That Million March
Mass uprising coincided with the militant upsurge in 1990. It resurged after Gawkadal massacre thus paving way for twin massacres on March 1, when...
A Shariah Sultanate
Within decades of their rule when Muslims were still a minority, Shahmiri Sultans took the advice of their spiritual leaders seriously and implemented Shariah,...
Hindu Subjects, Muslim Rulers
As the internecine fighting between feudal lords and kings triggered an unending appetite for Turkish mercenaries, Muslims from the neighbourhood trickled in as traders,...
Cashmere’s Lalla Rookh
British poet’s 1817 narrative made Cashmere instantly famous in the West but nobody knew the man had fallen in love with the Vale without...
Kashmir’s Mlecch Era
Abortive takeover bids did not prevent the Muslim influences from impacting the Kashmir society. Long before Kashmir’s transition to Islam, the new faith existed...
Neglected Discoveries
What lies beneath is the question that has baffled archeologists for long. Perhaps the answer lies in discoveries made on and off. But an...
Islam’s Kashmir Story
For nearly 300 years, Muslim conquerors from Baghdad and Turkey tried to overtake Kashmir, then a strong Hindu kingdom. Kashmir’s Hindu lords once defeated...
Jagmohan Days
NDA government’s Padma Vibhushan to Jagmohan Malhotra pushed Kashmir back to his stint in the 1990s’, reliving the days and nights of horror and terror....
Kashmir’s Fairer Lords
Kashmir was ruled by many women in ancient and medieval times. Some of them proved more capable than their male predecessors and successors. Sara...
Enters Mufti
A law graduate’s journey from small south Kashmir town to the highest power corridors in Delhi is scripted with twists and turns. Shams Irfan...
Forgotten Dispatches
France’s ‘botanical romantic’ Victor Vincelas Jacquemont (1801-1832) spent 1831 summer in Kashmir at the peak of exploitative Sikh misrule. Letters, he sent home from...
First Hostage Taking
During the amorphous years of militancy that coincided with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s ascend to first Muslim Home Minister of India, JKLF kidnapped his daughter,...
Dogra Grace
The derelict walls of Mubarak Mandi Complex in Jammu’s old city are witness to centuries of politics, power and intrigue. But with its restoration...
Finding Kundalwan
Throughout last century, Kashmiri researchers had been trying to pinpoint the spot where the fourth Buddhist conference took place almost two millennia ago. But...
Jammu 1947
As a student leader, peace activist and a staunch supporter of democracy, journalist Ved Bhasin (May 1, 1929 – November 5, 2015) faced his...