Zafar Choudhary (Urdu: ظفر چودھری) is an Indian journalist, author, policy analyst, and practitioner of peace-building. He is the founding editor-in-chief of ''The Dispatch'', an Indian online news, opinion, and analysis portal centered in Jammu & Kashmir. He received his education at the London School of Economics and Political Science and is an

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Man ...

Fellow (2012). He is a member of

Editors Guild of India Editors Guild of India (EGI) is a non profit organization of journalists based in India. The organization has declared "objectives of protecting press freedom and for raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines". I ...

, a national organization of editors and journalists. He was born in the remote village Rehan in the district

Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...

in 1975. An expert on Jammu and Kashmir affairs, Choudhary has been widely recognized and interviewed by the international and national press on Jammu and Kashmir affairs, India–Pakistan relations, national security and geopolitics.

India–Pakistan Track II relations

Choudhary is a well-known figure in the India–Pakistan Track II dialogue, where he focuses on peacebuilding in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. He has worked with Conciliation Resources (London) since 2008 on a comprehensive India–Pakistan initiatives to build peace in the region. He has collaborated closely with government officials, political and civil society actors on both sides of the Line of Control to establish institutes such as the Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Consortium of Vice-Chancellors, which draw members from both sides of the India-Pakistan divide in Kashmir.

Professional associations

Choudhary has also been associated with the Royal United Services Institute, United Kingdom Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, U.S. Institute of Peace, Berghof Foundation (Berlin), IPCS (Siem Reap, Cambodia), United Services Institute in New Delhi, the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi, the WISCOMP in New Delhi and a number of other think tanks and universities in India and abroad and was a part of the deliberations going on the issue of

Career

He is the founding editor of Epilogue, a Jammu-based English news magazine published in India. Presently, he is editor in chief and the Founder of ''The Dispatch'', an Indian online digital news service supplemented by channels on YouTube and Facebook to disseminate and distribute rich news content. He also writes occasionally for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', ''

Rising Kashmir Rising Kashmir is a daily English newspaper printed and published in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. It was founded by Shujaat Bukhari in March 2008. The newspaper has nurtured scores of reporters based in Kashmir, who now work in top news org ...

'' and other newspapers.

''Kashmir Conflict and Muslims of Jammu''

Choudhary's book, titled ''Kashmir Conflict and Muslims of Jammu'', (2015) addresses a historical gap in scholarship on

. The story of the Muslims of Jammu, their political views, and their pro-India outlook, was not known before this book was published. In an interview to ''Daily O'' of the India Today group, Choudhary said, the Muslims of Jammu are lost in oblivion. Jammu and Kashmir's leading English daily newspaper ''

Daily Excelsior The ''Daily Excelsior'' is an English-language newspaper published in Jammu, a city in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It was established by S. D. Rohmetra. The newspaper has been in publication since 1 January 1965. Its cu ...

'' termed the book a "masterly narrative of Kashmir conflict and identity profile of Jammu Muslims". ''The Friday Times'' of Lahore said "Zafar's book in itself is the first of its kind, as successive historians only made passing references to the Jammu massacre. Its launch kick-started a fresh debate around the subject". In an article titled "Of the 'Other' and 'Outsider', India's leading English daily ''The Hindu'' said, "Choudhary's is an important work which will, I hope, help in addressing the impressions of Muslims of Jammu division that they are taken for granted, that the government of India, and the world, seeking to bring to final resolution the conflicts that have plagued the state of J&K over the last century, seek primarily to determine simply the views of different sections of the community residents in Kashmir."

Rewards and recognition

Choudhary won the State Award from the Government of

in 2017 for his contribution in the field of journalism. He has also been awarded by a number of Universities, NGOs for his outstanding work in the field of journalism and research.

External links

''The Dispatch'' website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhary, Zafar 1977 births Living people 21st-century Indian journalists Indian newspaper editors Indian political writers Indian male journalists Indian columnists Writers about the Kashmir conflict Alumni of the London School of Economics

21st-century Indian Muslims Asian newspaper editors Mass media in Jammu and Kashmir Writers from Jammu and Kashmir