Sajid Iqbal Khanday (June 19, 1984 - May 17, 2011)



My favorite photo of yours- soo like you!



Look at you- And the memories you left behind!

You were my thesaurus- I would always consult you for a better choice of words. Now I don't have a word to describe the ugly incident that took you away from us. What do I call it- tragic, sad, unfortunate- what? I'm sure you have the answer as usual. But, alas! You aren't here to help me anymore. You were a good friend and secret keeper, a counsel and an inspiration in more ways than one. I remember calling you for every damn little thing and I remember how patiently you would respond. Your patient, calm and composed disposition was, perhaps, the most amazing thing about you.

I remember how you hated being called Sajid sahb. And how you'd call me names in return. I remember the silly old songs that you'd sing. I remember your funny laughter bouts, your silly jokes and your lame comments on my photos- they would all make me laugh. I remember how hard-working you were. I remember how you made OYK meetings and campaigning memorable for us. I wonder if you've ever hurt anyone. And anyone who knew you even casually, even slightly won't utter a word of malice against you. And I pity the ones who malign you- because they never got to know the wonderful person that you were.

With your death Saj, it's proved once again, beyond doubt, that all the good people die too young, too soon. You had a bad, bad habit of showing up well before time. Looks like you were again in a great hurry to leave us.

I remember your Italy dreams and the long shopping list that I gave you. I remember everything and will probably never forget- I say this, on behalf of everyone who has ever known you. I remember how calmly you'd drive and how you would dim your lights whenever a car approached- I fail to understand what happened on your last drive.

I can't write anymore Saj- may your soul rest in peace and may God give us strength to accept this loss. For some people, it will never be the same again. Bid-adieu~~ till we meet again!



L-R: Sehar, Me, Shireen, Ahsan, Zubair, Raheel, Ilyas, Sajid, Faysal



TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE: MICROSOFT DREAMSPARK YATRA(DSY), SRINAGAR, 2011

Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) Srinagar Team in collaboration with the Directorate of IT & SS, University of Kashmir recently conducted Microsoft DSY, Srinagar, 2011 as part of a series of DSY events conducted in 100 cities across India. The event was held at the Kashmir University Convocation Complex on Sunday, the 15th of May, 2011. Nearly 2000 participants from all over Kashmir attended technical sessions delivered by veteran speakers from Microsoft, India (like Anubhav Mehendru and Siddharth Prakash) and by MSPs. Hon’ble Minister for IT, Science & Technology, Animal Husbandry and Sheep Husbandry, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi was the Chief-Guest. He spoke about job creation and about some ambitious projects (like SWAN). General Manager and Country Head for Developer and Platform Evangelism, Mr. Moorthy Upplauri was present as the Guest-of-Honour and delivered the keynote address. For the record, DSY Srinagar has proved to be the biggest DSY all over India in terms of youth participation and the fact that this was the only DSY where Mr. Moorthy himself was present. Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir, Prof. (Dr.) Riyaz Punjabi delivered the Presidential address. Besides that, dignitaries from the academic, media and corporate fraternities were also present at the occasion.


Technical sessions were delivered on Cloud Computing, Silverlight, Game Development using the tools available under DreamSpark. The participants received certificates from Microsoft and DreamSpark keys (which can be redeemed at www.dreamspark.com to download all the software available under DreamSpark). A few students haven’t received the keys and certificates- they are requested to stay in touch through the Microsoft Student Partners, Srinagar Facebook page.

The initiative was supported by our valued partners- the J&K Bank Ltd., Highland Automobiles Sonwar, Mercy Corps Kashmir, Career Craft Consultancy & Placement Services Baghat Barzulla, Esquebee Solutions, TREISH Packaged Drinking water and NIIT Residency. Media partners for DSY, Srinagar were the Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Uzma dailies. Publicity partners: Café Robusta Lounge, Srinagar and Pick-and-Choose Departmental Store, Srinagar. We thank the Convocation Complex authorities & staff, the MERC department and the Registrar of Kashmir University for their support. We are grateful to all of them for making this event a success. We’re also thankful to Mr. Ashaq Bukhari- SSP, Srinagar- for providing transportation to our guests from Microsoft.



MSP Srinagar Team
(Shehla Rashid, Junaid Masoodi, Sarah J. Andrabi)

DSY Srinagar Official Update

Hello Everyone!
The wait is finally over. Microsoft DreamSpark Yatra, 2011, Srinagar is here! Called so, because it is a part of over 100 such events happening at over 100 locations all over India in a span of 100 days. The first-ever IT event led exclusively by students; the first-of-its-kind in reach and impact!

Presented by

Microsoft Student Partners, Srinagar

 in collaboration with

the Directorate of IT & SS, University of Kashmir.

with the support of our esteemed partners:

The J&K Bank Ltd.

Mercy Corps, Kashmir

Highland Automobiles

&

NIIT Residency, Srinagar

I'm sorry for being unable to update anyone. But not anymore :) So let's begin the official description.

OBJECTIVES:
1. To make students aware that they now have access to professional-level development software and learning resources. They can build applications and systems using professional development and designer tools and even market them and make money. This is the key objective of DreamSpark.

However, to get a better idea of the vision of DreamSpark, here's from the boss himself:

Its significance in the Kashmir context is that the IT sector is a largely risk-free sector. Sitting at home and using your DreamSpark subscription you can develop and design for globally used platforms- in other words, for the whole world!

2. Make students aware of their poential. DSY events all over India are fully organized, managed and presented by students. They are students like you and me. They are community leaders and are capable of doing things that professionals and organisations can do!

3. To give the students a bigger picture of the IT industry. The IT industry is evolving everyday. As I write this and as you read this, there are newer and newer technologies taking over. To stay updated with what I see as perhaps the biggest development of this decade- Cloud Computing-  we have arranged for two speakers from the Microsoft Corporation, India who will speak about Cloud Computing.:

- Mr. Moorthy Upplauri, General Manager, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India. He is our guest-of-honour.

- Mr. Anubhav Mehendru, Senior Development Lead, Microsoft India Development Centre (Anubhav is a senior development lead in Windows and Windows Live Division in Microsoft India and leads a team that  owns the developer experience, core file systems and windows kernel for all the released OS. Over the time he has released a lot of security updates, hotfixes and has been part of service packs from XPSP3 to as recent as Win7 SP1)

4. To inform students about other Microsoft student initiatives like Microsoft Student Partners and the Imagine Cup.

VENUE, DATE & TIME:
The Convocation Complex, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar
Sunday, the 15th of May, 2011
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Including ID checks and certificate + KEYS distribution)
NOTE: Entries will start at 9:00 a.m. and no one will be allowed after 11:00 a.m.

CHIEF GUEST:
Hon'ble Minister for Information Technology, Science & Technology, Animal Husbandry and Sheep Husbandry, Mr. Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.

PARTICIPANTS:
Bonafide students- Undergraduate and Higher Secondary levels.

HOW TO REGISTER (FOR FREE):
Online registrations will be closed soon. For now, you can register at http://mdsy.doattend.com/
Don't forget to print the ticket that you'll receive by e-mail after registering here. Bring it to the venue failing which you won't be allowed to enter due to security concerns.

You may soon find our campaigning teams around, so keep your eyes wide open :)

For people who have registered through NIIT Residency, you can collect your entry passes from their centre at FairDeal Shopping Complex, Lal Chowk, Srinagar.

ATTENDEE BENEFITS:
- Participation certificates from Microsoft
- DreamSpark keys
- Refreshments
- Other goodies

For Enquiries, please write to: dsykashmir@hotmail.com

It's not about Osama; it's about Obama

After a decade of drama, the world’s most wanted man ever- Osama bin Laden- was ‘officially’ pronounced dead- officially, because we have heard unconfirmed reports of his death before. Over all these years, I have never believed the reports/rumors about his death- for three main reasons:

1. I never believed he exists- especially after the Indian (bollywood) flick, Tere Bin Laden. But that’s just me.

2. If at all he existed, he must have been very, very popular with the masses. How else was it possible for a man, who was being chased by modern foreign armies and all of whose colleagues were tracked down, to remain in hiding for 11 years?

3. Now let’s just assume that he was a real person and was very popular with the people and could hide successfully. I remember the day they got Saddam Hussein. He was subjected to public shame and embarrassment and hanged in front of the whole world. His execution was publicized tremendously and well-documented by international media. So, naturally my eyes were fixed on the day America gets Osama- they would arrest him alive, take him to Guantanamo, torture him, maybe put him to trial and give him the most innovative death sentence ever- in front of all those who lost their loved ones in the 9/11 attacks.

But, as it turns out, things didn’t happen that way. They had to bomb the whole of Afghanistan (when, in the first place, it was a matter of common-sense that he can’t be hiding in Afghanistan itself) before they could even get close to finding him. Thousands of civilians were killed in the bombings while the whole world watched, with coffee mugs in their hands and eyes on their TV sets. The bombings were, of course, justified in the wake of 9/11 attacks.

The Al-Qaeda had taken responsibility for the massacre in which millions of Americans lost their loved-ones and the whole of Afghanistan and the Arab world paid the price for it. If we dismiss the conspiracy theories and believe that Al-Qaeda actually carried out these sophisticated attacks, then they sure as hell weren’t demanding anything like jobs, democracy, etc. They were out avenging some injustice. I’m not saying that it was justified, but they must be out against something or the other (which could be the injustices against Palestinians). This was ruthlessly labeled Islamic terrorism and Muslims all over the world suffered as a result of the Islamophobic wave that followed.

I know of American Muslims who are very patriotic to their country and are very moderate. But there’s no reason why they can’t turn into radicals on being subjected to such stereotyping. Adding the word “Islamic” was an attempt to make the world believe that one has to be a Muslim by faith in order to qualify as a terrorist. During this stereotyping exercise, there is one thing that the world missed- it takes violence to qualify as a terrorist and not a turban. You can be in tuxedos and limos and still be a terrorist.

What followed was a decade of unending bombings (which are here to stay). America vowed to avenge the 9/11 incident. For eleven years and counting, thousands of civilians were killed in these drone attacks, military offensives, etc. – all in search of one person- Osama bin Laden! What is it that makes these attacks any different from the attacks launched to avenge any other injustice? Why don’t they fit into our definition of terrorism?

I don’t know whether I should be sad or happy about Osama’s death. To me, sitting in a faraway land, it honestly doesn’t matter much. If I look casually, it is yet another isolated incident for me. President Obama has said that the world is a “better place” now. But it doesn’t make any difference in my life. I’m more worried about the larger implications of this episode.

As I write this, there are reports coming in about Al-Qaeda’s vow to avenge Osama’s death. So, basically, America has just managed to increase the diameter of the vicious circle of revenge and Zardari has made it to the top of their hit-list. That is because of Pakistan’s alleged role in the incident. Common sense says that it is not possible for the Pak govt. to be unaware of this covert operation (just as 9/11 wasn’t possible without some high-profile internal involvement). That could be totally true. But then, there’s so much of disorder and chaos within Pakistan that it is hard to say which side they were on. It is almost in a state of anarchy. And with all the American aid that they receive, I don’t think they had much of a choice.

Coming back to the larger implications of this episode, there are some very worrying trends:

- The operation was a secret. Not even all people in the U.S. government knew about it- let alone the Pak govt. This happens in the most modern and successful democracy of our times and especially when the head of that democracy has already been felicitated for his efforts towards world peace before he could even make any! And at an unmistakably right time- ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for 2012. So, what is it- a private killing spree?

- Osama could have been easily arrested- given the low-profile he had been maintaining in his lonely mansion. I doubt that there were any arms under his possession. I further doubt that a radical, fundamentalist Muslim used his wife as a human-shield. But he was shot dead.

- After all this happened, my prediction about America executing him publicly was proved wrong. The next thing I deemed natural was to have his deformed, disfigured, bruised body displayed publicly as a sign of victory, and maybe even preserved as a memoir of American glory and a reminiscent of the war on terror. That did not happen!

- Instead, as we all know, they conducted some DNA tests which matched “exactly” with those of his relatives (please don’t ask me ‘when’ and ‘how’ of this!). Then, they cremated him according to Muslim laws and buried(tied a weight to his body, hoping it'll reach the sea-bed) him in a sea at a location that no one knows of! WOW! Does that sound unfair to anyone else? Does it scare anyone but me? Has anyone wondered what it means for us? The world, especially Pakistan, has a right to know who was killed. It is not just an injustice to the Pakistani population alone but also to the millions of Americans who have a right to know where their tax-money is being spent and why they should vote for Obama in the next election. Because if there’s a conspiracy behind this, it will be a huge mockery on the sentiments of all those who lost their loved-ones in the 9/11 attacks. If this is vote-bank politics, it is ugly.

- This attack is an early indicator of a possible American regime all over the world, especially South Asia and the Middle-East. While we in India are cheering happily at America’s victory over terror, America is slowly taking control of South-Asia. If Pakistan was an ally to this, then India really has reasons to worry. Now, Pakistan government has come out in condemnation of the covert operation but it doesn’t matter anymore.

These are really worrying trends. And, if they continue in the same way, then the American government’s policy of external aggression might change the world map yet again and push the world into slavery for centuries.