Yana Mir: The ‘Kashmiri Journalist-Activist’ - What Do We Know

Recent statements by Yana Mir, a vocal activist and journalist, have reignited curiosity about her background and identity. Yana Mir, known for her staunch defenses of India”s position on Kashmir, BJP, Narendra Modi, Sanatana Dharma and almost all of the right wing propaganda campaigns, has sparked debates surrounding her origins and affiliations.

Right after her recent address at the “Sankalp Divas” event in the UK Parliament, in which Yana Mir vehemently criticized Pakistan”s alleged propaganda against India and asserted her sense of safety and freedom in Kashmir, which she described as an integral part of India, her origins and politics again turned out be the centre of online discussions. People started sharing a fact check conducted in 2019 by India Today that sheds light on some intriguing details about Mir”s background.

An X user tweeted this: “this girl is actually a Sindhi hindu telling the world that she is kashmiri. Her real name is SUHANA MIRCHANDANI… She’s lying for money. Obviously doesn’t represent kashmir and is doing her sanghi propaganda.”

There are couple of more tweets alleging that the lady is not from Kashmir.

To get more Timeline has also did some research online. Interestingly, we bumped upon a lot more information about her connections with outside Kashmir, but regarding her connections with Kashmir, we found very recent details – mostly from her X handle and videos in which she is speaking for the current establishment.

Our inspiration to write about Yana Mir was a social media flyer released by India Today media house. The flyer quoted Yana from the London event and the same media house’s fact check on her claims are posted by many under the image post.

These are the details we could gather from the India Today fact check:

Born Suhani Yana Mirchandani, she preferred to go by the name Yana Mirchandani. While her X profile (in 2019) indicates her roots in Sonamarg, Kashmir, with ancestral ties to Sindh (now in Pakistan), her current residence is in Mumbai, where she is employed by a Hong Kong-based company (in 2019). Mirchandani disclosed that she had spent considerable time living outside of India, including a stint working for foreign airlines as a crew member.

Mirchandani claims Kashmiri heritage, asserting that her family has roots in the region, albeit admitting to infrequent visits. However, she has declined to provide concrete documentation regarding her religious affiliation or birthplace, stating her willingness to do so only in person.

Moreover, she asserts a familial connection to Sindh, indicating a complex background that intertwines Kashmiri and Sindhi origins. Mirchandani also professes a conversion to Sanatana Dharma, further adding to the layers of her identity.

India is a country which –
allows Dar ul X , Dar ul Y, Dar ul Z etc to sell Islam as a political weapon

allows Christan missionaries to freely convert innocent villagers

But shut downs GHAR WAPSI campaigns 😄 https://t.co/wNmAJ5VvW7

— Yana Mir (@MirYanaSY) February 24, 2024

But, here are the latest details:

Since 2019, she has updated her X profile. Her profile now says he is from Srinagar, and currently a journalist with Bharat Express, a pro-government news channel. If you scroll through her X handle, you will find her reporting from Israel on the Israel-Hamas war. The posts will also show her activism, mostly in favour of the BJP government and to help its propaganda. At times she is seen coming out in support of Muslims who are victims of hate crimes, but most times she is seen as a BJP supporter with promoting their propaganda.

 

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A post shared by Yana Mir (@realyanamir)

Latest flashpoint in which the lady started trending is the moment she was honoured by a Jammu and Kashmir organisation with an award in London and the speech she delivered during the event questioning Pakistan and Nobel peace laureate Malala.

Speaking at the “Sankalp Divas” event hosted by the UK Parliament in London, she said:

“I am not a Malala Yusufzai, because I am free and safe in my country, India. In my homeland, Kashmir, which is part of India. I will never need to run and seek refuge in your country. I will never be a Malala Yusufzai but I object to Malala for defaming my country, my progressive homeland, by calling it oppressed. I object to all such toolkit members from social media and international media, who have never cared to visit Indian Kashmir but fabricate stories of oppression from there.

I am not a Malala

I am free and safe in my homeland #Kashmir, which is part of India

I will never need to runaway from my homeland and seek refuge in your country: Yana Mir @MirYanaSY in UK Parliament. #SankalpDiwas pic.twitter.com/3C5k2uAzBZ

— Sajid Yousuf Shah (@TheSkandar) February 22, 2024

“I urge you to stop polarising Indians on the grounds of religion. We won”t allow you to break us. This year on Sankalp Divas, all I hope for is that our perpetrators living in the UK and Pakistan will stop maligning my country in international media or on international human rights forums. Stop unwanted selective outrage, stop trying to polarise Indian society by reporting from your UK living rooms. Thousands of Kashmiri mothers have already lost their sons because of terrorism. Stop coming after us and let my Kashmiri community live in peace. Thank you and Jai Hind.”

On Saturday afternoon, she came to X and posted there a tweet by a Kashmiri that talks about her Kashmiri origin and said this: “I woke up and found my whatsapp flooded with Kashmiris sending me screenshots and feeling “ANGRY” at how opponents are playing with my identity. But this sweet girl sent me this and said “Di i replied, im sick of them trying to malign you”. Thank you dear Mehvish.”

Mehvish had called Yana “Pride of Kashmir”.