Real History of Jammu & Kashmir – The Beginning

Many historians and locals believe that Jammu was founded by Raja Jamboolochan in 14th century BCE. During one of his hunting campaigns he reached the Tawi River where he saw a goat and a lion drinking water at the same place. The king was impressed and decided to set up a town after his name, Jamboo. With the passage of time, the name was corrupted and became "Jammu". According to one "folk etymology", the name "Kashmir" means "desiccated land" (from the Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = desiccate). According to another folk etymology, following Hindu mythology, the sage Kashyapa drained a lake to produce the land now known as Kashmir. More...

Editorial

The people of Pakistan are currently in the grip of worst ever terrorism, the country has seen. It is spreading quickly from Taliban strongholds in North-West and FATA to the mainland including the major cities of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. It would hardly serve any purpose in reiterating here the universally known role of ISI and a section of Pakistan Army in taking the country to the precipice of disaster. more...

Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of Jammu and Kashmir.

Geneva: Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of Jammu and Kashmir. The area is of strategic importance as it has borders with Afghanistan and China. Since partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, and the coming into being of Pakistan, democratic and political freedom and human rights situation in Gilgit-Baltistan has been very bad and the population has been suffering. This was stated by Universal Periodic Review submitted to Belgian Association for Solidarity with Jammu and Kashmir at the second session of a conference in Brusseles recently. It said rights organizations in Pakistan itself have been raising voices against the inhuman treatment meted out to the people of this region by the Pakistan administration. more...

Kashmir: Where Sufis are Rishis and Rishis are Sufis!

“The most dominant influence on the Kashmiri Muslims, in terms of their Kashmiriyat, is that of the Rishi order of Sufis. While the Sufi orders like the Suharwardi, Kubravi, Naqshbandi and Quadri, arrived in Kashmir from Persia, Central Asia, and Central and North India, the Rishi order evolved in the valley itself indigenously in the beginning of the fifteenth century. The Kashmir valley was already permeated with the traditions of Hindu ascetism and Buddhist renunciation. more...