Srinagar, Nov. 28 -- AIR-approved singer and music arranger Aijaz Sahir has alleged that the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages is engaging in discriminatory practices in the selection and booking of artists for its musical programmes and events.

In a written appeal to the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sahir stated that the Academy expected to promote cultural inclusivity has been repeatedly booking a "specific lobby of artists," while others, including approved performers, are being left out.

Sahir said that despite being an AIR-approved artist with "substantial contributions" to the field of music, he and several others have been "systematically excluded" from the Academy's events "without any justifie...