I hereby express my gratitude to all the friends who greeted me through Facebook, Twitter, email, telephone, SMS or chat or called on me with their greetings and good wishes over my joining as Jammu and Kashmir Bureau Chief of ‘The Hindu’ in the last three days. On a far bigger platform now---one of India’s largest read, top influential and the highest circulation dailies that has 17 editions and 35 printing centres spread all over the country with print order of over 20 Lakh copies and the global internet readership of over 50 Lakhs---I will continue to report and analyze developments in J&K State with utmost sincerity, objectivity and professional excellence; and, also without any fear or favour from/for any quarter howsoever powerful.

Being fully conscious of The Hindu’s credibility and its image of being India’s “only serious and non-partisan daily” and consequently the “only news study source” for this country’s policymakers and millions of the participants of all country-level competitive examinations, I will do my best to report issues concerning J&K and its residents in a completely professional and non-partisan form so as to make The Hindu a reliable news source not only for one Crore residents of J&K State but also for millions of its readers all over India and across the globe.

Ahmed Ali Fayaz

J&K Bureau Chief

The Hindu