Akshay Azad

Some questions of animals to humans Akshay Azad It has been almost three hours since darkness descended over Gadigarh locality of Jammu city and Lomu has been strolling around a house. For the last few minutes, he is continuously looking towards a window, probably of the kitchen. The folks have almost done with the dinner but Lomu is still waiting. While someone is washing dishes, Lomu frequently pricks-up his ears over the clanking of utensils. Lomu hopes of getting some piece of chapatti or morsel but finally lights of the kitchen were turned off and window was closed, leaving him disheartened. He kept on waiting for few minutes but finally start walking slowly. Lomu After treading few meters, Lomu reached near the labourers’ locality and started sniffing near hand-pump for some grains of rice or chapatti. But already there were two white puppies, whose mother has permanently made her home, the open space in front of Labourers’ locality. These two puppies are fil...

A short story based on true life events  Akshay Azad  In her 67 years age, my mother Smt. Pushpa Devi wife of Late Sh. Bansi Lal Sharma had never eaten or even touched any non-vegetarian food item. Even the items such as cakes in which eggs are used were never tasted by my mother. It is unimaginable to think of cooking any non-vegetarian food in our family kitchen.  Even raw meat was never brought inside our house.   All family members including my mother, late father, one brother out of four, all sister-in-laws and children are so far vegetarian except me and two other elder brothers. Even when doctors suggested my eldest brother Raju Bir, to consume meat when he had a fractured leg, same was separately prepared in a dhaba and consumed there. The sanctification of the family kitchen was so much maintained by my mother that whenever we would skip dinner, it was obvious that we would eat meat. So the next morning, we were treated outcasts as the las...

Akshay Azad Since decades the family of Farzoola Mohammad (50) had been camping at village Kullian in RS Pura sector during rainy season. The family would rent a small tract of land and stay there for at least two-three months. But this year the landlord returned the advance amount to Farzoola, refusing to rent out his land without citing any reasons. Farzool’s predicament is shared by several other nomads across Hindu-majority areas in Jammu region. Something has suddenly changed for the nomadic Gujjar and Bakerwal communities after the sensational rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal child came to light in Kathua in January 2018. Amid calls of economic boycott of pastoral nomadic communities, several tribal families have reportedly started migrating to other states. The call followed the charge-sheet filed by the Crime Branch, claiming that the girl was brutally murdered to instil fear among the nomadic communities and dislodge them from the village where ...

Attempt to adjust some blue-eyed candidates, allege aspirants Akshay Azad Jammu, Aug 22: The Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission has shortlisted mostly non NET/SLET or Ph.D qualified candidates for the posts of Assistant Professors in Information Technology subject, which is in total violation of University Grants Commission regulations regarding minimum eligibility for AP posts. Though JKPSC has reportedly taken the excuse that NET or SLET is not being conducted in the IT subject so candidates with only PG have been shortlisted but experts have out-rightly rejected these ‘hollow’ pleas. The experts have argued that NET or SLET is also not being conducted in Zoology, Botany, Biotechnology subject but the candidates have to appear in NET/SLET in the allied subject Life Sciences as per the UGC guidelines. Similarly those who have qualified M.Sc in IT have to appear in NET in their allied subject which is Computer Sciences. They further argued that even Grad...

Being outsiders in Jammu and Kashmir, most of the migrant labourers living in city slums remain untouchable for the government and it’s welfare schemes Akshay Azad Jammu, August 12: Even though Modi government has spent billions on advertisement of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) in the past over three years, it has failed to change sanitary and cleanliness conditions prevailing in slums in and around the city of temples. The country wide sanitation campaign seems to be non-existent for over 400 families of Maratha slum colony. In the absence of a drainage system, the colony resembles a proverbial stink hole. With the onset of rainy season, the sewage water has been overflowing onto the lanes and is seeping into shanties. The downpour often brings water-logging, providing breeding ground for various insects and worms, threatening water borne diseases. The colony located near Jammu Railway Station is house to daily wage earning migrant labourers mostly fro...

KU fails to declare result of SLET after 4 months Akshay Azad Early Times Report Jammu, July 9: The J&K SLET Agency of Kashmir University has so far failed to declare the result of State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) after lapse of four months since the test was conducted by the Agency.  On one hand the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) which has so far been conducting the National Eligibility Test (NET) twice a year, is improving its performance by reducing the time of announcing results, the Kashmir University has increased the time to announce results. http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=237084 The JKSLET Agency of University of Kashmir had conducted the written test of SLET on March 11, 2018 and on March 19, it had uploaded the answer keys of 37 subjects on their official website. They had sought queries from the candidates regarding the keys and had asked the candidates to submit their objections along with supporting documents till ...

SSB files reply before court, waiting for outcome Early Times Report Jammu, July 4: It seems that wait of aspirants, who had appeared in the written test for the posts of Niab-Tehsildar, is going to prolong further as the court is yet to give its verdict on the reply filed by Service Selection Board. Pertinently, a total 75,000 candidates had appeared in the written test for a total of 125 posts of naib-tehsildar, which was held on April 29. http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=236727 Soon after the written test, a candidate had secured stay from High Court in the first week of May. As per his counsel, the aggrieved aspirant was originally asked to appear the test at 1 pm at Nusrat-ul-Islam High School in Anantnag but when he had reached the examination center, he found that his centre was changed to SKM College Pulwama, which was 40 kilometres away. The court had directed the secretary SSB to appear before it on May 7 and produce the examination records. ...