Education or no education will power needed, Hassan shows the way

Tawqeer Hussain

In the golden old days no scientific treatment for diseases was available and people used to cure the various diseases with the help of plants and other animal parts found naturally on the earth. These include shrubs, herbs and the treatment was based on experiments and on other occasions hit and trial method was adopted.
People used to apply the natural things on the patients and they would come to know about their efficacy in treating the various ailments. They would also come to know about the power of curability and it was on these results that the people would prescribe these natural things and it was only after this that the natural things would be used as medicines for treating various ailments.
The curing agents would be known as called medicines. This type of curing evolved centuries ago has proved to be an efficient means of treating and it has been changed into a full-fledged system of curability called ‘Ayurvedic System’. With the onset of English medicines better known allopathic system, this system failed to impress majority of the people as it has slow speed of curability as compared to the allopathic system.
However, there are some people who are striving to preserve this traditional system of medicine. They are putting in their efforts in a bid to provide affordable means of treatment to the common massed.
One among them is Ghulam Hassan Bhat, a young man from Kreeri Shahabad in South Kashmir district of Anantnag. Despite having very less formal education, Hassan started a mission of preserving the natural herbs and traditional medicare in Kashmir. Inspired by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) Ahmadabad, he took out the journey of collecting traditional herbs which were used by the remote people for curing their diseases.
“I saw people from NIF collecting these traditional herbs for the sake of its preservation, this idea stuck me and soon I started the process of collecting the herbs,” he said.
This young man undertook this painstaking and strenuous research some six months back and today he ready with his book entitled–Informational Book of Herbal and Traditional knowledge in Kashmir. The book has been written in Urdu language.
“During these six months I visited various places and met some elderly people who were fond of these herbs. I documented them and I can proudly say that I have compiled a book which contains at least 250 traditional medicare practices,” Hassan said.
Being economically poor, Hassan did all this research on his own without help from any quarter. He believes that his passion made him to do so.
Stressing on the proverb ‘when an old man dies a library burns’; Hassan says, “Until these traditional practices will not be locked in a book, sooner or later they will become extinct”.
He believes that his book is the treasure house of herbs present in Kashmir and contains herbal medicare for simple skin diseases to cancer ailments.
Comparing the healing power of herbal medicines and western medicines, Hassan in a unique way describes that western medicines have quick healing power, but it also has lot of side effects while the herbal medicare has divine touch and empathy for the patients which helps in their full recovery from the disease. He sums up the same in form of a phrase, ‘Dawa Bhi, Duwa Bhi aur Shafa Bhi (Medicines, supplication and recovery too).
Although this young man has completed his compilation of book and has contacted some of the publishers for publishing, but sadly so far no one has come forward in this respect. He wants government to help him in sponsoring his adventure and in publishing his book. He also wants his book to be prescribed as a text book on the Ayurvedic system in Kashmir. Right now, Hassan is looking for some one to translate it in English so as to broaden its appeal.
http://www.realitybitesmagazine.com/2010/apr/innovation.html

Despite arrests, employees continue strike
TAWQEER HUSSAIN
Collapsing the whole administration, the normal life in all government offices in Jammu and Kashmir remain paralysed for the seventh consecutive day, while all the government schools wore a deserted look. . Nearly 4.5 lakh employees who are pressing the government for fulfilling their commitments including the release of their sixth pay commission arrears are on the strike from the last Saturday.
The continued strike has affected all sectors and life in all government sectors came to halt. The mostly affected remained the health and the education sector. The strike also hit the health-care sector. Patient care continued to be hit as Outdoor Patient Department in all the hospitals was closed with poor patients forced to return home without being attended. Doctors in the government run hospitals are facing the tough time as they have to cope with the thousands of patients without the presence of paramedical staff. However, the emergency services in hospitals have been exempted from the strike.
After health, the Education sector is the second worst sufferers due to the on going confrontation between the employees and the state government. Just having the one month working days in this session the schools are closed again making the students to suffer.
This strain between the government and the employees seems not to end as the state government although has made the wide appeal and imposed the ESMA(Essential Services Maintenance Act ) to the striking employees to resume their duties but they did not turn up.
Under the ESMA, so far hundreds of employees have been arrested from different places in the state but it has not made any such impact so that the employees may resume their duties. Rather it had made them more stiff.
Employees Joint Action President (EJAC) leader Mohammad Gafoor Dar has asked the government to withdraw ESMA and held another round of negotiations with the employees to end this stalemate. Today also the employees at various district headquarters took out rallies to press their demands. The police tried to prevent these rallies at several places and arrested nearly 100 employees.
"The employees have been arrested while taking out rallies in support of their demands," said an employees’ leader, Farooq Ahmad Trali.
Meanwhile Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah retreated the employees to resume their duties and said that doors for talks are open.
Welcoming Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah’s Wednesday statement that government was ready to talk to the employees the Joint Consultative Committee member and EJAC (K) president, Khursheed Alam said that. “But talks have to be initiated by the government. We never want confrontation and believe in talks. But government has to accept our demands,” he said.

Saffron production goes down due to primitive irrigation facilities
Sprinkle irrigation facilities yet to come up

Tawqeer Hussain
After losing her husband three years ago, Fatima, 55, is looking after the treasure which was owned by loved one. She looks at the treasure and feels proud that she has been able to look after it as would have been wished by her husband. Her treasure is not an ordinary one, but a special one more so when people are not paying much attention to this type of treasure being owned by them.
You might be wondering what is so great about Fatima’s treasure. So let me end the suspense and tell you that this self-reliant lady looks after a saffron field at Pmpore (also known as Saffron town). She might be proud and happy, but in her heart of hearts she is somewhat saddened by the fact that her husband is not alongside her.
She is proud to be the owner of her small piece of saffron land and why not as it is the sole earning thing for her and it is by virtue she is able to carry out daily chores of life.
Just 20 kilometres South of Srinagar lies Pampore, the only place in Kashmir besides Badipora-Chadoora where world wide famous saffron grows. Kashmir is the only place in India, and one of the few places in the world where saffron, the world's most expensive spice grows. When it comes to Kashmir, the plateau land of Pampore seems to be an ideal location for the cultivation of Saffron, with Badipora also coming up on cultivation map of Saffron in recent times.
Saffron is not grown on any other fertile alluvial plateaus of Kashmir, and the people of Pampore take pride in this achievement. They would not hestite in saying that there is certain magical element in the soil of Pampore which helps Saffron flowers to bloom thus leading to an ambience where fragrance of Saffron flowers mesmerize the whole surroundings.
Saffron, heritage crop of Kashmir is the only expensive spice in the world which is grown in the lands of pampore, but as time passes by it is losing its value, esteem due to the pathetic attitude of the government. Experts also believe that primitive methods of irrigation, cultivation practices are also responsible for its declining production.
Apart from Kashmir, saffron is grown mostly in Iran and Spain. Saffron is the main spice of the Kashmiri cuisine and its rich aroma marks all the celebrations in Kashmir.
While Iran accounts for about 70 per cent of total world production, the quality of the Kashmir Saffron is considered the best world wide.
“Despite being an important spice reckoned world wide, the saffron of Kashmir is losing its charm both at the hands of government as well as locals. The construction of houses in the saffron fields has resulted in its declining production” says Javaid, a youth.
But his friend Ashiq Hussain has a different take on this issue. He believes that people should themselves take some steps in preserving this all important crop rather than looking for any sort of government interference.
“I think government cannot do anything and they are not serious in increase the production of Saffron. If that would have been the case then they would not have leased out 137.5 acres (1100 kanal) of saffron land at Lethpora Pampore to CRPF for the construction of their camp,” says Ashiq.
He adds, “On one hand government is imposing ban on the the construction in the saffron fields and on the other it is itself acquiring or leasing out land for construction.”
From 5400 hectares in 1997, the saffron land has been reduced to 3000 hectares.
Agricultural experts like Dr Firdous Ahmad Nehvi also cite other reasons for the decline in saffron production.
Dr. Nehvi, a scientist with Sheri-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar (SKUAST) blames farmers for ‘careless attitude’.
"The problem with saffron is that it is a perennial crop meaning you don't need to plant it every year, but the farmers treat it as a subsidiary crop and plant it every year, thereby depleting the nutrients in the soil resulting in low production,’’ says Dr. Nehvi.
He says, “Corm rot is the fungal disease which mostly hampers the saffron production and it plagues 41 percent of saffron land. Both the government and the farmers are in deep slumber. If this disease is not overcome in coming years its will drastically affect the saffron production.’’
Lack of the processing plant is also counted as another major reason for the low Saffron production. The cheap methods of saffron processing lead to a loss of 30% in its annual production.
“With the production of Saffron very much dependent on rainfall, the production has gone down since there is deficient rainfall owing to global warming phenomenon. We have to depend on rainfall even though facilties like sprinkle irrigation are available in the modern world,” says Imtiyaz Ahmad, a Saffron grower.
Even though some of Saffron farmers have dug bore wells in order to sprinkle their Saffron fields, but same is yet to lead to desired results in production since the practice is not common so far.
“Department of agriculture should have carried out some awareness programmes asking people to look for novel ways of irrigation, but they have failed in doing so. It is important that people are encouraged to explore possibilities for sprinkle inrrigation and bore well irrigation so that Saffron production is revived, but for the same it is necessary all stake holders sit and formulate a joint policy for forward movement,” says Abdul Khaliq, a Saffron farmer.