Jammu’s aspirations vs. Kashmir’s hegemony

On October 13, the Union Cabinet cleared the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management in Jammu as part of the Prime Minister’s development package for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre had earlier announced that an Indian Institute of Technology and an All India Institutes of Medical Sciences would also be set up in Jammu. The…

Kashmir separatism is Islamism by another name

In an interview to a news channel, former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar has Abdullah expressed his disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments about the separatist violence following the killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in the Kashmir Valley. Modi broke his silence over the violence and on-going unrest after…

A House, But No Home in Kashmir

Two weeks ago, on a hot summer day, I visited Jagti along with my father. Jagti is a village near Nagrota town in Jammu province, which straddles the national highway connecting Jammu and Srinagar. At present, Jagti gives shelter to around 4000 families; seeing the clustered structures, I couldn’t fathom how they must live. Families…