Sign Presentation for Administrative Fast

This certainly brings back memories! Specifically college times - yes, those were the best. I remember one specific event from back then.  So this happened back in 2011, when I was in my 2nd year of college. It was semester exams. I was always an average student and I was (still am) super-lazy to boot. So as expected, I ended up staying awake till the wee hours of the morning. I had notes on my laptop, so I was going through the PDF files, the photos taken by my friends and some screenshots. I've a habit of playing instrumental music on my laptop when I study, it helps me concentrate. It was all good, I was making progress - till about 1:30 AM. I decided to take a break by visiting YouTube to listen to some random songs. One thing led to another and I was soon looking up movie trailers and tech videos. My mom has a habit of getting up multiple times during the night. Drinking water, using the restroom and diligently checking up whether I'm sleeping or not. I did tell her that I might be sleeping late because I had plans to study. She even made sure I had a glass of hot milk before she went to bed. (Moms are awesome, seriously!) And I've a habit of doing stuff other than studying when I'm bored or just don't feel like it, no matter what the situation. She often screams my head off when she finds me watching a movie or playing games late at night. I always take great care to have a backup excuse, or to just shut off everything and sleep as soon as I hear her leave the bed. Yes, I was so used to her sneaking up on me that I had developed cat-ears! But that day, I was so engrossed in music that I didn't hear her leave her bed. (Parents sleep in the nearby room - I sleep in my own) By the time I heard her though, it was too late to switch off everything and go to sleep. It was already 4:00 AM by then, and I knew that she would be furious if she found out that I wasn't asleep yet.  So I improvised. I closed the browser, switched to the PDF file that was open and put on the instrumental song that was queued in Windows Media Player. I was lying on my bed belly down, so I pretended to sleep in that same position. With my eyes closed and my face halfway buried inside the pillow, it looked as if I actually was asleep. I remained completely still.  My door is always covered with curtains because the light from my room lights up the entire hallway. I could hear everything. She pulls the curtains aside, and comes inside my room. She sighs and murmurs to herself in my native language - "This idiot will never learn how to sleep properly. Where's the blanket? Must be here somewhere." She then pulls a blanket over me, making sure she doesn't wake me up in the process. She turns off the light and then murmurs again - "Hm, the laptop isn't shut off, I better close the lid." She does that, gives me peck on the cheek and goes back to her bed.  A few minutes after she leaves my room, I open one eye to make sure she's not around anymore and then proceed to actually doze-off. Wake up 5-6 hours afterwards - still in the same position. I actually woke up with aches all over my body, but that's besides the point.  To till date, my mom thinks that I had fallen asleep while studying. She even recites the whole incident to people/friends she has over for tea and snacks! Talk about pulling one over her, huh? As a side note, I still did manage to pass that semester exam with better than average marks. So that's good. :)

They always did.From 2009 when I switched, this was always true.Noob vapers like tobacco flavours, long-term vapers like sweet / dessert / complex flavours. Many have an ADV (all day vape) - what they take out to work etc. - and some variants for evening / whatever. They might want a specific flavour after a meal, like chocolate mint - it does exactly the same job as an ‘After 8’ choc mint does with a coffee, and for some people it does a better job. They might want to ‘snack’ on vape flavours rather than food snacks in order to avoid the weight gain many experience after smoking cessation.In the early days of vaping, the typical vaper was an oldie who vaped Rich Virginia Tobacco flavour as a noob; then RY4 (caramel-vanilla tobacco flavour) after a while; then toffee apple for an ADV as a long-time vaper, and when no one was looking Strawberry Sundae in the privacy of their own home, as a consenting adult. There were no youngsters in it, they wanted to look cool with their friends and smoked. Vaping was for the oldies: people who had friends who were dying from smoking and didn’t like the ways they were dying.A few years ago that changed, mostly via the cloud-chasing gear that puts out enough fog to blank out the Albert Hall / Madison Square Gardens. Then the twenty-somethings piled in as it started to look cool. You could really annoy a lot of old people with all that fog.Now the teens are in it because their role models, the cool 20’s, are vaping instead of smoking.Why worry?I don’t know, you tell me.Kids are always going to get in to stuff they think is cool. For years they thought vaping was for the wrinklies and avoided it like the plague. Now I guess some hip-hop star is vaping so they are going for it. Just remember this:In the developed Western world, youth smoking rates have fallen through the floor. They aren’t smoking now, they are vaping. There is no ‘gateway into smoking’ if, year after year, smoking rates are falling. WTF?? Who is getting paid to lie to you about this?Smoking prevalence has dropped like a stone. In my country, the UK, smoking rates have fallen so fast that the pharmaceutical industry are desperate to put a stop to vaping any way they can. (Pharma makes about double what the tobacco industry does from smoking, in the UK.)After 10 years, there is still nobody who can present any well-argued science-based reason why vaping will ever kill anyone who was not previously a smoker. All the fatuous rubbish that has been presented in this space has been torn to shreds by independent scientists and the most senior tobacco control figures in the world, such as Prof Etter of Geneva and Prof Britton of the RCP (Royal College of Physicians). The only people who promote the ‘death from vaping’ line now are pharma shills and the usual paid liars from SoCal.None of the dozens of clinical trials in which large quantities of pure nicotine were administered daily to never-smokers ever reported a single subject who showed any sign of dependence on nicotine. As far as scientists are concerned, there is no evidence that pure nicotine has any effect related to reinforcement or dependence. Dr Newhouse of Vanderbilt, the world’s leading nicotine researcher, whose day job is basically giving very large doses of pure nicotine to large numbers of never-consumers of tobacco in the search for better therapies for Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions, states: “The risk of addiction to nicotine alone is virtually nil.” He should know, as he has administered more nicotine in larger doses to more never-smokers for longer periods in more clinical trials than anyone else. Nobody is arguing with him.No clinical trial has ever reported any person becoming dependent on vaping, or nicotine delivered by vaping. This would be easy to show if it were possible:CTs and RCTs with nicotine are now more numerous than at any point in history, in the search for new therapies for the rising numbers of neurological and auto-immune disease - which nicotine in the diet helps to prevent, and which are successfully treated by mega-nutrition therapy with nicotine.Ethics panels authorise such trials with pure nicotine and never-smokers as a routine matter. They are ongoing all of the time. Pure nicotine is regarded as harmless by the research community and can be administered ad lib, ad infinitum to CT subjects as there are no reasons why not. No person has ever been harmed in any way by the administration of large amounts of nicotine every day for up to 6 months in these trials.Dependence on nicotine requires a tobacco delivery vehicle. Smoke, and you risk becoming dependent. Not otherwise.It looks very much as if vaping is innoculating youth against smoking. Only the insane would consider this a bad thing. As the head of ASH UK said in a presentation for American doctors, “Vaping is very unlikely to ever kill anyone”. That’s the head of ASH: the government’s anti-tobacco organisation.Smoking kills 100,000 a year in the UK and 440,000 a year in the US, so they say. Vaping hasn’t killed anyone yet, hasn’t shown any evidence that it might, and is unlikely to kill anyone according to the world’s most senior tobacco control figures.Only the insane would consider it a bad idea. It will save millions and millions of lives and destroy cigarette sales in the Western world.Now who is it you’re saying tells you it’s a bad idea? I wonder who pays them.On second thoughts, no need to wonder.

Of course, but putting Donald Trump in a room with the press and anyone in the English-speaking world is never going to look good for Trump, simply because he’s easily out-classed in terms of intelligence and political acumen, and ultimately comes across as precisely what he is: a bully without a lot going on upstairs.Bear in mind: there’s a perfectly-functional plan available for increasing funding for border security and keep the government open. The problem, from Trump’s perspective, is that such a vote will not provide the billions of dollars of funding he wants for his US-Mexico border wall, and quite rightly so. As Schumer noted, border security is already doing a great job, and Pelosi has observed (correctly) that building a multi-billion dollar wall across the border won’t actually achieve much for the ‘problem’ of immigration. Again, the vast majority of those immigrating illegally in the US entered via legal means, something a border wall simply will not stop.The problem for Trump is that he shot himself in the foot in that meeting: he made it clear that the US border forces had been doing an excellent job, and then says that the US needs a wall. Uh…why, exactly? Thought Border Patrol were doing a good job?And, as always, he comes down to non-specifics that can’t be corroborated: “We caught 10 terrorists over the last very short period of time”. Uh…what? Is that a unit of measurement now? That simple statement showed, very clearly, that the President is not personally engaged with the facts, and therefore was only interested in things he could use to support his argument. 10 terrorists in…what? A year? Two years? Ten years? Specifics are important here, and he doesn’t have them.Do note: the Democrats agree that border security is important. They’ve been agreeing with that all along, because it is important to ensure that terrorist groups or those using the border to smuggle drugs and the like don’t get through - but a border wall isn’t going to help that, and they know that as well as the rest of us do. That’s why they’re not willing to spend tens of billions of dollars on something that won’t actually achieve the government’s objectives, and that will ultimately cost millions per year in maintenance, on top of what needs to be spent for manpower, the border checkpoints…the list goes on.Meeting with the press just gave Trump nowhere to hide - it made it very clear that he’s only interested in strong-arming Congress into giving him the funding for the wall, and that he’s not interested in dealing on any other terms. Why? Because it’s a campaign issue: if he gets the funds, he can say he’s keeping a promise (no matter how dumb that promise was), and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’ll profit off the construction costs himself.What he’s too dumb to recognise is, actually, the Wall should never be built. Why? Because his supporters want it to be built, which means building it removes it as a means of stirring up their support. And, once built, he can’t then complain about immigration without taking blame for failing to solve the problem. After all…Congress gave you your wall, and you said that’d solve the issue. What? It didn’t? Well, there’s a huge waste of taxpayer’s funds for a non-solution…As ever, public meetings are not Trump’s forte, and that’s once again been proven to everyone. Naturally, fair to say that his supporters will now go forth and complain about the mean and nasty Democrats not wanting to compromise…despite the President being the one threatening the shutdown.

The number of job openings is about as big as the number of unemployed people. This should raise some questions about using “job openings” as criteria of success: why don’t our unemployed people just take those jobs?The problem is that we’re measuring greatness with whatever claim Trump is making, and we’re parroting it without further investigation. The economy is great! For whom? Not for the majority of the people!The way I measure it is with MY wallet. Can I take vacation? Can I travel? Can I go eat out at nice restaurants? Can I buy nice organic food? Can I pay my mortgage or rent on time? The truth is that most people don’t see a better situation in that wallet, but if Trump says that the economy is great because of the GDP, the low unemployment, the high number of job openings,… then it must be so!So how do those numbers then look so “good”. First of all, one thing that people forget about economics is that it is the result of policies and practices that are started way before the current situation. So the “improving” trends were set during the Obama administration. All you had to do, is maintain those policies, and you can claim a good economy. We all know that Trump did everything but maintaining Obama era policies. And I think we’re starting to see the results. The economy is slowly making its way into a recession. As the rest of the world predicted, the tax cuts for the corporations are not resulting in “trickle-down” improvements. The trade war is setting us back even further, putting farmers out of business at an alarming rate. Trump’s arrogant behavior is shutting us out of the majority of World Trade: Europe and Asia don’t want to do business with us anymore, resulting in very attractive deals between each other, without a sign of the USA in there.Based on that, I would agree with the rest of the world, and the more rational of the US citizens, and claim that Trump did and is doing an absolutely awful job. And he will be leaving us with a debt pile that pretty much bankrupts us. But then, he does have experience with that concept…

On 9 November 2000 Uttarakhand became new state of India . It was carved out from Uttar Pradesh. It was created by BJP govt at centre under leadership of Shri Atal Behari Vajpai. Two other new states were also born on same day from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand respectively totalling 28 states in India. It was just to fulfill the popular long pending demand of hill people. It is 27th state of Indian union. The people demanded a separate state from long back to improve the economic status n for industrial development. It is made up of two important hill areas ie Garhwal and kumaun. Kumayun is more developed as it was under British n Garhwal was ruled by the king or shah dynasty. However to meet the ambitions of people for fair development of hill area, a separate hill development ministry was created in Uttar Pradesh cabinet. Uttarakhand Kranti dal was formed in 1979 with objective of separate state from Uttar Pradesh having hill culture and Haridwar was proposed to be included in the state. The founding members of party were Shri Indrani badoni, Kashi Singh airy, d d pant, Bipin Chandra Tripathi etc. Shri Kashi Singh airy took the leadership to new heights n he led ukd during the period when state came to existence. Shri Indrani badoni is nicknamed as Gandhi of Uttarakhand. Shri Diwakar Bhatt is present leader of ukd. There r 70 seats in its legislative assembly. Dehradun is its interim capital with gairsain as the main potential dream capital city of state but it has limitations of land and other basic amenities in surrounding.Uttarakhand was carved out in view of long pending demand of local people of UP hills to separate hilly region of UP for better development and administration. The all hill areas of UP were united for the demand of separate state. On Oct 2 they had planned to gherao the Parliament during the chief ministership Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajvadi Party in UP and central govt under Shri PV Narsimh Rao. The protestors were stopped in Muzagfarnagar by police. It is learned that some women were raped possibly by police and men were lathi charged. The people of Muzaffarnagar area had saved /served them and provided shelter and food in this tough situation but it is ironical that the people from plains living/ serving in hills were under threat from local hill people. Students from all over state has also joined the movement for separate state. Many Sangharsh samitis and Yuva vahinis were also constituted to accelerate the formation of state. Chakkar jam was main event of participants in movement which crippled the state economy. The Loksabha elections in may 1996 were opposed by the local people and a bandh call was given by Uttarakhand Jan Sangharsh Vahini on polling day.Considering the long pending demand , new bjp govt at centre took decision to separate Uttaranchal from UP. The central govt sympathetically considered the demand of separating the hill area from UP which is large in size and difficult for administration. Territory was divided. Some portion of plain was also given to new state in view of making it self sufficient in food grains. The asset distribution is a contentious issue between the newly born state and and parent state. Still the issue is alive. A committee under Shri Prakash Singh badal the chief minister of Punjab was entrusted the job of distribution of land between states in view of large sikh people residing in the state. Bharat Singh koshiyari was first CM of state. State is growing at fast rate and tourism is main source of income of state.Uttarakhand is devbhoomi ie land of God's and chardham yatra is main event for the mythological and business purpose. Chardham means Badrinath , Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunoyri. Yatra starts from Haridwar/ Rishikesh. Every village and hilltop is famous for some diety for one or other reason. There are vishnu and shiva in various forms in the state. It comprises five badri and five kedar and many famous Shakti peeth. Ganga and Yamuna originates in state and are lifeline of Northern India. State is rich in natural resources e.g. water and forests. Population is scarce in high altitudes. Both rivers are pious and water is sacred and used for worship of Gods in hindu households in all over India. Many other rivers also joins main rivers and feed perennial water to them.The hydro power is major industry. There are many hydro projects under construction. Tehri dam was very a challenging project which has been commissioned by THDC INDIA LIMITED in 2006 and it alongwith koteswar hep is generating 1400 MW power. State is getting 13% free power as royalty. Ntpc , state power corporation and sjvnl are also constructing hydroelectric projects and contributing in the progress of state.State was always leader in education and students from shrinagar and uttarkashi were in toppers list of Allahabad board in 10th n 12th class in U.P. The literacy rate is higher inspite of very tough tertain and meagre infrastructure. Literacy in women is also high. Hill people are courageous , intelligent , honest and humble and prefer to be in military. Garhwal regiment is famous for determination. Crime is under control. Many people are skilled as teacher, driver and cook. Many hill people work in plains for their livelihood. Hill plain divide works here. Women are playing more active role in economy than men. Drinking is a fashion among men and some tribal women also are addicted to it in border districts.The pandits of Hardwar had a special place in mythological subject. Hardwar is also known as haridwar and is dedicated to God Shiva and god vishnu. Rishikesh is place of god hari/ bharat. Neelkanth temple near Rishikesh is very famous. It is 14 km hill track from rishikesh.Tehri the capital of panwar kings had submerged in tehri dam reservoir. The king of tehri now lives in narendra nagar. Some portion of palace is converted to hotel ananda. The king was famous as jinda badri. He was member of parliament also for long time. Tehri state was acceded to india in 1950. The old city was rehabilitated and shifted to new location at an elevation of 2000m. It is now new tehri town NTT. Water supply is arranged to this high city from bhagirathi river from an elevation of 610m. 125 villages were shifted from submerged are of dam. These people were rehabilitated at various places near dehradun and hardwar. Tehri dam is a milestone in development of state. Bhagirathi meets Alaknanda at devprayag. There are 5 prayasgs as Vishnu prayag ,nand prayag, rudra prayag, karnprayag and devprayag. These places are confluence of two rivers ie dhuli, mandakini, nandakini, pinder and bhagirathi with main river Alaknanda respectively. Chipko movement was also started by the people of state to save trees and to stop illegal cutting of trees. Gaurav Devi is very famous name of a lady from raini village in joshimath who contributed lot to save the trees from forest mafia.Doon valley is famous for enchanting beauty. Moussoorie is hill queen. There are many kashi eg. Gupt kashi ,Uttar kashi etc. Many Mahadevs eg timbarsen mahadev in Gamshali in Niti valley is replica of Amarnath. Five kedars ie kedarnath, rudranath, madmaheswr, kalpeswar and tungnath are located here in Garhwal region. Tungnath mahadev is located at highest elevation among 5. The famous sikh shrine Hemkund Sahib is in chamoli district. Large number of sikh devotees visit this pious and cool place and its serene beauty. Famous flower valley is nearby and ghaghria is last resting place. It is difficult to signNow as land slides are common. Casualties due to environment vagaries are common in yatra. Kagbhisundi parvat is nearby and is a destination for crows to end their life. Laxman temple is located in vicinity of gurudwara Hemkund sahib. karnprayag can be seen from this place having elevation more than 4000 m in a clear day. Badrinath is located at bank of Alaknanda in between nar and narayan mountains. It is coveted with snow in winter.in kedarnath there is samadhi sthal of adiguru shri Shankracharya. Lensdown is famous military establishments. In short it is devlok ie a place for gods. Nanda devi, Hemkund, Valkey of flowers, Nainital ,Almora all are famous hill station and are related to some mythological stories. Nainital got its name from naini lake. The water is clear and city is located around the pond/lake. View of Nanda devi from kala dungi in Kumayun and from Tapovan in Garhwal is mesmerizing. It appears like the face of girl child. Raj jat yatra takes up after every 12 years from garhwal and it crosses various darra and hill tops. Four horned male sheep gets ready every 12 years automatically and finally it goes to nanda parbat and slopes there then people return back. State is rich in forests. A large part is covered in forests. The population is thin in forests. Total population of state as per 2011 census is approximately one crore. Many gujar caste person live hete. Most hill people participate in it. It is big event. There is Dronagiri mountain where worship of Lord Hanuman is prohibited . Local people of 4 villages Gharpak, Dronagiri etc in joshimath tehsil of chamoli district are against hanuman god because of common belief that he had taken away the sanjivani from Himalayas. The shape of mountain appears today as that someone had taken away some portion of that hilltop.Many people search yarsha gumba ie keera jadi in the hills above joshimath. It is a caterpillar insect. It is a good source of income during April , May each year. Its market value and demand is rising due to its medicinal qualities. The borders of state are joined with Tibet of China. There are large number of troops stationed here to counter any misadventure. Apple orchards are increasing. Dehradun the capital of state is place of litchies. It is famous centre of education. Doon school is prestigious. Kumar sweets is famous sweet shop. Rudraksh trees are also there. Chulu oil is famous pain reliever found here in high altitudes in abundance. Akhrot trees are also being popular in higher altitudes. Actually it may be termed mini heaven. Still migration to plains by hill men is a routine journey. The postal economy is reverting and improvement in hills is a good sign.

I know I could never be a politician — I have too much self-pride!Let me give you an exact example of what I mean, using this very topic as an example:The US Trade Representative’s Office is a short walk from where I used to live; The Press scrums are ongoing there, as I’m given to understand by my friends.The Canadian PM has declared upon this topic that “No deal is better than a bad deal” … some might think this a ‘throwaway line’ of non-importance —- and that would be false, given even a basic knowledge of what the Trump Administration is asking for.There are generally conceded to be three (publicly-known-about) points of contention in the NAFTA negotiations: the milk/dairy-industry/supply-management issue; cultural industries (TV, newspapers, etc); and the dispute resolution mechanism.It’s upon this last point that I’d like to expound.Presently, under current NAFTA, if there’s a dispute the matter goes to a panel of 8-members, all trade experts, half of which are appointed by each country. This process has been used for a generation to resolve disputes.It is the present position of the US that: there should be a set of rules under ‘new NAFTA’, and if the rules are disputed or there’s some contention, that: the US Department of Commerce can/will make the final ruling on what’s allowed (!!!), and thereby resolve the dispute.SERIOUSLY. You can’t make this stuff up.The Trump Administration wants Canada and the US to play in a baseball game, for billions of dollars, and with millions of jobs at stake, and with negotiated rules … but if there’s a dispute about the balls-and-strikes or whether the runner was safe, that: the American team manager — and only the American team manager — gets to make the final call!This is idiocy. This is too foolish to even invent. That serious adults would even advance such an idiotic position is too sorrowful to even contemplate.That is why I say I have too much self-pride to be a politician — I couldn’t even advance such a pitiful position as the US is asking for, I would die of embarrassment.I mean seriously: What person would agree to play baseball against another team, for extremely high stakes, when the other team was the competition, but literally also the umpire too?These trade discussions are being passed off in the Press as some high-level, negotiations — but really this is nothing more than a common mugging of the US upon its supposed friend, ally, and smaller neighbor — with a ploy that even a grade-schooler can see right through: We’re going to play a game; and I get to make up the rules as we go along.Seriously. You cannot make this stuff up.Trump is an imbecile. Who has surrounded himself with predators and frauds.Good on the Canadians for standing up for themselves. If the US public knew what was going on, and how their friends and allies were being treated, they would be ashamed and embarrassed for the US.Canada is not begging for anything, nor should they. Better to have no deal whatsoever, than to be locked into a deal where one side gets to be the umpire in its own cause!Like I said, you just can’t make this stuff up — this is Grade-2 playground-level Baloney. The US should be ashamed of itself. The US position is so pathetically and nakedly self-serving that I couldn’t even bring myself to ask for it if I was the USTR.

1. AdidasEver looked at Adidas' symbol as a mountain? Well, that's exactly what it's supposed to mean. The three stripes, which were part of the original logo in 1967, never really meant anything. It was just supposed to be unique. In the '90s, though, they slanted the stripes so that it would represent a mountain, which stands for the obstacles people need to overcome. After all, impossible is nothing.2. AmazonWhile the arrow does look like a smiley, that's not what it stands for. Notice how the arrow is pointing from the 'a' to the 'z'? This represents the fact that Amazon provides a variety of items for sale, literally from A to Z. 3. AppleIf you thought the apple had anything to do with Newton's law of gravity, you're wrong. However, if you thought that the Apple logo had to do with the creation story of Adam and Eve, then you guessed correctly. It represents the forbidden fruit from the "Tree of Knowledge".4. AudiFour hoops. Just a plain and simple design, right? Well, wrong. In fact, each of these hoops stands for the 4 founding companies of the Auto-Union Consortium way back in 1932 - DKW, Horch, Wanderer and Audi.5. BMWBMW has a history in aviation and its logo actually stays true to its roots. The blue and white represent a propeller in motion with the sky peeking through. In fact, BMW had a role in World War II as a creator of aircraft engines for the German military. Pretty cool, ain't it?6. GoogleThe Google logo has four primary colors in a row before it's broken by a secondary color. Actually, Google wanted to show that they don't play by the rules and are also playful without making the symbol bulky. To do that, they just used simple letters and colors.7. FedExThe FedEx logo is an interesting one! At first glance, all you can really notice are the two different colors. But if you look closely, you can see an arrow is created between the spaces of the letter 'E' and 'X', representing the company's forward-thinking ways and outlook towards the future.8. IBMThe white lines passing through give the appearance of the 'equal to' sign in the lower right corner, representing equality. In fact, IBM’s logo has a hidden message for the whole world hidden in the big blue logo that represents its company.9. McDonald'sYes, it really means "M" for McDonald's and there really isn't any other meaning McDonald's had intended. Instead, it came to mean something unintentionally by customers, at least according to design consultant and psychologist Louis Cheskin. In the '60s, McDonald's wanted to change their logo but Cheskin insisted on leaving the golden arches. He said it's because customers unconsciously recognise the logo as "symbolism of a pair of nourishing breasts" (via BBC). Whether we unconsciously believe this or not, Cheskin convinced them and now the logo is one of the most recognisable in the world. I personally, never have, and never will see them as breasts of any form.10. Mercedes-BenzThe Mercedes-Benz logo is the most confident one of the bunch. The tri-star is representative of the company's dominance in quality and style over all things land, sea and air.11. PepsiIn 2008, Pepsi spent $1 million to pay Arnell Associates to come up with the new logo (the old is on the left and the new, on the right). As a result, Pepsi had to pay millions more to re-brand everything. Then Arnell's document was leaked and it was entitled, "Breathtaking Design Strategy." It proposes that the new logo is some kind of Da Vinci Code. According to Arnell's document, the Pepsi logo draws on Feng Shui, the Renaissance, the Earth's Geodynamo, the theory of relativity, the universe, and more.The Pepsi logo is the key to the universe. All this, and still 2nd to Coke. Ouch!  12. ToyotaThe three ellipses that are found in the logo for Toyota represent three hearts: the heart of the customer, the heart of the product, and the heart of progress in the field of technology. Aw, so sweet Toyota.13. VolkswagenVolkswagen keeps its logo very simple, but heartwarming as well. The 'V' and the 'W' can easily be seen.  'Volks', in German, means people, while 'Wagen' means car. It's the car for the people! Can't get simpler than this.

Note: This is a work of love. All errors and omissions are regretted. I will keep improving this with time - please feel free to suggest edits and changes if any.When Shahenshah Jahangir (Shehzada Salim of Mughal-e-Azam fame), the 4th Mughal Emperor of India was asked on his death bed about his one cherished desire, he reportedly had said, and I quote:Kashmir, only Kashmir[1].A lot of people have suffered and died for Kashmir and a whole lot more, because of it.Today, for an average Pakistani, Kashmir is an unfinished dream of Jinnah. For an average Indian, Kashmir is an inalienable part of the Indian Union. For many westerners, Kashmir is the most dangerous place in the world, and for a Kashmiri - it is home.The K word, as it is known in the South Asian diplomatic circles, is the favorite whipping horse of the keyboard warriors on both sides of the Radcliffe line (Me too, guilty as charged). A newer entrant to this online war of righteousness are the Kashmiris themselves.Most of us, firing ridicule, allegations and taunts at each other, only have a partial perspective of the history of Kashmir - which we obviously experience through a colored prism of our own nationality, religion and at times political preferences.————————————-The 7 Wrongs of Kashmir.The short history of Kashmir’s tragedy is as follows - Really, really long time ago, a bunch of folks settle down in the beautiful valley of Kashmir. It is a nice place, and they grow in number. They are ruled by a series of kings for 4444 years, becoming a centre for both Hinduism and Buddhism. Kashmiris spread Buddhism in Tibet, Afghanistan, Parts of ancient China and Shaivism in Southern India.Then, Islam arrives in Kashmir, initially in the form of refugees from Swat and Sufi Mystics from Central Asia - The Sufis co-germinate with the Kashmiri Shaivism to give birth to the Rishi order and Kashmiriyat - Kashmir signNowes the peak of its political power during the Karkota Dynasty.After the fall of the Karkota and Lohar dynasty - the local folks see 3 rounds of religious persecution and forced conversion from Hinduism to Islam - especially under Sikandar Butshikan (Shah Mir Dynasty), Aurangzeb Alamgir (Mughal Dynasty) and Abdul Khan (Durrani Dynasty), which turn Kashmir into a Muslim majority area by around 1400 AD.Then the same local folks, who had converted to Islam because of persecution - are now persecuted again for 2 more rounds, this time for being Muslims - First by the Sikh Rulers, and then by the Dogra Kings.After the Dogras, India and Pakistan take over and we see the 6th round of persecution in Kashmir - this time the culprits are Kashmiris themselves. Those who had converted to Islam and were now in majority - persecute those who hadn’t converted like them - the unique triad of oppression is finally complete.What’s going on right now is the 7th round of persecution which is the most secular so far, since Kashmiris of every religious identity feels victimised this time - There are fingers pointed everywhere and the jury is still out.In the timeless words of The Shakespeare of Urdu, Agha Hashar Kashmiri:Ek dhundlā sā tasavvur hai ki dil bhī thā yahāñ[2],Ab to siine meñ faqat ik Tiis sī paatā huuñ maiñ.Loose Translation:Where the heart used to beat, I faintly remember,Now dwells a pain, a yearn and some nostalgia.We are all guilty of justifying one wrong with another. We have all been oppressed - we’ve all been oppressors.And thus, without further ado, for all us oppressors out here, here’s presenting the detailed timeline, of the History of Kashmir. Use it - Abuse it - Do what you like :)The dates and facts are sourced from Professor P N Dhar, Kalhana, son of Canpaka, the author of Rajatarangini and his Firang Translator, Sir Mark Aurel Stein. I have also quoted media resources from both India, Pakistan, Britain and United Nations, and tried my best to remain neutral. For those, who may wonder, what the heck are Mahabharata characters doing here - well, just because some people star in an epic does not mean they aren’t historic characters :)CHAPTER 1: The beginning and the start of an end.—————————————The first 4444 years3120–16 BC: Gonanda I, cousin of Jarasandha, king of Magadh rules over Kashmir. His reign lasts for 17 years and is assassinated by Balabhadra, the brother of Krishna.3103 BC: Damodara Dynasty, consisting of Damodara I, his wife, Yashovanti and Son Damodara II rule over Kashmir for 80 years. Damodara I is killed by Krishna. Damodara II is assassinated by Parikshit, grandson of Arjuna of Mahabharat fame and the ruler of Hastinapur. Damodara II’s Prime Minister Harnadeva, a relative of Parikshit, takes over as the King of Kashmir.3083 BC: King Harnadeva starts the Pandava dynasty which rules over Kashmir for the next 1331 years.1752 BC: A reign of 8 successive and mostly unrelated rulers over Kashmir, which lasts for a total of 305 years. The Kings of Kashmir during this time are, Luv, Kush, Khagendra, Surendra, Godhara, Suvarna, Janaka, and finally Sachinara, who was Shakuni’s (of Mahabharat fame) great great grandson.1448 BC: Asoka or Dharmasoka of the Gonanda Dynasty takes over. He rules over Kashmir for 48 years. Asoka builds the grand city of Srinagar with ninety-six lakhs of houses, around the present day Dal Lake. The Gonanda dynasty rules till 272 BC, for a total of 1176 years and has a total of 35 kings. The last Gonanda king is Andha Yudhistira, who’s famous for having very small eyes.0500 BC: Kashmir was ruled by the monarchy of excellent horsemen, the Kambojas. Their capital was the city of Rajapura, which later became Rajouri. The same people, went on to create the Kamboja-Pala dynasty of Bengal in 10th and 11th century. They though aren’t mentioned in Rajatarangini Volumes and there is a debate among historians about the exact date and duration of their rule.0376 BC: The Shankaracharya temple of Srinagar is repaired by Gonanda King, Gopaditya. Point to note, Pandit Anand Kaul, the original temple was built by a Kashmiri Sovereign Sandiman, who reigned between 2629 to 2564 BC (cannot be verified). The temple was rechristened to its present name only after Shankaracharya visited around 9th Century AD. Also to note here, Sikandar Butshikan left this temple unharmed during his reign.0326 BC: King Abhisara, the sovereign of Poonch, Rajauri and Nowshera comes in contact of Alexander the Great during these times as per the Greek historians.0304 BC: Kashmir becomes a part of the Mauryan Empire under the Gonanda Kings, who accept the sovereignty of Chandragupta. Buddhism is introduced into the valley in a big way during this period. He is clearly a Junior sovereign to the Gonanda Kings.0272 BC: The Pratapaditya Dynasty takes over Kashmir. Rules till 80 BC, or 192 years. The Dynasty starts with King Pratapaditya, who is a relative of King Vikramaditya of Ujjain (The father of the Vikram Samvat calendar in India), and ends with King Sandhimati.0080 BC: Over the next 207 years, Kashmir is ruled by 10 Kings, starting from Meghavahana and ending with Lakshmana in 127–131 AD.0001 AD: Kashmir has by now become one of the most important centres of Hinduism and Buddhism with countless stupas, mathas and temples built around the valley.0127 AD: Kashmir is conquered by Kanishka I, and becomes a part of the Kushan Dynasty empire. A staunch Buddhist, Kanishka holds the 4th Buddhist council of his empire in Kashmir. It was during this very council, that Buddhism was divided into two sects, the Hinayana and the Mahayana.0400 AD: Around this time, Kashmiri Buddhist Missionaries started spreading Buddhism in Tibet and China. There was a regular stream of Tibetan and Chinese pilgrims during this time, visiting Kashmir. Buddhist Monk Kumārajīva, who influenced the Chinese emperor Yao Xing, during this period, and translated the Lotus Sutra and the Diamond Sutra among others, was also of Kashmiri Origin.0520 AD: Around this time, Kashmir was ruled by Mihirakula, a central asian conqueror for a short period, before getting defeated by Yashodharman in Malwa.0570 AD: Muḥammad ibn `Abdullāh, Prophet of Islam (PBUH) is born in Mecca in present day Saudi Arabia[3].———————When Kashmiris Rules over UP & Bihar0625 AD: The Karkota Empire of Kashmir was established by King Durlabhvardhana. The Empire ruled over Kashmir for 260 years and captured part of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Punjab, becoming the first Kashmiri Kingdom to have influence beyond the Himalayas. They had their capital in modern day Paraspore (Parihaspur) in Kashmir and were the financiers of the spectacular Martanda Surya Temple.0724 AD: Lalitaditya Muktapida, the most powerful Kashmiri sovereign ever, started his 36 year long and prosperous reign. His was a time, when most of modern day UP, Uttarakhand and Bihar, paid taxes to a Kashmiri King. Just to give you an idea of his badassery, here is the map of his empire:0875 AD: The author of Shiva Sutra, Vasugupta was born. He went on to become one of the most influential Indian poets of Sanskrit. His book, laid the foundation of the monistic Shaiva system called Kashmir Shaivism.0850 AD: Shaivism Tradition or Trika School of Sanatana Dharma is born in Kashmir around this time, thanks to the teachings of Vasugupta. Trika refers to the 3 goddesses Parā, Parāparā and Aparā.0950 AD: Abhinavagupta was born in Kashmir, He was a famous philosopher, mystic, aesthetician, musician, poet, dramatist, theologian, and logician of Trika and Kaula, who renewed the Teachings of Vasugupta, his teachings influenced the Shaivism in Southern India. Kashmir Shaivism was adopted by the common masses of Kashmir during this period.0997 AD: Kashmir was ruled by Queen Didda - who had her maternal ancestry in the Hindu Shahi of Kabul, Afghanistan. She was the daughter of Simharāja, a smaller Lohara King. She married to the then king of Kashmir, Kshemgupta, and ruled after the death of the King since her son was very young to rule.1003 AD: Kashmir came into the hands of the Lohara Dynasty, which ruled over Kashmir for 317 years. The capital of the dynasty was in Loharkot Fort, which was unsuccessfully attacked twice by the Mahmood of Ghaznawi. The Last Ruler of this dynasty was King Suhadeva.————————————Introduction to Sufism.1310 AD: Estimated year when sufi mystic, Hazrat Bulbul Shah of Iran entered Kashmir along with a few of his disciples. He had an impressive charisma and knowledge and was respected by Kashmiris of all faiths. He built a monastery in Kashmir.1313 AD: Shah Mir, an Irani Sunni Muslim refugee came to the Kashmir Valley from Swat, along with his family. He was one of the first muslims to set foot in the valley. He was tactful, able and was welcomed by the then King Suhadev of Kashmir, who later appointed him as one of his ministers.Shah Mir would go on to start the first muslim dynasty, that ruled over Kashmir for 20 generations and 222 years.CHAPTER 2: The first round of Kashmiri oppression.—————————————-The Refugee King.1320 AD: A Ladakhi Buddhist Prince, Rinchen took the throne of Kashmir and Mystic Shaivite Yogini Poet, Lalleshwari or Lal Aarifa, or Lal Ded was born. She became the primary source of influence for Nund Rishi, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali - The Patron Saint of Kashmir.Rinchen unsuccessfully revolted against his uncle, the Sovereign of Ladakh, and had to flee to Kashmir. He was made a minister in the court of Raja Suhadeva, which also had Shah Mir, as a minister. Raja Suhadeva was later defeated by the Mongols and his Commander-in-Chief, Ramchandra took over the reigns, making Rinchen his chief administrator - Rinchen assassinated Ramchandra and became the king himself.Rinchen married slain Ramchandra’s widowed daughter, Kota Rani, made Shah Mir as his chief advisor. Rinchen wanted to convert to Hinduism, but was denied. He later converted to Islam along with 10,000 of his men (first major conversion in Kashmir) on the direction of Irani sufi mystic, Hazrat Bulbul Shah, also known as the Bulbul-e-Kashmir. Rinchen adopted the title of Sultan Sadruddin Shah.He built the first ever Mosque in Kashmir, on the ruins of a Buddhist temple (the Bud Masjid).1323 AD: Richen or Sultan Sadruddin Shah, succumbed to injuries during an attack by rebels. Kota Rani, his wife, decided to marry, Udayanadeva, the brother of Suhadeva. Though Udayanadeva became the King, it was Kota Rani who actually wielded the real power. She was known to be intelligent, shrewd, brave and a real badass.She built a canal to save Srinagar from frequent flooding, which is still functional and still bears her name - Kute Kol.During her (proxy) reign, Kashmir was attacked by a Mongol Army led by Achalla. While the attack made King Udayanadeva flee to Tibet, Kota Rani faced the attackers head on and killed Achalla, making the other attackers run away.She was finally dethroned, by her trusted lieutenant Shah Mir who organised an internal uprising against her. When she found herself helpless with Shah Mir offering a proposal of marriage, she stabbed herself to death in modern day Sambhal in Kashmir, clearing the path of the Shah Mir Dynasty which ruled Kashmir for 222 years.1334 AD: Approximate year, when sufi mystic, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani or Shah Hamdan entered Kashmir. Born in modern day Iran, he is attributed to have played a major role in the spread of Islam in Kashmir. He was one of the major influencers of Shaivite Mystic Lal Ded or Lalleshwari, who was just 6 years younger to him.—————222 years of the Shah Mir Dynasty & the rise of Islam1339 AD: Shah Mir, a descendant of persian immigrants of the Swat valley, and the Chief Advisor to the King Richen (Sultan Sadruddin Shah), took over the throne after the king succumbed to his injuries while fighting Mongols. He tried marrying Kota Rani, but she committed a suicide. Shah Mir thus became the first muslim ruler of Kashmir, starting the Shah Mir Dynasty. He ruled for 3 years and 5 months.1377 AD: Nund Rishi or Sheikh Noor ud-Din Wali, the founder of the Rishi Order of Kashmiri sufi tradition was born in present day Kulgam district. According to the legend, on the 3rd day of his birth, Yogini Lalleshwari or Lal Ded, had suckled him milk, opening his fast since birth.He is known as the Patron Saint of Kashmir and the father of Kashmiriyat. He psignNowed communal harmony, non-violence, vegetarianism and tolerance to the people.In 1995, his final resting place, Charar-e-Sharif, was gutted in a fire started by Mast Gul , a terrorist trying to escape[4]from the security forces. The whole town and the shrine was re-built with the help of a grant by the government of India.1389 AD: Sikandar Shah Mir better known as Sikandar Butshikan[5] became the 6th Sultan of Kashmir. His reign of 24 years saw a blood soaked effort to convert the majority population of Kashmir, from Hinduism to Islam. By his order, many old Hindu and Buddhist temples were desecrated and burnt, Hindus were prohibited from praying, putting a tilak, sounding a temple bell, blowing of conch shell, celebrating festivals and even cremating their dead. A heavy Jizya tax was imposed on non muslims and they were treated as second class citizens. A large number of Hindus were forcibly converted during his reign. Many were forced to leave their homes and flee. The grand Martand Surya Temple was desecrated on his orders.By the end of his rule - Kashmir became a Muslim Majority state for the first time in History.—————————-The reign of Bud Shah, the wise1418 AD: The Bud Shah or Zain-ul-Abidin started his reign as the 8th Sultan of the Shah Mir Dynasty in Kashmir. Though he was a muslim ruler, he abolished the Jizya tax on the Hindu Majority of Kashmir, and banned cow slaughter. He was a scholar of Persian, Tibetan and Sanskrit, and ordered the translation of Mahabharata into Persian for the first time.He tried to call the Kashmiri Hindus back to the valley. He also invited artists and craftsmen from modern day Iran to train the locals in the art of Carpet Making, and Wood Carving among other things.1557 AD: Sultan Habib Shah, the 20th and final Sultan of the Shah Mir Dynasty, took over the throne.—————————————The Mughal Affair1586 AD: Mughal rule started in Kashmir with Akbar’s conquest of the Kashmir Valley. Zille Ilahi visited Kashmir himself in 1589. The Mughals were in love with Kashmir. They built many gardens and monuments across the valley.1658 AD: Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb came to power and took a special interest in Kashmir. The Jizya Tax, Persecution of Hindus and Mass conversions to Islam restarted. This became, what was later known as the 2nd Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Valley. Kashmiri Pandits went to Guru Teg Bahadur for help. For more details, please read this: The story of Aurangzeb Alamgir and the Kashmiri Pandits.1698 AD: Aurangzeb found out about a rich Kashmiri trader by the name Nur-ud-Din Eshai, who had bought a relic (a strand of hair) belonging to prophet Muhammad from an ancestor, living in Bijapur. He ordered the seizing of the relic - which was sent to Ajmer Dargah, while Nur-ud-Din Eshai, was sent to the prison. By the time he came around to a realisation, that he had made a mistake, Noor-ud-Din had died in the prison.1700 AD: A repentant Aurangzeb arranged for the Body of Nur-ud-Din Eshai to be sent to Srinagar, along with the relic of Prophet Mohammad. Nur-Ud-Din’s daughter, Inayat Begam, became the first custodian of the relic, which was kept in a large and beautiful shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake - The Shrine came to be known as Hazratbal.This holy shrine, a few hundred years later, in 1963–67, saw the first ever Anti India demonstration in Kashmir. More details, later in the timeline.Extra: I would like to recommend a visit to Hazaratbal for everyone who goes to Srinagar, this place is beyond words.1753 AD: The Afghan Durranis started their rule over Kashmir when Abdul Khan Isk Aquasi, a general in Ahmed Shah Abdali’s army conquered Kashmir. This started the 3rd round of oppression against the Hindus in Kashmir, where, this time, many were turned into slaves by the Afghan rulers. The Durrani’s rule in Kashmir lasted for 69 years when they were routed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.CHAPTER 3: The second round of Kashmiri oppression.——————————The 75 lakhs of Gulab Singh Dogra1792 AD: Gulab Singh Dogra, an awesome fighter and the founder of the Dogra Dynasty was born.1819 AD: Maharaja Ranjit Singh started his rule over Kashmir. The Sikhs removed the oppressive Jizya Tax. Imposed death sentence for cow slaughter. Closed down the Jama Masjid in Srinagar and banned the Azaan in all mosques.1820 AD: Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave away the fief of Jammu to Kishore Singh Dogra, the father of 28 year old Gulab Singh Dogra in appreciation of Gulab’s fighting skills.1820 AD: Adding further to the family jewels, Gulab Singh Dogra captured Rajouri and Kishtwar into his fief as well. Gulab Singh also helped capture Ladakh and Baltistan for the Lahore Gaddi.1832 AD: Kashmir faced the first recorded famine in its history. The Taxed were halved, and loans were offered to farmers. Kashmir soon bounced back, becoming the 2nd largest source of revenues for the Lahore Gaddi.1839 AD: Maharaja Ranjit Singh died and the Lahore Gaddi became weaker.1842 AD: After a brief war between the Sikh forces of the Lahore Gaddi and the Chinese, both sign a treaty in September which gave away Aksai Chin to China, while the Sikhs retained Ladakh. This treaty was later inherited by the British and the status quo remained maintained till the Independence of India.1843 AD: One of the most famous Kashmiri Sufi Poets of the Qadiriyya silsila, Shams Faqir was born.1845 AD: The First Anglo Sikh War Started - Let’s just say, the Dogras, abstained from giving their 100% this time.1846 AD: Britishers defeated the Sikhs, demanded a repatriation of Rs. 1.5 Crores from the Sikh rulers, with an additional sum of Rs 60 Lakhs payable immediately, as reparations for the cost of the war. The Lahore Gaddi, paid Rs. 50 Lakhs in cash and ceded the territories of Hazara and Kashmir for a sum of 1 crore. The British further sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh Dogra, the Raja of Jammu, for a sum of Rs. 75 Lakhs as per the Treaty of Amritsar. This is how the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir came together for the first time with Gulab Singh Dogra becoming the Raja of Jammu & Kashmir.1857 AD: During the first war of Indian Independence, Raja Gulab Singh Dogra chose to side with the British and gave refuge to many britishers fleeing the rebels. He also provided troops to quell the Indian rebellion. Soon, Gulab Singh was succeeded to the Dogra throne by his son, Ranbir Singh Dogra who added the Hunza valley, Gilgit and Nagar to the Kingdom.1890 AD: The Kashmiris, who had converted from Hinduism to Islam for the fear of persecution, became persecuted for their religion again under the Dogra Kings. They faced heavy taxation and discrimination, leading to many deciding to leave Kashmir, and settle in Punjab.1907 AD: Swami Lakshman Joo or Lal Sahib, a mystic and scholar of Kashmir Shaivism or Trika was born in Srinagar.1925 AD: Raja Hari Singh Dogra, the grandson of Raja Ranbir Singh Dogra, and the alumni of Mayo College Ajmer, ascended to the throne of Kashmir. He made primary education compulsory and banned child marriages. He was friends with Kashmiri Leader Sheikh Abdullah and disliked Jawahar Lal, another Kashmiri, leading the Congress Party of India.1931 AD: A mass movement starts against the new Maharaja. The state forces nip the bud very quickly and with brute force.1934 AD: A set of reforms are introduced in response to the mass movement - Elections are held for a representative body of the Kashmiri People, called the Praja Sabha. Muslim Conference Party (Which is known as the National Conference Party today) won 14 of the 21 seats reserved for Muslims1941 AD: 71,667 Kashmiris join the British Indian Army to fight overseas in World War II. The recruitment exercise of the British Indian Army, has the blessings of the Maharaja.1944 AD: Muhammad Ali Jinnah visits Kashmir, tried to rally public support for Muslim Conference - a rival of National Conference.1946 AD: Sheikh Abdullah (Sher-e-Kashmir, father of Farooq Abdullah, grandfather of Omar Abdullah), the most popular Kashmiri leader of the time, starts the Quit Kashmir Movement against the Maharaja.13 June 1947 AD: At the Joint Defence Council meeting, Jinnah and Nehru disagree on the accession of princely states, Jinnah asserting that it was for the rulers to decide and Nehru insisting that it was for the people.11 July 1947 AD: Muhammad Ali Jinnah declares that if Kashmir opted for independence, Pakistan would have friendly relations with it. Liaquat Ali Khan endorses the position.1947 AD: India Gained Independence. Pakistan got independence as well. All princely states were free to either join one of the countries or remain independent. At this point in history, Jammu & Kashmir was a Muslim Majority state, with a Hindu sovereign - Kind of like an opposite of the super rich state of Hyderabad and Junagarh. The Maharaja of Kashmir, looking to remain independent, signs a standstill agreement with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, The Signing by Nehru remains pending. Hari Singh is hoping to buy some time.CHAPTER 4: An old bride and her new suitors.—————————The Longest India-Pakistan War, 194715th August 1947: Kashmir Signs the Standstill Agreement with Pakistan, promising not to attack and continue all the previous arrangements and help, till clarity is signNowed about the accession.9 September 1947: 3 weeks after signing the Standstill Agreement with Kashmir, Pakistan cuts off supplies of petrol, sugar, salt and kerosene and stops trade in timber, fruits, fur and carpets in violation of the agreement hoping to put some pressure on the Raja.1st October 1947: 45 days after signing the Standstill Agreement with Kashmir, Mohammad Ali Jinnah gives a call to the Tribes of Waziristan province, asking them to answer the holy call of liberating a muslim dominated region from the clutches of a non muslim usurper. About 20,000 attackers converge in Abbottabad. They are armed and divided into 10 batches, lead by “on-leave” Army officers from Pakistan.The Tribals wreck havoc in Kashmir. Raja’s forces are of no match. Within a few weeks, they signNow the outskirts of Srinagar. The Raja Panics and writes to Lord Mountbatten, the governor General of India for help. Mountbatten suggests him to sign the instrument of accession before any help could arrive.26 October 1947, “Lieutenant-General His Highness Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, Sipar-i-Sultanat, Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO”, signed the instrument of accession, agreeing to accede to the dominion of India.27 October 1947: The Indian army enters the state to repel the invaders. Sheikh Abdullah (Sher-e-Kashmir, father of Farooq Abdullah, grandfather of Omar Abdullah) endorses the accession, National Conference Helps Indian Army fight against the Tribal Leaders. Raja Hari Singh appoints Sheikh Abdullah as head of the emergency administration.27 October 1947: Mohammad Ali Jinnah orders General Douglas Gracey to send Pakistani troops into Kashmir. Gracey declines pointing out the fact of Kashmir's accession to India. Gracey had a 'stand down order' from the Supreme Commander Claude Auchinleck to the effect that, in the event of an inter-Dominion war, all the British officers in both the armies must stand down.1 November 1947: Skirmishes reduce in intensity. Winter is coming. There is a stalemate of sort in the war.20–21 October 1947 : Between 20,000 and 1 lakh Muslims are killed in what is later known as the Jammu Massacres. Lakhs migrate with their kith and kin to Sialkot in Punjab following the massacre. This was avenged sooner on the other side.20 November 1947: Lord Mountbatten suggests to Nehru, that he should go to the newly formed successor to the League of Nations, the UN for an international mediation, since India has a ‘solid and fool-proof’ case. His proposal is discussed in the Indian cabinet. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel expresses his displeasure.25 November 1947: Massacre of 20,000 Hindus and Sikhs takes place at a shelter at Mirpur in what is now Azad Kashmir. The day is remembered as the Mirpur day in Indian-administered Jammu.4 December 1947: The British Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army sanctions military involvement in the Kashmir war. One million rounds of ammunition and twelve volunteer officers are provided.28 December 1947: Lord Mountbatten writes to Nehru again, to convince him to ceasefire. British Prime Minister Attlee warns Nehru that opening a broader war would jeopardise India's case in the UN.31 December 1947: India officially refers the Kashmir problem to the security council of the United Nations. Alexander Cadogan, the permanent representative of the UN files a report claiming that, “India was entitled to charge Pakistan as aggressor under Article 35 and to take measures for self-defence under Article 51, including "pursuing invaders into Pakistan".15 January 1948: Both India and Pakistan present their case. India argues the case on the basis of legality. Pakistan in her argument accuses India of committing a genocide in Kashmir and capturing Junagarh. Pakistan calls for pulling back of both the Tribal fighters and the Indian forces out of Kashmir.30th January 1948: Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in Birla House, Delhi, by an extreme right wing Hindu ideologue. He died before any medical help could signNow him. His death pulled Nehru and Patel together. Official mourning was declared both in India and Pakistan.21 April 1948: UN Security Council passes Resolution 47 calling for a three-step process for the resolution of the dispute: Pakistani withdrawal of its nationals, India to reduce its troops to minimum level, and arrangements for a plebiscite. Both India and Pakistan reject this resolution.13 August 1948: UNCIP adopts its first resolution on Kashmir, fine-tuning the April resolution of the Security Council to take into account objections by both India and Pakistan. Pakistan's aggression is indirectly acknowledged by asking for its withdrawal as the first step. The resolution is accepted by India, but effectively rejected by Pakistan. The fighting continues. There are small gains on both sides. Both sides prepare for renewed war efforts, since - Winter is coming.11 September 1948: Jinnah died of TB, in the middle of the road, in oppressive heat, in a broken down ambulance, as Fatima Jinnah tried to discourage the flies bumbling over his head. Official mourning was declared both in India and Pakistan.13 September 1948: Under a swift military intervention, codenamed, Operation Polo, The Indian Army enters the Princely State of Hyderabad.1 November 1948: Zoji La pass is finally captured by India after months of fighting. Ladakh is now secure in Indian hands.15 November 1948: Drass sector is recaptured from the Pakistani forces after weeks of heavy fighting and loss of life on both sides.23 November 1948: Kargil is captured back from the Pakistani forces. This one’s special, because the terrain here is the most difficult and the Indian forces are neither acclimatised for such high altitude, nor do they have winter clothing.1 January 1949: A ceasefire is declared by both India and Pakistan. Indian forces till now had cleared most of the Kashmir valley, and Ladakh while successfully defending Jammu. There is no way for the Indian forces to signNow Gilgit and Baltistan during the winters months. Everyone agrees to wait for the ‘snows’ to melt.5 January 1949: UNCIP (United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan) resolution states that the question of the accession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir to India or Pakistan will be decided through a free and impartial plebiscite. Both India and Pakistan agree in principle, but disagree with the steps. The biggest question at hand is the so called Azad Kashmir Army, which Pakistan insists, should not be withdrawn from the Kashmir that it controls.It was a stalemate.28 April 1949: Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, the 32 year old leader of pro-Pakistan Kashmiri resistance, who was recently declared as the President of Azad Kashmir by Pakistan, was made to sign the Karachi Agreement in secret. This agreement ceded control of Kashmir’s defence, foreign affairs along with a complete control over Gilgit-Baltistan as a Pakistani territory. This agreement only came to light in the 1990s.17 October 1949: The constituent assembly of India passed article 370 of the Indian constitution, ensuring a special status and internal autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, with Indian jurisdiction in Kashmir limited to the three areas agreed in the Instrument of Accession, viz., defence, foreign affairs and communications.1951 AD: The election to the constituent assembly are announced in Kashmir. This constituent assembly is supposed to work as per Article 370 of the Indian constitution. 75 seats are allocated - 25 of them are left empty for the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.The election is rigged - National Conference wins all 75 seats.1952 AD: Sheikh Abdullah, now the Prime Minister of Kashmir, flips. Declares that he favours independence and not accession to India. The same year, monarchy is officially abolished in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.1953 AD: Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, a leader of the Jan Sangh Party (Which later became BJP), dies in jail. He had been arrested for entering the State of Jammu and Kashmir for agitation against the special status given to the state.Sheikh Abdullah, the Prime Minister of J&K, who had been demanding for independence in public meetings, is also dismissed and put into the prison for Anti-India activities (Kashmir Conspiracy Case). Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed becomes the new Prime Minister of the state, who soon ratifies the accession of Kashmir to India in the state assembly.1954 AD: India and Pakistan create a bilateral commission, to organise the plebiscite in Kashmir within the next 6 months. This commision is broken later, when Pakistan and US sign a Mutual Defence Assistance Agreement - which Nehru sees as anti India.1956 AD: The J&K state assembly, adopts a resolution, declaring Kashmir as an integral part of India. India’s home minister, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant declares to the press during his visit to Kashmir that now, there is no need for a plebiscite in Kashmir.1957 AD: Elections to the first legislative assembly of Kashmir are held. National Conference wins 69 of the 75 seats. 47 seats are won unopposed. Allegations of cheating are levelled up again. No one cares. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed continues as the PM of Kashmir.1959 AD: China Officially annexes Tibet, and declares it an integral part of China. Everyone in India suddenly realise, that Aksai Chin, shown in our maps, as a part of J&K, is not in our sovereign control. China starts building a road to connect Xinjiang in Northwestern China to Tibet. China is now building a road from the same Xinjiang province, to Gwadar in Balochistan under CPEC.1962 AD: Second round of elections are held for the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir state. National Conference wins 68 of the 74 seats.1963 AD: Pakistan signs an agreement with China, giving away the Northern areas, or the Trans-Karakoram Tract of Kashmir to China, JLT.Same year, On 27 December, the Holy Relic from Hazratbal Shrine is stolen around 2 am when the custodians of the shrine were sleeping. Around 50,000 locals carrying black flags demonstrated in front of the shrine. This is the first time when anti-India slogans were heard in Kashmir.The relic was recovered on 4 January 1964, but no information about the thieves was disclosed.1964 AD: Sheikh Abdullah is finally released from Prison for good, All Charges against him are dropped. This is an 11 year long - ‘non-continuous’ stint in jail that makes him a beloved of the people - The Sher-e-Kashmir. Article 356 and 357 are amended to change the post of Prime Minister into that of the Chief Minister.1965 AD: The ruling party in Kashmir, National Conference decides to dissolve itself, and merge in the Indian National Congress Party.The same year, an advisor tells Pakistani Dictator, General Aayub Khan, that there is an mass unrest in the Kashmir Valley and if he can send out some ‘help’ he can write him name in Pakistani history in golden letters as Fateh-e-Kashmir.He really likes the idea and orders the execution of Operation Gibraltar. Pakistani Troops enter the Kashmir Valley in Salwar Kameez - are identified by Locals and reported to the army - the ‘brilliant’ idea fails and gets nipped in the bud. This starts the India Pakistan War of 1965.India opens the war front outside Kashmir, entering Lahore and Sialkot. The return of the Indian troops from Lahore is celebrated as a Victory by the Spin doctors of the Pakistani National Narrative as (Youm-e-Difa) a successful day of defence (Obviously, had they not attacked first - there would have been no use of defending later).—————————-The Start of Kashmiri Militancy1966 AD: Both countries sign a ceasefire agreement in Tashkent, mediated by Russia. This is the first time, when Pakistan realises its martial impotency and decides to support guerrilla groups against India. Kashmiri separatists, Amanullah Khan and Maqbool Bhat form a Plebiscite Front with an armed wing called NLF, which later become JKLF (Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front) in the Pakistani held Kashmir. Maqbool Bhat is later arrested while he’s trying to enter Indian Kashmir. Amanullah Khan settles down in London.1971 AD: Pakistan implodes, giving birth to Bangladesh. Over 90,000 Pakistani Soldiers surrender. India and Pakistan sign the Shimla agreement - mutually agreeing to make Kashmir a bilateral dispute.1977 AD: 3rd Elections are held to the state assembly. They are considered to be the first free and fair elections in Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah and his party wins a Majority.1982 AD: Sheikh Abdullah, the Sher-e-Kashmir, dies. His son, Farooq Abdullah becomes the new Chief Minister of J&K.1984 AD: Indian consul general in Indian consul general in Birmingham, UK Ravindra Mhatre is abducted and murdered by JKLF militants. India executes Maqbool Bhat. Amanullah Khan is asked to leave UK - he returns back to Pakistan. Pakistan’s ISI helps Amanullah start a more violent and radical version of the militant group - JKLF1987 AD: Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections take place in 1987. Most commentators agree that these elections were rigged and manipulated by the Central Government to favor candidates which were in line with the government of the day.1989 AD: The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ends. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Pakistan finally has a friendly Afghanistan and the ever elusive strategic depth along with a ready infrastructure to sponsor Jihad in Kashmir.1990 AD: Jagmohan, perhaps one of the most hated Indian in Kashmir valley is appointed as the governor of the state. CM Farooq Abdullah resigns, close to 100 local protesters are killed in firing. Lassa Kaul, director of Srinagar Doordarshan is killed by JKLF - the first major Kashmiri Pandit to be assassinated in the valley - What follows is the 7th forced exodus of Kashmiris - this time, orchestrated by the locals - those who had converted persecute those who hadn’t.While the Pandits leave en masse, about 10,000 young Kashmiris cross the LOC and get trained in the militant training camps run in Pakistan. Many come back and wreak havoc in Kashmir.The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act is passed in the Indian Parliament and with the recommendation from the state government, AFSPA is imposed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.1999 AD: Pakistan’s Chief of Army staff, along with a few flunkies, decide to extract a revenge of Siachen - in the winters, when the Indian troops vacate their posts in Kargil, they are take up by Pakistani soldiers in Salwar Kameez. Their only mistake - they forget to inform the Navy and the Airforce and fail to take a national consensus. They were hoping to bluff all the way to a negotiating table and perhaps maintain a status quo - what India does in response just takes their napkins away.Pakistan tries to bluff initially by calling the belligerents as Mujahideens, refusing to even take back the dead bodies - but later, under intense international pressure, accepts them as their own and is forces to execute a humiliating unilateral ceasefire.2001 AD: In October, the State Assembly in Srinagar is attacked by Militants - 36 are killed. Two months later, the Parliament of India is attacked.2003 AD: The Delhi Lahore Bus Service Resumes.2012 AD: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah declares that AFSPA is here to stay for a bit longer.2014 AD: Jammu and Kashmir Legislative elections take place with a record turn-out.2016 AD: Following the killing of Burhan Muzaffar Wani, an acclaimed terrorist from Hizbul Mujahideen, a wave of protests engulf the valley.While I am adding a new section here right now. I would like to leave you with the following lines:Iswar Allah, tere jahan mein, nafrat kyon hai, jung hai kyon?Jab har dil mein, tu rehta hai, insan ka dil, tang hai kyon?Loose TranslationHey lord of all people, in your world, why is there strife and war?When you beat in every heart, why are these hearts beating apart?Thank you for reading, cheers and peace :)Footnotes[1] Paradise Regained?[2] Read full sher by Agha Hashr Kashmiri[3] Prophet's Birthday[4] 17 yrs later, the mystery of Mast Gul's escape remains[5] Kashmir and It's People

In my very first condo building, one of the other residents didn’t like me. Most people also didn’t like her, but she was a lawyer (she told everyone, I knew she was just starting law school), so they deferred to her. She somehow convinced them that they didn’t need to do the 2 things required for association meetings per the laws in my area - send a notice of the meeting date, time, and location to all owners at the address the association has for them by mail, and post a notice of the same in public areas of the building that all owners can access, both at least 21 days in advance - and held an association meeting that specifically excluded me and 2 other owners using this tactic. Keep in mind this was an 8-unit building, so excluding 3 units from representation meant that they didn’t have a 2/3 (67%) vote, required for many things.During that association meeting, they passed 3 rules (two of which were completely bunk because they were amendments to the bylaws which required a paper ballot, mailed, which at least 2/3 of owners agreed to)…(1) Any owner who did not park their car in their designated parking spot at least 3 nights a week forfeited the use of that parking space to the association to assign or use as they saw fit (parking spots were limited common elements, and any amendment to their use constituted a change to the bylaws; I and one other owner did not own cars, but occasionally let friends park in our spaces, and the car owners wanted our spaces for guests of their own). To best accomplish this, “resident use” spaces could only be used by a car the owner notified the association they possessed, with the license plate and VIN and proof of ownership by a resident, at least 2 weeks prior to that car parking in the space. Guests could not use “resident” spaces, nor could owners for rental cars. Yeah;(2) No one could consume alcohol “on the premises” within “plain view” of other residents. This was precipitated by an uber-”christian” owner who kept us “heathens” out of the association meeting. Everyone thought this meant in just the common spaces, but they were WRONG. Banning having a beer in our big yard was bad enough, but this owner meant if she could see you at all. So, I ended up being the first one “rung up” about it. Since I didn’t even know the rule had passed (minutes and vote results were also not mailed as required by law), she had our management company blowing up my phone on a Friday evening about HAVING A BEER ON MY PRIVATE BALCONY. She could see me from the parking lot, that was “in plain view of other residents,” and I needed to stop. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. A neighbor on the first floor was sitting on her couch having a glass of wine when Ms. Perfect walked up to the main door of the building. HER BLINDS WERE OPEN, THAT VIOLATES THE RULE, SHE EITHER HAS TO CLOSE HER BLINDS OR STOP DRINKING *INSIDE* HER OWN HOME. Edit, and I don’t know how I forgot this before: the woman who was hassled for drinking wine in her own living room WAS AN ORDAINED MINISTER. And I don’t mean online just to marry your friends (not necessary in DC…for $30 to the city anyone can perform a wedding, and for $0 beyond the cost of a marriage license you can self-signNow a marriage if both parties are over 21 and sign the proper paperwork)…in an actual, physical, local church, one with a pretty conservative bent (I attended her wedding in her church…they ain’t “progressive” (in a weird stroke of “it’s a small world,” she got engaged to a fairly close coworker of mine just a few months after we both moved into the building…they actually met before either of us moved into the building and didn’t know that we had this weird connection until after they were engaged, when I walked out my door to see my coworker standing in the front yard and said “what the hell are you doing here???”))! And SHE’S being heckled for having a glass of wine with her husband on a Friday evening in her own living room!(3) The building was sold as pet-friendly, with no restrictions. The lawyer neighbor moved in a big, poorly mannered dog just before said association meeting where they excluded several of us. She then proposed to ban all pets, even down to a goldfish in a bowl, except those already in the building. The allowance of pets was actually written into the bylaws (unusual, but it does happen), so, again violating the bylaws except for her own benefit. I was in the process to adopt a dog at that time (appropriate to a small condo and less than 1/3 the size of hers), and I only found out about the bylaw change when I asked the management company for a letter stating dogs were allowed to present to the rescue.Thankfully, all this was resolved pretty quickly when the 3 of us who were excluded from the meeting and a fourth who objected to most of the rule changes paid (payment is necessary unless there’s a good reason for them to do work pro bono) a lawyer friend of mine to write a simple letter asking for proof the meeting and bylaw changes had been properly conducted. The “lawyer” girl sent a letter back saying, without proof, they had, but upon further insistence, the management company stepped in, said that the proof was not there, please don’t sue (since they would be on the hook for not conducting the meeting properly), and asked for permission to re-do the association meeting, with proper notice, in a proper place, and with proper balloting for bylaw changes. We agreed, all measures failed when properly voted upon, and the “lawyer” and “christian” could only get revenge on us through disapproving stares and putting their units up for rent as soon as they could afford something else.