Author Irfan Attari
Book Review by Iaman Maqbool
Our organization Kashmir Youth Web has always been on the front when something can be done for the young population of this beautiful valley. So, here we are again, compiling a book In association with (Real Kashmir News)about the success stories of the young Kashmiri people who have changed the course of life for better. The stories we share are about those personalities whom you may or may not know anything about. But these people since starting their journey towards a better Kashmir have never stopped. They have represented Kashmir on behalf of all of us on national and international levels. They have contributed towards the welfare of our state through their talents. But, we all know “Talent is Overrated” as Geoff Colvin said. The stories we share are less about talent and more about hard work, dedication, determination, self-discipline, and a burning desire of these youth icons to be better than what was. They have made us proud. We cover stories of these stupendous personalities, irfan Attari,Sajid Yousuf,Kaisar Ah. Ganie,Mir Salman, Musaib Rafiq, Nayyer Iqbal, Mudasir Maqbool, Ayieena Altaf, just to mention a few.
The media on all levels has always shown the negative side of Kashmir and we don’t deny the existence of that side. But what we deny is the non-existence of a positive side. Just like every coin as two faces, so does Kashmir. We have listened to hundreds of discussions, read thousands of articles, and heard over millions of opinions about the bad side of Kashmir and Kashmiriyat. And this book is an initiative from our side to show the positive side of our people to the world. There is a bright light that shines in the hearts of Kashmiri people and this book is our way of trying to show that thing to every person we can.
The book is named PRIDE OF KASHMIR. It contains a number of stories about people who have brought change to Valley in one way or the other. The writers of this anthology have talked to these youth icons, written their stories, and, we as a team have compiled it into a single book. We will be making it available in all the places accessible to us, both nationally and internationally. The process of writing the book has already started.
The Valley of Kashmir has been defamed a lot by media. This book will try to bring back the mark Kashmir once had on Mother Earth. Despite whatever has been going on here, the people still aspire for more. There are dreams that can be seen in the eyes of all adults here. The young people are trying to figure out every single day how to make things work. The children, who are growing up to be adults, find everything lost, but still they are holding on to one thing, that is, hope.
This book apart from what the young inspiring people have done so far, also, throws some light on what they want their future to be like. None of their demands will go unheard. The demand for higher and better education, the demand for prosperity and development, the demand for a good life and basic rights, and many more demands made by youth will be put forth through the pages of this book.
We, Kashmir Youth Web, as an organization try to work for the betterment of our youth. We mostly try to curb the evil of drug abuse in the Valley. We organize campaigns where we try to make people aware of the betterment they can make. We also distribute pamphlets and books that cover the topics of interest of young Kashmiri people. We organize events where we try to introduce new faces of change to the world. While doing this work, we try our best to feature the people who constantly keep contributing to the development of state.
This process of featuring and giving opportunities to the young people from Kashmir is the main goal of our organization. This book is another step in this ongoing process. Apart from the past stories and future aspirations of the young Kashmiri people, this book also talks about the activities that should be held in the Valley. The youth is always different from the older generation, and there are many things that need to be changed keeping in view the demands of young people.
This book may not be able to completely change the picture of how Kashmiri people are viewed outside the state. But, as a team we hope that it would be one of the first steps to improve how Kashmiri people are perceived.
ABOUT BOOK REVIEWER
Iaman Maqbool is the member of Kashmir Youth Web, can be mailed at iamanmoqbool@gmail.com, Organization email: kashmiryouthweb@gmail.com
