Category Archives: Uncategorized

KASH LAGAO

Mere ghar se kuch door bomb girte hain
Har do hafte mein ek baar, ya cricket ka match ho
Toh pura hafta khratte sunai dete hai topo ke
Jee yeh mera sheher hai, border se kai meel door
Par bahut bahut paas 
Aao yaha chain se kash lagalo

Log marte hain, akhbaar mein Aata hai
Mein gyser laga kar nahane se pehle padhta hu
Roti chabate hue unke dukh padhta hu 
Chai ke saath do teen lasho ke photo ho jaate hai
Phir mein kaam par nikal jaata hu 
Koi waha kuch nahi bolta 
Cigarette Peena mana hai

Hafte mein do bar, ya har shaniwaar
Hindu muslim, kashmir ityadi baaton ke grenade 
hawa mein chala deta HU
Koi kuch kehta hai, koi kuch sunta hai
Fir sab macchis dhoondte hai, rakh karne ke liye
Hum kare bhi to kya , baato ko zinda rakh ke?
Samosa chabao, teekha bahut hai, kha lo

Kuch aur log marte hai to khabro mei aata hai
Par desh ki baat hai, aag lagao ab
Cigarette ko aur dhua karo
Dil ko theek toh nai lagta, par aag lagao ab
Wo log waise hai, unki soch waisi hai
Chai thodi aur daalo, kam doodh, kam Shakkar
Ab ubalo, Khoob ubalo. Jal gayi?
Koi nai, aag lagao kash lagao

Bahuto ne bola tha aisa hoga
Hua bhi hoga, Germany, Roos, Cheen mei
Par wo log waise hi hai, aag lagao
Ab choddo bhi, cigarette nikalo
Taaki 3 min toh kam ho
Badhazmi ke

CONFESSIONS OF A NIGHT

Wistfully,
the night pays homage
to the beguiling voices
humming elegies
with wounded tongues,
remembering how
the earthen nooks
plagiarized the hesitant souls
from the kindled bodies
last night…

Tediously,
the night gazes
with converse glares
at the sketches of
tyranny,
drawn on the dejected
pathways by the
remains of viscid blood.

Delicately,
the night hums
to the suspended tears
of the swollen eyes,
the song of ‘Sorrow’
that blossoms from
the broken attics,
touching the strings
Of unspoken grief.

Impatiently,
the night follows
tiptoes of hollow existence,
concealing the murdered dreams
spinning around
the aches of yore.

Wretchedly,
the night
entangled in sullen sadness
withers from the
faint whispers
& dark boughs
to mourn over
the corpses of the
weeping Vale.

SON OF KASHMIR

They made me a slave, tied me down and locked me up in a cave
Soon all this will engulf you for i am the son of the brave

Darkness has gloomed your brain
Thought you all will know my struggle and pain
For all you have suffered the same

World is watching me burning 
Soon the favorable winds will be returning,
for I have rested my sons in the grave

The sun will rise again and shine
Let’s put our trust on the Thine

Take back what was once ours and let’s rejoice and cheer
For all you remember my name “I am the son of Kashmir”

FARK

Aaj usmein aur mujh mein
Kuch fark nahi Raha

Dharm ke naam par uske karm mei
Aur karm ke prati mere dharam mei
Kuch fark nai raha

Barood ke chand mukhaute pehne
Chala woh tezi se apni chaal
Chala main dheeme apni chaal
Par kadmon ke Aahat mei hamaare
Kuch fark nahi raha

Manzil chaahe jo thi uski
Raasta chaahe jo tha mera
Dono ke uss anjaam mei
Kuch fark nahi Raha

Laashon ne likhi jeevni uski
Murdon ne Bayaan ki meri Kahaani
Shabd chaahe ho jitne alag
Par unn lafzon ke ehsaason mei
Kuch fark nahi Raha

Mere seene pe lipte tirange mei
Uski gardan pe lipte fande mei
Mere maatam ke tamashe mei
Uski maut ke sannate mei
Kuch fark nahi Raha

Aaj usmein aur mujhmein
Kuch fark nai raha

SIEGE

In the streets, filled
with impenetrable smoke,
Kashmir is burning again,
so are tyres, rubber,
and logs. The grief is
insurmountable. Houses
are burning. Fire
runs in waves. The air,
heavy with soot, murmurs
the foreboding of death 
overhead. The lost children of
the sad country sprint
in alleyways with
black balloons. The lost
children of the sad country
count shadows
on the sun. In the afternoon
they sleep to the
rain's lullaby. The food is scant.
There is no milk. The
grain of life shapes itself
into a stone we bring home, 
each day, for a familial ceremony. 
Evenings. 
We sit on the dinner tables
preparing for our little wars
we will fight in the morning.

IDENTITY

"I refuse to identify, I am the identity." 

It's the year 2068, an old man, half a man, sits across from his grandson. 

Once upon a time child,
When I was your age, 
There was this holy place for those of my kind, 
We called it JNU. 
But somehow the J spelt anti, and NU was but national university. 
Where we'd lost the Jawahar to the Lal of the saffron, I know not?
It all started with a very whimsical man. 

Mitron! he said, to resounding applause. 
Bhaiyo aur behno! 
 
The crowd said bas kar yaar, rulayega kya, we are all yours.
The connection was there, I felt it. I did. poppy

Such was the charm of this herculean man, had a 56 inch chest and a mouth like a beer can. 
Frothing and fuming, irresistibly pungent and loud, he addressed the gathering, ALL under one
shroud. 

We were prescribed a daily dosage of nationalist ideals. 

A dash of saffron with our morning teas and stories of bhakti in our newspaper leaves. 

Then in the evening with our movies and Pepsi, stand for the anthem, what was wrong then, I
didn't see. 
Topped it all off with a chant in the night, bharat mata ki jai, till the next rays of 
sunlight. 

Surprising it was when people would say, what good is a leader when all the taxes you pay, 
Continue to ministers' pockets by day. 

By night, these naysayers masquerading as intellectuals would pledge, to fight off corruption 
and weed out what was left. 

Oh and speaking of left, son, I was a leftist. Well, not that I am now, don't tell anyone, promise? 

I didn't know what it meant then, what was left and what was right.
I thought it was all well within my rights. 
Asking for equality, of gender and race. For the tribals of bastar,
for the women of Kashmir and the north east. 
Arguing, so sorry, 
You don't know what that means. 
(to cause someone to decide to do or not do something by giving reasons). That's what we did. 
How blasphemous, I know, how did we not see? Our words hurt our mother, India could bleed? 
But why was this blood raining down on me? Why was this blood not rising within? Were our 
questions, questions that from ourselves we hid?
 

With the saffron all around me, and lathis and bricks. They showed me my place child, they
showed me the tricks . The tricks that had fooled me into believing there was this book. This
secret document called the constitution that gave us our rights. 
For how could our forefathers do something so crude, tell people to be equal and that 
opposition wasn't rude? 

Oh, I lost you there again now didn't I. Opposition! Silly old me. (actions or opinions that
show that you disagree with or disapprove of someone or something). 

So where was I, yes, opposition was a crude idea. It was funny how our ruler was called the 
prime minister. I mean, why the farce people, he was the all pervasive God himself. 

He gave us light, and water  and electricity. He gave us homes and employment and education.
But in our naivety we would often exclaim, Jawahar was responsible for all those things
mister, you better step up your game. 

Oh and I'll tell you something you've most certainly not heard of. There were these people 
called 'the gays'. We Don't use that word now, such a thing does not exist; it's the year 
2068.There were more of their kind, a whole tribe in fact. That deadly disease called LGBTQ. I
mean, if we cured this, we'll surely cure AIDS. 

Then there was this commodity called individual expression and freedom of speech. 
Had to be carefully rationed or your verbal diarrhea could get you in trouble,
unless you belonged to this extremely superior gene pool called the sangh.
 
Oh! and there used to be a system called the judiciary and it had a branch, called the police.
You now know them as the ABVP. 


It's the year 2068. Visiting hours are over, he must head back inside. Dragging his shackles, 
smile on his face. 
Khalid ne bhi aakhir, badal hi diya bhes.
 

Here this young man, he wondered now why, the man who they said was his grandpa, had such a 
strange name. Khalid. Kha. Kh. That sound. He'd never heard it before in a Hindu surname. But 
he shrugged it off, must've been one of the old man's many quirks. Walked out of prison into 
his coherent society , where there was one religion, one color, one race, one party. Where 
Conflict was a word he'd learnt when he last visited his grandpa

Resistance Literature

Kashmir 101

A satirical piece that documents the timeline of events in Kashmir in a simple and non-political manner.

Poems and Short Stories

KASHMIR ONLY BLEEDS

LAST SIGNATURE

ATHER ZIA – SPRING 2010

ATHER ZIA – FALL 2012

LOVING, DYING (OR BEING KILLED)

IN KASHMIR, IT IS THE BOYS

SIEGE

IDENTITY

FARK

CONFESSIONS OF A NIGHT

SON OF KASHMIR

CHILD OF CONFLICT

KASH LAGAO

KASHMIR SHOUTS

DHUEN KA GUBAAR

KASHMIR, 2018

NINE CHAPTERS FROM THE DIARY OF A KASHMIRI GIRL

AN INSECURE MAN

POSTCARD FROM GULMARG

ZOON

THE FIRST RAY OF LIGHT

Introductory Reading List for the Conflict in Kashmir

Frontline Articles on Jammu and Kashmir

Click here to view the PDF with the links to the articles. The PDF was last updated on 9th October 2018. Please comment on this post if any of the links are non-functional.

Articles and Books

• Noorani, A.G. “The Kashmir Dispute: 1947 – 2012: I&II” Oxford University Press. 2013.

• Noorani, A.G. “Article 370 – A constitutional history of Jammu and Kashmir.” Oxford University Press. 2011. • Noorani, A.G. “The Kashmir Dispute: 1947 – 2012: I&II” Oxford University Press. 2013.

• Snedden, Christopher. “Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris”. Oxford University  Press. 2015. 

• Lamb, Alastair. “Kashmir: Birth of a tragedy”. Roxford Books. 1994. 

• Staniland, Paul. “Kashmir since 2003: Counterinsurgency and the Paradox of Normalcy.” Asian Survey. 2013.

• Duschinski, Haley; Bhan, Mona;  Zia, Ather; Mahmood, Cynthia. “Resisting Occupation in Kashmir.”  University of Pennsylvania. 2018.

• Robinson, Cabeiri, “Body of Victim, Body of Warrior.” University of California Press. 2013.
 
• Staniland, Paul. “Organizing Insurgency: Networks, Resources, and Rebellion in South Asia.” MIT Press. 2012

• Oldenburg, Philip. “Uneasy Neighbours.” India International Centre Quarterly. 2011.

• Batool, Essar. “Do you remember Kunan Poshpora?” Zubaan Publishing House. 2016.

• Sirnate, Vasundhara. “Kashmir’s Crossroads”. Foreign Affairs. 2015.

• Rashid, Mehmood. “Why Kashmir’s armed insurgency is not a Variant of Terrorism.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2018.

• Wildmen, Sten. “The Rise and Fall of Democracy in Kashmir.” University of California Press. 1997.

• Fair, C. Christine. “Insights from a Database of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Militants.” Journal for Strategic Studies. 2014. • Noorani, A.G. “The Kashmir Dispute: 1947 – 2012: I&II” Oxford University Press. 2013.

• Noorani, A.G. “Article 370 – A constitutional history of Jammu and Kashmir.” Oxford University Press. 2011. • Noorani, A.G. “The Kashmir Dispute: 1947 – 2012: I&II” Oxford University Press. 2013.

• Snedden, Christopher. “Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris”. Oxford University  Press. 2015. 

Non-academic books

• Sajad, Malik. “Munnu: A boy from Kashmir.” Fourth Estate. 2015. 

• Peer, Basharat. “Curfewed Night.” Random House. 2010.

• Waheed, Mirza. “The Collaborator.” Penguin Books. 2011. 

• Kak, Sanjay. “Until My Freedom has Come.” Penguin. 2011.

• Ali, Agha Shahid. “The Country Without a Post-office.” Graham House Review. 1997.

• Levy, Adrian; Scott-Clark, Cathy, “The Meadow : The Kashmir Kidnapping That Changed The Face Of Modern Terrorism.” Penguin India. 2012.

• Roy, Arundhati. “Kashmir – the case for freedom.” Verso Books. 2011.

Autobiographies and Biographies

• Abdullah, Sheikh. “Aatish-e-Chinar.” Ali Mohammad and Sons. 1985. (Translation by Khushwant Singh is available)

• Qasim, Mir. “My Life and Times.” Allied Publishers Limited. 1992. 

• Jagmohan. “My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir.” Allied Publishers Limited. 1991. 

• Geelani, Syed Ali Shah, “Wular ke Kinaray – Vol I, II, III.” Millat Publications. (Translation awaited).

Documentaries that can be watched online

• Jashn-e-Azadi (The Celebration of Freedom)

• Insha Allah Kashmir (If Allah Wills, Kashmir)

• Amnesty Youtube series – Broken families

Press Articles

• Jha, Prem. “The rise of Kashmir’s Second Intifada.” The Wire. 2016. 

• Noorani, A.G. “It is a Revolt.” Frontline. 2016

• Noorani, A.G. “Hypocrisy in Kashmir.” Frontline. 2017.

• Sirnate, Vansundhara. “New semantics of state in Kashmir.” The Hindu. 2015.

• Puranam, Elisabeth. “Kashmir: A story of defiance amid grief.” Aljazeera. 2016.

Important Organisations

○ Jamaat-i-Islami
• Maqbool, Shahid. “Religion and Politics: Contestation, Protest and Reform of Jama’at-i-Islami in Kashmir.” IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science. 2017.

○ People’s Democratic Party
• Chowdhary, Rekha. “Elections 2002: Implications for Politics of Separatism.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2003.

○ National Conference
• Chowdhary, Rekha. “National Conference of Jammu and Kashmir.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2004.

Major Events

○ Rigging of elections,1987
• Donthi, Praveen. “How Mufti Sayeed Shaped the 1987 elections in Kashmir” Caravan Magazine. 2016.

○ Gawkadal Massacre, 1990
• “Gawkadal Massacre, a case.” Kashmir Life. 2013.

○ Sopore Massacre, 1993
• “Sopore: a case of extra judicial killings in Kashmir.” Amnesty International, 1993

○ First election in 1996 after 6.5 years of President’s rule 
• Navlakha, Gautam. “Political Situation in Kashmir: Duped by Media and Government.” Economic and Political Weekly. 1996. 

○ Amarnath Land Row, 2008
• “Amarnath Land Row – Chronology of Events.” Greater Kashmir. 2008.

○ Nelofar, Asiya rape case, 2009
• Polgreen Lydia. “Two killings stoke Kashmiri Rage at Indian Forces.” The New York Times. 2009. 

○ Machil fake encounter, 2010
• Bukhari, Shujaat. “Machil Encounter Case – Dashed hopes.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2017. 
• “2010 Killings Admitted.” Kashmir Life. 2017

○ Hanging of Afzal Guru, 2013 
• Mohan, Vishwa. “Afzal Guru hanged, remains in Tihar; no last wish, refused to eat.” Times of India. 2013.
• Roy, Arundhati. “The Hanging of Afzal is a Stain on Indian Democracy.” The Guardian. 2013. 
• Bukhari, Shujaat. “How Afzal Guru’s hanging renewed militancy in Kashmir.” The Friday Times. 2018.
• Handoo, Bilal, “The Untold Story of Afzal Guru.” Kashmir Narrator. 2018. 

○ Student Uprising, 2017
• Zia, Ather. “Resistance is a way of life for Kashmiri youth.” Aljazeera. 2017.
Killing of Burhan Wani, 2016
• Waheed, Mirza. “India’s Crackdown in Kashmir: Is this world’s first mass blinding?” The Guardian. 2016. 

○ Kathua rape case, 2018
• Yasir, Sameer. “Kathua Rape Case: How the crime was committed and who are the key accused.” Firstpost. 2018.

Crucial Actors

○ Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah 
• Puri, Balraj. “The Era of Sheikh Abdullah – I & II”. Economic and Political Weekly. 1983. 
• Puri, Balraj. “What to do with Sheikh Abdullah?”. Economic and Political Weekly. 1965.

○ Farooq Abdullah 
• Puri, Balraj. “The Farooq Doctrine.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2000. 
• Puri, Balraj. “Rajiv – Farooq Accord, what went wrong.” Economic and Political Weekly. 1989. 

○ Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 
• Donthi, Praveen. “The Collaborator – How Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Delhi’s Man in Kashmir.” Caravan Magazine. 2015.  

○ Maqbool Bhat
• Fayyaz, Ahmad. “In Tihar Graveyard, a grim reminder of history.” The Hindu. 2016. 

○ Syed Ali Shah Geelani 
• Sikand, Yoginder. “Jihad, Islam and Kashmir. Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s Political Project.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2010.

○ Abdul Gani Lone 
• Chowdhary, Rekha. “Lone’s Liberal Legacy.” Economic and Political Weekly. 2002.

○ Dr Qasim Faktoo
• “Dr Qasim Faktoo: The Heart Wrenching Tale of Sacrifice and Sufferings.” Kashmir Leader. 2017. 

○ Burhan Wani 
• Sultan, Aasif. “The Rise of Burhan.” Kashmir Narrator. 2018. {The author was arrested by the Indian state and sent to judicial custody after this article was published}.
• Donthi, Praveen. “Season of discontent.” Caravan Magazine. 2016. {Before Burhan’s killing}.  
• Donthi, Praveen. “The Iron Cage.” Caravan Magazine. 2016. {After Burhan’s killing}.

Organizations to Follow

• Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society

• Greater Kashmir

• Kashmir Narrator

• Kashmir Life 

• Kashmir Reader

Kashmir 101

  • Yo, India! come save us from these fucktards pls.
  • ummm….fine, but you gotta join us.
  • Wtf bro no.
  • You gotta
  • NO
  • no join no help
  • ffs FINE. OKAY. but its conditional.
  • hmMmMmMMm
  • Come on that’s the least u can do.
  • Aiight fine we have a deal.
  • *pew pew pow pow*
  • Aiight nice thanks for the help man. plebiscite time amirite ?
  • uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…no.
  • WTF!?
  • yea umm…we…uhhhh… we’re staying.
  • wtf man not cool!!!!
  • You’ll have self determination and democratic election I swear!
  • bro wtf man come on. Fuck this. FINE.
  • *rigs election. rip*
  • R U FUCKIN KIDDING ME? SULLEKAK BRING THE KALASHNIKOV IT’S REVOLUTION TIME!
  • oh shit fuck…
  • *PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW BIG PEW*
  • *pew pew pew big pow pow boom*
  • *EXODUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*
  • *hush hush pew pew hUSH*
  • *2008*
  • *2009*
  • *2010*
  • *2013*
  • *2016*
  • *beefy military bois sent to already beefiest military zone*
  • WTF R U PLANNING!?
  • Nothing I swear issa terror threat response.
  • pssst tourist & yatri bois, gtfo while you can!!
  • aiight BAZINGA! imma remove article 370
  • WTF R U FUCKING KIDDIN ME AFTER ALL THIS? STFU MAN!
  • No u.
  • wtf?
  • *communication ban, curfew, section 144*
  • MmmmMMMHMPHHHFFFMMMMMMHMHMHHHHH
  • *BIG HUSH HUSH*
Create your website with WordPress.com
Get started