Hell on earth

A large number of youths in Jammu and Kashmir are falling prey to the deadly menace of drugs to escape the reality of the ongoing militancy in the Valley, writes Dilnaz Boga
Nadeem (name changed) folds his hands in gratitude while sitting on his bed at one of Kashmir’s few de-addiction centres, thanking the doctors for saving his life. Nadeem (24), whose family owns poppy fields in south Kashmir, fell prey to their produce. It was after a lot of persuasion by his family and a long treatment period that he is on his way to recovery finally.

Sikh martyr on screen
Sheeba Singh
As Bakhtawar Singh, director and critic, welled up, all he could say was: "If only we all could be a little more like Bhai Taru Singh`85 if only we could practice Sikhism the way he has been instilling in ourselves, the same qualities, things would be different."