FJ Kashmir

    i nam ul rehman                                      Book: Those who stayed: the Sikhs of Kashmir   Author: Bupinder Singh Bali Publisher: Manjul India   Pages: 285   While reading Siddharth Gigoo’s latest book “ A long season of Ashes ” it came to my mind: why haven’t Kashmiri Sikhs written a book on their survival? Kashmiri Muslims have written on the conflict, so have Pandits. But Kashmiri Sikhs? No way.    As I finished Siddharth’s engaging book, I surfed the net to explore my curiosity, and fortunately “Those who stayed: the Sikhs of Kashmir” came up. Written by a 35-year-old Sikh youth, who returned to Kashmir as a PM package employee in 2011, this candid book is a part memoir, and part historical. It is almost written in the same vein as Siddharth Gigoo’s.   Bupinder Singh Bali starts the book from a phone call he receives on October 7,...

Book: Love Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral Falsehoods Authors: Sreenivasan Jain, Mariyam Alavi, Supriya Sharma   Publisher: Aleph Book Company Pages: 205 inam ul rehman Whenever I hear “love jihad” I often laugh at this oxymoron term used by Hindutva groups in India . A Muslim man or a woman is forbidden to enter into any relationship before marriage. So, there cannot exist any “love jihad”. However, no matter how much you drill this point the Hindutva groups will not relent in using this terminology.     The Hindutva people ascribe everything wrong in India to Muslim conspiracy. The Congress party for long has been described as “appeasing Muslims” while as the fact is that Muslims, which constitute 14 percent of Indian population are marginalised in every sector.  The Congress party other than offering lip service didn’t do anything for Muslims. Muslim percentage in government jobs is abysmal, their representation in state assembli...

  Book: Echoes of experience   Author     : Dr Arshad Hussain Khuroo   Publisher: BlueRose One   Pages: 186  inam ul rehman   “Our kids,” writes Dr Arshad Hussain Khuroo in his self-help book “learn more from the internet than from us.” On the same page he trenchantly writes, “ More likes on a Lie , is considered as a Truth in social media.”    Once a while one must read a self-help book to reinvigorate oneself. It is not that we don’t know or haven’t experienced what is written in these self-help books, but it is to refocus our energies on important things rather than on clutter. Dr Arshad, born in Sopore , has been working as a leading scientist in India’s largest pharmaceutical industry, Sun pharmaceutical industries limited , for the past 25 years.  Here he leads “a team of 275 scientists scattered across different functions and the globe”.    “When one person in the team makes his or her individual goals more imp...

inam ul rehman     On teachers’ day (it is not a universal teacher’s day, different countries celebrate it on different dates) it is normal to see write-ups about teachers, without naming them, or if someone names them s/he makes sure that the teacher has retired. What is the fun of writing such banal stuff. By not naming our teachers (who are still teaching) who inspired us, or taught us in a diligent way we are giving free rein to bad teachers or those who slam down students making them fearful to question or argue anything.     Our writing should remind those bad teachers that you would not get away with your awful teaching. You will be called out.   Our writing should also help good teachers to improve upon and pat them even if their contemporaries try to put them down.        But, how do you say a particular teacher impressed, or inspired you? Myriad reasons, but no particular answers.  In our educational career, only a f...

  Book: Undaunted: Lt Ummer Fayaz of Kashmir Author: bhaavna aroar   Publisher: Westland books Pages: 232     inam ul rehman   “I am writing a book on Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz,” says bhaavna arora to a bookstore owner at the Srinagar airport to see his reaction. “Yes, I have heard of him,” says the owner. “But you know,” continues he, “there was an innocent shepherd boy who was killed by the forces yesterday. He was mistaken for a terrorist. I am pretty sure no one will write a book on him.”    It is these honest conversations that the author peppers on her eponymous book. Written in an interesting, absorbing way with parallel tracks the book crafts the story of a young Ummer, who was sure he is safe among his people even after being commissioned lieutenant of the 2 Rajputana Rifles .    From an early age, Ummer was groomed by his father to think and be different from his peers.  The protagonist lives up to this grooming. Not just be...