Daily Diary (DD) - Day 316 of 2023

2202hrs:

A very eventful day today and it hasn't ended yet.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 315 of 2023

2259hrs:

Travelling from south to north, even extreme north over the next few days.

Initially, to celebrate Diwali with our co-citizens across the LOC at Teetwaal (Chelhana) where we wish to exchange mithai (sweets) with them at the white line in the middle of the bridge above the Kishenganga, dividing our territory. 

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 266 of 2023

1847hrs:

Another big leap for humanity today!

I left home in Sehnsa at c. 0015hrs this morning and travelled through the night to try and get to Teetwaal at 1000hrs in the morning to witness Sharda Divas (Day) which fell on today's date this year.

My compatriots and I were delayed for over an hour at the gateway to Neelam Valley check post, which prevented us making direct contact with our fellow compatriots across the LOC. 

Hazards to peace can lurk anywhere.

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#Peacemaking in all directions from #Chelhana sur la #Kishenganga between #NeelamValley & #Kupwara facing each other across the #LOC on #23092023#ReligiousHarmony > #Peace #WhiteFlags > #KnowledgeBase #Sharda >
Top 20 Global #Economy pic.twitter.com/JU33yhqXAj

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) September 23, 2023

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 83 of 2023

2347hrs:

Day 292 at Maqbool Bhat Shaheed Square - Dadyaal.

0804hrs

Attendance = 100% 

Punctuality = 71%

206 days on time or early of 292 (1 absence)

Punctuality surplus = 826 minutes 

Punctuality Consistency Status = 0 days

Note: Late for the 86th time in 291 days (plus 1 absence for public interest compulsions in Teetwaal)

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Encouraging coverage by Daily Gadyal once again:

Kashmir Writers Association demands opening of Sharda Peeth in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during impressive event at Sharda Temple inauguration - https://t.co/AJa46BwYxT...

— Daily Gadyal (@dailygadyal) March 24, 2023

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 81 of 2023

0907hrs:

It should have been Day 290 at Maqbool Bhat Shaheed Square - Dadyaal today.

Except that I am not present in the Square today because of public interest compulsions, reference restoration of Sharda Peeth and its positive implications for religious harmony, education and economy throughout the territory.

We spent the night in Kundal Shahi (Neelam Valley) and will be roaming, lurking around the LOC in Chelhana-Teetwaal shortly; in anticipation of the inauguration of Sharda Yatra Temple at Teetwaal. We also hope to cross the bridge and meet our fellow 'Riyasatis' across the divide.

0831hrs - A room with its morning view 

Attendance = 100% (Despite our public interest diversion our record is statistically still 100% or 99.7% to be precise) 

Punctuality = 71%

205 days on time or early of 290 (1 absence)

Punctuality surplus = 789 minutes 

Punctuality Consistency Status = 0 days

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News from the other side of the river courtesy Daily Gadyal media service:

Inaugural ceremony of sharda mandir and Gurdawara at teetwal through virtual mode by honorable Home minister shri Amit shah pic.twitter.com/miAzqSWiXd

— Daily Gadyal (@dailygadyal) March 22, 2023

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 2 of 2022

2318hrs:

A lot to consume yet so simple to execute.......a good train will stay on track till its destination.

We will go through the day's events in due course....

We made haste late afternoon to try and get to Laal Chowk Muzaffarabad before sunset, to address the public from a prominent square via loudspeaker on events earlier today at Teetwaal:

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 1 of 2022

2038hrs:

I wish everybody a prosperous new year. Another even one is 2022.

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I get the feeling that flags, national sovereignty, development and public policy are going to feature heavily in our public interest activity this year, even more so than in previous years. Hence, the following update:

Influences on JKA to date:

Alternative influences sought to develop world class governance in JKA, subject to the people's reference and without compromising neutrality and sovereignty:

The following photo which has appeared in various media this afternoon - I took it from a Facebook post - provoked a multitude of sentiments in me and I immediately decided to share it with my co-citizens, to elicit a response to the following question:

What do you take from this image?

The photo above - released at one of four points on the LOC where similar exchanges of sweets were made on New Years Day 2022 - provoked a flurry of instant responses from many of my co-citizens, as follows:

1)

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Meanwhile, here's direct footage of the Chelhana-Teetwaal meet of both armies today:

Another date added by Indian & Pak army to exchange sweets -1 Jan 2022.Good to see that.
We hope both the armies will help civilians too to meet on whiteline at LoC.
Let's fix up this year sharda divas to meet at LoC. It will be a big CBM@adgpi @OfficialDGISPR @PakPMO @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/Vtq1pcWAwf

— Ravinder Pandita(Save Sharda) (@panditaAPMCC63) January 2, 2022

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Also on this very eventful day some disturbing news emerged, over which the family of the deceased have asked me to become their voice. 

The following video was released a day after this incident:

Let's clarify the acronym BAT first. It is described by Google as follows: The BAT (Border Action Team) of the Pakistan Army include both regular Army personnel and mercenaries from groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and are tasked to carry out surprise hits on Indian positions along the LoC.

Now, let's move on to the information we have gathered so far:

On this day (the first day of 2022) Muhammad Shabir Malik s/o Suleiman Malik of Sharda was killed by the Indian army - apparently on suspicion of being an armed infiltrator - relatively deep on the other side of Keran (the Indian-controlled side) according to Indian sources, about 36 kilometres south of his hometown Sharda.

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 346 of 2021

1644hrs:

Just to give the readers of this weblog an idea of how demanding - research based public rights activism - is in AJK: Imagine 100 people communicating with you on a daily basis (and this is the bane of modern day instant communication whereby almost everybody wants to talk to you immediately) and 98 of them presenting some demand or need for attention (most of which are in genuine public interest), while only 2 do not present any demands but rather offer to assist in any manner possible. 

Year on year of such a scenario - with increasing intensity - is not helping me change the 90/10 ratio of work yet to be uploaded cf to work uploaded. Having just - one full time research based public rights activist - stemming the onslaught of misinformation and mismanagement (of public resources) routinely carried out by occupying forces, is simply not sustainable.

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Its very heartening to see such forward movement in a cultural mission - close to my heart since 2009 at least - even in my absence, which makes it particularly soothing:

Active #mandir in foreground and active #masjid in background on #LOC in #Teetwaal
Portents of the revival of religious harmony in #JKA and a victory for #CivilSociety across the inhumane divide #JandK https://t.co/i49lOv6z5N

— Tanveer Ahmed (@sahaafi) December 12, 2021

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 336 of 2021

1609hrs:

Motoring on despite everything...........

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This gentleman has reached the grand age of 92 but still has the gusto and nerve of a teenager. Long may his condition and stature last. Abdul Jabbar Butt and other notable members of his family have been fighting for JKA's independence ever since it came under threat in those tumultuous months of August, September and October 1947. Indeed, ever since the British Raj shed its responsibilities of suzerainty. Here he is:

I received a call from him earlier today from London. Very refreshing and meaningful that conversation was.

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I wasn't aware of the following developments in Teetwaal village, on the LOC but on the Indian-controlled side: 

Fantastic to see people of all 3 religions engaged here: Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus, These are portents of religious harmony in Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA).

The Sharda revival mission is motoring on...and getting closer to Sharda

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 257 of 2021

1945hrs: 

With so many thoughts and responsibilities going through my mind, it is difficult to pin down what to write but it is important to be as frank as possible. That is my defence as well as attack. I am not working for any ideology with global aspirations but am pursuing geographic nationalism viz. a neutral State with regional as much as global solutions in the shape of water management.

This alone will not save me from political exploitation despite my pursuit being peaceful, educational, economic and cultural.  

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Today was the third day in a row of cross LOC interaction aiming to create cultural possibilities, primarily through rebuilding religious harmony. 

Here's a compilation of videos which cover today's activity:

The following video was taken on the other side of the divide. In Teetwaal village itself:

There was coverage of this event by local media too:

Urdu:

English:

Then, finally at the end of the event I gave my closing statement in Urdu:

This was probably the first time in 74 years that civil society interaction between both sides of divided Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas (JKA) took place in such a manner. Whereby a group of Hindu devotees of Sharda (on this side of the divide) led by Ravinder Pandita (Head of Save Sharda Committee), performed puja on the banks of the River Neelam (Kishenganga) to revive a centuries old yatra (journey), that pre 1947 would begin in Kupwara (now, on the Indian controlled side) and end at Sharda (now, on the Pakistani controlled side).

Ravinder Pandita and a few of his colleagues were also able to come to the bridge linking the two sides. However, civil society on the Pakistani-controlled side were not and in fact were misinformed by the Pakistani army that no such activity is happening on the other side.

What was essentially a cultural event striving towards long lost religious harmony via people to people contact on both sides couldn't escape the arousal of political sentiment when all 3 co-existing nationalist narratives in the contested territory of JKA came face to face.

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Daily Diary (DD) - Day 124 of 2019

0433hrs:

Wild Berries from the Southern tip of Poonch at Chechan - "Aakhrey" in local parlance

I began preparing for my latest trip to Muzaffarabad on the 29th of April but I could not leave Dadyaal before 1500hrs (3pm) on (Thursday) the 2nd of May. It took a further 36 hours to arrive in Muzaffarabad, just over an hour ago at c. 0300hrs (3am). Its a long story which I'll try and tell in pictures:

Midday at Azad Pattan (yesterday)

Nightfall at Kokraal - Mong (yesterday)

I missed the Teetwaal March towards the LOC in Neelam on 'May Day', which I understand invoked - yet another - brutal response from the AJK police. Political activists have been severely injured and others arrested for protesting against the 'super-imposed' restrictions on freedom of movement in Jammu & Kashmir. Having spent so much time travelling and repairing our vehicle on multiple occasions, I am yet to fully acquaint myself with what happened.

I'm even more gutted for missing out on the following yesterday: 

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In due course, we will compare many aspects of governance in the Dogra era (c. 1820 to 1947) to what we've experienced post 1947. Perhaps most often quoted is the following agreement in 1904, made between the Maharajah of Jammu & Kashmir and the British Indian Empire, which can be formally described as the 'Upper Jhelum Canal Water Agreement':

Source: 'Kashmir: Taareekh ke Ainey me (Urdu) by Professor M. Arif Khan - Page 67 

Let me translate the above:

Through the important articles (and clauses) of this agreement, the Maharajah managed to secure his legal and constitutional rights in totality. knowledge-able sources while referencing articles (and clauses) in the agreement describe it thus:

1) In the spirit of the 1904 agreement, Upper Jhelum Canal and the land secured for it will always remain the property of the 'Darbaar' (viz. The State of Jammu & Kashmir).

2) All materials secured for the construction of Upper Jhelum Canal - for example - gravel, stones, sand etc. will not be taxed as long as they are utilised within the State. All material that is used (exported) outside the State will be subject to collection of royalty by the State.

3) Crops, properties and agricultural land that are affected will be compensated (collected through the State) accordingly.

4) To facilitate travel for the residents of the State - to and from the State - bridges and pathways will be constructed in appropriate places.

5) Within the State, the availability of water will remain continuous and without charge (free).

6) Any officer of the Department of Irrigation - for the purpose of canal regulation - can assign (exercise) judicial powers of the State government. However, only on the condition that any decision of such an officer can be appealed against and heard by the Chief Judge in Jammu, whose decision will be final, subject to approval (assent) of the Maharajah Bahadur.

7) The State's tehsildaar or any officer of higher rank can at any time examine the (water) headworks at Mangla.

8) While conducting the survey of Upper Jhelum Canal, all practical steps possible will be taken to ensure every place considered sacred by the public will be protected and preserved.

9) During construction of the canal within the State territory all such laws related to food and beverage products will be followed.

10) If the Darbaar (The State of J & K) wishes to build (any) industry then electricity etc. will be provided free.

End of translation...

Note: Any words in brackets are for added clarity in the translation.

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This following picture tells more than a thousand stories:



We have an old proverb that spans most of the Urdu/Hindi speaking world (including us): "Behens ke aagey bheen mat bhajhao." It translates as, "Do not play the flute in front of a buffalo." What is implicitly meant is that there's no point explaining something to the targeted audience. In our case, the lack of telecommunications on or near the LOC is not something the Pakistani State would be particularly concerned about. Hence, the creative style of activism on the part of the AJK public to make their point.

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