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Interview with Vivek Sinha – Writer, Hindustan Times and The Times of India By  Scott Douglas Jacobsen   Vivek Sinha  is a Writer for  Conatus News ,  Hindustan Times , and  The Times of India . Here we talk about Kashmir, global terror, young life, sitting down with an ex-terrorist, and more. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You have written for both the  Hindustan Times  and  The   Times of India . Some focusing on global terrorism (Sinha, 2017a). How is the struggle for Kashmir a subset of global Islamic terror? Vivek Sinha:  The genesis of this “struggle for Kashmir” dates back to 1947 when India gained independence from British colonial rule. At that time there were two kinds of regions in the Indian subcontinent– British India and the Princely States. British India was directly ruled by Great Britain and Princely States through their proxies. At the time of Indian independence British India was divided into two dominions, India an...

Information flow drives dialogue, discussions and debates in a society, which is much needed for a nation’s well-being. Fourth estate, or the media, comprising an army of journalists aid and abet this flow of information that kick-starts societal discussions about legislative policies, executive actions and societal aspirations. Journalists rely on five ‘Ws’ and one ‘H’ to weave a story and to break down complex jargons, thereby simplifying the world for their audience. The five ‘Ws’ refer to What, Where, Who, When and Why and ‘H’ that refers to How, are exhaustive enough to systematically report an incident. Different journalists and columnists may choose to accentuate either of these basic questions in their reportage and spin the story accordingly. In this reportage ‘facts’ remain sacrosanct. So an individual journalist or a media house may choose to highlight one of the specific aspects in their news but they cannot tamper with the facts. These ‘Facts’ are sacred. In the case of Ja...

Vivek Sinha The masks have fallen finally. And decisively so. That the “Kashmir struggle” has nothing to do with Kashmir and is a subset of global Islamic terrorism was always talked about and discussed, albeit in hushed tones, for lack of evidence. This façade has now fallen thanks to a flurry of audio messages by Zakir Musa where he openly advocates for Ghazva-e-Hind and exhorts Indian Muslims to rise up in revolt against the Indian state. Musa was recently ousted by the Hizbul Mujahideen as chief of its Indian chapter after he clearly stated that terrorism in Kashmir was actually a part of the ongoing global war to establish Islamic Caliphate and has nothing to do with Kashmir’s Azadi. Musa even threatened to behead Hurriyat leaders if they continue to demand Azadi for Kashmir and seek a political solution to Kashmir issue. Hizbul was quick to distance itself from Musa’s comments and forced Musa to quit as its India chief. Musa, on his part, remained defiant. He stood by his comment...

Vivek Sinha He gave furtive glances as he walked in and shook hands with me. I asked if he was okay as he seemed a bit uneasy. “I am fine, but I have to be cautious,” he replied as he stressed upon the word ‘cautious’. He was an ex-terrorist. Let’s call him Salim. This is not his real name, he did give me his real name but requested not to reveal it else his family might get in grave danger. Salim met me at an upmarket coffee shop in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu Kashmir. “I am done with guns and my infatuation with all this Azadi stuff is over. Now, I only aspire to lead a normal life, take care of my wife, kids…” Salim spoke in a soft voice. But why on earth did you ever pick up a gun? I asked cutting him short. Salim had said that he held a masters in commerce and was an expert on cyber security. By his own admission he could have easily secured a decent job. “I was trapped,” Salim said without batting his eyelids. He added that one of his friends introduced him...

"Chip in the Madrasa " is the story of a learned and progressive Maulvi Saheb who wants to teach mathematics, science and computers at his madrasa in an Indian village. Maulvi Saheb, the protagonist of Chip in the Madrasa, is a devout Muslim and Islam for him is a religion and not a tool to fulfil political ambitions. But Maulvi Saheb's progressive move rattles the Wahhabis who are hell-bent upon using Islam as a political tool. The Wahhabi Clerics and Sheikhs sitting pretty in Saudi Arabia want to use local politicians and their proxies in India to establish Wahhabism as the only version of Islam. These local politicians and a major political party that receive huge funds from Wahhabis unleash a vicious game to break the spirit of Maulvi Saheb and other rational Muslims. They even foster a womanizer and crook as a knowledgeable Islamic cleric who issues Fatwas by the day but indulges in wine and women at night. A game is unleashed to establish the narrative around Wahhab...

The days of Romantic Terrorism are over in  Kashmir  Valley Vivek Sinha It was on July 8, 2016 when Burhan Wani, the poster boy of  Kashmir ’s terrorism network, was exterminated by Indian security forces. In the months that followed Wani’s encounter, the picturesque  Kashmir  Valley was seized by massive protests and countless incidents of stone pelting that paralyzed the state administration. During these months when a bunch of miscreants continued to create ruckus in the Valley, a section of media assumed the role of perception manager. These spin doctors started writing, discussing and debating that the  Kashmir  Valley has now slipped into chaos and has fallen into an unending abyss from where things will eventually lead to  Azadi. The Leftists sitting pretty at powerful positions in mainstream media organisations happily created a perception that the trigger-happy Indian security forces have been on a killing spree and blinding “innocent...