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Reclaiming Azad Jammu Kashmir For Her People
The Evolution of AJK Public Agency
Citizen’s Opinion + Citizen’s Resources
=
Citizen’s Control of Public Policy
The most important aspect of modern-day governance is a consensus...
FEATURED
- All
- 'Azad' Jammu Kashmir
- British Politics
- British-Paharis
- Contentions
- Cultural Memories
- Democracy for AJK
- Dispossession
- Featured
- Global Muslim Perspectives
- Health & Fitness
- Identity Conundrum
- Identity Crisis
- Identity DIS
- Imagined Identities
- Indian-Administered-Kashmir
- Kids Corner
- Life Stories
- Lifestyle
- Pahari
- Paharis
- Pakistan
- Poems
- Politics
- Prejudice
- Race Relations
- The South-Asian Diaspora
- Ummadom
- Urdu
- Video
More
What’s in a name? A brief look into place-names of the...
Unknown (or often untold) stories live on in the names of villages and towns in the Pahar region of Jammu & Kashmir. Variably known...
Understanding Disinformation and Propaganda on Kashmir
Those who argue that Kashmir is the Valley of Kashmir and that Kashmiris are the ethnic Kashmiris of the Valley are engaged in deliberate disinformation....
Understanding the Kashmir Conflict, the international narrative
I've included the following account to give an idea of how skewed international representations of the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir's are, not least...
Asking the questions, having the discussions!
Muslim Ummah Syndrome and Identity Politics
Some years ago, Saudi Arabia proscribed its male citizens from marrying the citizens of four nationalities. Pakistanis were included on this list. The Monarchy had...
I’m a person who can talk
I can dance, I can sing
I only do my thing
I can run, I can hide
I take myself with pride
Because I only have one life
Sometimes...
Protected: The Mirpuri “Villain” of the Pakistani Imagination
There comes a point for members of any community to stand up and be heard. And that time has come for members of my...
Who will win the fight against fundamentalism in Pakistan?
Vali Nasr, author of ''Forces of Fortune - the rise of the new Muslim Middle Class and what it will mean for our our world" said,
"The...
Understanding the Kashmir Conflict, the international narrative
I've included the following account to give an idea of how skewed international representations of the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir's are, not least...
A quiet triumph for humanity
Politics and politicians herd us like sheep into a protective ‘national’ net that restricts and exploits us rather than allow us to utilise our...
Protected: Fleeing poverty and becoming poorer; the truth of dispossession
Recently, given my father’s imminent demise, he is terminally ill with leukaemia, I started to ask him about his life in the land of...
TOPICAL
Who are Azad Kashmiris? Are they Pakistanis, Kashmiris, or Occupied Indians?
Anonymous Quote
“They’re fighting over Kashmir! One way to win this fight is by splitting the people into different groups. When people are divided, or...
Remembering the victims of political oppression in ‘Azad’ Jammu Kashmir
Muhammad Ali Murtaza, an innocent young man was brutally tortured to death by Pakistan's army without any explanation and worse, they tried to cover...
India, Pakistan, and “Kashmir” – the Economist explains…!
This is how the Economist explains the "Kashmir" conflict using the colonial label of 'Hindus' and 'Muslims' - these are 'constructed labels' however common-sense...
MOST COMMENTED
Whose Kashmir is it? Conflict & Territorial Claims; the abuse of myths
As in my earlier post on Israel and competing myths of exclusive origin, Kashmir serves as a good example of national myths and territorial claims. But unlike Israel, Kashmir has a special place for us. It is the place from where our forebears originated,...
Why do anti-Semites say “Israeli Jews are not real Jews?”
You must have heard the claim that modern-day Israel is a country with another people’s language and religion?
If you haven’t, antisemitism has become so common these days (I’m speaking of hatred against Jews, and not criticism against Israel), that you’ve probably come across multiple...
Fake News, False Narratives and Identity Politics, Silencing Dissent through Digital Media and Search Engine Manipulation
I’ve said on this site, at various places, that Digital Media particularly through interactive platforms like Wikipedia and Social Media, are vehicles of disinformation and political propaganda. Whatever the nature of an online conversation, be it a family’s travel vlogs, pictures, fashion tips, food...
Ethnic tokenism in electoral politics and the laws of unintended consequences
There was a time when you could walk into any local Labour Party branch meeting in the densely populated Pakistani constituency wards of England, and you would realise that something was breathtakingly afoot. The room would be overcrowded. Almost entirely male-dominated with the usual...
Propaganda and Digital Media; the curious case of Authoritarianism and Online Bullshit
Don't trust everything you read online.
You'll be duped into believing utter tosh. This holds true for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Had it not been for authoritarianism and control freaks, these spaces would have been wonderful places to learn facts and create vibrant friendships. Sadly,...
The curious case of the anecdote becoming narrative
Internalising the negative perceptions of out-group members is not proof that there’s something inherently wrong with your in-group identity. This has happened to lots of people who have been ‘othered’ through a combination of factors that include inaccurate media portrayals, native informants and unjust social...
Appraising Mirpur’s documented history, the story of Kashmir before and after 1846
Mirpur was the name of an historical settlement in the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir (1846 – 1947), variably known as Kashmir State, Jammu Kingdom and/or the Dogra Raj. The name Mirpur postdates the principality’s alleged founding in the 1600s. Centuries later, the...
Pakistan’s Article 370 Delusions; the “Azad” State that is not “Free”!
It’s ‘Azad’ - 'Free'.
"Okay!?" "It's Azad!" "Free!"
This is Pakistan’s official stance on 'Azad' Jammu & Kashmir.
But what is Azad Kashmir ‘free’ of?
According to the Pakistani state-enforced narrative, Azad Kashmiris are free from Indian tyranny. Women aren’t being raped by Indian soldiers, and by ‘Indian’ they mean non-Muslim...
Understanding Disinformation and Propaganda on Kashmir
Those who argue that Kashmir is the Valley of Kashmir and that Kashmiris are the ethnic Kashmiris of the Valley are engaged in deliberate disinformation. These sinister interests want you to think that they are making ethnolinguistic claims about the people we call Kashmiris, but...
The Feudalism of the Western Himalaya; Patronage, Caste Myths and Colonialism
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting with some local guys as they consumed copious amounts of alcohol to the backdrop of a varied playlist, and it dawned upon me that my opposite number were unaware of the ‘caste-titles’ they were fondly using...
Muslim Ummah Syndrome and Identity Politics
Some years ago, Saudi Arabia proscribed its male citizens from marrying the citizens of four nationalities. Pakistanis were included on this list. The Monarchy had its reasons, no doubt, good or bad; the preponderance of such marriages was given as the primary reason. Apparently, marriages...
India, Pakistan, and “Kashmir” – the Economist explains…!
This is how the Economist explains the "Kashmir" conflict using the colonial label of 'Hindus' and 'Muslims' - these are 'constructed labels' however common-sense they seem to us today! There is a huge scholarly body of knowledge that demonstrates that before the emergence of...
A quiet triumph for humanity
Politics and politicians herd us like sheep into a protective ‘national’ net that restricts and exploits us rather than allow us to utilise our strengths.
It has now been nearly three months since my naani (maternal grandmother) reunited with her brother and sister. They were...
The Birth of ‘A’JK Public Agency
This is our first attempt at making a documentary in 'A'JK with 'bells and whistles'. Many thanks to all my co-citizens for taking part. Some of the background music was borrowed from Shigeru Umebayashi: Yumeji's Theme (In The Mood for Love) Courtesy of Emotion...
Protected: Who are Azad Kashmiris? Are they bonafide Pakistanis, liberated Kashmiris, or occupied Indians?
Anonymous Quote
“They’re fighting over Kashmir! One way to win this fight is by splitting the people into different groups. When people are divided, or adopt identities of neighbouring people naively, the occupiers win. Indians and Pakistanis celebrate their own unity. But Jammu & Kashmir...
Reclaiming Azad Jammu Kashmir For Her People
The Evolution of AJK Public Agency
Citizen’s Opinion + Citizen’s Resources
=
Citizen’s Control of Public Policy
The most important aspect of modern-day governance is a consensus on public narrative, which is derived from an orderly aggregate of genuine public opinion. As the citizens of Azad Jammu...
What’s in a name? A brief look into place-names of the Pahar
Unknown (or often untold) stories live on in the names of villages and towns in the Pahar region of Jammu & Kashmir. Variably known as the 'Pahari Ilaqah', or the 'Pir Panjal' region, this area has a rich cultural heritage. The names of our...
Who are Azad Kashmiris? Are they Pakistanis, Kashmiris, or Occupied Indians?
Anonymous Quote
“They’re fighting over Kashmir! One way to win this fight is by splitting the people into different groups. When people are divided, or adopt identities of neighbouring people naively, the occupiers win. Indians and Pakistanis celebrate their own unity. But Jammu & Kashmir...
Protected: Who taught Pakistanis to hate themselves?
Nearly a decade and a half ago, I got married to a Canadian in Toronto. My mother's incessant demands, innuendoes, emotional breakdowns, insults and 'third party' interventions finally got the better of me. And so I decided to get married in Canada. Little did I...
