by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

With soaring unemployment and a private sector still in troubled infancy, for the last few decades, government has provided the bulk of Kashmir’s jobs. Yet today this may be changing; on the heels of much-needed infrastructure development and technological innovation, a good number of entrepreneurs are taking the plunge into the generational traditions of horticulture and floriculture.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

In what is being hailed as a victory for democracy, the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir recently concluded a two-month round of elections at the end of December. Despite calls from separatist groups like Hurriyat Conference to boycott the polls, Kashmiris came out in overwhelming numbers to vote.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

With the US presidential election just days away, people in the Kashmir valley are not much enthused with the changing of the guard. Although there is some hope that the new president will help resolve the Kashmir issue, people in the valley largely believe that US policy on Kashmir has not been people friendly. Opinions on the tenure of outgoing President George W. Bush range from uninspiring to accusatory.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

October 27, 2008 - Kashmiri separatists and the Pakistani government commemorate "Black Day" the anniversary of the Indian army's forcible entrance into Kashmir 61 years ago. - Ed.

When asked what he likes to do on the festival of Eid-ul-fitr (the celebration ending the month of Ramadan), Ishfaq Ahmad hangs his head. After a brief pause, with his eyes still focused on the floor, Ishfaq recalls nostalgically a time when he lived with his parents in Hangnikote, Kupwara, in the border district. But at the age of four, he and his younger brother lost both of their parents within a period of six months. As there was no one to look after them, the boys moved in with a distant relative, where they lived until Ishfaq was noticed by a volunteer one morning as he sat shivering in the cold.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

As the world observed the International Day of the Disappeared last month on August 30th, Asima Mohi-ud-Din attended a silent protest rally organized by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). For the last three months, protests over the transfer of 800 kanals of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) have prevented the APDP from holding their monthly protests. Desperate to share her story with the world, this eighteen-year-old resident of the Baramulla district in Indian-administered Kashmir penned her grievances in an open letter.

"The sorrow that cannot be overcome has to be tolerated,” she begins. "This is a true story of a family that lived happily until an evil spirit caught it.”

Asima was only three years old, but the incidences of that evening are burned into her memory forever. On June 22, 1993 at 11:30 p.m., her household was awakened by a sudden knock at the door. As her grandmother approached the door with a flashlight, a band of unidentified armed men broke in.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

At a time when it is very difficult to find people willing to extend the hand of human kindness to those practicing a different religion, Muslims living in the Kashmir valley have set a great example by assisting Hindus on their pilgrimage.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

Kashmir’s ongoing armed conflict over the past two decades has had physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences for everyone living in the valley. Although no official figures exist, everyone agrees there has been an increase in the number of both physically challenged and mentally ill in Kashmir over the last 20 years.

by Afsaana Rashid
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

Officials at the Kashmir Department of Agriculture are putting in serious effort to preserve a male Ginkgo biloba tree, a species that has almost vanished from South Asia.

The Ginkgo, South Asia’s oldest tree, is located in Lal Mandi’s Kitchen Garden of the Agriculture Department. The species is believed to be 270 million years old, as old as the dinosaurs, while the tree itself is more than 200 years old and is eight feet. The life span of Ginkgo biloba can be as long as 3000–4000 years or even more.

• Lal Mandi's Gingko struggles for survival; a section of its bark fell off after poor pruning. Photograph by Afsaana Rashid. •

As the park is located in a low lying area, rain and snow accumulate into a pool of water. Fida says that the Ginkgo grows best in acidic soil, while stagnant water changes the pH value of soil from acidic to alkaline, resulting in slower growth.

Since the stagnant water in the park has retarded the tree’s growth, a two-feet-high mound of earth was formed around the tree. Dense suckers have sprouted on the raised mound, and experts hope to plant them next year under suitable climate conditions.

An official pleading anonymity says that some of the branches have been chopped poorly, leaving the stump vulnerable to diseases and pests. "You can find holes in the tree; it is because the branches have been chopped wrongly. Branches must be axed completely."

by Afsaana Rashid
– Indian-administered Kashmir -

While the world has progressed by leaps and bounds in technological advancement, the Kashmir valley remains rooted in cultural tradition. The state of Kashmir abounds in ancient literature, language, religion, arts, crafts, dance, and music. Its culture is steeped in story telling, philosophy and folklore, even when it comes to medicine. In the Kashmir valley there are hundreds of families who turn to faith healers for solutions to their problems, especially those with psychiatric issues. Researchers Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad Margoob, a leading psychiatrist of the valley, and Huda Mushtaq, point to the decades long conflict in Kashmir for the phenomenal increase in the region’s psychological problems.

“My family, including my children, treated me like a lunatic a few years back when I could not cope up with certain problems. Consequently, I tried many doctors, including psychiatrists, but nothing worked,” says Hajra, a woman in her mid-forties.