Article 370

For Ghulam Ahmed Mir, owner of a provision store on Residency Road, Lal Chowk, pulling up the shutters of his shop on June 14th, was like a dream come true. But tears filled Mir’s eyes as soon as he stepped into his shop for the first time in 85 days. Rats and insects had wreaked havoc inside. Packets of biscuits, chocolates, coconut, atta, dry fruit and other grocery items were strewn on the floor. “The rats and insects have tasted everything and wasted everything for me,” said a tearful Mir. As the clock struck 9 on the morning on June…

The continued internet blockade in Kashmir region since August 3rd following the revocation of Article 370, has not only deprived the people of Srinagar and the rest of the valley of an essential means to connect with each other, it has also taken an unprecedented toll on business, education, tourism, health and entertainment. In essence, the internet blackout in Kashmir has not only led to job losses but also loss of confidence in doing business in the valley. Interestingly, a day after a communication blockade was imposed on Kashmir, Jio-fibre, a fibre cable internet service launched by the Reliance group, began operations…

When the Government of India issued an advisory on August 3rd, urging tourists and non-Kashmiris to leave the state, thousands of labourers who work in Srinagar and other areas decided to return home. However, around 150 non-Kashmiri waste pickers and their families decided to stay put in Srinagar. The city had provided them a home and livelihood for years and they believed they would be safe, despite subsequent reports of non-Kashmiri truck drivers and traders being killed Most of these waste-pickers and their families have lived in Srinagar since the 1960s, but their numbers increased in the 1990s. “A majority…

The clampdown in Kashmir following abrogation of Article 370 has adversely impacted the traditional textile industry in the holy city of Amritsar. Kashmir used to be a major market for Amritsar’s woven textiles, especially the tweeds which are used for making phiran, the long cloak like dress worn by men and women in Kashmir. Moreover, Amritsar’s shawls and stoles have a big market in the valley, which was virtually cut off from the rest of the country till recently. The recent restoration of communication through post-paid mobile phones and opening of roads has provided some relief but the loss in…

A city that once looked like a picture postcard, with glassy lake and chinars, today seems to have become an extended army camp. Srinagar, the capital of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, conjures up the image of a remote world under siege. A 11-member fact-finding team of advocates, trade union human activists and a psychiatrist recently released a report titled 'Imprisoned Resistance' after a visit to the strife-torn state from September 28th to October 4th. Denying the Centre's clamorous claims of "normalcy" in the region, the team divulges that the people have reacted with their own hartal. As…

Television channels and newspapers could not stop talking about Kashmir. Every news bulletin, every panel discussion, every TV debate was about Kashmir and its people. Yet, what media did not, or could not, cover was the everyday ordeal in a city of close to two million, where municipal workers had not been able to report to duty for 10 days. Srinagar was stinking. All normal operations were suspended in Srinagar from August 5th, following abrogation of Article 370. Within a few days, residents started to complain of chest discomfort, frequent sneezing, mild cough and allergies due to the foul smell…

It has been two weeks since the abrogation of Article 370 and the trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, and yet most of the state remains under a lockdown. With a virtual blockade and clampdown on communication and Internet services, millions of residents in the state have been cut off from the rest of the country. For the same reason, many other Kashmiris living and working in other parts of the country have also been cut off from their families for close to 16 days running. While the partial restoration of landline services has provided some relief, any semblance of normal…

An expression of panic mixed with hope flits across Hamid Ullah’s face every time his mobile phone rings. A Kashmiri earning a living as a porter in Shimla, Hamid fervently hopes that the call is from home. The panic stems from anxiety about the state of his family whose lines of communication with the outside world remain completely cut off for the past six days. “Eid is just a few days away and I have not been able to speak to my family for over 72 hours,” says Hamid, who hails from Anantnag, sitting outside the local Jama Masjid. “What…