Dear Kashmir Observer community member,

We are happy to see you here.

On Kashmir Observer’s website and social channels, you’ll find a vibrant, yet quiet, community of people who value meaningful discussions, creative expression, and lifelong learning—people like you!

We’re dedicated to building an open space where people can engage in meaningful discussions in their own way.

With your help, we hope to keep our discussions reflective, productive, and welcoming—and we ask that you follow our commenting Guidelines below.

Please do understand that we actively moderate comments on Kashmir Observer and reserve the right to remove comments that do not adhere to our guidelines. Repeated abuse/disregard of our guidelines may lead to being permanently blocked from commenting.

If you’d like to report a hurtful comment, please contact us.

Let’s be kind

In an online community, it’s easy to forget that there are real humans with feelings behind our screens.

Before adding your comment, please be mindful, and ask yourself: Is this something I would say to a friend who’s having a bad day?

Let’s be reflective

We’d love to hear your thoughts, but please add light (not fire) to the discussion.

In other words, try being reflective rather than reactive, and take a few moments to think things through before writing your comment.

Also take your time getting familiar with the Kashmir Observer community, and spend as much time as you need to express your thoughts.

And remember, we all make mistakes and often regret saying things in hindsight. Instead of feeling ashamed, apologise and acknowledge when you are wrong. The person on the other side will appreciate your courage. Don’t forget to forgive yourself too. Always be kind to the person reflecting back to you from your screen.

Let’s be productive

Our goal is to facilitate deep, thoughtful discussions that stay focused on the issue at heart.

Please keep comments relevant to the article, or if you’re replying to a comment, stay on track and away from off-topic tangents.

Let’s be respectful

Every voice in our community—including yours—adds to our collective wisdom and is a privilege for all of us to hear.

The Kashmir Observer community will always remain inclusive. Our diverse and global community is made up of people across the board and political identities, affliction and understanding, so do understand our differences of experience and opinion.

If you disagree with an author’s point in an article or someone else’s comment, turn it into a learning moment—not an attack—by explaining why you respectfully disagree and by backing up your opinion with facts or credible references if possible. Always remember to tap into your invaluable listening skills.

This also means no hate speech, personal attacks, threats, obscenities, or any other kind of hurtful language or behavior. You are fully responsible for libelous or defamatory comments.

No spam or promotional content of any type is allowed either. If you want to share your business venture with us, please contact us, and we would love to see if we can support you!

Please be honest, and do not impersonate someone else. We also take privacy seriously and recommend not including any type of personal information (e.g., email address, mailing address, etc.) in discussions. Check out our Terms of Service page for more details.

In short, let’s respect our shared space. Commenting or expressing your opinion is a privilege not a right, so do not abuse this privilege.

Let’s speak softly

No shouting, i.e., writing in all caps, unless it’s to express excitement or admiration such as: “I LOVE my fellow kashmiri, and I also LOVE other humans!”

That’s it for guidelines. Did we miss something? Let us know—this is your community too.

Please send your feedback so we can improve our community together.

Thank you for reading and joining our Kashmir Observer community. And once again, welcome!

Looking forward to your thoughts,

The Kashmir Observer team