CHINKIPORA, INDIA // Covering their faces with green scarves, a dozen protesters blocked an arterial road leading up to this village in north Kashmir with large boulders.
Policemen in riot gear assembled on the other side. Amid slogans of "Azaadi, Azaadi", or freedom, the crowd soon began aiming rocks at the policemen, who hit back with tear gas shells. After a lull, the rattle of gunfire rang in the air.
Scenes like this one in March are now increasingly common in Kashmir. Until some years ago, stray incidents of stone pelting were limited to Srinagar's Jamia mosque, usually occurring for brief spells after Friday prayers. But in recent months, kann'e jang - stone pelting - has emerged as a potent form of resistance, especially among Kashmiri youth, spreading to the restive valley's towns and villages.
Last month, the killing of Tufail Ahmad Matoo, 17, a student from Srinagar, in a stone pelting protest triggered violent clashes - the worst in two years - in parts of north and south Kashmir, claiming 10 lives.
Kashmiri human rights groups are questioning the harsh techniques employed by the Indian government to quash stone pelting.
Stone pelting here - unlike anywhere else in India - is often met with live bullets. Kashmir's police are also blamed for firing tear gas shells straight at the chests of protesters, often with lethal results, instead of firing at a parabolic trajectory, which is the norm.
Such violations, observers say, are rousing bigger and angrier crowds to take up stone pelting.
"Stone pelting is an expression of rage by a subjugated people whose political means of expression and demands are systematically limited," the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice, a Srinagar-based rights group, said in a statement.
In 2008, mass protests and demonstrations erupted in Kashmir, sparked by the state government's promise to lease forest land to a board that runs a Hindu shrine. The deal would have promised guestrooms for nearly half a million Hindu pilgrims who make the trek to the holy Amarnath caves each year. The protests, largely peaceful, were met with a heavy military response. Security personnel opened fire at protesting crowds, killing 60 Kashmiris.
"Stone throwing is the outcome of the government's systematic denial to allow Kashmiris the legitimate right to protest - even peacefully," a Srinigar-based commentator who requested anonymity, said. "Why is there no space for political dissent in Kashmir?"
Omar Abdullah, the state's chief minister, admits that security personnel are ill-trained to handle the surge in this new form of protest without inflicting casualties. He says his government has approached the UK police to train a Kashmir police contingent in crowd-control techniques.
Altaf Khan, the superintendent of police of the southern town of Sopore, said stone pelting is a "wicked" ploy by militants, aimed at maximising violence in Kashmir. During several such stone pelting protests, he said, militants had emerged from the crowds to open fire at soldiers and then melted back into the crowds. Some of the ring leaders who mobilise the crowds are on the payroll of Kashmir's separatist leaders, he claimed. Syed Ali Geelani, the leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomeration of Kashmiri separatist political groups, vehemently denies the charge.
"Peaceful solutions or talks have little relevance in Kashmir today," he said, insisting that stone protests are the product of genuine grievances of Kashmiris.
"Stone protesters are not impoverished, jobless men," said a 28-year-old stone pelter, a research graduate from Kashmir university. "We are not hoodlums greedy for money and neither are we anti-social elements."
The young protester did not wish to be named, fearing he could be booked under the Public Safety Act, under which citizens can be detained for up to two years without charges.
He is not fearful of protesting, he explained, despite the risks. Some of the protesters are as young as 6. Over the past year, he has learned to deal with threats like teargas shells - he burns tyres whenever a shell drops as its fumes neutralise the effect of tear gas.
"Our land is under occupation," he said. "If we don't throw stones to protest, should we pick up guns?"
achopra@thenational.ae
The%20specs
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Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
