Last night or today morning, two militants have been killed by the armed forces of India. The state of lull which is wrongly termed peace is ceasing to remain status quo. It is soon that the volcanoes will erupt again.
#Kulgam #Kashmir #Hizbul

'Many of us often wonder why is it that while the rest of the world is generally moving forward on gay rights, Muslim societies are moving backwards. In fact, even in relatively moderate Muslim countries like Indonesia, the call for criminalisation of homosexuality is getting stronger and shriller. But has it always been this way?'
Udayan Dhar maps the rise of 'Islamic terror' along with the rise in criminalisation of homosexuality in muslim-majority countries.

'See in some ways, the best that happened to what I would call the ‘White Right’ after the rise of Hitler was the rise of Islamists. It justified all their agendas. It enabled them to say and do so many things that they would not have done otherwise.'
Tabish Khair talks to Pratiti Ganatra on Islam and Terrorism for the February issue.

Harsh Snehanshu weaves a simple fictional tale about a resolute Brahmin household hosting a Muslim family for dinner, highlighting the prejudice that is inherent in our society.

'War on Terrorism proved to be a convenient alibi for oil and war profiteering. The military-industrial-media-intelligence-surveillance complex and the merchant banks – is known as the ‘deep state’ that totally controls the American Foreign and Economic Policies.'
Is the President just a pawn in the hands of the state machinery? Devdan Chaudhuri finds out in the February issue of Kindle magazine.

Do we let the dead pass without remembering them through the years? Isn't remembering a resistance on the face of a violent and cruel history?
Syed Shahriyar, in his photo essay, walks us through the villages of martyrs.
#AfzalGuru
#Kashmir

'My whole point is to transform the Kashmir conflict in a way that I can understand it and contribute to it as well. Creativity has bridged never-ending differences. Creative art is always inspiring, motivating and productive.'
Omar Hafiz talks to Pratiti Ganatra about his journey across the country that made the documentary 'Athwaas'.

'Rendering a person faceless, therefore, simultaneously becomes a way of turning that person into an object, stripping one of the “unmistakable personalities” (the head being the only body part which, when removed, can be easily identified as belonging to that person) and the ultimate decision of power over the individual- the taking of life itself.'
Anwita Ghosh dissects the politics of beheading as terror strategy for the February issue of Kindle Magazine.

'“They must have, must have…… been killed ……on the poplar-studded banks upstream,” Amma gibbered. He drowned his face in his cupped hands, mumbled a prayer underneath his breath, blinked back the tear which glistened in the corner of his eyes and stood up.'
Jamsheed Rasool's short story takes us to the core of the normalcy of violence and life in Kashmir.

'Certain questions call for contemplation. One, do we disproportionately attribute most violence to Muslims? The tendency and the political exigency to do so is immense, and from media houses, strategic experts to the thoughtful scholar, all have contributed to flag this imagery of a fanatic, bigoted Muslim bursting with unreasonable rage against the infidels.'
In our February issue, Tanweer Fazal asks the pertinent questions linking #Islam and #Terrorism.

Bilal Kuchay writes, 'A nation's conscience was satisfied on this day.'
Yes, the collective conscience has blood on its hands. The blood of repression and memories.
Check out this interview of Sanjay Kak by Ajachi Chakrabarti surrounding the 9th February crackdown on #JNU.
#AfzalGuru
#Kashmir

As 9th February approaches, we need to ask this question to ourselves:
'How can you stake claim to Kashmir’s land when its people are so alien to you?'

'It’s just that human nature doesn’t seem to be such a promising thing. One of my unfortunate favourite sentences is that, “the one thing that experience teaches you, is to make the same mistakes again.” '
Kiran Nagarkar talks to Pratiti Ganatra in the Apeejay Literary Meet, 2017. Check out the full interview:
http://kindlemag.in/the-ruthless-pessimist/

'So, what are the politics that shove militancy inside the house as something that doesn’t need to be articulated?'
Rini Barman talks of the dialogues which should have been articulated long back. Of the wars that continue in ignored fronts.