The anger and violence in Kashmir following the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani defines the heightened anti-India sentiment in the valley.
THE BODY OF Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander who was killed in an encounter in the Kokarnag area of Anantnag district, at his home in Tral, south of Srinagar, on July 9.
PEACE in the Kashmir Valley has always been deceptive. Its fragility has been the reality on the ground but no lessons have been learnt. Kashmir has been witnessing a different phase of resistance in the past eight years, which even its leaders have been unable to curb. The current trouble, which began with thekilling of 21-year-old Burhan Wani, the most wanted commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, has brought to the fore a new layer of reality in the valley’s unending conflict. It is a hard and rather disturbing layer in the sense that Kashmiris now hark back to the 1990s when they eulogised the militants.
The fresh cycle of violence has left 35 dead and 1,500 people injured. The injured, who are undergoing treatment in various hospitals, may not even be able to lead normal lives any more. Scores of young boys who have been hit by pellets may lose their eyesight. The valley has been placed on extended lockdown with curfew restrictions, although people have successfully defied the curfew at many places. The anger against the state has touched a new high and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has failed to douse the flames.
This story is from the August 5, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the August 5, 2016 edition of FRONTLINE.
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