Aarti Tikoo Singh

Last updated

Aarti Tikoo Singh
Born
EducationMA Political Science
MA English
MA International Affairs [1]
Alma mater University of Jammu
Columbia University
OccupationJournalist
EmployerThe New Indian

Aarti Tikoo Singh is an Indian journalist who is known for being vocal on the Kashmir conflict and strongly considers herself secular. She is an alumnus of University of Jammu and did Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York City.

Contents

Early life and education

Singh was born in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India into a Kashmiri Pandit family. [2] After the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley in the early 1990s, she had to move to Jammu with her family. She studied in University of Jammu and also did Masters in International Affairs from New York's Columbia University [1] and starting her career she went to New Delhi and is currently residing there.[ citation needed ]

Aarti Tikoo is married to Harbir Singh, [3] a former politician with Aam Aadmi Party, as of 2021.[ citation needed ]

Career

As a reporter, she has worked in conflict zones across India such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. [4] [5]

After working with dailies in India such as Hindustan Times and as Senior Assistant Editor with The Times of India , she worked as a Foreign and Security Affairs Editor at the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) agency. In August 2021, she founded The New Indian. [6] [ non-primary source needed ] Singh has over 20 years of experience in journalism, focusing on international relations and conflicts. [7] [8] She reported from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, a conflict-ridden state for almost seven years, covering politics, violence, governance and human stories. [9] Singh represented in a United States Congressional hearing on Kashmir. [10]

Awards

Singh is a Times Aspire award winner and a WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management Peace) fellowship awardee. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jammu and Kashmir (state)</span> 1952–2019 state administered by India

Jammu and Kashmir was a region formerly administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019, constituting the southern and southeastern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since the mid-20th century. The underlying region of this state were parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, whose western districts, now known as Azad Kashmir, and northern territories, now known as Gilgit-Baltistan, are administered by Pakistan. The Aksai Chin region in the east, bordering Tibet, has been under Chinese control since 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmiri Pandits</span> Hindu community native to the Kashmir Valley

The Kashmiri Pandits are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits are Hindu Kashmiris native to the Kashmir Valley, and the only remaining Hindu Kashmiris after the large-scale of conversion of the Valley's population to Islam during the medieval times. Prompted by the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley, large numbers left in the exodus of the 1990s. Even so, small numbers remain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mufti Mohammad Sayeed</span> Indian politician

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was an Indian politician who served twice as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, during November 2002–November 2005 and March 2015–January 2016. He was also Minister of Tourism in Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet and Home Minister of India in V. P. Singh's cabinet. He started in the wing of the National Conference led by G. M. Sadiq, which later merged into the Indian National Congress. He switched to Janata Dal in 1987, eventually founding his own regional party, People's Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP continues to be a political force in Jammu and Kashmir, currently led by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Ongoing separatist militancy in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir

The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger geographical region of Kashmir, which has been the subject of a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmir conflict</span> Territorial conflict in South Asia

The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed the entirety of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a dispute over the region that escalated into three wars between India and Pakistan and several other armed skirmishes. India controls approximately 55% of the land area of the region that includes Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, most of Ladakh, the Siachen Glacier, and 70% of its population; Pakistan controls approximately 30% of the land area that includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan; and China controls the remaining 15% of the land area that includes the Aksai Chin region, the mostly uninhabited Trans-Karakoram Tract, and part of the Demchok sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmiris</span> Ethnolinguistic group native to the Kashmir Valley

Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panun Kashmir</span> Proposed union territory of India

Panun Kashmir is a proposed union territory of India in the Kashmir Valley, which is intended to be a homeland for Kashmiri Hindus. The demand arose after the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990. The vision of the homeland was elucidated in the Margdarshan Resolution of 1991. Panun Kashmir is also the name of an eponymously named organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amitabh Mattoo</span> Indian academic

Amitabh Mattoo is one of India's leading thinkers and writers on Modern and Contemporary History, Political science, International relations. He was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009. He is Dean of the School of International Studies, Chair & professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and honorary professor of international relations at the University of Melbourne. Until 19 June 2018, he served as Advisor to the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with the status of a Cabinet Minister. Mattoo is a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies and was recently elected unanimously as its Deputy Chair. He was the founding CEO of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne and served as chairman of the governing board of Miranda House, University of Delhi, the highest-ranked women's college in India, and served as Chair of Kirori Mal College earlier He has also been a member of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. In 2002, he was the youngest person to be appointed as vice chancellor of a public university in independent India. Mattoo's advice on policy matters has been sought across political parties and across governments, including by Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. Following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, he has offered a political roadmap for securing the future of Jammu and Kashmir. He has been a persistent advocate of multiculturalism and of reconciliation between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims.

Secession in India typically refers to state secession, which is the withdrawal of one or more states from the Republic of India. Whereas, some have wanted a separate state, union territory or an autonomous administrative division within India. Many separatist movements exist with thousands of members, however, some have low local support and high voter participation in democratic elections. However, at the same time, demanding separate statehood within under the administration of Indian union from an existing state can lead to criminal charges under secession law in India. India is described as an ‘Union of States’ in Article 1 of the Indian constitution I.e "Indestructible nation of destructible states" by its father of constitution Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar where a state or Union territory of India cannot secede from India by any means and the Central Government has more powers than the respective state governments and can forcefully change the names and boundaries of the states without their permission at any time when needed for self interest and for the maintenance of integrity.

Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Border Security Personnel (BSF) have been accused of committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians. According to Seema Kazi, militant groups have also been held responsible for similar crimes, but the vast majority of abuses have been perpetrated by the armed forces of the Indian government.

Human rights abuses in Kashmir have been perpetrated by various belligerents in the territories controlled by both India and Pakistan since the two countries' conflict over the region began with their first war in 1947–1948, shortly after the partition of British India. The organized breaches of fundamental human rights in Kashmir are tied to the contested territorial status of the region, over which India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars. More specifically, the issue pertains to abuses committed in Indian-administered Kashmir and in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kashmiri Hindus</span> Ethnic Kashmiris who adhere to Hinduism and are native to the Kashmir Valley

Kashmiri Hindus are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Hinduism and are native to the Kashmir Valley of India. With respect to their contributions to Indian philosophy, Kashmiri Hindus developed the tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism. After their exodus from the Kashmir Valley in the wake of the Kashmir insurgency in the 1990s, most Kashmiri Hindus are now settled in the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. The largest group of Kashmiri Hindus are the Kashmiri Pandits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus</span> Exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s

The Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, is their early-1990 migration, or flight, from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in Indian-administered Kashmir following rising violence in an insurgency. Of a total Pandit population of 120,000–140,000 some 90,000–100,000 left the valley or felt compelled to leave by the middle of 1990, by which time about 30–80 of them are said to have been killed by militants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burhan Wani</span> Kashmiri Islamist militant (1994–2016)

Burhan Wani was a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, an Islamist militant organization and insurgent group of the Kashmir conflict. He had become a popular figure amongst the local Kashmiri populace, having done so primarily through a strong social media presence, and was responsible for moulding the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir into a youth-oriented movement. Wani was a militant leader and had reportedly recruited numerous foot-soldiers through his personal efforts.

Zakir Rashid Bhat was the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the killing of Burhan Wani and Sabzar Bhat, who were the former commanders of the same outfit. He later became the chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir</span> 2019 Indian political incident

On 5 August 2019, the Government of India revoked the special status, or autonomy, granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir—a region administered by India as a state which consists of the larger part of Kashmir which has been the subject of dispute among India, Pakistan, and China since 1947.

<i>The Kashmir Files</i> 2022 Hindi film by Vivek Agnihotri

The Kashmir Files is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri. The film presents a fictional storyline centred around the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Indian-administered Kashmir. It depicts the exodus and the events leading up to it as a genocide, a framing considered inaccurate by scholars. The film claims that such facts were suppressed by a conspiracy of silence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Kashmir riots</span> Violence against Hindus in Indian Kashmir in 1986

The 1986 Kashmir Riots, also commonly referred to as the 1986 Anantnag Riots, were a series of attacks targeting Kashmiri Hindus in the Kashmir Valley of the erstwhile Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in Anantnag district.

Tikoo, also spelt as Tickoo, Tikku, Tikhu or Ticku is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

References

  1. 1 2 "Aarti Tikoo Singh Blog - Times of India". The Times of India . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. "Aarti Tikoo Remembers & Shares Story of Hindus Of Kashmir Valley". Youtube (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  3. "Ilhan Omar faces abuse after challenging Indian reporter at US Congress". TRT World. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. "Times of India editor Aarti Tikoo claims tp counter false reporting on Kashmir at Washington's National Press Club". Hindu American Foundation. 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  5. "A Conversation With Aarti Tikoo Singh". Global Governance Futures. September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  6. "About". THE NEW INDIAN. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Discussion with Aarti Tikoo Singh". Harrison House - University of Penn. 28 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. "Aarti Tikoo Singh, Author at South Asian Voices". South Asian Voices. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  9. "Aarti Tikoo Singh author on Huffington Post". Huffington Post . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  10. "On J&K, Indian Journalist's Face-Off With Ilhan Omar In US Congress". NDTV.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021.

Further reading