A lawyer from Poonch, Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary, says, "I do not believe in regionalism. So I decided to be part of a national party that holds solid secular credentials."
After a extensive talent hunt across Jammu and Kashmir that began six months ago, Rahul Gandhi's "core team for the state" has finally been selected. The nine men and one woman have been shortlisted from more than a thousand, after a detailed interview, to "infuse dynamism" in the state Congress. They include a 29-year-old Cambridge fellow, a 33-year-old civil engineer and a Masters in Computer Application.
Also in the team are a sitting legislator and a former Assembly member, whose father and grandfather were killed by militants: Rashid Choudhary, 29, belongs to the backward Gujjar tribe and is the first educated youth of his remote Panihad village in Rajouri district. The young conservation scientist is a doctorate in Botany and also earned the prized Rothschild fellowship from Cambridge University (UK). Since 1999, Choudhary has been associated with the National Students' Union of India. He is the first in his family to join politics.
When Rahul Gandhi announced a talent hunt, he left all his assignments to become part of his young brigade. "When I appeared in the talent hunt interview, my aim was clear. I knew this is the only political party in the country with whom I can help my tribe and community," he says. "I am a scientist and with the help of politics, I will try to implement my ideas." Choudhary is on Twitter as well as Facebook.
Shoaib Lone, 30, is not new to politics, having taken to it in 2005, when his father Ghulam Nabi Lone (former minister of state in the Congress-PDP coalition government) was killed by militants. He won a bypoll from his late father's constituency, Sangrama, and remained a legislator for two years. Shoaib lost the 2008 polls he contested as an Independent. The Lones are an old Congress family, and Shoaib's grandfather Mohammad Ismail Nisar, an educationist, was killed by militants when he was studying in Class VI. Though his father later joined the Peoples Democratic Party and became a minister, he parted ways with the PDP
Holding a bachelor's degree in forestry, Shoaib created a stir when he accused from the floor of the House former J&K PCC president and the then education minister Peerzada Sayed of demanding bribe to sanction an Elementary Training Centre.
Shoaib was forced to resign both as a minister and from the post of party president. "I have had affiliation with this party through my grandfather. This is the only party that holds key to the problems being faced by Valley people. Of late, the policies of the Congress have got endorsement in the Valley as more and more youngsters are becoming members of this national party," he says.
Nisar Khan, 32, the young computer graduate decided to become a part of the Congress at a time when even its dedicated members were in hibernation and many were resigning from its basic membership due to fear of militants. Khan belongs to Srinagar's Alochibagh locality and is from a family of government employees.
Khan says that from the time he became an adult, he had had a passion to work for the people, especially those living in poor localities. "As a teenager in 1995, when I visited the Valley's only paediatric hospital, I was moved by its condition. The hospital was in a shambles and young children were dying. I decided to do something for my people, and politics was my only choice," he says. For the past 11 years, Khan has been a ffiliated with the Congress's youth wing, drawing militant threats in the process. But, he says, these threats have failed to dissuade him.
Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary, 26, is a lawyer from Surankote, Poonch. He has served in the students' wing of the Congress in different capacities. When Choudhary was in his teens, he joined the students' union in Aligarh Muslim University and later joined the NSUI. He holds the post of NSUI state secretary, and is involved in the affairs of the youth wing in 10 other states.
Dr Adil's grandfather Ghulam Mohmmad Mir Lasjan was a staunch Congressman who served as a minister in the National Conference-Congress coalition government in 1986. This 32-year-old doctor says he is more interested in social work than medical practice. "I chose to join politics as a foot soldier five years ago. Like my older generation I also became a part of this party due to its secular nature." He is aware of the risks associated with mainstream politics. "I am never afraid of any threats," he says.
Viqar Rasool Banihali, 34, is the youngest Congress legislator in the Assembly. Despite being a member of the Lower House, he appeared for the talent hunt interview. A graduate, Banihali joined the Youth Congress in 1999 and has served as district and youth secretary of the party in Doda district. He was the president of the Municipal Council, Banihal, from 2005 to 2008 and left the post only after he got elected to the Assembly. Banihali's father, a former MLC, was also with the Congress. "As long as I am young, I want to remain a part of the Youth Congress. That was the only factor which made me appear before the talent hunt interview," he says.
Zakir Ahmad, 33, is the lone candidate selected from Ladakh. Hailing from Kargil, this civil engineer is an elected councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Developmental Council. He joined politics as a student leader in 2001 and remained the district Youth Congress president for eight years. Though Ahmad has no political godfather, he won the LAHDC elections with a big margin. "For me, the Congress is the only viable choice as its programme on the common man has impressed me a lot," he says. "It will be a moment of pride to work with Rahul Gandhi."
R S Pathania, 30, belongs to an old Congress family; his great grandfather had a close association with the Nehrus. His grandfather and father were Congress supporters. However, this lawyer was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the 2008 Assembly polls from Udhampur, garnering around 10,000 votes. He joined the Congress and became the Youth Congress general secretary. He also tried his luck at the talent hunt interview held in Jammu. "I am inspired by the young leadership of the party and that is the main reason why I joined it," he says.
Imran Zaffar, 26, has done his Masters in Business Administration from Jammu University and remained the Youth Congress state secretary till it was dissolved in 2009. Hailing from Mendhar, Poonch, he admits to spending a large amount of his time on the Internet and says he loves interacting with people. "I think being in Rahul's youth team, I can serve the people of my state in a better way. I see a good future for myself in this party."
Neelam Gaash, 27, is the only woman in Rahul's Team J&K. Gaash hails from Srinagar and holds a Masters in Computer Application. Her family of professionals has no political background. But since 2006, when she joined the NSUI in Jammu, Gaash has been actively involved in its activities. "Kashmiri people, especially youth, have suffered a lot in the period of turmoil and I want to do something for the younger generation," she says.
Gaash regrets that nobody took her seriously while she was an NSUI member, and hopes to "change that mindset" now that she is part of a national party. She is aware of the difficulties ahead, but says she is ready to face the challenges. "Problems are everywhere, but if I play a role in helping the younger generations, I will consider myself lucky."
After a extensive talent hunt across Jammu and Kashmir that began six months ago, Rahul Gandhi's "core team for the state" has finally been selected. The nine men and one woman have been shortlisted from more than a thousand, after a detailed interview, to "infuse dynamism" in the state Congress. They include a 29-year-old Cambridge fellow, a 33-year-old civil engineer and a Masters in Computer Application.
Also in the team are a sitting legislator and a former Assembly member, whose father and grandfather were killed by militants: Rashid Choudhary, 29, belongs to the backward Gujjar tribe and is the first educated youth of his remote Panihad village in Rajouri district. The young conservation scientist is a doctorate in Botany and also earned the prized Rothschild fellowship from Cambridge University (UK). Since 1999, Choudhary has been associated with the National Students' Union of India. He is the first in his family to join politics.
When Rahul Gandhi announced a talent hunt, he left all his assignments to become part of his young brigade. "When I appeared in the talent hunt interview, my aim was clear. I knew this is the only political party in the country with whom I can help my tribe and community," he says. "I am a scientist and with the help of politics, I will try to implement my ideas." Choudhary is on Twitter as well as Facebook.
Shoaib Lone, 30, is not new to politics, having taken to it in 2005, when his father Ghulam Nabi Lone (former minister of state in the Congress-PDP coalition government) was killed by militants. He won a bypoll from his late father's constituency, Sangrama, and remained a legislator for two years. Shoaib lost the 2008 polls he contested as an Independent. The Lones are an old Congress family, and Shoaib's grandfather Mohammad Ismail Nisar, an educationist, was killed by militants when he was studying in Class VI. Though his father later joined the Peoples Democratic Party and became a minister, he parted ways with the PDP
Holding a bachelor's degree in forestry, Shoaib created a stir when he accused from the floor of the House former J&K PCC president and the then education minister Peerzada Sayed of demanding bribe to sanction an Elementary Training Centre.
Shoaib was forced to resign both as a minister and from the post of party president. "I have had affiliation with this party through my grandfather. This is the only party that holds key to the problems being faced by Valley people. Of late, the policies of the Congress have got endorsement in the Valley as more and more youngsters are becoming members of this national party," he says.
Nisar Khan, 32, the young computer graduate decided to become a part of the Congress at a time when even its dedicated members were in hibernation and many were resigning from its basic membership due to fear of militants. Khan belongs to Srinagar's Alochibagh locality and is from a family of government employees.
Khan says that from the time he became an adult, he had had a passion to work for the people, especially those living in poor localities. "As a teenager in 1995, when I visited the Valley's only paediatric hospital, I was moved by its condition. The hospital was in a shambles and young children were dying. I decided to do something for my people, and politics was my only choice," he says. For the past 11 years, Khan has been a ffiliated with the Congress's youth wing, drawing militant threats in the process. But, he says, these threats have failed to dissuade him.
Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary, 26, is a lawyer from Surankote, Poonch. He has served in the students' wing of the Congress in different capacities. When Choudhary was in his teens, he joined the students' union in Aligarh Muslim University and later joined the NSUI. He holds the post of NSUI state secretary, and is involved in the affairs of the youth wing in 10 other states.
Dr Adil's grandfather Ghulam Mohmmad Mir Lasjan was a staunch Congressman who served as a minister in the National Conference-Congress coalition government in 1986. This 32-year-old doctor says he is more interested in social work than medical practice. "I chose to join politics as a foot soldier five years ago. Like my older generation I also became a part of this party due to its secular nature." He is aware of the risks associated with mainstream politics. "I am never afraid of any threats," he says.
Viqar Rasool Banihali, 34, is the youngest Congress legislator in the Assembly. Despite being a member of the Lower House, he appeared for the talent hunt interview. A graduate, Banihali joined the Youth Congress in 1999 and has served as district and youth secretary of the party in Doda district. He was the president of the Municipal Council, Banihal, from 2005 to 2008 and left the post only after he got elected to the Assembly. Banihali's father, a former MLC, was also with the Congress. "As long as I am young, I want to remain a part of the Youth Congress. That was the only factor which made me appear before the talent hunt interview," he says.
Zakir Ahmad, 33, is the lone candidate selected from Ladakh. Hailing from Kargil, this civil engineer is an elected councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Developmental Council. He joined politics as a student leader in 2001 and remained the district Youth Congress president for eight years. Though Ahmad has no political godfather, he won the LAHDC elections with a big margin. "For me, the Congress is the only viable choice as its programme on the common man has impressed me a lot," he says. "It will be a moment of pride to work with Rahul Gandhi."
R S Pathania, 30, belongs to an old Congress family; his great grandfather had a close association with the Nehrus. His grandfather and father were Congress supporters. However, this lawyer was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the 2008 Assembly polls from Udhampur, garnering around 10,000 votes. He joined the Congress and became the Youth Congress general secretary. He also tried his luck at the talent hunt interview held in Jammu. "I am inspired by the young leadership of the party and that is the main reason why I joined it," he says.
Imran Zaffar, 26, has done his Masters in Business Administration from Jammu University and remained the Youth Congress state secretary till it was dissolved in 2009. Hailing from Mendhar, Poonch, he admits to spending a large amount of his time on the Internet and says he loves interacting with people. "I think being in Rahul's youth team, I can serve the people of my state in a better way. I see a good future for myself in this party."
Neelam Gaash, 27, is the only woman in Rahul's Team J&K. Gaash hails from Srinagar and holds a Masters in Computer Application. Her family of professionals has no political background. But since 2006, when she joined the NSUI in Jammu, Gaash has been actively involved in its activities. "Kashmiri people, especially youth, have suffered a lot in the period of turmoil and I want to do something for the younger generation," she says.
Gaash regrets that nobody took her seriously while she was an NSUI member, and hopes to "change that mindset" now that she is part of a national party. She is aware of the difficulties ahead, but says she is ready to face the challenges. "Problems are everywhere, but if I play a role in helping the younger generations, I will consider myself lucky."
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