August 2011 marks the beginning of 24th year of the militancy in Kashmir, a phenomenon that did not only devour a generation in its most productive age. The militancy and the battle against it devastated homes, destroyed economies, traumatized families, dehumanized a society and forced entry of a plethora of vocabulary that sounded Greek in last century. Kashmir Life identified some of the words that are now as local to the Valley as Kashmiris’ are

Aazaedee: (Freedom, Urdu, n) Part of the discourse and popular sloganeering.

Amnestee: (Amnesty, E, n) It refers to the Amnesty International. Off late, it is also a reference to a government package to get the youth from Pakistan controlled Kashmir back to J&K.

Aarmee: (Army, English, noun) Till 1990 people living in border areas would distinguish army from paramilitaries. Now even kids know what army is and most can read their ranks easily.

Agwah: (Abduct, U, verb) Kidnapping, abduction and sometimes unclaimed arrest – its usage can refer to all such actions.

Aembush: (noun, v E) It is a military activity that militants and soldiers use against each other. Laying traps and attacking.

Alamji: (LMG – light machine gun, E, v)
It is medium range weapon that can fire a lot of bullets continuously for a long time and is used by militants as well as the soldiers.

Aqwam-i-Muthedah: (United Nations, E, n) Usually the first appeal that Kashmiris in distress make to. Reference to the resolutions that UN Security Council passed gives legitimacy to Kashmir’s resistance movement.

Afghaen: (Afghan, n, E) Most of the well built, non Kashmiris can fall under it but it is a reference to the Afghan fighters who crossed into Kashmir during the 1990s.

AayKay/ AayKay 47/ Kalashankauph: (Kalashnikov, n, Russian) The WW-II automatic assault rifle that is the basic weapon used by militants and off late by the police as well. It has many variants.

Apiarim: ( n Kashmiri)
A reference to the resident of PaK and Pakistan.

Aaraar: (Rashtriya Rifles, n)
A counterinsurgent military force funded by MHA, controlled by Defence Ministry and is ubiquitous in J&K.

Beeaseph: (BSF- Border Security Force, n) The paramilitary force basically tasked to guard the borders was inducted into Kashmir during the initial years of militancy till RR was set up and sent to replace it.

Buzurg: (Respected and aging, U, adj) Already in use but is increasingly being used to refer to the separatist leaders. At the peak of militancy, it would symbolise the ‘administrators’ who would control the militants.

Bunduukh: (Gun, U, n) All weapons that fire are bandookh to a commoner.

BaaDar: (Border, n, E) The Line of Control that separates PaK from J&K.

Baadarkras: (Border Cross, adj, E)
Anybody who has crossed over the LoC, infiltrating or exfilitrating.

Bankar: (E, n)
It refers to the sand bagged bunkers that sprouted across Kashmir after 1990. There are various types of bunkers, some concrete from inside and camouflaged by wood outside with nets to prevent landing of grenades inside.

Bieal: (Bail, E, v) The legal document that lets detained to move out of the jail or detention.

Bijlitachh: (Electricity shock, K, v) It is the electric current that interrogators have been using to extract information from those arrested. These would be applied to private parts as well.

Chalo (U, v) A Protest march usually called by the separatists to a particular location to display their strength.

Siaikay: (CIK- Counter Intelligence Kashmir, E, n) It is a widely feared state security agency that apart from doing the specific intelligence gathering is the significant authority for arresting or releasing a particular person.

Siyaidee: (CID-Criminal Investigation Department, E, n) The un-uniformed eyes and ears of the state security apparatus that reports to the government on every development that takes place within the territory of the state.

Siyarpee: (CRPF- Central Reserve Police Force, E, n) Paramilitary force that was initially deployed in Kashmir, then replaced by BSF and now re-inducted again. The most visible Indian state symbol in Kashmir.

Kamaandar: (Commander, E, n) It symbolized senior militant leaders throughout Kashmir and people would identify top insurgent leaders by the ranks like – battalion commander, area commander etc.

Kor kamaandar: (Corps Commander, E, n) A reference to the Indian army’s general office commanding of the Srinagar based 15 corps that happens to be the adviser (security) to the chief minister.

Krassfayar: (Crossfire, E, v) The act of two forces – usually militants and the soldiers – exchanging fire.

Kemishan: (Commission, E, v) A committee usually set up by the government to probe an incident of disputed nature/circumstances.

Kampanseition: (Compensation, E, v) Cash payments that the government would make to the people in lieu of the land that it or a security agency would acquire. It also means the ex-gratia relief government provides at the rate of Rs 100 thousand a head in case of a certified civilian who is killed by militants or any security agency.

Karphi/: (Curfew, E, v) The act of restricting the movement of people to their homes by a formal announcement made after a magistrate orders.

Sival Karphi: (Civil Curfew, E, v) The act of self restriction usually called by the separatists to register protest.

Kantrual Ruum: (E, n) The police control room in Srinagar that is always connected to the rest of the state and source of all the information, deployments, mortuary and facilities for autopsy. People would look for and collect dead bodies of killed relatives and acquaintances etc.

Kamp: (E, n) Any place, building or a spot that houses army, CRPF, BSF or police is called a camp regardless of its status of being temporary or permanent garrison.

Tchar-i-bonduukh: (pump action gun, K, n)
It is part of the new breed of non-lethal weapons that were inducted in J&K in 2011 to reduce killings. These guns fire small splinters that can prove fatal.

Santarjail: (Central Jail, E, n) J&K has a number of jails including two central jails one each in Srinagar and Jammu but Santarjail means only CJ Srinagar.

Damp (Dump, E, n) A safe place to hide weapons.

Dehshaet: (Terror, Arabic, v) It is the activity that triggers terror in the society. Usually both militants and counter insurgency forces are accused of creating terror by their actions.

Dabaav: (Pressure, Persian, v) It is the upper hand that a particular force – militants or the security agencies – might be having in a particular area at a particular time.

Daste buatal: (Kashmiri, a) It is slang that identifies a chicken hearted person who gets unnerved if some untoward event happens and can’t manage the fear.

Disturb Aerya: (Disturbed Area, E, v) It is the formal declaration under law that identifies particular areas as disturbed which is mandatory for the security agencies to enjoy certain powers that offer them immunity from law while operating.

Dapha44: (Section 144 RPC, E, v) It is a particular law that empowers the government to prevent assembly of three persons in wake of law and order situations. It can even be used to prevent entry of people in to a particular area.

Dande pulees: (Police equipped with rods, U, n) Usually slang used by youth against the police in pitched battles.

Darection Faindar: (E, n) A machine that helps its operators identify the direction from which a particular wireless communication emanates.

Dastaier (K, n ) A person wearing a turban. In Kashmir usually a code word for an Pakistani or Afghan militant.

Enkountar: (E, v) The violent contact involving gun battles between soldiers and militants.

Elosee: (Line of Control, E, n) The heavily guarded working border between the PaK and J&K that is now fenced for the last few years.

Espiyo: (SPO – Special Police Official, E, n) The young men who are being appointed by police at district level for consolidated sums not exceeding Rs 3000 a month.

Esaro43: (SRO-43, E, n) A government order that provides a job to a member of the family of a government employee who dies in harness. It was later extended to the families of civilians who died as collateral damage.

Em Aai: (MI – military intelligence, E, n)
Part of the army’s intelligence establishment.

Phaariner: (Foreigner, E, n) A non-local militant.

Pharzi Jhadap: (Fake Encounter, E, v) An encounter that is stage managed.

Garnaith: (Grenade, E, n) The small bomb that is tossed towards the target after its pin is pulled out.

Ganpaudar: (E, n) The white powder that was allegedly used on a massive scale by counter-insurgent forces to set afire suspected hideouts and the buildings wherefrom militants fired on them.

Grupkliash: (Group Clash, E, v) The act of internecine fighting between various militant outfits that allegedly had ideology and supremacy as the bedrock.

Gieab: (Missing, U, v) Somebody going missing. Usually it refers to the people who went missing in custody.

Huriyat: (Hurriyat, U, n) Though the words means ‘freedom’ but it is the reference to the all party Hirriyat Conference that has two factions – one led by Syed Ali Geelani and another by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.

Hawaala: (Hindi, v) It is the transfer of money through informal channels. Money is handed over to an agent in one country which his counterpart delivers in another country though the money never moves.

Post massacre curfew: an hour of relaxation in old city -- Photo: Mehraj Din

Haaphwidow: (Half-widow, E, n) A term peculiar to Kashmir that refers to women whose husbands went missing after being arrested. As nobody is in position to declare them dead, half-widows are still waiting for their return.

Human Raitis: (Huamn Rights E, n) It is a broad term that means the civil liberties but a vast section does refer to SHRC by saying this.

Haidawut: (E, n) A place where militants hide themselves.

Hartaal: (Strike, U, n)
Protest strikes routinely called by separatists.

Aiybee: (IB – Intelligence Bureau) A central government intelligence agency that has remained crucial to the counter insurgency campaign in Kashmir. Militants have used this tag to target a number of civilians. For common Kashmiris it means a vast network of Indian security agencies.

Ikhwaein: (A, n) A counter-insurgent who works for the government and the security apparatus.

Intragaetion: (Interrogation, E, v) Though it would mean questioning in custody but in Kashmir it envisages a lot of physical violence or torture to extract information.

Indipindi: (Independent, E, n)
It refers to the commoner’s identification of the people who stand for the independence of Kashmir.

Aiyesaiy: (ISI, E, n)
The Pakistani spy agency Inter Services Intelligence that allegedly runs part of Kashmir militancy.

Jaamar: (E, n) An electronic system that can be fitted on a vehicle and jams the radio signals and remote control systems commanding an explosive device, a mine or an IED.

Jamaeith: (K, n) A commoner’s reference to the individuals sympathetic to or members of Jamat-e-Islami.

Jangju: (Militant, U, n) Widely used word to describe a militant.

Kanijang:(K, v) The act of throwing stones by Kashmiri protestors at police and the paramilitary forces. By the year 2010 it had become the most popular form of resistance.

Keindsar: (K, idiom) To save one’s skin at the time of severe adversarial climate around.

Khayitaar: (Rusted wire, K, n) Barbed wire used across Kashmir to protect, segregate or separate people from designated spots and individuals. Earlier it was plain barbed wire which was later replaced by highly sophisticated concertina razor wire.

Kukparey: (K, n) Singer Kuka Parry of Hajan who was notorious for being the top Ikhwani of his time. In 1996 he became lawmaker and was later murdered.

Khayi boendukh: (Rusted gun, K, n) It is reference to the vintage 3.3 rifle that police were using for decades. Though it pales before the sophisticated AK rifles, it still is the worst killer with impeccable precision.

Kriak dawun: (Crackdown, E, v) It is a process that rarely a Kashmiri has skipped. It involves assembling people together by security agencies and subjecting them to the identification parades before hooded spotters.

Kuatbalwaal: (n) It is peripheral locality of Jammu where one of the major jails of the state is located. Initially it was an interrogation centre and it was later upgraded to a jail. Ninety percent of Kashmiri detainees have had their stints in this jail.

Laiting Position (K, ad) Lying down flat on one’s belly (a soldier or militant) usually during combat or war.

Mujeahid: (Militant, U, n) See Jangju

Mehmaan: (Guest, U, n) It can mean a reference to a non-local militant.

Mukhbir: (Informer, U, n) Individuals working for the intelligence agencies as alleged by militants.

Mond: (widow, K, n)
It is reference to the women who were widowed because of the conflict in Kashmir.

Maien: (E, n) A land mine that is planted – usually hidden and blasted to damage an opponent. Sometimes these are laid to create a security zone around a garrison.

Maejar Sahab: (E/U, n) It is a rank in army but it is generally used by commoners to address even smaller rank officers in the paramilitary forces.

Martchangan Luur: (A stick laced with chilly, K, v) It is one of the interrogation practices envisaging inserting rods – sometimes with chilli powder into the rectum. It did damage the intestines and caused many deaths in last 20 years.

Marchangan Bondukh: (Chilli Gun, K, n) Part of the new ‘non-fatal’ arsenal that was inducted to reduce civilian causalities during protests and crowd control. It blasts capsules that disperse fine chilly powder.

Mahasre: (Cordon, U, v) See Cordon

Maigreshan: (E, v) The act of shifting residence for any reason. It denotes mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s.

Naabud: (K, n) Originated from the village Nawabad, this term refers to a renegade. It entails same meaning as that of Ikhwani, a turned militant.

PakTrain: (E, v) Usually part of the official language, it means a militant who recieved arms training in Pakistan or PaK.
Peechha: (Chase, U, v) It is the act of somebody being followed. Militants as well as soldiers do it during their operations.

Papatoo: (Place, n) One of the notorious interrogation centres operated by BSF. It is now the Fairview Guest house where former chief minister Mufti Sayeed  and his daughter, president of opposition PDP, lives.

PiThu: (U, n) It is the light jacket having space for lot of ammunition that rebel fighters usually wear.

Quam: (Nation, U, n) A routine reference to the Kashmiri people.

Qaetil: (Murderer, U, a) A word that would encamps almost everybody who killed a civilian.

Raatemougul: (Owl, n) It would symbolise a person, usually a low rank militant, assigned to guard a hideout during nights.

Raket laanchar: (Rocket Launcher E, n) A weapon used to fire explosive projectiles like grenades and other bombs.

Ragda: (U, v) A phenomenon that started in 2008 summer unrest in which the youth would assemble in a circle and stamp their feet on a flag or state symbol drawn on the road. They would sing a parody of a Muslim poet who sung the famous ragda number at the peak of subcontinent’s freedom movement from UK.

Rai shumiaree: (Plebiscite, U, v) The headcount that India and Pakistan had promised to Kashnmir in UN is part of the political discourse on either side of Valley’s ideological divide.

Rileaz Miltant: (E, n) A militant who was arrested and released but who has not surrendered.

Soeyeth: (K, n) A peculiar word that evolved at the beginning of militancy suggesting a non-militant who becomes a satellite of the militant.

Sudaen: (Sudanese, K, n)
A resident of Sudan, a reference to some of the Sudanese militants who were killed fighting in Kashmir.
Shall: (Shell, E, N) Initially used for a mortar shell that were used to destroy militant hideouts.

Shaheed: (Martyr, U, n) Depends on who confers the title to whom. All militants and civilians killed by security apparatus fall in this category for the separatists and all the unionists who were slain by militants are Shaheed according to the pro-India camp.

Safteeact: (Public Safety Act, E, v) A law that permits detaining people for up to two years without trial. Detention orders issued under the law are deemed valid even if the charges slapped are not directly connected with the detainee.

Samaan (K, n) Weapons or ammunition carried by rebel combatants or their associates.

Shinakhat: (Identity, U, v) The act of identifying an individual. While the ‘identification parade’ was one part of it, it was the identity of a slain that usually would become an issue. People in Kashmir can not move out of their homes without an I-card.

Shaheedmazaar: (Martyrs’ graveyard, U, n)
Though it symbolizes the sprawling graveyard of Srinagar’s Eidgah, every village and town has got its own Shaheed mazar.

Silendar Miltant: (E, n) A militant who surrenders before the security apparatus.

Taasikphores: (Special Operations Group (SOG), E, n) It is the section of the state police that was set up to fight militancy. It is actually called Special Task Force.

Thaan-i-pilees: (Cops from the police station, K, n) Cops that essentially are not from CIK, CID or SOG.

Thaph (K, v) Sudden capture or an arrest usually of a ‘fugitive’ or suspect by government forces. Rare instances of vice-versa have also been recorded.

Taas: (Bang, K, v) Any violent activity that starts with a bang, a bomb blast, firing, IED or killing someone by firing a bullet.

Taphteesh: (Marshalling, K, v) The act of being beaten by the security men in routine or for interrogation.

Tarrchar ( Torture, E, n) The act of inflicting physical or mental pain on a detainee using different means – usually by army or other government forces.

Tayargias: (Tear Smoke Shell, E, n)
The tear-smoke shells used by government forces to disperse groups of protesters. A number of youth have been killed by the shells.

Tayzar gan: (Taser, E, n) Part of the new weaponry emitting a current that shocks its target till he/she is arrested. If not used properly it could prove fatal.

Tehreeki: (U, a) People who are supportive of the ongoing separatist movement.

Tihaar: (Tihar, K, n) The local name of the Tihar jail (Delhi) where a number of Kashmiris are jailed. The JKLF co-founder Maqbool Bhat was hanged in this jail and was buried there.

Toubud banker/Moute Gaied: (Armoured Vehicle, K/E, n) The DRDO designed bullet-proof vehicle that security men use to patrol, face militants during gunbattles, arrest and sometimes to interrogate someone.

Yunifaid Kamaand: (Unified Headquarters, E, n) Responsible for overall ‘security’ of J&K it is a formal set up where chief minister presides over all the security agencies for sharing information and taking mutual security related decisions.

Upargrawund: (Upper Ground Worker or OGW, E, v) A word in official use, it denotes people who are supportive of the separatist cause though not trained in handling arms.

Veedicee: (VDC – Village Defence Committee, E, n) These are volunteers who were armed by the government under and extra-constitutional set up to fight militancy. Some of them are being paid.

Wayarleas: (E, n) The radio sets carried by security men or militants to communicate with each other.

Waaki-taaki: (same as Wireless)

Extartion: (Extortion, E, v) Money that targets are forced to pay. This practice remained prevalent in section of militants and security men for years and may be continuing.

Yeateem: (Orphan, U, n) A huge lot of faceless boys and girls whose fathers were killed or went missing during last two decades.

Yeateemkhaane: (Orphanage, U, n) A building where charities take care of the orphans and their education.

Yitihaad: (Itihaad, unity, U, v)
Quite common in Kashmir discourse, it is a reference to the efforts of getting the faction ridden separatists re-united.

Zulum: (Suppression, U, n) Widely used word to describe the state of human rights.

Zialim: (Oppressor, U, n) The title that a number of people holding guns, including members of security forces, shared and continue to share in Kashmir.

Zabikuk: (K, v)
A bird existing in paddy fields that symbolises a useless person who can be taken for a ride by any side in the conflict easily.

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