Nazki took over as the director of Doordarshan and All India Radio, Srinagar — the twin propaganda arms of the State — after Lassa Koul, his boss at Doordarshan, was shot dead by militants on February 13, 1990
Farooq Nazki / Sourced by the Telegraph
Farooq Nazki, the versatile poet and broadcaster who steered India’s ship in Kashmir during the turbulent 1990s when the Valley was up in arms against the State, passed away on Tuesday at a hospital in Jammu’s Katra.
Nazki was 83 and is survived by his wife, son and two daughters. According to his relatives, he had been battling various health issues, including lung and kidney complications, for the past several years.
“The passing away of a qalander (ascetic or a carefree man) is not to be mourned; his fulfilling life is to be celebrated. For he has left this station after enriching it in many ways. A societal loss which is a personal bereavement. RIP Mir Mohammed Farooq Nazki (1940-2024),” his son-in-law Haseeb Drabu, a former journalist and politician, posted on X.
Politicians, including those from the BJP, National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, mourned his death.
Nazki took over as the director of Doordarshan and All India Radio, Srinagar — the twin propaganda arms of the State — after Lassa Koul, his boss at Doordarshan, was shot dead by militants on February 13, 1990.
Militancy, which had erupted months earlier, was at its peak and the twin media institutions were its foremost targets, forcing authorities to turn the joint complex into a garrison. Under Nazki’s stewardship, they continued their fierce anti-militancy stand.
“He was like a one-man army, perhaps the lone Kashmiri Muslim who wore his Indian nationality on his sleeves those days, although I do not know how much of that was conviction and how much, compulsion,” a journalist, who covered Kashmir during the troubled 1990s, told The Telegraph.
“He was perhaps the most guarded Kashmiri those days, and he moved in a convoy of security vehicles. They were no ordinary times. National Conference leaders, including Farooq Abdullah, deserted Kashmir, and police too were in a mood of rebellion. Certainly, that did not go well with the people.”
Kashmir was rocked by a police revolt in 1993, forcing the army to storm into their headquarters to crush it. There was, however, no bloodshed.
Early in January 1990, Farooq Abdullah resigned as chief minister in protest against the installation of Jagmohan as governor. The Assembly was dismissed and governor’s rule was imposed, which triggered mass protests.
A former colleague of Nazki said there were no resignations at Doordarshan and AIR when militancy started, unlike in 1953 when Sheikh Abdullah was removed from power.
“He (Nazki) would say that he was doing his job and if there was anybody else, he would have done the same. He was brave enough to do it openly. In his poems, you will find him reflecting on the pain and sufferings of Kashmiris. But it is also true he was against militancy because he thought it would bring us ruin,” he said.
“He continued the parampara (tradition) of hoisting the Tricolour at Doordarshan, and that was no small feat in those days. He retired as deputy director-general, Doordarshan, in 2000, and to my surprise, he was never harmed. I have seen him moving around Lal Chowk without security. That is perhaps because he was a multi-faceted personality.”
Former Doordarshan director Shabir Mujahid, who worked under Nazki, said he was an ace broadcaster and a poet.
“He was a trendsetter at the national level. It is he who gave the concept of soap operas to Doordarshan, starting with Shabrang in the early 1980s. He produced many plays and serials. He was equally a wonderful poet,” Mujahid told this newspaper.
In 1995, Nazki won the Sahitya Academy award in Kashmiri language literature for his book of poetry, Naar Hyutun Kanzal Wanas (Fire in the Eyelashes).
After his retirement, he served as media adviser to two former chief ministers, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> India / by Muzaffar Raina, Srinagar / February 07th, 2024
In a momentous stride towards recognition, Kamran Khan, a distinguished Kashmiri currently based in Chennai, has been honoured with the Australian Government’s prestigious Australia Day Achievement Medallion.
Bestowed on January 26, 2024, this accolade is a recognition for exceptional performance in government projects or core duties, by Australian Government departments and agencies.
Presently Kamran serves as Senior Director for South Asia for Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Australian Government.
He has been a diligent student at the revered Burn Hall School in Srinagar.
In 1992, he left Kashmir to pursue his remaining education and graduated in Automotive Engineering at the University of Madras, where he ranked 3rd across the state of Tamil Nadu, showcasing his academic prowess.
Since 2010, his strategic acumen has been pivotal in shaping the infrastructure industry and fostering foreign direct investment into Australia as part of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, under the Australian Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, exemplifying his commitment to economic growth and global collaboration.
As the first Kashmiri to receive the Australia Day Achievement Medallion, Kamran stands as a symbol of pride for Jammu and Kashmir, showcasing the immense talent emerging from the region.
Beyond the accolades and titles, Kamran Khan embodies the spirit of a reformer, committed to ushering in positive change for his community and country.
His recognition by the Australian government not only celebrates Kamran’s achievement but also serves as an inspiration for the entire Jammu and Kashmir community and symbolizes the possibilities that arise when perseverance meets opportunity.
source: http://www.risingkashmir.com / Rising Kashmir / Home / by RK News / February 02nd, 2024
Safina Nabi has always felt like a storyteller and, as she put it, a “story listener.” As a child growing up in Kashmir, she would listen to radio programs with her grandfather, showing a natural curiosity about them. “I would have dozens of questions and he would explain [it to] me,” she said. “Growing up, I think journalism came naturally to me.”
Nabi started working in radio programming while studying for her master’s degree in journalism and mass communication at the University of Kashmir.
At one point, she hosted an hour-long live morning show. “I wasn’t interested in writing at all,” she said. “I loved to be in front of the camera, taking pictures or doing interviews.”
In 2014, Nabi was forced to move to Delhi due to flooding in Kashmir. While in Delhi, she began to take on writing jobs as a way to make some extra money. After several years of exploring different mediums and “trying everything,” she decided that writing was what she wanted to do.
Much of Nabi’s work explores issues of gender and how it intersects with health, conflict, social justice and human rights.
She has written for The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Vice, Al Jazeera and more.
Her stories are built around strong female characters; she feels that people are the most important part of any piece.
Over the past couple of years, Nabi also started writing about her culture and community. She sees it as a way to preserve her heritage. “We [Kashmiris] are an ethnic group and we come from a minority background. We need to preserve our history, our language, and our cultural roots. I think one of the major and important ways to do that is to document them.”
Nabi has received two grants from the Pulitzer Center for her work, the first of which she found on IJNet. Initially, she wasn’t even sure she would apply because she was anxious about being rejected. “The tab remained [open] on my laptop for days and days,” said Nabi. Finally, she told herself she had to act. She applied and received a positive response within a week. “I was so excited about it,” she said. The project, Kashmir’s Tribal Women Fight the Stigma of Birth Control, focused on the lack of access to family planning resources for nomadic Kashmiri women. “I have received really great feedback. I really think [working independently] is something that has helped me grow, because I can tell the story the way that I want to,” Nabi said.
The ability to control the direction of her stories is incredibly important to Nabi. She spoke with frustration about the limitations of the journalism industry, and how difficult it was to get started as a young journalist with new ideas. “As a journalist who is juggling lots of other issues like internet gags and communication blockades, we don’t have the kind of time to actually research each and everything,” she said. Grants give her more freedom to control her stories, and resources like IJNet, she explained, help her find new opportunities.
Nabi’s most recent project is an in-depth piece funded by the Pulitzer Center. Titled, “How Kashmir’s half-widows are denied their basic property rights,” it highlights the struggles of Kashmiri women whose husbands have disappeared, but cannot be proven dead, leaving them in limbo.
Telling stories like this is what keeps Nabi going when facing situations like months-long internet and phone blackouts, government censorship and intimidation. “Who will tell the stories of these people who are suffering unnecessarily and [who] do not have avenues to reach out to people, to government, to authorities, and there is nobody to listen to them? I feel this is my obligation and this is my duty, to actually give voices to those people who cannot raise their voice, and I think that that’s something that keeps me pushing still,” she said.
It’s a very difficult phase of journalism in Asia right now, especially for women, Nabi explained. “In Kashmir, we don’t even have a women’s journalism association or a union. I think if we all come together collectively and take [up] that space, I’m sure the struggle is not going to end there, but at least we’ll have that kind of space where we will be able to share our vulnerabilities and our problems and discuss them, and be that support system for each other when in trouble.”
Nabi also noted the importance of media organizations and publications supporting and inspiring young women to become journalists. “I think it’s an obligation and duty of other [sites] like IJNet to give space and give more grants to journalists who come from these small backgrounds and give them chances, amplify their voices and their stories. That’s what will help more journalists to come out, especially women, and feel like, “Okay, there are some people who are making it big despite obstacles or struggles that they are facing.”
Photos courtesy of Safina Nabi.
source: http://www.ijnet.org / IJNET (Int’l Journalist Network) / Home> Newsletter > Journalist of the month / by Daniela Riddle / March 01st, 2022
On Al Mirqab Street at Al Nasser is a tiny carpet store that’s been there since 2000. Its neighboring stores come and go but this one hasn’t changed its location for 21 years. Now, sandwiched between a shawarma restaurant and a telecom shop, the store regularly brings handmade rugs and carpets from Kashmir and Afghanistan. The store is owned and managed by a man known as ‘The Rugman of Doha’. Why is he known by this name and what is special about his carpets and rugs?
The Rugman For Handicrafts shop on Al Mirqab Street, Al Nasser.
The ILoveQatar.net (ILQ) team reached out to ‘The Rugman of Doha’, Riyaz Bhat, to learn more about his passion for tribal rugs and how he sees each rug he brings to Qatar as a work of art. Let’s get to know him better!
ILQ: Please tell us something about yourself.
The Rugman of Doha’. / Image credit: Riyaz Bhat
Riyaz: My name is Riyaz Bhat. I was born and raised in Srinagar City in the valley of beautiful Kashmir in India. Since I was a child, I have always been fascinated by rugs handcrafted by my family of weavers — how they would fill tiny knots one by one with natural fibers like silk or wool, and then how those tiny knots on looms would take the shape of a beautiful carpet with amazing patterns. When I was in grade 8, I was given permission to use the loom and eventually learned how to weave rugs.
After I finished college I was planning to go for higher education and take a business course, but my destiny had something else planned for me. When I read the story of the nomad tribes of Central Asia and learned about how they make quality handmade rugs, I decided to travel to Afghanistan to see the process myself. So, in 1987 I started my adventure to war-torn Afghanistan. It really was a difficult journey, but very rewarding. I witnessed how the talented nomad women of the region would weave the most beautiful and fascinating rugs, which they would trade for food and money. I traveled back and forth to Afghanistan for more than 10 years, and as I learned more about designs, patterns, and dyes, my passion for carpets and rugs grew more as well.
ILQ: How long have you been here in Qatar and how has your journey been so far?
Riyaz: In 1999, while I was working with my uncle in Pakistan, a customer visiting from Doha came to our store and bought a few rugs from me. He introduced Qatar to me as a fast-growing and developing country and encouraged me to open up a store here. At first, I hesitated but destiny again planned one more great adventure for me. I landed at the old Doha Airport for the first time in October 1999 with a 14-day business visa, and that visa was extended and extended, and I’m happy to say that it’s my 22nd year now in this wonderful country.
ILQ: How did you get the title ‘The Rugman of Doha’?
Riyaz: After searching for many places here, I finally found a location for my store. On 4 April 2000, I opened my showroom at Al Mirqab Street in Al Nasser and have never changed location since then. During the first few days, customers started coming and my store was introduced to a great group of people from VCUarts Qatar. Among them was Cathleen Ferguson Huntington who upon entering my shop saw me and said, “Are you the Rugman?” And that’s how the ‘The Rugman of Doha’ was born.
ILQ: What do you value most about what you do? Why do you love what you do?
Riyaz Bhat weaving a silk rug on his family loom in Kashmir, India. / Image credit: Riyaz Bhat
Riyaz: Weaving rugs has been my passion since childhood, and I really love and value what I do. I value the times I’m with tribal groups and get to introduce nomad women designers and their amazing artworks to the world. By doing this I feel satisfied with what I have done in my life.
I also welcome students and small groups of people in our store for a free discussion about rug art and history. I enjoy discussing and providing information about the history of rugs and the beautiful story behind each rug that we have. I am thankful that I am gifted with the talent to weave and tell important stories.
ILQ: How will you describe your shop to people who’ve never seen it before?
Waji Khan, cousin of Riyaz Bhat, holds a 150-year-old pure wool handmade Shiraz tribal rug. It’s a wedding sufra (dining) rug, made by the mother of the bride.
Riyaz: My store, The Rugman, is not just a carpet store. It is rather a learning class for art and history and I bet once you listen to our stories and see our collections, you are going to love it for a lifetime. Each carpet has a story. Each rug is an art.
ILQ: What motivated you to bring your carpets to Qatar?
Riyaz: As soon as I arrived in Doha, I went around the city and strolled to see different places. I went to markets and to the lone mall during that time – The Mall at D Ring road. I saw one rug store inside that mall with many customers. I also went to the old downtown where there were more rug stores, and I saw people buying rugs. That’s when I decided to open a store here.
ILQ: Was it easy to set up a carpet store here in Qatar?
Riyaz: Yes, at that time it was very easy to open a store and I was very lucky to find a great sponsor who also became my investment partner. He helped in every way to open my shop. Qatar is one lovely country, and living and working here has been a lot easier compared to other countries and has been very encouraging for my business.
ILQ: What kind of rugs and carpets will people find in your shop?
Riyaz: We have extremely high-quality handmade rugs from my family of weavers. Besides that, we also have genuine handmade rugs made by nomads like Turkmen, Kazak, Balouch, Uzbek, Shirwan, Ghazni, and many other small tribes of the region. Each rug collected from them tells a beautiful story.
ILQ: What is the biggest difficulty you have faced in bringing these carpets and rugs from Afghanistan to Qatar?
Riyaz Bhat (left) in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in 2005. / Image credit: Riyaz Bhat
Riyaz: Going to Afghanistan, collecting these rugs from these nomads one by one in person and getting them shipped to Pakistan first by trucks, and then from Pakistan to Qatar by plane. It really is an extremely tiring process.
ILQ: Have you participated in both local and international exhibitions?
Waji Khan, cousin of Riyaz Bhat, describes one of the rugs available in the shop.
Riyaz: Yes, I have participated in both local and international exhibitions and shows. I recently returned from my shows in Houston, Texas, and Arlington, Virginia. These were my 5th and 6th shows in the USA. I have also done many shows for American Women’s Association Qatar, Tuesdays Ladies Group Qatar, Qatar Expat Women, US Embassy Qatar, Exxon Mobil Oil Qatar, Shell Qatar, and many other private shows.
ILQ: Do you have both local and international customers? How do you ship the rugs/carpets to your customers?
On the second floor of The Rugman store.
Riyaz: Yes, we have local and international customers and we ship our rugs all over the world. Our foreign customers are mostly from the USA, Canada, and Europe. We have a very economical door-to-door shipping facility.
ILQ: Why should people own at least one of the carpets/rugs you offer?
A rug inspired by the famous Ardabil Carpet is available at The Rugman store.
Riyaz: Our rugs are not like those commercial rugs you see in many stores. Our rugs are made by nomads and purely handmade using natural resources. These are the rugs that if taken good care of can end up in museums as they are extremely strong.
ILQ: What is the price range of rugs and carpets in your store?
Carpets/rugs and other souvenir items are available at The Rugman store.
Riyaz: It depends on the quality, the material, and the work put into it. Sometimes a very small rug costs much more than a huge rug. But I would say rugs in our collection range from QR 600 up to QR 70,000. It depends on how crazy you are about rugs and how much budget you have.
ILQ: What do you think is the future of handmade tribal rugs and carpets?
Carpets/rugs and other souvenir items are available at The Rugman store.
Riyaz: Carpet weaving is one difficult and time-consuming job. One must be very patient and creative to create rugs. The new generation is not taking it as a vocation, and it’s becoming a dying art. Sad to say, I feel that in the next 30 to 40 years we might not see genuine handmade rugs anymore.
ILQ: What message do you have for the people of Qatar?
Riyaz: Work with all the enthusiasm and confidence in you, and your achievement will just be right there at the corner. Obey and respect the rules and laws of this wonderful country.
