Insights Into Reality in Jammu & Kashmir

Reports from Srinagar, Jammu & Delhi

Special reports, comments and views on the situation, politics and governance in the state of Jammu & Kashmir
New and Exclusive

4 August 2000	The Command of War in Islam Read Full Story Here	There are people who wage war against their supposed enemies - for land and wealth and other material interests. And to justify these actions, they cite those Quranic verses which deal with jehad in the sense of qital (armed struggle). But their are clear reasons why their fighting does not fall into the category of jehad fi Sabilillah (in the name of God).
4 July 2000	In its literal sense jihad in Arabic simply means struggle - striving to one's utmost to further a worthy cause. There is a difference, however between the word, struggle and jihad. The word struggle does not connote the sense of reward or worship in the religious sense of the word. But when the word jihad became a part of Islamic terminology, the sense of reward or worship came to be associated with it, that is to say, if struggle is struggle in the simple sense of the word, then jihad means a struggle which is an act of worship, the engagement of which earns reward to the person concerned. As the Quran says: Strive for the cause of God as you ought to strive.(22:78)	Farida Khanam on Understanding Jihad Read Full Story Here
1 June 2000	Sultan Shahin on the "Free Balawaristan movement gains momentum"	Several politicians and social activities in the Kashmir valley are surprised to have received recently letters of greetings and calls for help from the leadership of the Balawaristan National Front (BNF) which has been spearheading a movement for independence in Gilgit and Baltistan (jointly called Balawaristan) in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Read Full Story Here
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan on how Islam views Jihad, Women's Right, Charity and Hijacking A series of special articles by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan Read The Articles Here
2 February 2000	Maulana Parikh on The Hijacking of IC-814	We all know that a plane bound for Delhi from Kathmandu carrying innocent passengers was hijacked by some Pakistani nationals in the name of Islam in the holy month of Ramzan. The plane went to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai, picked up food, medicines in the name of humanitarian measures for passengers and even took petrol. Read Full Story Here
The December 1999 Second Report	JIHAD: A Battle for peace and Justice	If there is Jihad, it is open and announced. Jihad cannot be covert or clandestine and it has no place for sabotage and subversion from within. Jihad is a clean and moral battle in the pursuit of clean and moral objectives; if not, it is not Jihad. Read Full Story Here
The December 1999 Report	Kashmir: Fundamentalism takes root	Jonah Blank, an anthropologist, visits Kashmir and writes about the broken promises and the great tragedies of our State. Every border skirmish between India and Pakistan now carries the potential - however remote - for catastrophic escalation, and in Kashmir, such skirmishes are a daily fact of life. There will be no safety for either state without stability in Kashmir, and there will be no stability in Kashmir without the cooperation of its people. Read Full Story Here
'Pakistan Writers on Kargil' A special series of articles by Pakistan writers on Kargil. Read The Articles Here
The September 1999 Second Report	How Azad is 'Azad Kashmir'	If you want to study the situation in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and cannot go to even the minuscule part of this region designated as 'Azad Kashmir', the best place to go to is England. Bradford, Birmingham, Nottingham, Luton, Slough and Southall are perhaps even better sources of information about the POK than Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Bagh Rawalakot and Kotli. Read Full Story Here
The September 1999 Report	Kashmir: Where Sufis are Rishis and Rishis are Sufis!	The most dominant influence on the Kashmiri Muslims, in terms of their Kashmiriyat, is that of the Rishi order of Sufis. While the Sufi orders like the Suharwardi, Kubravi, Naqshbandi and Quadri, arrived in Kashmir from Persia, Central Asia, and Central and North India, the Rishi order evolved in the valley itself indigenously in the beginning of the fifteenth century. Read Full Story Here
The August 1999 Report	Religion of the Jahiliya	A completely new religion seems to be catching the imagination of many people in Pakistan...it can at best be described as Jihadism as its central belief system is based on a wilful misinterpretation of the Islamic concept of Jihad. Read Full Story Here
The June 1999 Report	Stop This Nonsense in Kargil, Hashim Qureshi	The Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party Hashim Qureshi has called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to immediately end the Kargil skirmish, which he termed as an act of utter nonsense. Read Full Story Here
The May 1999 Report	Islamic Pakistan Proceeds to Annex Sikh Gurdwaras	All previous protestations of friendship of the Sikh community ring hollow and it is becoming increasingly clear that Islamic fundamentalist elements, who control the Government in Pakistan, have decided to appropriate unto themselves Sikh gurdwaras in Pakistan and the properties attached to them. Read Full Story Here
The April 1999 Report	The Kashmir Problem Thrives on Denial of Human and Democratic Rights, says Balraj Puri	Independent monitoring of Human Rights violation serves the best national interest, prevents further alienation of the people, prevents defaming of India abroad and helps in improving the discipline of the security forces. Read Full Story Here
5th March 1999 Report	Kashmir's Accession To Pakistan: Its Economic Non-viability	Pakistan is a badly mismanaged and corrupt country and Kashmir's accession to that country would spell disaster, argues Hashim Qureshi. Read Full Story Here
The February 1999 Report	The United States and Islam	At the end of the present century, religion has become a dynamic force all over the world. The recent developments in Eastern Europe and countries of the erstwhile Soviet Union clearly demonstrate that religion remains a potent force despite all efforts to suppress it. Read Full Story Here
The January 1999 Second Report	Peddling The Peace Drug	An interview with Maulana Abdul Ala Maudoodi's son. In his interview, he reveals for the first time that his father's attitude was that of a drug-peddler who would not let his own children go near the stuff while selling the same to millions of other youngsters. Read Full Story Here
The January 1999 Report	The Menace of Illicit Arms: An Article by Sundeep Waslekar	Since a free flow of small arms and light weapons have created tremendous scope for freelance terrorism in Kashmir, it would be necessary to check it if a solution has to be found. It is impossible for any government in New Delhi to negotiate peace if illicit guns reign the valley. Read Full Story Here

Previous Insight Reports 1997-98

The November-December 1998 Report	Belfast Peace Agreement: Any Relevance for Kashmir?	Balraj Puri explaining about Belfast Peace Agreement:"My itinerary as a guest of the British government included a visit to Belfast, the capital of North Ireland, which had returned to peace after 32 years of violence between its two principal communities, majority Protestants and minority Catholics." Read Full Story Here
The December 1998 Report	The Way Forward in Kashmir: An Article by Sundeep Waslekar	The writing on the wall is clear. Leading Western scholars, known for their proximity to American and British governments, have indicated that they would not bail the Kashmiri leaders out of the present imbroglio. The Kashmiris must take their future in their own hands. Read Full Story Here
A special series of articles on diverse issues concerning the Kashmir problem by Shabir Choudhry, Director, Institute of Kashmir Affairs Read The Articles Here
The November 1998 Report	Lord Avebury's Visit to Kashmir	Lord Eric Reginald Avebury's views on the human rights situation in the Valley have undergone a noticeable change. By his own admission, he now has a more balanced and perhaps a better view of the problem that has plagued Indo-Pak relations of five decades and more. Read Full Story Here
The November 1998 Second Report	Why There Can Be No Jihad in Kashmir Also read interview of Haider Farooq Mawdudi, noted Pakistani Islamic scholar and son of the Late Maulana Sayed-ul-Ala Mawdudi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami(JEI). He has refuted 'Jihad' in Kashmir on the grounds that it is against the tenets of the Koran as Islam does not permit a covert war.	*In Hadees, Jihad* has been considered as an extreme step and can be sanctioned and executed by the Muslims only in defence of the faith and not in mere matters of political expediency.** Read Full Story Here
The November 1998 Report	BALRAJ PURI writes on "Isolating The Issue of Killings of Innocents in Jammu and Kashmir"	Why did Kashmiri youth take to arms? Who and in what degree is he to blame for resorting to such desperate measures? What are the compulsions of the state and in what other manner should it have met the challenge to its authority and national integrity? Read Full Story Here
The October Second 1998 Report	BALRAJ PURI writes on Pakistan's Claim to Represent People of Kashmir	Pakistan's claim that it "is in fact negotiating with India on behalf of the people of Kashmir" has understandably not been welcomed by them. Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed, who made this claim, on the eve of his talks with his counterpart in India, has been challenged even by anti-Indian groups in the state. Read Full Story Here
The October 1998 Report	Taliban - Emerging Threat to The Kashmir Valley	Since 1990, Pakistan, in her quest to destabilize India, and to establish its hegemony and control over Afghanistan encouraged the setting-up of a chain of 'madarsas' owing allegiance to the Jamaat-ul-Ulema-e- Islam (JUUI) - Pakistan. Read Full Story Here
The August 1998 Report	Lashkar e Toiba: The New Masters of Kashmir	Early this year, militancy changed tack in Kashmir; Pakistan put it's weight behinds a new terrorist outfit called Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) or the "Army of the Pure." The puritanism of this army was characterised by a level of brutality, which surpasses that of the 40 odd militant groups that Pakistan has sponsored previously in Kashmir. Read Full Story Here
The March 1998 Report	Hurriyat Splintered by Secret Agendas	The Hurriyat is splintered and cannot act cohesively any longer for all practical purposes. Hurriyat leaders must put up a united face in public though - because otherwise their Pakistani masters will crack the whip. Many Hurriyat leaders have secret agendas and are busy making their own plans for the future. Read Full Story Here
The February 1998 First Report	Pakistan's Northern Areas: Revolt Brewing in Area of Darkness	Pakistanis can only talk about elah - accession - and every Kashmiri group seeking help from Pakistan must promise to accede to Pakistan. Otherwise like the JKLF they will be killed and their sisters raped. This is the truth. And what is accession - it is to suffer the fate of the miserable millions in the so-called Northern Areas where even after 50 years, the Punjabi rulers and their ISI agents continue to kill Muslims and deny them fundamental rights. Read Full Story Here
The November 1997 First Report	The Jamaat e Islami Changes Tack on Kashmir	The moderates within the Jamaat e Islami Kashmir, who now have an upper hand in the functioning of the party, are weary of militancy in the valley and are tactically disassociating themselves from their armed wing. Similar feelings are being echoed by local JEI units. Read Full Story Here
The October 1997 First Report	The Kashmir dispute and Mr. Nawaz Sharif : His chance to leave a mark.	Nawaz Sharif has secured a mandate a second time. But can he use it to settle the Kashmir problem for the betterment of his country ? While his sincerity is not in doubt, that of others he must share power with is. Read Full Story Here
The October 1997 Second Report	Srinagar: Snapshots of Serenity	Who says normalcy has not returned to Kashmir? This summer was the first in many years we took our families out to Dilshad and Nishat baghs. Dal Lake looked different, almost like it was in the old days. Read Full Story Here
The September 1997 Report	Pakistani Shelling along Jammu and Kashmir border: The Pakistani Gameplan.	What prompted the Pakistani Army to provoke a flare-up along the Line of Control (LOC) in August 1997? Whatever the answer, the people of Kashmir lost out the most and Pakistan gained little. Read Full Story Here
The June 1997 Second Report	The Historic India-Pakistan Accord could pave the way for peace in Jammu & Kashmir now that Pakistan has agreed not to involve any third party.	The Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan - Salman Haider and Shamshad Ahmad - met in Islamabad during 19-23 June, 1997 for protracted talks to hammer out an epoch-making accord. This accord is in many ways the culmination of consistent Indian efforts to keep Kashmir a bilateral issue between the two countries. Read Full Story Here
The June 1997 Report	Ethnic Cleansing Continues in Kashmir as three Kashmiri Hindu pundits are dragged out of a bus and shot dead	Muslim bus passengers tried to plead with Kashmiri terrorists who stopped a bus and dragged out all passengers they thought were Hindus. But the terrorists were adamant. Three Pundits were taken away and shot dead. This incident of 15 June is another black mark in the history of our secular state. Read Full Story Here
The May 1997 Second Report	Shoura-e-Jehad suspects misappropriation of funds by Hurriyat leaders.	The Shoura-e-Jehad, the umbrella organisation of Kashmir's five principal militant organisations, suspects that the Hurriyat leaders have misappropriated funds. The Shoura has asked Hurriyat leaders to submit detailed accounts of the funds received by them and spent by them. Read Full Story Here
The May 1997 Report	Terrorists assassinate media persons in Kashmir, hoping to muzzle the truth	The gruesome murder of freelance journalist, Shaidain Shafi, and television programme producer, Tariq Ahmad, within a space of less than a month, has spread terror amongst media persons in Kashmir. Pakistani terrorists agents are trying to prove that they still can pick out soft targets and force Kashmiris to toe their line. Read Full Story Here
The April 1997 Report	Hurriyat leadership Facing Corruption Charges	The ordinary man in Srinagar, not affiliated to any group, has long suspected that the Hurriyat leaders have grown rich championing militancy and the cause of Accession of J&K to Pakistan. Today, that suspicion has been confirmed by reports appearing in the Valley press about the murmurings of discontent and by investigations carried out by the Indian government's investigative agencies. Read Full Story Here

For comments, messages and contributions, please send email to Mhmd. Sadiq at www.jammu-kashmir.com.