Behind the Veil
Contents: 1. Kashmir an obsession for Pakistan. 2. Films and TV shops can promote cordial Indo-Pak ties. 3. Afridi Ko Gussa Kyu Aaya. 4. Kashmiri separatists Thrive on Controversies. 5. Pak relishes India bashing. 6. India blamed for exporting water terrorism to Pak. 7. Militant ingress a regular feature on J & K Border. 8. Changing nomenclature. 9. China fighting terror in Xinjiang. 10. It is made in China V/S make in India. 11. Adulteration is a new born religion in India. 12. Extraneous issues are raked up during elections. 13. Article 370 issue churned during polls in J & K. 14. Modi on Indian Muslims. 15. Land greed leads to land grab in Jammu and Kashmir. 16. Bane of regional Imbalance. 17. Jethmalani loses cool with a purpose. 18. After Amarnath, it is Kounsar Nag row in Kashmir. 19. Piggy Banks versus swollen lockers. 20. Some exclusions in RTI Act. 21. Is Islamic Banking system suitable for India? 22. Improbables rarely turn into probables. 23. Need for increased Quota in central services. 24. Obituaries of those whom I knew.
Behind the veil is a book that does not focus on one issue, one problem or one development. It portays author’s views on diverse issues pertaining mainly to Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir. If the book opens with a chapter on Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmir, it ends with a chapter on the need for increasing quota for people in Jammu and Kashmir in central services.
The book is a collection of write-ups that the author used to contribute for a Jammu based newspaper. The write-ups would be published under the slug “Behind the veil and the author has used the same slug for the title of the book. That is the reason that the book does not touch only one or a couple of issues. The author used to contribute weekly or bi-weekly column to the newspaper and hence the issues that touched were of day to day importance.
Well before writing the book the author devoted several months on research which led to interesting addition to the columns he had written for the newspaper. Out of a long list of write-ups I he has selected some important issues for including in the book. If the book carries an interesting chapter on land greed leads to land grab in Jammu and Kashmir, it does carry a story on former Pakistan cricket captain, Shaid Afridis burst of anger against his team’s loss in Mohali test. It does throw light on the pattern of India bashing by Pakistan, continued militant ingress from across the LOC separatists trying to thrive on controversies. At the same time it does touch the problem of adulteration in India and level of corruption in the country with details on what breeds corruption. (jacket)
