitary camp intrigued him the most. He began fact-finding. A year later, he concluded his fact-finding mission and feels vindicated.

The RTI activist who goes by the name of Sherzod Khan, originally Gulsher Khan, is a self-confessed Ghulam Nabi Azad follower. As a student activist, Sherzod once sat on hunger strike for days in Amar Singh College to revoke the circular declaring most of his mates failed in one subject. “While everyone was declared pass, I was failed,” Sherzod claims. With the result, he never had his graduation completed.

After giving up studies, he began running gym in his locality, where he also imparted martial arts training to boys. Then, he was a branded ‘angry young man’, who would never desist taking cudgels with the ‘powerful’. For many unionists in the area, this daring son of a middle class family was an apt political substance. Shortly, Congress’s Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed baptised him into politics by arranging his meeting with Ghulam Nabi Azad—then JK Congress boss.

It was 2005 and on Congress’s ticket, Sherzod contested Municipal elections from Srinagar’s Ikhrajpora. He lost. And shortly his opponent fell to ‘mysterious bullets’, forcing him to flee home to  a camp in Jammu for four months.

Once back, Sherzod focussed more on his contracting job than politics. But perhaps, the 40-year-old man knew his talents lie somewhere else. The deadlock finally ended months before the 2014 floods would render him homeless, like thousands.

He jumped into activism arena with a belief to unearth a scam of illegal construction boom in Srinagar. “Honesty speaking,” says Sherzod, a father of two sons, “Srinagar is an orphaned city, where everyone calls shots, makes fortune and ends messing it up. None seems to give a damn about its welfare.” When the thought made him restless, he donned robes of an activist.

To begin with, he filed an RTI, seeking information why plum posts are merely being enjoyed by a certain blue-eyed officials? The reply sought by him was bound to upset many on hot seats. The cause shortly had its consequences when unknown numbers began buzzing him up, even during midnights, threatening him to back off. But before something could come up, floods struck valley—making mess of everything.

Then came flood relief along with compensation cheques. Sherzod was too sharp to detect discrepancies in the whole process. “When I saw even influential men from Jawahar Nagar whose houses were partially damaged lined up to receive cheques worth Rs 75,000—meant for full damage house,” he says, “I could foresee the whole game plan was fixed.”

His home was still flood-soaked when he filed  an  RTI, seeking names of those who availed Rs 75,000 cheques in Jawahar Nagar. The smooth reply meant humiliation to some known names—some of whom were big bosses in state administration. 100 days passed, but no reply came. When it finally came, Sherzod found the data confused. He could feel both red-herring and red-tapism involved in the whole procedure. While scanning the data under candle lights, he zeroed in on the names of top bureaucrats whose houses were partially damaged—yet had claimed Rs 75,000. “Everyone was involved in flood relief racket,” he says, “from DC to small patwari.”

But perhaps his best was yet to come. And when finally it came, it gave him sleepless nights.

While keeping a ‘hawkish’ eye on the reconstruction boom in his belt, a building in Rajbagh caught his attention. He had never seen the building on the spot before the floods. He went for the spot inspection, and instantly sensed something unusual. “When I entered the premises, I was told, ‘leave immediately’,” Sherzod recalls. “When I persisted and asked the men there, ‘whose building is this and what is it all about?’—as it didn’t appear a normal structure to me.” After being shown the door, Sherzod stepped out as a suspected man, sensing: the building is an obvious departure from the usual.

The next thing he did was filing an RTI in Nazool section of Divisional Commissioner’s office—where the body language of officials left nothing for his imaginations. “When I mentioned the structure, its location and questioned its existence, the official became alert,” Sherzod says. “They began talking to each other in a coded language—‘acha, so he has come to seek details of that structure’.”

Later one of his friends in Nazool section briefed him about “that structure”. “Why are you playing with fire,” Sherzod claims his friend told him. “The structure you are inquiring about is no ordinary structure; it is RSS’s Srinagar office.” Instead of feeling discouraged, the revelation only pumped up the activist to unearth the truth behind the three-storey building.

But reply to his RTI took its own time. When it finally arrived, it revealed some bitter facts: the permission for constructing structure on “government land” was granted through Order No. 1470 of 2015, Dated: 28/10/2015. The permission was issued in favour of Ish Kumar Mehta, s/o RC Mehta through Himat Mehta and Dushaan Mehta, s/o Jagdish Kumar Mehta of Rajbagh. The final order came from Srinagar Municipal Commissioner’s office—the competent authority for building permission.

“It was one of the many structures cropping up in an influential neighbourhood of Srinagar,” Sherzod says. “Amid city’s construction boom, you never know, what is that next structure coming up in your neighbourhood all about.” Among many other things, the RTI reveals that the structure is meant for a Praying Hall—“something very characteristic to RSS”.

Gulsher Khan

Till now, perhaps, everybody was caught in classical Hamlet Trap about RSS’s Kashmir presence: to be, or not to be. But last December, reports said that RSS was all set to start its operations in Kashmir with its office at posh Rajbagh locality. The news reports sounded a ‘run of a mill’ type at that point of time—until Sherzod claimed his “discovery”.

But Kashmir forays of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—the Hindu nationalist party, appears resurgent than recent.

Founded by a Nagpur doctor in 1925, RSS has been mobilising public opinion against the blitz of “Islamic imperialism” in “Hindu” Kashmir. In 1940s, RSS’s first Shakha came up in Jammu with Prem Nath Dogra its first Sanghchalak. By 1944, Prof Balraj Madhok started a Shakha in Srinagar and shortly then RSS chief MS Golwalkar visited Srinagar to address a public rally. Later on Oct 18, 1947, Golwalkar was face to face with Maharaja Hari Singh “convincing” him for JK’s accession to India. In November that year, RSS formed Praja Parishad party in Jammu under Prem Nath Dogra’s leadership.

By January 30, 1948, when Nathu Ram Godse, an RSS man assassinated MK Gandhi, Sangh launched its political arm, Bhartiya Jana Sangh (which later became Bhartiya Janata Party) to attack Nehruvian politics in Kashmir. For RSS, even Sheikh Abdullah was no holy cow—as his Kashmiri nationalism call was always linked with “Islamic imperialism”.

1953 was RSS’s watershed year in JK. That year, the party spearheaded Praja Parishad agitation against JK’s special status under Article 370.

In between, entered Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, defying JK’s permit system only to land up in jail on May 11, 1953—where he died, a month later. Later RSS created fierce public opinion against “anti national” NC, thus accelerating Abdullah’s ouster. It remained active but 2008 proved its landmark year in Jammu when it worked on Amarnath land row.

By 2014 fall, RSS restarted its Kashmir operations when some of its pracharaks participated in flood relief works. And now, RSS-backed Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) is planning to host a mega convention at Srinagar in coming May.

Unconcerned about follow-up, Sherzod is busy hawking around Srinagar—doing what he has tasked himself to do: to check the sloth. But the activist is candid enough to admit that things wouldn’t have been the same for him, had there been no RTI. “My political affiliation apart,” he says, “but I firmly believe that RTI is an empowering weapon of the weak.”

These days, Sherzod is busy probing Gupkar, Kashmir’s ‘power street’. He says the biggest shady deals happen around the power corridors because only powerful know how to use the system to make big bucks. Wait for new revelations.

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Incandescent Incubator

Concerns mounted as militants stormed the EDI’s Pampore complex initiating a 48-hour  long gun-battle that consumed five security men, a civilian and three militants. Damage to the landmark complex brought state’s entrepreneurial incubator into sharp public focus. Masood Hussain profiles the rise of J&K government’s youngest organization manned by Gen Next which is being seen as the new engine for change given the successes it has created in short span of its existence

The raging gun battle was still on and telecast live into the living rooms from Pampore for the past 48 hours. Army was unable to figure out if any of militant trio holed-up in the 5-story J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) was neutralized.

A tense Dr M I Parray, Director EDI, who had flown from Jammu on Sunday morning and was with his son in Ganderbal, gets a telephone call: “Sir, we may have to get in (in EDI) because we cannot leave everything unguarded.” For Parray, it was shocking, impossible and impractical, a literal indecent proposal.

But Maqbool, the person on the line insisted. One of EDI’s ‘restless’ workers, Maqbool was perhaps the last person rescued by cops with 117 others Saturday evening. After spending a night with his family in Tral, he rushed to Srinagar. “We have one building involved in the encounter but we have two others,” Maqbool explained, “cops and soldiers have their duty but we have ours.”

For the next two hours, Dr Parray, father of an IPS officer, had to convince the cops that they will have to help him get two of his employees into the premises. By 3 PM, on Monday, Maqbool and Aadil reported to Pantha Chowk police station and a BP jeep drove them in, amid blasts and blaze. “Half an hour after, we checked into our hostel the encounter was formally over as the three corpses were dropped down by the soldiers,” Maqbool said.

In a huge army of soldiers and cops ubiquitous in the EDI premises, next morning, Maqbool and Aadil were part of a cheering emotional crowd. They first brought a few gallons of water and cleaned the blood-drenched spot where Abdul Gani Mir, EDI gardener, fell to the bullets. His daughter is being appointed in EDI as his colleagues are contributing a day’s salary for the family. Deafening bangs were still on as littered explosives were being detected and blasted. But Team EDI was surrounding Parray in the rare side of the hotel busy in a new brainstorming. Without high-end projectors and LCD screens, electricity and even chairs, the item on table was: how soon can we resume routine?

Once the soldiers’ handover the premises, insurer completes the survey, every item from chairs to computers, that is worth the use should be shifted and the EDI must resume its routine by Saturday morning. Three days, the Team EDI decided, are enough to resume the show. Within next 24 hours, 20-hostel rooms were ready and by Friday evening, more than 160 potential entrepreneurs, currently under training, were communicated that their training resumes on Monday.

“This smoldering building, these mangled air-conditioners, computers and the concrete walls that rockets barely pierced through is not the EDI,” Parray, EDI’s only old man, told his team in a bid to bolster their morale. “You are the institution and that was just the building you operated from.”

That is how the youngest organization manned by the youngest lot of J&K government “employees” work. This distinction makes EDI a game-changer in an area J&K rarely attempted before – helping youngsters to choose their own destiny far away from the government in areas of manufacturing, and enterprise. That partly explains why the phones started ringing in concern minutes after the gun-battle started in EDI.

J&K EDI employees washing off blood stains a day after encounter ended.

Established in March 1997 as a society, J&K government mandated it to develop entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture in the state. It started its activities only in February 2004 when the government appointed a historian Dr Parray as its Director. As a faculty in the IMPARD (Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development), the 13-member governing body led by Chief Secretary allotted him a few rooms in IMPARD’s M A Road premises to start with.

With the commercial banks operating in J&K contributing from their earnings to offer EDI to start with, it initiated with Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs). It first intervened in commercial floriculture and  established 46 floriculture green houses for growing Lillium and carnations besides encouraging nearly 39 growers in aromatic plants like clarysage, lavender and matricaria on 1140 kanals of land.

During its amorphous years, EDI’s real success was to create institutional linkage with bigger players in the mainland. While Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Ahmedabad helped it to understand how entrepreneurship works, its linkage with Central Leather Institute (CLRI) Chennai, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) Jaipur, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) Delhi, Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) Mumbai, TMI Academy of Travel, Tourism and Aviation Studies Delhi, Imperial Agritech Delhi, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad and other trade bodies helped it understand the market, the grey areas, potential and the policy framework in vogue.

After the government allotted it a piece of land, it created its own address, now spread 60-kanals. This premises witnessed the worst gun-battle of 2016, last week. Three militants after attacking a CRPF bus killed two of them and left many injured. Later, they took position in the EDI and killed army’s three elite commands before they were neutralized after around 48-hours.

The landmark five-level concrete monster that proved a real headache during last week’s operation actually introduced the EDI across Kashmir. With nearly 55000 sq ft area, it witnessed housewarming in 2009. Constructed by J&K’s Police Housing Corporation at a cost of Rs 17 crore, it is one of the low-cost state properties built at least per sq ft investment. It must be Kashmir’s only official building that lacked any cost or time overruns.

Former Union Minister, Jai Ram Ramesh, with J&K EDI trained youth.

On Wednesday when Team EDI was permitted for the first time into the premises, it was still smoldering. Almost carpeted with broken glass, not a single item housed in top two levels had survived. The real destruction was in its attic housing the cafeteria and the top floor. “We may have to opt for certain tests to understand the strength of the slabs,” a senior engineer from state’s PWD, mandated to report the government said. “There was blasting and a lot of blaze and it might have impacted the structure.”

To neutralize the holed-up militant trio, army had to get a wheeled canon to bore a hole from the rare. With drones flying overhead to locate them in nearly 20,000 sq ft space, army commandos had to create passage for projectiles to land.

But EDI is not the building but its output. The boost to the EDI was when the NC-Congress government conceived SKEWPY (Sher-e-Kashmir Employment, and Welfare Programme for Youth) with Seed Capital Fund Scheme (SCFS) as its major component. Policy makers believed that youth were unable to get attracted towards entrepreneurship because they are not bankable. SCFS offered them seed money up to Rs 7.50 lakh to enable them access bank loans at slightly concessional rates for setting up enterprises. This is a sort of one-time grant in lieu of an undertaking by individuals that they will not seek a job. If they manage a job in government, they return this amount with 18 percent compound interest. A few cases availed this option.

But the money does not drip in their accounts instantly. Post registration, EDI trains them in areas of their interest, and once their mentors are convinced the candidate has the conviction to deliver, the DPR is framed, his case is negotiated with the bank – J&K Bank is the only financial institution that is banking the scheme, and eventually the unit sets up. The exercise follows once the high power Steering Committee approves the idea.

The scheme was an instant hit. Against 6314 cases approved by the Steering Committee between 2010-11 and January 2016, 4768 enterprises involving 4943 youth were set up. These enterprises have resulted in an investment of Rs 465 crore of which Rs 162.75 crore (35%) is the free money. As per the  EDI’s in-house survey carried out in 2015 summer when 3227 units were physically visited, 76.41% were functional. Districts of Kargil and Samba had 100% success and the lowest was seen in Budgam (63%).

Two years later, EDI came up with Youth Startup Loan Scheme (YSLS) in 2012-13. This off-bank credit facility works slightly different from the Venture Capital Fund (VCF). With most of the processes same, it differs with SCFS only on the resource front. Instead of free money, YSLS offers a loan to a maximum of Rs 8 lakh for startups at only six percent of simple interest and that can cover up to 90% of the project cost.

“We believe this is a better one,” insiders in EDI said. “It has better acceptability than the SCFS.”

Performance has been impressive. Against a target of 850 enterprises in four years ending 2015-16, EDI has set up 672 units involving credit off take of Rs 39.45 crore. All these units have led to around 2000 job creations. The 2015 survey found 289 units functional making a success of 76.86%. Unlike SCFS, Kishtwar, Ganderbal, Leh and Poonch reported 100% success and the lowest success rate was seen in Srinagar (39%).

In fiscal 2012, EDI inked an agreement with National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) to implement its twin loan schemes. Under one scheme, it provides term loans from Rs 3 to 10 lakhs to marginalized sections at 6% simple interest for setting up micro enterprises. Besides, educational loans at 3% simple interest are given.

Bracing up: EDI team holding a meeting in open post encounter

EDI’s this basket has grown phenomenally in last four years. It has lent Rs 43.71 crore to 1654 individuals under the term loan scheme. Besides, 76 candidates got a loan of Rs 2 crore to pursue higher education.

The survey found 62.3% units operational in 2015 summer. Kathua, Kargil and Ramban districts have the highest success rate (100%) and the lowest-success districts included Jammu (31%) and Kupwara (45.45%). EDI insiders said since the scheme lacks capacity building component, beneficiaries use the loan for other purposes out of ignorance. But this has not impacted the recoveries which stand at 92%, second highest after Kerala.

It was purely its engagement with the NMDFC that EDI was so keen to get a license as a non-banking financial organization. It is running a huge recovery network to ensure the indebtedness of the individuals does not impact the scheme or the institute. Given its track record, the state government recently authorized it to lend Rs 100 crore more from NMDFC.

After it was associated with Union Rural Development Ministry’s Skills Empowerment and Employability (SEE), usually called Himayat, EDI dovetailed it with the products it already has. “We see the potential individuals having capacity to deliver and help them get the funds from term loan scheme and it is a good experience,” one officer said. So far 401 units were set up under this set up and all are operational.

The initiative envisages creation of 15,000 microenterprises involving 30,000 youth across the state in next four years with access to finance and support services to at least half of them.

But EDI’s activity does not end with the start of the unit. Trainers and managers at the institute and at districts stay in touch with the entrepreneurs and continue handhold whenever required. All its successful entrepreneurs become its role models to attract the new talent and later become visiting faculty.

All these schemes implemented across all districts have introduced a new generation of enterprises, some of whom are a huge rags to riches stories now. Covering a huge diversity of the activity – from manufacturing to restaurants, these entrepreneurs have started changing the ground zero.

Leh’s Kaniz Fatima was doing fairly well in Indian fashion industry. She left her job and availed EDI scheme to create her new identity. Her boutique is one fashion destination in the desert town frequented by foreigners.

In old Srinagar, Shaheena was struggling to lend support to her parents but lacked a cushion. After EDI came into scene, she is a millionaire already.

Fleeing for life: Civilian on run as militants rushed inside EDI building after they attacked CRPF convey.

Post migration when Jitender Kumar failed to settle even after being adequately educated, EDI helped him to create Muthi’s most modern diagnostic centre and earn honourably.

Jammu’s Rachna Dubey was facing an existential threat and her kids were about to lose their admission for want of tuition fees. EDI guided her to improve her husband’s bakery business and create a brand people now cherish.

Seemingly, EDI has one of the highest success rates in India and perhaps beyond. Usually start-ups across sectors have the least success rate. But J&K’s massive over-dependence on imports is an advantage that developed and fast developing markets lack.

It was perhaps for this very reason that Telangana government flew its officials to Srinagar for a week to understand the basics of how an EDI should run. EDI faculty had refused to fly out for the lack of time paving way for Telengana officials to come here. “They were impressed by the way we work,” Parray said. “But they were more concerned about the quantity (numbers) than the quality of the enterprises they intended to create.”

For the same reason South Block suggested Kabul to fly its faculty to Srinagar and get a crash course in how the youth can be encouraged to the path of growth, dignity and self-sufficiency. “We had one meeting with them but we have not signed a formal MoU which we are supposed to,” Parray said.

While the word of mouth has been a key factor responsible for attracting the youth towards the EDI, its success in triggering a change has a set of reasons that planners identified, analyzed and put to use. It worked successfully only after the policymakers made individuals bankable.

Firstly, this institution started thinking in terms of having high rate of educated unemployment as a resource and not a problem.

Secondly, it saw opportunities in massive dependence and not the gloom. Gradually, it identified areas which can turnaround using the locally available raw material for local consumption. It triggered the import substitution change that fundamentally altered demand-supply chain in poultry.

Thirdly, unlike traditional negativity that greets visitors in offices, EDI managers not only respond positively but trusted the suggestions with which the individuals came. They trusted an engineer keen to intervene mechanically in the stone mining. Once it was set up, the unit did not prove a success story only but resulted in perhaps the first historic intervention in the stone-chiseling.

Fourthly, this is perhaps the only organization where possibility of corruption is zero. A series of systems are in place in such a way that room for corruption is elbowed out.

Finally, the entrepreneurs are always being monitored and bailed out if they land in bad patches. This creates a sort of partnership.

Watching this sort of systems around, one of its employees quit the job and became an entrepreneur.

But the 200-odd men and women who are behind this biggest success story in J&K are a different breed. They work six days a week from 10 to 5 PM. Unlike 51 holidays that state government employee avail in a year, EDI has only 16 holidays and two restricted holidays. Recently 12 more, mostly restricted to Jammu, were added.  They have only 10 days of casual leave in a year, five sick leaves and one earned leave a month as a literal corporate sector policy on leaves is in vogue. EDI has been the first address in the state for biometric attendance where late-comers take less-salary home. In all these years, eight employees were fired for non-performance, which is rare in itself.

For staying as a model, EDI has to work more to prove it is different. It is working towards self sufficiency to reduce its dependence on government.

It has a huge infrastructure. Vitasta, its 13-room guest house was set up in 2001 for Rs 3 crore. In the smoldering building, EDI had south Kashmir’s best conference hall. Far from the city crowd on the banks of Jhelum, this hall was the main battle ground. It was also housing a cafeteria in its attic.

Over the years when it would not require the facility, it will permit others to use this facility. This has helped EDI earn Rs 7.40 crore so far.

Post Encounter: An inside view of top floor where encounter concluded.

At one point of time, the EDI would outsource DPR drafting. Now its five-member in-house team earns five times more than their take-home package.

“The revenue we generate goes back to the creation of new infrastructure,” Parray said. “We are not tasked to earn, but to stay as a model we must survive by example and reduce the burden on the government that owns us.” Waiting for the insurance claim, EDI has not sought any funds for rebuilding the infrastructure that was lost in the attack. It has only sought permission to go ahead!

All these factors have created a profile of the organization making EDI a major address on entrepreneurial front. Over the years it has created a constantly-upgraded faculty which is the key reason why central government prefers it for most of the trainings. To utilize its academic capacity properly, the institution is in the process of setting up a school for Entrepreneurship Studies. Already, a Technology, Design, Innovation Incubation Program (TDIIP) has been initiated on pilot basis. In collaboration with the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), the Centre for Incubation and Business Acceleration (CIBA) is being set up by EDI from its own earnings.

But the organization that has been expanding quite fast in last 10 years may have to first consolidate its gains. Many think, the management should start grooming new leaders. EDI will have to make extra effort to retain the talent that it grooms within the organization and emerge as the one-stop think tank on entrepreneurship in J&K. It must also skip the areas in which it is yet to evolve experise as was the case witht its handicraft related interventions.

Though EDI is one of the earliest government organizations that embraced the modern tools of surveillance and accountability, it still failed in offering any help when three militants barged in. While the army is investigating the killing of its three commandos in the operation, the EDI may eventually have to take its security angle as seriously as its credibility.

For institutions which are at the core of public life, sometimes divine interventions are strangely impressive. After the encounter was over Syed Salahuddin, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s Muzaffarabad based chief announced a reward for the slain Lashkar trio. Perhaps not knowing that Mueed, his son, part of EDI’s IT section, singularly managed saving the crucial hard disk containing vital records. He suffered a fracture during the process.

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Agri Land Conversion Increasing at Alarming Rate in Tangmarg Areas

Shafat Magray

TANGMARG

The conversion of agricultural land for commercial purposes is increasing day-by-day at an alarming rate in North Kashmir’s Baramulla areas.

At a time when the National Food Security Act has been implemented in state, the rice fields in Kashmir are diminishing by transformation of Agriculture land for the construction of Hotels, Shopping Malls and Residential houses, which is unabated in Tangmarg, locals said.

Gowhar Ahmad, a student of Environmental Science said, “we are an agrarian society, so we need to put curbs on such a persistent practice.” “A threat is looming large as Kashmir shall be sans staple food in near future if the practice continues.”

Tangmarg lies on way to tourist rich Gulmarg. Scores of showrooms, malls and shops have come up on either side of the road leading to Gulmarg. Due to the high economic activity, the land conversion has seen a mass increase.

“The quantity of rice import has already been intense pressure as the subsidized rates are under cut,” a scholar from Tangmarg area said, “government needs to implement High Court orders in letter and spirit and stop people from converting agri land for commercial purposes.”

In sub-district Tangmarg where most of productive land has been converted to residential areas, people allege that the officials are “hand-in-glove” with those involved in such a practice. “The officials have given permission to the people to build the roads through the agriculture land which has also led to increase in conversion” said Manzoor Ahmad, a local resident.

“It needs strict implementation of laws against those found guilty,” he said.

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Dead Body Recovered in Pulwama

Sheikh Hilal

PULWAMA

J&K Police Tuesday morning recovered a male dead body in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Police sources said that the dead body was identified as that of Javid Ahmad Lone (37). He was resident of Awantipora and his body was lying in open fields at Charsoo area of Awantipora.

Cops have registered a case and started investigation.

It was not immediately known what was the cause of the death.

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Baby, Three Other Family Members Die in Fire Incident in Doda

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Four members of a family, including a baby, died when their house caught fire in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

Fire broke out in the house of one Abdul Rashid at Bhagwa village of Doda district due to a short circuit around 0200 hours, media reports said.

In the fire incident, the house was gutted resulting in death of all four members of the family, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Abdul Rashid, Fatah Begum, Mubina Begum and six-month-old baby girl, they said.

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March 1, 1990: Twin Massacres in Srinagar Leave 47 Dead

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

In order to halt massive pro-freedom demonstrations by the people in Kashmir, who were to submit a memorandum to United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), army opened fire at Zakoora crossing and Tengpora bypass in Srinagar, killing 26 and 21 peaceful  demonstrators, respectively. The killings occurred on the fateful day of March 1st 1990.

A detailed account of this massacre appeared in March 31, 1990 issue of the Bombay based Economic and Political Weekly, which reproduced the text of “India’s Kashmir War” by a team of four members Tapan Bose, Dinesh Mohan, Gautam Navlakha and Sumanta Banerjee of the Committee for Initiative on Kashmir. The Committee members while holding Jagmohan responsible for these massacres wrote that: “Jagmohan’s return to Jammu and Kashmir as governor signalled the unleashing of state repression on a massive scale. The government’s tendency to treat mass demonstrations as the handiwork of Pakistani agents and use indiscriminate force against the people has alienated the Kashmiri public from India and pushed them into the arms of militants. To make matters worse Jagmohan’s identification with the BJP in the popular perception and his pronounced anti-Muslim measures has widened the gulf between Pandits and Muslims in the state.”

The eyewitnesses and the survivors of these twin massacres of March 1, 1990 told CNS that these carnages still send chill down their spine when they try to recount them. “It was a time when people hit roads on daily basis seeking freedom from India. Protests would rock every nook and corner against the repressive policies of the then Governor Jagmohan.”

“Amid massive pro-freedom slogans over 2000 protesters clad in shrouds were heading towards Srinagar office of the United Nations to submit a memorandum seeking freedom from India. A convoy of five Army vehicles led by three Junior Commissioned Officers was returning from Sonamarg to Srinagar but found the road blocked near the crossing.

After exchanging heating arguments with local police when the later requested them to wait till road gets cleared near Zakoora crossing, the Army men turned towards the demonstration and allegedly opened fire from three machine guns fitted over the vehicles. Eleven people died on spot while 15 others succumbed to their injuries on way to SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura. All but 50 other people received bullet injuries,” said eyewitnesses who alleged that the retaliation from Army was unprovoked as protesters had not resorted to any clash or argument with them.

“The local police had little or no control over the affairs of the state that time and same was the case with civil administration and it was the reason civil administration did not visit the spot and the job to ferry injured to hospital was done by local population,” they said and added that Army resorted to unprovoked firing to “demean the position and status of local police officials present on the location who had requested them to wait till the protesters passed off the road”.

On the same day, in evening hours 21 more unarmed civilians were killed when Army targeted two buses near Tengpora Bypass. The dead included five women.

Eyewitnesses said that the passenger buses were on way to South Kashmir when they were targeted. “Some of people were chanting anti-India and pro-freedom slogans on the roof top of these buses. It was their only crime they were targeted.”

The twin massacres sparked widespread protests across Kashmir while authorities imposed curfew to diffuse the volatile situation. The global human rights watchdog Amnesty International issued an appeal for urgent action on Tengpora and Zakoora massacres.

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Youth Representing J&K’s Three Regions Call on Mehbooba

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Some of the youth representatives who met PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday at her Fairview residence.

Although there are no indications of any government formation in sight, nevertheless Fairview over-looking Dal Lake at Gupkar is abuzz. This time, over 30 youth who represented three regions of Jammu and Kashmir spent over an hour with PDP chief.

The youth, who mainly consisted of students, discussed the multi-cultural and diverse ethos of the state. “Mehbooba Ji listened to the views of the youth leaders,” sources privy to the meeting said, “it was a healthy discussion when youth expressed their views as how to strengthen the plural identity of the state.”

Sources said that the youth leaders asserted that the thousands of years old “secular fabric of state needs to be safeguarded”. “It was a meeting symbolizing the age old communal harmony, co-existence of J&K as the youth included members from every religion be it Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,” they informed.

Mehbooba Mufti

“We have a history of over 5000 years of rich history when J&K’s diverse populace lived a life of co-existence,” Mehbooba told the youth representatives. “We need to safeguard it and youth have the major role in it and propagate the communal harmony of state.”

Appealing youth to take part if development of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba told the meeting, “we have a huge and precious human capital and it is our responsibility to utilise it judiciously.”

The youth leaders, the insiders said, maintained, “there is an urgent need of dialogue between/amongst different sections of society.” “Dialogue and deliberations help in weeding out differences and help in making progress.”

Recalling her father’s vision of peace and empowerment of people of all three regions, Mehbooba said, “PDPs stand for restoring pride in youth. You are the most talented and stand different in a lot. We shall take every step to give you best avenues for your overall development.” “You are our future assets,” she told them, “it is now the youth who have take J&K out of the quagmire it is in.”

One of the participants said that the hour long meeting saw PDP youth wing president, Waheed Ur Rehman Para, deliberating on the “educational and economic developmental agenda” of PDP. “He discussed as how youth can be involved in developmental and peace process in Jammu and Kashmir.”

The PDP insiders said that last time around late Mufti Sayeed was “too much concerned for the youth of J&K”. “He wanted to do something different for them,” they informed, “keeping this in mind, Mehbooba Ji is too much involved in such activities to prove the dream of her father.”

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