Book on ordinary Kashmiris' complex challenges released

Prominent writer and activist Meera Khanna's book "In a State of Violent Peace - Voices from the Kashmir Valley", presenting the stories of 14 Kashmiris providing valuable insights into the complex challenges faced by the state's people, was released here on Wednesday.

These 14 include eminent educationist Mahmuda Ali Shah, who was the icon of women's empowerment in the valley, Sheikh Abdullah,'s daughters Surayya Ali Mattoo and Khaleda Begum and other prominent women like Krishna Misri, Neerja Mattoo, Naseer Ahmad Shah and Girija Dhar.

Khanna has been working in Kashmir for NGO, Rahatgarh, through which she has been constantly in touch with conflict-affected women and children of Kashmir.

The book, published by Harper Collins, was released earlier in Srinagar on Monday by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra.

"I made an attempt to deliver the stories of Kashmir. The stories shared by 14 people are the tales that they had not shared with anyone," Khanna said, while in conversation with veteran journalist Jasleen Singh at the book launch at the India International Centre.

Rama Vaidyanathan, an eminent Bharatnatyam dancer, presented a scintillating dance on the occasion, based on Sufi poetry.