TRENDING
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
Oh Kashmir, who did you offend!?
Oh Jammu & Kashmir, what was your crime? Who did you offend that they long to punish you?
Are you not a people, old...
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...
The Governance Dilemma in so-called “Azad” Jammu Kashmir
This footage makes an attempt to summarise the effort of Mahmood Ahmed Musafir in light of his herculean effort to address the near absence...
Asking the questions, having the discussions!
Kashmir’s Occupied Rivers
And here lived, beneath the receding waters of Kashmir, my forebears, once upon a time
As her waters recede and the green grass shimmers...
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,...
The Importance of Cultural History; Kashmir – a Fragmented Land
The immediate thoughts which sprung to mind when faced with the word ‘history’ were recollections of sitting in a high school classroom making notes...
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...
Learning the difference between Group Identities and Identity Politics
Having been born and raised in the UK, whilst ascribed an ethnic minority status from birth, I discovered that identities are complicated things. Being...
So-called “Independence” Kashmiris in Britain Work for Pakistan and not Kashmir Independence
I was asked by the human rights activist, Tanveer Ahmed, to offer my thoughts on the failures of Pro-Independence Azad Kashmiris to prosecute a...
Oh Kashmir, who did you offend!?
Oh Jammu & Kashmir, what was your crime? Who did you offend that they long to punish you?
Are you not a people, old...
TOPICAL
Appraising Mirpur’s documented history, the story of Kashmir before and after...
Mirpur was the name of an historical settlement in the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir (1846 – 1947), variably known as Kashmir State,...
So-called “Independence” Kashmiris in Britain Work for Pakistan and not Kashmir...
I was asked by the human rights activist, Tanveer Ahmed, to offer my thoughts on the failures of Pro-Independence Azad Kashmiris to prosecute a...
Pakistan’s Article 370 Delusions; the Free State that is not Free!
It’s ‘Azad’ - 'Free'.
"Okay!?" "It's Azad Kashmir!" "Free!"
This is Pakistan’s official stance on 'Azad' Jammu & Kashmir.
But what is Kashmir ‘free’ of?
According to the...
MOST COMMENTED
Pakistan’s Article 370 Delusions; the Free State that is not Free!
It’s ‘Azad’ - 'Free'.
"Okay!?" "It's Azad Kashmir!" "Free!"
This is Pakistan’s official stance on 'Azad' Jammu & Kashmir.
But what is 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...
Fake News, False Narratives and Identity Politics, Silencing Dissent through Digital Media and Search Engine Manipulation
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 stories - “dad’s visit to Israel” - when a...
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...
The Curious Case of Authoritarianism, Digital Media & Pseudoscience
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...
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...
Contextualising prejudice within its social and political settings; explaining why and how Pakistanis demonise Mirpuris
The following post was updated 30 October 2020
https://youtu.be/97IES3jFOg0
There comes a point for members of a community to stand up and be heard. And that time has now come for British Azad Kashmiris, otherwise less popularly known as the Kashmiris, but selectively as the Mirpuris.
For...
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...
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's the place from where our forebears originated, before...
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...
How Mirpuris were invented by ethnonationalists opposed to Kashmir’s Independence
People everywhere want to learn something about their past. I did too. I was born in the UK. The first member of my direct family to come here was my maternal grandad. He was a veteran of the British Indian Army. Terms can be...
The Feudalism of the Western Himalaya and Myths of Caste Identities
A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting with some local guys consuming 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 as...
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...
The same tired mantras, the same bandwagons
Apparently, if you read the Guardian, Britain is a racist society. White writers aren’t saying this, BME writers are, because the leftwing Guardian doesn't do divisive politics, it just does identity politics, which needs the right identities to express the ubiquitous grievances. Where there are...
Imprisoned for 22 years, wrongfully; the fight for justice goes on!
This is a summarised account of my imprisonment in the UK for a crime I did not commit. I was imprisoned for 22 long years as a prisoner of conscience. I first wrote about my experiences in 2009, in a book entitled 'Dastan-e-Azam' (A...
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 I’m organised, sometimes
I’m just a mess, and I know
I will always try my very best
Shout out your opinions to me
Cuz...
Pakistan’s ethnonationalists will be best remembered for the country that imploded amidst a civil war in our lifetimes
Pakistan we are told was created for Muslims in 1947. The chap credited for the creation of Pakistan, Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was the grandson of a Hindu convert to a heterodox sect of Islam, not considered Muslim by mainstream Sunnis and Shias. We...
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...
What’s in a name? A brief look into place names of Azad Kashmir
Unknown (or often untold) stories live on in the names of villages and towns in the Pahari speaking region of divided Jammu & Kashmir. Variably known as the 'Pahari Ilaqah' of Kashmir, or the 'Pir Panjal' region of Jammu & Kashmir State, this area...
So-called “Independence” Kashmiris in Britain Work for Pakistan and not Kashmir Independence
I was asked by the human rights activist, Tanveer Ahmed, to offer my thoughts on the failures of Pro-Independence Azad Kashmiris to prosecute a freedom struggle against the Pakistani State, within the context of the Kashmir Conflict. This is a very broad area to...
Meedi Mydi Media “Mo”…!
Meedi Mydi Media "Mo"I scour the pages of friends and foeNight and day, a restless soulI cascade into a virtual hole Betwixt my Egyptian sheetsMy body aches, my eyes bulge Fingers scaling, skin peelingMy head vibrates, ping pong po
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...
