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 conversion of the Valley's population to Islam during 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.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir union territory and Ladakh. Founded as the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas in 1932 in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the organisation renamed itself to National Conference in 1939 in order to represent all the people of the state. It supported the accession of the princely state to India in 1947. Prior to that, in 1941, a group led by Ghulam Abbas broke off from the National Conference and revived the old Muslim Conference. The revived Muslim Conference supported the accession of the princely state to Pakistan and led the movement for Azad Kashmir.
Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin, is a Pakistan-affiliated Islamist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakistan, and is thus one of the most important players in the region as it evolved the narrative of the Kashmir conflict by steering the struggle away from nationalism and towards jihadism.
Yasin Malik is a Kashmiri separatist leader and former militant who advocates the separation of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. He is the chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, which originally spearheaded armed militancy in the Kashmir Valley. Malik renounced violence in 1994 and adopted peaceful methods to come to a settlement of the Kashmir conflict. In May 2022, Malik pleaded guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held over seven days in November and December 2008. The previous government led by the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) in coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) collapsed when the PDP withdrew. Following the election, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) agreed on a coalition with Congress and their leader, Omar Abdullah became the state's youngest-ever Chief Minister at 38.
Shah Faesal is an Indian bureaucrat currently posted as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Culture (India) In 2010, Faesal secured Rank 1 and became the first Kashmiri to top the Indian Civil Services Examination. He tendered his resignation from the Indian bureaucracy in protest on 9 January 2019, citing "unabated killings" in Kashmir among other things, which, reportedly, was "never accepted" by the central government and he even withdrew the same later.
Rafi Ahmad Mir is an Indian politician from Jammu and Kashmir. He was previously the General Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party and held administrative position in Mehbooba Mufti's government as the Vice Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation with a ministerial status. He was one of close aides of Mufti with a popular public base in South Kashmir. Now associated with the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party. Mir has been the key person behind Party's formation along with its founder President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari.
All India Radio Srinagar is a public radio station operating in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. All India Radio Srinagar broadcasts in Kashmiri, Urdu and Hindi languages. Formerly known as Radio Kashmir Srinagar, it was renamed as AIR Srinagar following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. It is one of public stations in the union territory alongside AIR Jammu and AIR Leh. All India Radio Jammu broadcasts in Dogri, Urdu and Hindi languages.
Tariq Hameed Karra is an Indian politician from Jammu and Kashmir and was a member of parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha from Srinagar. He is currently serving as the President of Jammu Kashmir PCC. he is also a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Central Shalteng constituency.
Bhan is a Kashmiri Pandit clan and surname native to the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Bhan Brahmin dynasty founded an erstwhile tribal hill state of Kashmir in the 10th century AD. It was ruled by the Bhan dynasty for two hundred years. Currently, all the territory of this state of Bhan is found in the Sudhanoti District of Azad Kashmir administered by Pakistan. Bhan, as a surname, is also used by Punjabi Saraswat Brahmins.
The 2016 Kashmir Riots, also known as the Burhan aftermath, refers to protests in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, chiefly in the Kashmir Valley. It started after the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on 8 July 2016. Wani was a commander of the Kashmir-based Islamist militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.
Kamran Yusuf, also known as Kamran Yousuf is a Kashmiri multimedia journalist. As of 2022, Kamran is a staffer at NewsClick. He also works as a freelance multimedia journalist for various international organisations. In 2017, he was booked under UAPA and lodged at Tihar Jail. Many organisations including Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, Amnesty International and more issued statements for his immediate release. He got bail after six months and was discharged from all the charges on 16 March 2022 by Delhi court.
Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir includes confidence-building measures at a nation-state level between the governments of India and Pakistan, track two diplomacy, as well as initiatives by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), institutes and individuals. The purpose of peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir include conflict prevention and reduction of hostilities in the Kashmir Valley. Many countries such as Russia, United States and China have also played a de-escalatory role with regard to tensions in the region.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is an act of the parliament of India containing provisions to reconstitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories (UTs) called Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, and becoming effective on 31 October 2019. A bill for the act was introduced by the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019 and was passed on the same day. It was then passed by the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019 and it received the president's assent on 9 August 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) is a political party established in March 2020 by Altaf Bukhari. The party focuses on regional development, addressing local issues, and advocating for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. It has positioned itself as an alternative to traditional political parties in the region, emphasizing a pragmatic approach to governance.
Aziz Hajini was a Kashmiri writer, poet, critic and convenor of Sahitya Akademi for New Delhi's Northern Regional Board. He served as a government school teacher for 30 years before being appointed as assistant professor at the department of Kashmiri of the University of Kashmir until he retired from active service in 2019. In between he was appointed secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in 2015 by PDP led government which evoked severe criticism in the media for his alleged links with the separatists.
Ikkjutt Jammu, later known as Ekam Sanatan Bharat Dal, was a party in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It campaigned for the creation of a separate Jammu state out of the Dogri speaking districts of Jammu Division and for the reorganisation of Kashmir Division into two union territories, one being Panun Kashmir for Kashmiri Hindus who have been displaced from the region. It was founded in November 2020 and was led by Ankur Sharma.
Rughonath Vaishnavi was a Kashmiri Pandit politician who co-founded the Jammu and Kashmir Political Conference along with Ghulam Mohiuddin Karra. A vocal advocate of Kashmir's right to self-determination, he expressed life-long solidarity with Kashmiri Muslims.
Midoora( مِیںڈورہ) also known as Midru, is a piedmont, agglomerated rural settlement in the Awantipora Tehsil of Pulwama district in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It is at a distance of 30 km from Srinagar and 8 km from the main town Tral and 7 km from Awantipora. In Northwest of it stands the majestic Wasturwan, a picturesque mountain forest.
Waheed ur Rehman Para is an Indian politician of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party and member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Pulwama constituency. He is also the legislative party leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in J&K assembly.
