Kashmir Journal of Social Sciences

Dean School of Social Sciences

University of Kashmir

ISSN: 0975-6220

The focus of this study is to know the level of familiarity and frequency of use of social media tools for educational purposes by the Postgraduate students enrolled in the University of Kashmir. Questionnaire method was used to collect data from the Students. The major findings revealed that the students are familiar with many Social media tools and the familiarity is increasing but they do not make effective use of these tools for various educational purposes.

In the era of the third wave of feminism, the number of women journalists working in various states of India presents a startling paradox. Besides this, an unhealthy trend of ‘gendered’ journalism is emerging, wherein only ‘gendered’ or feminine news is assigned to female journalists. The current paper endeavors to find out if this trend of sharp disparity in the numbers and role of male and female journalists exist in the Kashmir-based press as well. It analyses hard and soft news stories published by leading regional English dailies. The analysis has been made in terms of various parameters like the ratio of male reporters to female reporters, beats assigned to women journalists, type and frequency of stories covered by them, and priorities of women journalists in terms of issues highlighted. The major purpose of the paper is to bring to fore what appears to be the culture of gender disparity in the regional press.

India and the US are developing a close relationship now for a fair period of time. The earlier constrained in the bilateral relationship seems now to be resolved. The US considers India’s cooperation very significant, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. India was considered “pivot” in the American Asia Pacific policy. Since its unveiling in the year 2011, the policy seems perplexing for last one year or so. India’s limited scope and the US’s ambivalence has put certain question marks over the sustainability of the policy. The paper will try to understand the new developments in the ‘pacific pivot’ and its implications for the bilateral relationship between India and the US. The paper will follow historical and analytical approach for this study.

Founded in 1928 in Egypt, the Society of the Muslim Brothers (or the Muslim Brethren or Muslim Brotherhood or MB) is arguably one of the most influential and oldest Islamic revivalist movements. Founded in Egypt by a charismatic school-teacher, Hasan al-Banna, in the backdrop of Western imperialism in Egypt, dissolution of Ottoman Empire and growing secularization of the public sphere, the Brotherhood movement has become transnational and resolute to reassert Islam in every walk of life. The Brotherhood’s emergence was a response to the changed social circumstances in late 18th and early 20th century the Middle East in general and Egypt in particular, and the natural outgrowth of Islamic intellectual responses to the discourse of modernity. The present study shall attempt to explore the background and social origins of Islamic revivalism in 19th century Egypt and its impact on the birth of Muslim Brotherhood. The study shall also throw light on the metamorphosis of its ideology since its formation.

This study aims to find out the changes experienced by IAY beneficiaries in the study area as a result of the implementation of IAY Scheme. Four blocks from District Anantnag were selected as the universe of the study. Later on, required data was collected from beneficiary respondents through simple random sampling technique. The interview schedule was used as a research tool. The findings of the study clearly reveal that houses were sanctioned to the rural destitute under the IAY scheme, but all the objectives of the scheme were not fulfilled in the study area. The houses received by the beneficiaries lack privacy and were not able to easily accommodate the family members. Accommodation problem was faced by beneficiary respondents in the new houses sanctioned to them under the scheme. The study is original in nature as the data was collected directly from the primary source (beneficiaries of IAY Scheme). This study was conducted in a single district; therefore the findings may not be applicable to all the districts of Kashmir valley however, it provides insights into the criteria of IAY Scheme and enables us to know the satisfaction of beneficiary respondents with the criteria of the scheme.

Though the state of Jammu & Kashmir is comparatively backward in the industrial sector, there has been steady progress in the development of the small-scale sector, for which there is the tremendous scope. This paper explores various industries of J&K and considers employment opportunities in these industries. J&K has a potential for entrepreneurial development in various industries like agricultural industry, horticulture industry, saffron industry, sericulture, handloom, and handicraft industry. There is a need for nurturing entrepreneurs because of the rising problems of unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir so as to boost the economy of the state.

Skill development emphasizes on acquisition of skills to ensure access to decent employment, regardless of how, where and when skills are acquired. It involves both development of new skills and up gradation of existing skills a person has. The technological advances have increased the demand for skills and competencies and reduced the value of unskilled labour. Realizing the importance of skill development, Government of India adopted National Skill Development Program in its Five-Year Plans and favored the formation of skill development institutions, at State and National level. In the case of Kashmir where unemployment is at peak, skill development initiatives can be instrumental in imparting training to young men and women. These initiatives can provide new opportunities and avenues and accelerate creation of more jobs. The paper examines the role of skill development initiatives and its impact on the growing unemployment in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Violence and conflict have a profound effect on all aspects of life. The two-decade-long armed conflict has a severe effect on the political, economic and social sectors of Kashmir. The implications have been found in micro as well as at macro level. With increasing conflicts world over, civilian populations particularly women, children and elderly are increasingly exposed to numerous problems. The conflict situation has left behind a legacy of destruction. It has adversely affected the entire social fabric of Kashmir. In a state of fear and uncertainty, all the basic segments of society have got disrupted. Various studies confirm that situation has not only deteriorated the social setup but upset the economic foundation of a society as well. It is in this context a serious academic input finds a very essential ground for proposing some inputs as far as the social work practice is concerned and the requirements of the affected population. The conventional modules of social work education do not seem to be functional in the conflict zones. New conflict specific modules need to be evolved in social work education. Such modules should invariably cover crisis intervention strategies, peace and conflict resolution theories, skills labs of working in war zones. The curriculum in social work education requires to be restructured in the light of the new challenges faced by the social workers in the conflict zones. The present paper will discuss the arenas of violence and conflict in Kashmir and the learnings for social work education thereof.

Energy is one of the Central Asia’s vital resources and the region intends to accelerate and harness this potential, assigning its top priority in developmental planning. The development of energy sector is expected to usher in enormous economic benefits, attract huge investments and strengthen bilateral and multilateral trade with improving regional cooperation. With the increase in hydrocarbons and generation of hydropower in Central Asian Republics, the region aims not only to provide domestic energy at affordable cost, but also turn into net energy exporters in near future which would have a positive impact on the global energy demand. In this backdrop, the main objective of this paper has been taken to highlight the energy resource potential of the region and to examine the demand-supply dynamics which can help in regional integration and the benefits accrued thereof.

The concept of education generated from the secular, western and atheistic theories has characteristically fallen short of addressing the whole of personality since the essence is totally cut off from the spiritual roots and therefore the outlook needs to be redefined in light of the alternative which the Islamic notion of education has provided. This alternative cannot be fully appreciated without referring first to the aforementioned theories. Therefore, the paper first provides a detailed review of the western perspective and aim of education. Given this necessary background the paper proceeds to highlight the significance of the Islamic outlook on education by providing a detailed analysis of the concept, the distinguished features and finally the objectives supposed to be achieved as per the Islamic perspective.

Abstract Over the years, feminist political theory underwent a considerable transformation. The range of issues that feminism seeks to address increased exponentially. More than any other normative theory, feminist political theory gave rise to various transformative movements and enriched the debates on issues like justice, freedom, equality, and change. Feminist theory carries within it an array of streaks that range from liberal feminism to socialist feminism to conservative feminism, eco-feminism, radical feminism, among others. At the heart of it lies the belief that women face discrimination in public life and they deserve to be treated equal and free. However different schools of feminist thought approach the understanding of women issues differently depending on the ideological frame of reference through which one looks at it. The present paper attempts to undertake an