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Scroll.in
7 days ago
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- Scroll.in
‘Dapaan': Accounts from the valley rewrite the Kashmir narrative with empathy, precision, and fire
In the cramped and dark Secret Annexe, where Anne Frank and seven others were hiding from the Nazis, Anne wrote in her diary about a night filled with fear as planes flew overhead and bombs exploded nearby. Despite the constant danger, Anne found comfort in writing. She poured her feelings, fears, and hopes into her diary – using storytelling to express what it was like to grow up in such difficult times. Her writings were later compiled by her father, Otto Frank, and published as The Diary of a Young Girl. A new vocabulary In Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir's Conflict, a Dastangoh (storyteller) narrates a similar tale while recounting Kashmir's descent into the turmoil of the 1990s. Written by journalist Ipsita Chakravarty, a former editor with Scroll, this haunting and probing work draws on interviews with ordinary Kashmiris, recounting stories of war within their homes and communities. Through folk tales and local idioms, Chakravarty explores how Kashmiris have developed a new language in response to the monstrous conflict that has deeply permeated their social sphere. Dapaan – translation: it is said – is a Kashmiri word that has long been used to describe an event, a happening, or even a rumour. However, the term gained a more pronounced presence in the Kashmiri narrative public after the outbreak of the popular insurgency in 1989, becoming a way to describe militancy, militarisation, crackdowns, and curfews. It marked the beginning of a new vocabulary that entered public life alongside the rise of militancy. When conditions – or the halaat – worsened, searches became frequent and intrusive, and Kashmiri homes lost the privacy they once had. People had to bury anything that might appear suspicious and land them in trouble. Chakravarty writes, 'In houses across Kashmir, families were sorting through their things. Photographs of sons who had crossed over for arms training. Those had to be buried underground. Family photos of picnics and weddings where the sons were part of the group. Those had to go too, so that when the search parties came, they could pretend the sons did not exist, had never existed. What else, jokes, romances, tall tales told on winter nights'. Kashmir's halaat after 1989 became synonymous with George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, as mass state surveillance and the regimentation of people and behaviour within society nearly obliterated the social sphere and annihilated solidarity. In this dystopian place, truth becomes a casualty, and storytelling is treated as a seditious crime. Chakravarty's book is a fine chronicle of the pain and suffering of ordinary Kashmiris – or what the author herself calls 'a story about stories told in Kashmir.' She discusses the history of and about the Kashmir conflict. There is the official history-writing by the Indian and Pakistani states, which speaks the language of a territorial dispute – much like Edward Said's Orientalist project, romanticised according to each state's version of the conflict. Then there is tehreek history writing, which offers a different, predominantly Kashmiri, perspective on the evolution of the dispute and questions the legitimacy of the territorial claims made by the two aggressive nations. In these halaat stories, Chakravarty develops a narrative about how Kashmir's culture of storytelling has survived the vicious assaults of various empires, cruel and ferocious monarchs, and the tyrannical power of an imposing state. Storytelling, in its varied forms, has long been a cultural practice – and, in the face of repression and the brutality of marauders who annexed Kashmir not merely to rule but to alter its indigenous history, culture, and language – it became an effective form of political dissent. Stories have been told by Dastangohs, Ladi Shahs, Bhands, self-styled Kashmiri folk artists in various formats, but often centred on the same theme – the oppression and tyranny of alien rulers who have been antithetical to Kashmiri subjectivity. The heart of Kashmir Chakravarty takes you on a journey into the cultural mosaic that Kashmir once was, where thousands would gather each evening under a mighty chinar tree to enjoy Bhand Peather performances and lose themselves in the lyrical flutes of Ladi Shah during the harvest season. However, this vibrant cultural tapestry abruptly vanished with the outbreak of militancy and the subsequent militarisation of the valley. Chakravarty divides her book into four parts – 'Laughing at the King,' 'Possession,' 'Loss,' and 'Blood Maps'. In each section, she beautifully articulates zulm (oppression) in an evocative manner, making the reader a witness to this brutality. Kashmir's lived experience of zulm, as narrated through the personal accounts in this book, is multifaceted – physical, as seen in the presence of thousands of unmarked graves; psychological, with the region having one of the highest numbers of PTSD patients; and social, marked by a collapsed social fabric and deepening discord. Mahjoor, Kashmir's national poet, while recounting the Kashmiri experience of tyranny, said: 'Nuun-dead gayos, National wannas, Dopam godi rul Hindustanas saet, Buzith ye wachem thar thar panas, Kari kya, dil chu Pakistanas saet'. (I went to get salt, National Conference told me, Become Hindustani first, Hearing this, I started shaking, what to do, my heart was Pakistan's.) Beautifully written and meticulously researched, Chakravarty's Dapaan is a poignant exploration into the heart of Kashmir, offering a harrowing account of lives torn apart by the viciousness of a bloody conflict. Chakravarty has been reporting from Kashmir for years, and her reportage is bold, fair, and fearless. Her stories – narrated through humour, inventiveness, melancholy, and mythology – centre on Kashmiris, capturing their pain, suffering, and resilience in the face of an ugly war. These tales serve as a mirror to the bruised and broken lives of a Kashmir that is now officially claimed to be liberated, integrated, and normalised in government statements and popular media. She lends a human touch to stories of death and the destruction of livelihoods – stories that are often reduced to headlines and statistics. Subjugation is physical in nature but is cemented through the mental control of the subjects. In the mid-1990s, a strange and haunting phenomenon emerged in Kashmir, further reinforcing the fear of psychosis. Ghosts – Raantas, Daen, and braid choppers – unleashed a new wave of terror on a people already traumatised by the violence of insurgency and counter-insurgency. The purpose was to enforce submission through haunting. As Frantz Fanon points out, 'The colonial subject is dehumanised to such an extent that it turns him into an animal.' The author's particular emphasis on documenting how seriously Kashmiris were terrified by these ghost stories makes this book a compelling portrayal of one of the darkest periods in the conflict-ridden region. She writes, 'For a few months in 1993, there was a period of intense panic. The Halaat take the shape of a daen, invading towns and villages across the valley. The mass panic dies out in a few months, but tales of ghostly visitations crop up through the decades that follow. Stories haunt stories'. In these bloodiest experiments to assert control over people and geography, generations of Kashmiris have suffered immense loss, and Chakravarty is attentive in detailing the disastrous consequences of these experiments. In Kashmir, the dead never fade from public memory and often resurrect in the mourning of new deaths. 'Manz athas bam phatiyo / Ashfaq Wani lagiyo', the bomb burst in his hand / Ashfaq Wani, I would have died for you, sang the boys in the memory of Kashmir's first militant. Wedding songs, ostensibly sung to bless a couple as they embark on a new journey in life, often end in remembrance of the dead and those lost to the terror of an invisible monster. As Chakravarty puts it, 'Wedding songs often became tombs for the dead after the Halaat arrived in Kashmir. They carried the memory of lost bodies'. During the recent India-Pakistan conflagration, Kashmir once again became the subject of fierce debate, serving as a flashpoint that could trigger war between two nuclear-armed neighbours. Chakravarty's Dapaan is a tour de force of urgent political observation and stands as an unputdownable reference guide to understanding the heavy physical and psychological toll the clashing tides of nationalism continue to exact. Chakravarty may be a neabrim (outsider) – a euphemism outside journalists face for their biased reporting – but her treatment of Kashmiri subjectivity and her ability to interpret the historical injustices faced by the people make her a brilliant observer and an exceptional raconteur. A fierce act of remembering, Dapaan rewrites the narrative of Kashmir with empathy, precision, and fire. Bilal Gani is an academic and freelance writer based in Kashmir.
Hindustan Times
28-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Operation Mahadev: Three LeT terrorist killed in encounter with security forces in J&K's Dara
Security forces on Monday launched a major anti-terror operation in the Lidwas area near Dara in Jammu and Kashmir, following inputs about suspected terrorist movement in the region. A security personnel stands guard near the site of the encounter, at Gujjarpati area in Sopore, Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir(Representative image/PTI) According to a statement from the Indian Army's Chinar Corps, 'Three terrorists have been neutralised in an intense firefight. Operation Continues.' Defence sources said the encounter began at 11 AM. On the identity of the slain terrorists, SSP Srinagar GV Sundeep Chakravarty said that all three were Pakistani and belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). However, he did not confirm that they had a role in Pahalgam attack. 'We are identifying them and ascertaining that,' Chakravarty added. Earlier, the security forces updated when contact was established with suspected militants under the ongoing 'Operation Mahadev'. The Army said, "The operation is currently underway," adding that additional reinforcements have been deployed to support the action on the ground. The Dara region of Jammu and Kashmir is a known trekking destination in difficult and rugged terrain. Operation Mahadev: Top updates
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana set to finalise first composite Backwardness index; report to cover 242 caste groups
File photo HYDERABAD: The first ever Composite Backwardness Index (CBI) report is set to be completed in the coming days, with the indepent expert group appointed by the state govt finalising the analysis of the data sourced from the Socio-Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste Survey (SEEPC). During a press conference on Wednesday, committee convener Praveen Chakravarty announced that the final meeting to review the report, which spans 300 pages, has concluded. The team is now preparing to submit their findings to chief minister A Revanth Reddy. Chakravarty elaborated on the innovative scoring system that assigns backwardness scores to 242 caste groups, a task informed by a massive survey that engaged 3.55 crore individuals across 74 diverse fields of information. 'The fundamental concept behind this initiative is a ranking method that quantifies backwardness. To calculate the Composite Backwardness Index scores, the researchers utilised an extensive array of 42 parameters, which encompass crucial aspects such as education levels, gender equality, occupational status, living conditions, income brackets, asset ownership, land rights, experiences of discrimination, and access to financial and capital resources' he said. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad Chakravarty expressed confidence that the final adjustments would be completed within the next 10 days.
New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Revision of Bihar electoral rolls: Congress says will oppose exercise legally, politically
NEW DELHI: As the EC began its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, the Congress on Sunday said it will oppose the move legally, politically, and on all fronts. The move invited scathing criticism from the Opposition parties as the EC on Saturday said around 2.93 crore of 7.89 crore voters, or about 37% of the electorate, will have to submit proof of their eligibility. Speaking with this newspaper, Congress leader Praveen Chakravartyquestioned the methodology adopted by the EC to ascertain that 37% of the Bihar electorate will have to re-register. 'How did they get the figure of 37%? This means they have the electoral roll of 2003 in a machine-readable format. Otherwise, it's impossible to analyse and come up with the figure. The Congress has been demanding the Maharashtra electoral rolls for a long time. If they have the 2003 rolls, why are they not showing us the 2024 Maharashtra voter rolls?' said Chakravarty, a member of EAGLE, an eight-member Congress panel tasked with looking into polls. He also pointed out that the EC had mooted a proposal on March 8 for electoral roll cleaning using Aadhaar, which, while not perfect, is a more viable alternative solution than an intensive voter revision in Bihar. 'Why did the EC abandon that to suddenly announce an SIR three months after the Aadhaar proposal?' he asked. The EC's move on June 24, requiring all existing voters who were not on the 2003 rolls to provide proof of their and their parents' citizenship, has also sparked concerns of disenfranchisement and exclusion of the poor and marginalised from voter rolls. 'If I was a voter in 2024 or 2019, that doesn't mean I am a voter now. I have to re-register. Now, they are saying I have to prove my veracity as a voter and prove date and place of birth. Why am I guilty until proven innocent?' he said. Chakravarty also said the EC has come up with arduous rules for providing birth certificates of voters and their parents, depending on the year of birth. Besides Union and state government officials will now dictate who has correct documents and who doesn't, thus dictating who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Will oppose exercise legally, politically: Congress questions EC move
NEW DELHI: As the EC began its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls, the Congress on Sunday said it will oppose the move legally, politically, and on all fronts. The move invited scathing criticism from the Opposition parties as the EC on Saturday said around 2.93 crore of 7.89 crore voters, or about 37% of the electorate, will have to submit proof of their eligibility. Speaking with this newspaper, Congress leader Praveen Chakravartyquestioned the methodology adopted by the EC to ascertain that 37% of the Bihar electorate will have to re-register. 'How did they get the figure of 37%? This means they have the electoral roll of 2003 in a machine-readable format. Otherwise, it's impossible to analyse and come up with the figure. The Congress has been demanding the Maharashtra electoral rolls for a long time. If they have the 2003 rolls, why are they not showing us the 2024 Maharashtra voter rolls?' said Chakravarty, a member of EAGLE, an eight-member Congress panel tasked with looking into polls. He also pointed out that the EC had mooted a proposal on March 8 for electoral roll cleaning using Aadhaar, which, while not perfect, is a more viable alternative solution than an intensive voter revision in Bihar. 'Why did the EC abandon that to suddenly announce an SIR three months after the Aadhaar proposal?' he asked. The EC's move on June 24, requiring all existing voters who were not on the 2003 rolls to provide proof of their and their parents' citizenship, has also sparked concerns of disenfranchisement and exclusion of the poor and marginalised from voter rolls. 'If I was a voter in 2024 or 2019, that doesn't mean I am a voter now. I have to re-register. Now, they are saying I have to prove my veracity as a voter and prove date and place of birth. Why am I guilty until proven innocent?' he said. Chakravarty also said the EC has come up with arduous rules for providing birth certificates of voters and their parents, depending on the year of birth. Besides Union and state government officials will now dictate who has correct documents and who doesn't, thus dictating who gets to vote in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
