Jammu & Kashmir Bank is the economic lifeline of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The bank not only is a boon for businesses but also plays a significant role for employment generation in the trouble-torn State. However, the bank has lately been grabbing eyeballs through news headlines for utterly wrong reasons.

THE CASE

In June this year, the bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Parvez Ahmad was removed from his post after being charged with ‘corruption’.

The action was triggered by a series of protests in Jammu by job aspirants who alleged that the recruitment for Probationary Officer positions was Kashmir-centric after district-wise merit lists were issued by the bank.

A day after he was removed, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) started a probe about Parvez’s “meteoric rise from a chartered accountant” to the bank’s top position in just 15 years.

Pertinently, Parvez (whose three-year tenure was to end in October 2019) was appointed chairman in October 2016, when Mehbooba Mufti was the Chief Minister, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in an alliance with the BJP.

CHARGES & ALLEGATIONS

Sources privy to the developments in the bank said that Parvez Ahmed’s removal and subsequent searches in his office were part of an effort by Union Home Ministry to “crackdown on corruption, nepotism, favouritism, and a strike against the back-door non-transparent employment encouraged by him”.

“He had his nephew, Muzaffar, posted to his office immediately after taking over as Chairman. His daughter-in-law, Shazia Ambreen, was appointed a Probationary Officer and is currently heading the Hazratbal branch,” an unnamed official was quoted by The Hindu.

The report also said that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was probing the alleged role of Parvez Ahmad in spending ₹8 crore from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds on the beautification of the Royal Spring Golf Course in Srinagar, “which is a place of rendezvous for the elite and has no utility for common people”.

He was also accused of facilitating back-door appointments. It has been alleged that workers of political parties were employed in the bank without any job advertisement, written exam or even interview.

Even the State governor Satya Pal Malik in an interview to Times Now in October last year claimed that as many as 582 candidates recruited by the bank, which had kept itself out of the ambit of RTI, were replaced with political appointees. However, the statement was later retracted.

Moreover, he has been targeted for other shortcomings of the bank especially in case of loan processing. Media reports say that loans have been given without due diligence to businesses and politicians, most of which have turned into NPAs. Also, non-performing accounts were given over-draft facilities, reports say.

A statement issued by the State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau claimed that a source report received by the Agency revealed that an insurance deal in violation of norms has been made by J&K Bank with IFFCO TOKIO “in which close relative of former chairman Parvez Ahmad is employed, resulting into undue benefits to the said company.”

However, the sacked Chairman in response said on Twitter that he was “open to scrutiny” on each and every transaction he had done. He said that he had done his job “most diligently, honestly and in the best interest of the institution.”

FOLLOW-UP ACTION

An FIR No 14/2019 was registered in PS ACB Srinagar by Anti-Corruption Bureau for the insurance deal with IFFCO TOKIO “in violation of the norms.”

The Governor-led State government also announced a host of measures, including splitting the post of Chairman and Managing Director, and bringing the bank under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

The bank’s board of directors recommended splitting the position of Chairman and Managing Director, thereby enabling it to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. The board decided that it will implement RTI provisions and the CVC guidelines for the banking sector to bring in accountability and to improve the overall functioning of the bank.

AMBIVALENCES AND FACTS

This is not the first time that the J&K Bank’s Chairman has been sacked in the most unexpected manner. Previously, Dr Haseeb Drabu was also removed as Chairman of the Bank in September 2010 by National Conference-Congress coalition government headed by Omar Abdullah as he had been appointed by the previous regime of PDP-Congress Government.

As far as the allegation of District-wise preparation of merit lists for selection of candidates in the Preliminary Exams for the posts of Probationary Officers in the bank is concerned, the official Advertisement Notice (Advertisement No: JKB/Rectt/2018-1579; Dated: 09.10.2018) clearly mentioned the 250 vacancies “as per District-wise requirement”.

Also, the ousted Chairman’s strange decision of uniform cut-off of 40 for PO Prelims across the State was seen as a violation of its already announced selection criteria. Valley based aspirants mocked at JK Bank for conducting preliminary examination which according to them turned out to be useless process after Bank’s decision to announce a uniform cut-off of 40 marks across the State.

Even if all bank examinations are conducted by the national-level recruiting agency Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) which takes care of preparing question papers, evaluation and finalizing the merit list, the final selection list is, however, issued by the bank itself.

Last time when it came up with the selection list of REs, only the roll numbers of the selected candidates were made public instead of the entire merit list. Likewise, in the case of BAs, the candidates who were offered jobs got individual appointment letters via mail or post. The list wasn’t made public. The bank has repeatedly, over the years, come under sharp criticism on account of this secrecy.

Unconfirmed reports about the merger of Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited with some nationalized or private bank have been brushed aside by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI clarified that there was no such proposal before it and termed the reports about merger “absolutely baseless”.

In fact, Reserve Bank of India’s Prompt Corrective Action, which is a mechanism to maintain sound financial health of the banks, comes into play only when a bank is making losses and recovery seems impossible. J&K Bank is neither a loss-making entity nor hit by structural deficiencies as the bank is being properly regulated. So, there are no strong grounds for any merger of the bank to take place.

The State is under President’s Rule and the ACB was constituted in J&K a few months ago. Sources say that Central government is using the ACB for it wants control of the premier financial institution. This is in the context of NIA’s investigation into the bank’s suspected “dubious activities that may be linked to terror financing.”

Cartoon by Mir Suhail Qadri depicts internet bans in Kashmir

The valley of Kashmir is once again making it to news headlines in international media due to mass protests. Although this time the reason for such protests may be the incidents of braid chopping but then, anything that people here feel is a 'conspiracy' of the state or its agencies has the potential to trigger an uprising.

The various voices from the government which supported the 'mass hysteria' theory have only worsened the situation. Few other voices which claimed "no one was behind braid chopping", suggesting the phenomenon as a by-product of black magic have only prompted people calling the government as 'superstitious'.

In a highly militarised conflict zone like Kashmir where the security agencies including state police are in close proximity and jointly take part in anti-militancy operations, the inability shown and the desire "of a magic wand" expressed by Director General of Police, S. P. Vaid in order to nab the culprits has surprised one and all. This, I am sorry to say, is nothing less than a cruel joke!

What the government has done instead is that it has also started 'chopping'. So, braid choppers have made the state government into an "internet chopper". In fact, PDP-BJP coalition government's rule in Jammu & Kashmir has the honour of enforcing most number of internet shutdowns in the state that also in times of much boasted transition towards a cashless economy!

The suspension of high speed mobile data services by the government has drawn criticism from all sections of society with people calling it an attempt to push the people back to stone age.

Officials from the state police say that the suspension of 3G/4G internet is ordered due to fear of “law and order problem” in view of incidents of braid cutting. One of the officials from a telecom company called it a "new strategy" of the police to prevent people from uploading or sharing videos. However, this "new strategy" only serves the purpose of hiding their failure and inability in nabbing the braid cutters.

These days, businesses are totally dependent on internet but the biggest hurdle that prevents them from flourishing in the state is these frequent restrictions. Many emerging entrepreneurs have already shifted outside, thus the state keeps losing economically also.

While the promotion of Kashmir's tourism is being done at huge costs to the state exchequer, the tourists are often left disappointed when they experience the erratic mobile services. Again, ministers from the coalition government accuse Indian national media of running a negative campaign about Kashmir but then fail to ensure uninterrupted mobile services!

The telecommunication companies operating in the state say that they have signed an agreement with the state government which gives the power to the authorities to regulate mobile calling and internet services. But the thing is that they are also obliged to provide the very services to their subscribers for which they charge them.

Despite internet suspension, subscribers have to pay bills as per their monthly selected plans which is oppressive. Firstly, they face inconvenience of not being able to use the services and secondly, they are also charged!

It is an irony that these service providers charge for high speed internet plans but provide data services that can't even be categorised as 2G. They even snap the services altogether whenever the authorities feel that bans can come to their rescue in so called 'law and order situations'.

Internet is a tool of masses to appreciate and criticise governments and their policies. But in Jammu and Kashmir, the government keeps looking at internet through the prism of "security" & "law and order".

There are certain chances that the internet may be used by anti-social elements in order to vitiate the already volatile atmosphere but there is law to tackle those elements. The frequent bans or slowing down internet speed is no answer as it means the fringe elements hold majority of people hostage.

The state government needs to realise the seriousness of braid chopping incidents as soon as possible. The state police also needs to stop being apologetic for want of evidence and should make serious efforts to nab the culprits. Doing that requires moving beyond announcing hefty amounts as reward for information regarding braid choppers!

We have a right to criticise the government for its insane policies through the medium of internet. But, only anger brews up when the very government bars internet on the one hand and flaunts "Digital India" on the other! Internet is undoubtedly the biggest fear that the coalition government needs to tackle!

Photojournalist Kamran Yousuf was contributing photographs and videos to The Daily Greater Kashmir but after he was arrested by NIA on 5th September, there has been no word from GK on this issue.

What the newspaper did the following day is just pathetic. The following news story was published on Page 03 of the newspaper which speaks volumes about GK's concern for its contributing member.

The shame does not stop here. Infact, the newspaper even edited a previously published story which was initially titled as "Cops thrash GK lensman" but was changed to "Cops thrash lensman in Pulwama".

While the news organisation was non-hesitant to use his work during the times when he reached encounter sites or covered the clashes between security forces and youth, they have preferred a radio silence on his detention.

NIA is no less than a Gabbar Singh when a leading daily tries to save its corporation from unwanted attention of the 'investigating agency'.

The following proof is clear to establish the fact that GK doesn't give a damn about its field staff who risk their lives to cover the conflict in Kashmir.

The proof is that the newspaper edited the title of a story on 06 September, 2017. The story about Kamran was originally published on 04 March, 2017 with the title "Cops thrash GK lensman". The title now reads, "Cops thrash lensman in Pulwama".

The screenshot for this story when searched on Google clearly shows that the story was published on March 04, 2017 with the title suggesting that The Daily Greater Kashmir owns this lensman and condemns his beating by the security forces.

When we click on this search result and visit the page, we see a different headline altogether.

Greater Kashmir removes 'GK' from 'lensman' in the title of this story.

We land on a page that disowns the photojournalist! We read a story about the thrashing of a 'freelance' photojournalist!

The webpage address (URL) now throws up a blank page as the story has been removed/deleted. But the e-Paper featuring the story is intact and is available HERE.

However, there is one more story featuring the photograph shot by this 'freelancer' that GK needs to edit. I have provided the screenshot HERE. Come on GK, strip "Greater Kashmir" from "lensman Kamran Yousuf" in this story as well to leave him as a 'freelancer' or even as a 'stone-pelter'! Be quick, otherwise Gabbar will come!

*********************************
If the newspaper that featured his work doesn't stand up in his support, then who will?

Oh! I forgot that even newspapers are banned by the authorities in Kashmir. Remember, Kashmir Reader was banned for months together for their reportage of incidents that happened in bloody summer of 2016.

The ban, however, seemed to produce a good response as it led to the formation of Kashmir Editors’ Guild, established to create a new union of prominent editors of Kashmir’s newspapers. It was KEG's support that put pressure on the government to remove ban on the publication of the newspaper.

In the case of young Kamran Yousuf, there has hardly been a statement from KEG. But why should KEG come out with a statement when it is headed by Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo as its president who is the chief editor of Greater Kashmir!

A protest demonstration was called to protest Yousuf’s detention but it was attended by a very few people at the Press Colony in Srinagar. Most of the protesters that showed up at the venue were his friends from his hometown.

It really hurts when we read about Kamran on propanganda monger portals like Times of India according to whom Kamran Yousuf "was known to be operating a WhatsApp Group from South Kashmir to orchestrate and spread violence across Kashmir valley."

TOI's pandora box of lies goes on, "Kamran studied up to class 11 and gave up studies to join 'anti-India movement' through newspapers and by using social media," quoting 'a police officer'.

The absurd reason for Kamran "to join anti-India movement" that TOI seems to suggest is that "Kamran is from a broken family and son of a single mother. His parents were divorced."

The plain truth is that Kamran Yousuf is a photojournalist whose work has appeared in local Kashmiri newspapers and international publications as well. He has emerged as one of the best photojournalists from the new talent.

He has been contributing photographs and videos for the last five years now. He is presently a stringer with Greater Kashmir and Gulistan News channel. He had even pasted GK logo on his laptop with the passion to work as a full-time photo-journalist with the newspaper.

“When I leave in the morning for doing my professional duties, I am not sure if I will return home safe in the evening," Kamran was quoted by With Kashmir recently in an article titled "9 Emerging Photographers From Kashmir".

He has been one of the first photojournalists to cover funerals of militants in south Kashmir where other militants would show up. "Covering such a gathering is very tough. I reluctantly take pictures keeping my safety as the priority,” Kamran is quoted in the article.

Kamran has been abused and beaten many times by security forces while doing his job. There have been times also when the local people in Pulwama have labelled him as an agent working for the police and blamed him for arrests of many boys.

Despite all the hardships, Kamran continued to cover the clashes and subsequent violence from South Kashmir. But NIA arrested him now? How could one believe it even!

"A few years ago, Al Jazeera and later VICE News had their journalists and stingers detained by various governments. Instead of leaving their journalists to their fate, they stood by them. In fact, it was only due to the pressure created by the news-organisations, the journalists were later freed by the authorities," reads an article on With Kashmir.

A shameful silence is being observed by Kashmir’s news media over his detention. The journalist community must stand together in complete solidarity because journalism is not a crime!

Unemployed controversial Indian singer has thanked gullible Muslims for their 'online' outrage. The bald singer is now back to noisy parties and 'yelling media' fanfare!

Google employees have also expressed their displeasure over the matter as they have had to filter the search giant's results. It is a point to note that students searching for noise pollution essays were confronted by the rants of this bald character!

While netizens have done the thoughtful. Insights revealed by the users got me interested.

"Sleep disorder is common with 'unemployed' stars. Perhaps if he drank less, he would have less hangovers and a better sleep", advised a netizen from Pakistan.

"There is a simple solution. Sonu is now going to become rich enough. I have a free advice for him. Let him get his house soundproofed", a free advice from a female philanthropist reads on Facebook.

Being not good at satire, I concede your point of not continuing with it. Well! I am going to inform you of an interesting development - twist in the tale as they call it!

Sonu Nigam's neighbours have now complained to police against him. Look at the irony! He was complaining of the noise pollution disturbing him and he ended up causing noise pollution himself and thereby, disturbing his neighbours.

The complaint has been made because of the noise and commotion during his press meets.

On a serious note, let me clarify that his tweet was never about noise pollution. Never!

One user aptly summed up the whole matter: “Twitter is no forum to raise such sensitive issues. It appear Sonu Nigam is looking for publicity rather than solution.”

I could very well argue that Kamal Hassan was concerned about women's rights when he reportedly said, “In Mahabharata, Panchali was used a pawn while the men gambled. She was used as a collateral. And India is a country that respects and honours a book that revolves around men using a woman to gamble away as if she was a mere object”. Pertinently, he has been issued summons by court for his remarks.

While I agree with the fact that even if there are no loudspeakers, Muslims will still pray if they want to. However, there is need to be cautious with the use of words while discussing about religion, be that Islam or Hinduism.

If people support beef to be banned, then they should be ready to be woken up by Azaan as well. "Forced religiousness" can't rescue you on this!

Representational Image

I started my blogging career back in 2010 - the year of uprising in Kashmir. Although there were a lot of issues in Kashmir apart from the Kashmir Issue itself, I was inclined to write about social issues like eve teasing prevalent in our society.

Back in those days, eve-teasing was one of the most underreported crimes in our news media. However, few victims had done away with "Eve Teasing is a Taboo Subject" notion.

With the aim to contribute my bit to highlight this silent crime, I wrote an article titled "Eve Teasing: Challenging Social Evil & Depiction of Moral Corruption in Kashmir" on my blog.

I was complimented by many friends for the post as it dealt with one of the most prevalent, and at the same time, most ignored crimes.

Recently, I missed the renewal date of my blog's domain which caused a downtime, stretching for three days. As I was configuring DNS for the blog, few visits from Google Search were needed to make sure everything was falling in line.

While I typed the URL of my blog domain, I was captivated by some search results. I noticed the article linked to some prominent research papers about the very topic - Eve Teasing.

The article has been cited in various research papers (seven, if I remember correctly) but the prominent among them which caught my attention have been shared.

#1. "Eve Teasing and Molestation – A Case Study of District Srinagar" by Aadil Bashir, Shabana Khurshid on International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR).

Read at https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v2i12/MDIwMTM1NTM=.pdf

#2. "Eve Teasing is Perennial Problem: A Study of Warangal District" by K. Ailaiah and Saturi Raghu on Council of Research & Sustainable Development.

Read at http://crsdindia.com/journals/aeo/june2016/6.Saturi%20Raghu.33-37.pdf

#3. "A study of violence Outside and Inside against Women in Kashmir" by Rahul Kumar on International Journal of Research during National Seminar on Government Policies pertaining to Women: Awareness, Implications and Suggestions - 2016.

Read at https://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/IJR/article/download/4234/4066

The original article, published in 2011, can be accessed at http://www.aasifwrites.com/2011/12/eve-teasing-challenging-social-evil.html

There has been enough work/research on the topic now as victims report the harassment due to changing public opinion against this practice.

Eve-teasing is also highly criticized by the media and netizens on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Representational Image (Credit: Nisar Ul Haq)

In the present times, 'sensational' is the only news that sells. The grave issues like civilian killings, enforced disappearances, human rights violations have long ceased to be so. Reason is simple. They happen each and every day.

But Media never ceases to prowl for a 'sensational story'. Either they'll question a minister's portfolio, his newly acquired property, or they'll put a question mark on the functioning of a department that the minister heads. In this pastime of Media, a minister doesn't enjoy his own pastime.

In order to do away with this 'nuisance', a man stands up and wows to give a breather to all his 'fellow mates'. He speaks 'sensation' which sells 'sensationally'. Media becomes his fan. But unfortunately, the news headlines where 'cow' had gained mentions have been lost to this 'media sensation'.

The issues like "ReT Screening Test" are nothing but ploys to befool masses, make cheap publicity and change the public discourse. There is no conspiracy theory but simple logic.

The government can do anything in proper way by talking to all stakeholders and taking them into confidence. Such a thing is possible only if the government is honest. 'Yelling' in media and being disgraceful to a teacher community speaks volumes about the minister's honesty. No screening test will be conducted and not all ReT teachers' degrees will be scrutinized. Naive people, there is a sea of ReT teachers and it's close to impossible to conduct a screening test in a fair way.

Politicians know only to play politics. They choose 'issues' cautiously. They have a cunning experience of which controversy to stir at what moment.

In Indian state also, you find news anchors of TV channels 'screaming' about imaginary 'terror attack' bids from Pakistan. And, when the time of elections closes in, the index of scams committed by 'Pradhaan Mantri' and 'Neta Ji' become the tittles of evening news shows.

Naeem Akhtar boasts of being the guardian of the future of students. But, does he have the guts to tell the same to India and it's troops when it comes to civilian killings, extra-judicial murders, human rights violations? We know the answer!

These politicians will never take the risk of discussing real issues like civilian killings, human rights violations, the lawless laws (AFSPA, PSA et cetera) in public domain. The risk of consensus and the risk of consequent unity among the people makes them shy away.

When they saw ReTs 'fighting' for their cause in unison, they played their next card - the recent diktat of 'scrutiny of some dubious degree certificates'. It serves as an example of how they sow the seeds of discord among the people.

All in all, politics played by them has only controversies to offer. And, unfortunately people think that stirring a controversy (they call it  disscussion) is the ultimate end.

Representational Image

In the recent past, we have witnessed a lot of thought provoking events & developments in Kashmir. We got to know about the atrocities like fake encounters, extra-judicial killings at the hands of some cruel Indian security forces.

We learnt about the web of corruption & the sale of ministerial seats in the pro-Indian political parties. We read about inadequate traffic police & defective roads leading to increasing number of road accidents which consequently lead to rapid rate of untimely deaths.

We heard of the covert plan of the state government to settle non-state subjects here. We also believe that faith was sold at Rs. 5000 to Christian Missionaries. Last, but not the least, we saw unknown, unmarked mass graves particularly in the border areas of Kashmir.

Having witnessed all this, we still managed to live a relatively peaceful summer. I don't know why. May be because our conscience is dead. May be we consider it normal now. May be it is something we would have to face untill Kashmir remains to be a dispute.

In, almost, all these cases, we have to fight for justice against some external force. But if there's a social evil equal in gravity and responsible for forcing the lives of our sisters to a miserable state, shouldn't we, atleast, fight it out. And, especially if it is something that we can eradicate without fighting against an external force but against our own self.

I am talking about 'Eve Teasing' - public sexual harassment / molestation of women through sexually suggestive remarks. The evil act is termed as Eve Teasing, albeit many feminist writers term it as "Little Rapes".

Who Is Responsible?
Eve teasing is mostly witnessed at Public places, Public transport, Streets, Coacing Centres et cetera. Pertinently, Coaching Centres in Kashmir often feature in newspapers for wrong reasons such as the growing menace of eve teasing. If we ponder over it, we will find that there isn't a single cause but a host of them.

The culprits are mostly from economically poor & socially backward families. For them, practices like playing loud music, capturing pictures on mobile phones while following a girl, indulging in 'Gang Wars', showing-off flashy accessories are their 'Charm'.

Parents also turn into an accomplice through carelessness. Escorting their daughter to places like Coaching Centres is seen as the last option.

Bollywood has always been at the fore-front in promoting 'Roadside Romeos'. By chance, if it is a 'Villain' acting such a practise, a 'Hero' immediately appears, beats the villain to save the victim which is quite contrary to the reality.

Indian soaps have also used this social evil as a bait to attract more & more audience & viewership. The best example being "Pratigya" - serial featuring on Star Plus.

Being the highest militarised zone with 'lawless' laws, 'security forces' also indulge in such acts in Kashmir. These molestations often go unreported for fear of reprisal & exposure to public shame.

Writing On The Wall:
Although, Indian Penal Code 298 (A) & (B) prescribes 3 months prison and if repeated, 5 years prison with a fine of Rs. 5000 while refering to the social crime as equable to obscene gestures, remarks or even songs, we still need to do a lot more.

If the law would have been enough, then Delhi - capital of India, wouldn't have been refered to as 'one of the world's dangerous places for women'.

The fact that eve-teasing is one of the main causes for increasing rate of female suicides in contemporary societies, we need to act fast rather than playing "wait & see".

A few of my suggestions would be to:

• Empower the organisations like National Commission for Women (NCW) so that justice would be delivered to the victims at the earliest.
• Police officers, especially females, should be stationed in plain clothes at places often in complaint.
• Special Anti-eve-teasing Cells should be established to confront the menace in an effective manner.
• The employers in the valley should allow female employees to leave at 4 pm or arrange adequate transport facility for them so that they can reach home before its too dark especially in Winters.

Parents should shun the indifferent behaviour towards their wards. They should, rather, keep a vigil on their activites.

Ulema also have a role to play in curbing this social crime. Besides, delivering sermons & speeches, they should encourage people for setting up of 'Mohalla Committee' in each and every locality for the very act of arresting & bringing the culprits to book. That will surely help in bringing an end to this ever growing social evil.

All these measures would be helpful only if we change our attitude towards this social evil and recognise this fact that our own daughters or sisters can be safe if we prevent the matter from getting bad to worse. Perhaps, education and educational institutions can play a better role in this regard.