Outrage Over Fashion Show Will Not Help Kashmir

This is fundamentally separatist in nature and reminds one of the dark days when the extremists used similar arguments to burn down movie halls in the Valley.

- JOYEETA BASU

Just when we had started to believe that in the 21st century the outrage industry would become increasingly irrelevant, news comes from Kashmir about political parties there up in arms over a fashion show organised in Gulmarg. The opposition is to the fashionably clad women walking down the snow-covered slopes of Gulmarg and thus apparently hurting local sentiments. The matter is reaching the J&K Assembly, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is sufficiently scandalised to order a probe into the incident. The reactions coming from the Valley border on the extreme. Hurriyat's Mirwaiz Omar Farooq summed up the issue when he posted on X, "Outrageous. That in the holy month of Ramzan an obscene fashion show is organised in Gulmarg, pictures & videos from which have gone viral sparking shock and anger among people. How could it be tolerated in the valley known for its Sufi, saint culture and the deeply religious outlook of its people?" He added, "Such obscenity in the name of tourism promotion will not be tolerated in Kashmir." MP from Srinagar, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi said, "This is what cultural invasion in the disguise of tourism looks like. They show an utter disregard for Kashmiri sentiments."